by Scott Sacry
The Florence football team lost to Malta 37-0 in the semifinal game of the Class B State playoffs on Saturday, November 16 in Malta. The Falcons had won the last three Class B state titles and were looking for a fourth, but fell short against the Mustangs.
In football, and in life, sometimes things just don’t go your way. That was the case for Florence in this game. Everything that could go wrong for Florence went wrong, and everything Malta did seemed to work.
The score was tied 0-0 after the first quarter. But the second quarter proved costly for Florence. First, Florence got tackled in the end zone for a safety. Then Malta scored on a long TD reception. Florence fumbled on their next possession and Malta took advantage and scored again to go up 16-0. Florence then drove down the field and threw an interception in the endzone. Malta took the ball and drove the length of the field and scored again to make it 23-0. The next Falcon drive stalled and Malta got the ball back and scored again. So before Florence knew what happened, Malta was up 30-0 at halftime.
After halftime Florence settled down, but the undefeated Mustangs were too strong of a team and the Falcons had spotted them too many points to make a comeback possible. Malta scored one more time in the third quarter to make the final score 37-0.
The outcome was a disappointment for Florence, as their recent success leads to high standards and expectations. But this year’s players and coaches can hold their heads up high. They ended the year with a 10-2 record and made it to the state semifinals as one of the state’s top four teams. A successful season by anyone’s standards.