Miquelle Canady fights for yardage against the tough Flora defense.
Westwood’s Adonus Lee takes Davis King’s pass for a first down.
This was a game of realistic expectations. Sure, we all remember the miracles on ice at the 1960 and 1980 Olympic Games, when teams of American college players whipped the Soviets. We remember Super Bowl III when Joe Namath led his team to victory over long odds. We also know the expression “on any given Sunday” (or in this case, Thursday). The upshot being that on a certain day any team can beat any other team.
Unfortunately, this day was not one of those days, as Flora trounced Westwood 52-6.
Westwood head coach Rodney Summers, not one to admit defeat, was still realistic in his expectations.
“They are a tough, tough team,” Summers said. “They won everything except one game to a very strong Georgia team. We’re going to give them everything we’ve got.”
Westwood received the initial kickoff, but had difficulty advancing the ball against the stingy Falcon defense and were forced to punt. The short punt gave the ball to Flora on the Westwood 40-yard line. The next two plays each resulted in a Falcon first down. After several successful offensive plays, the Falcons battled their way to first-and-goal on the Westwood 1-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Jake Lewis kept the ball and ran it across the goal line for the touchdown with 8:59 left in the first quarter. The PAT kick by Jack Grady was good.
The kickoff was received by Westwood’s Tyrel Gallman. Again, the Flora defense was too much for Westwood. The Redhawks weren’t helped by a high snap to Diamond Williams at quarterback. The ball flew high over Williams’ head, and the best he could do was to recover the ball 24 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Westwood again had to punt from deep in its own territory. This punt was better, leaving Flora on its own 39-yard line with 7:30 left in the quarter.
Westwood caught a break when a drive by Flora was halted on the Westwood 8-yard line when the Falcons picked up a 15-yard penalty. The Falcons were left in a second down and 23 situation. Flora attempted to salvage something from the drive with a field goal attempt from the 23, but was unsuccessful.
Westwood moved the ball well late in the first quarter, thanks to Miquelle Canady, but the Redhawks would ultimately have to punt. Another bad snap contributed to the short punt, leaving Flora in good field position on the Westwood 49-yard line with 3 minutes to go in the quarter. Keith Goss was Flora’s favorite ball carrier late in the quarter. Goss would run the ball into the end zone for the Falcon’s second touchdown of the game at 1:47 to go in the quarter. Grady would again add the extra point. At the quarter’s end, the score was 14-0 Flora.
Flora was able to score early in the second quarter with a big play by Aven Pollard, who ran the ball 46 yards for Flora’s third touchdown of the game. Grady again kicked the ball through the uprights for the PAT.
After the kickoff to Westwood, Davis King would connect with Adonus Lee in three successive passing plays, the last one being a 29-yard touchdown pass with 9:11 to go in the half. This would be Westwood’s only score of the game after kicker Brandon Howard’s point after attempt went wide of the mark.
It was all uphill for the Redhawks for the remainder of the half, as Pollard of Flora would score two more touchdowns and Joseph Charleton would score a field goal before the half ended. The halftime score was 38-6, Flora.
“We’ll keep the ball in the air and nickel and dime them to death if we can. Defensively, I don’t know if we can stop them,” said Summers, commenting on his strategy for the second half.
The third quarter would continue the score fest for A.C. Flora. After receiving the kickoff to begin the third quarter, the Falcons moved the ball steadily downfield as R.J. Joyner caught a Lewis pass on the Westwood 11-yard line. Two plays later, Pollard was able to run the ball across the goal line for the touchdown with 9:39 to go in the quarter. Again, the PAT kick was good.
Westwood caught some breaks in the third quarter with some good running plays, mostly by Canady, and a costly pass interference penalty against Flora. Try as they might, the Redhawks just couldn’t penetrate the Falcon’s stubborn defense at their goal line.
A Falcon touchdown pass to Carleton with 2:21 to go in the third quarter, followed by the point after kick, would be the final score of the game, with Flora victorious, 52-6.
After the game, Summers told his players that to get serious and beat a team as tough as Flora, a team who has been playing together for four years, they would have to knuckle down and spend more time in the weight room than hanging out in the training room.
“We knew from the beginning this would be a tough game. After our score, they put some deep coverage out there, and we just couldn’t get behind them for more scoring opportunities,” said Summers. “The season’s not over. We are still looking to the playoffs. If we win the next two, we’re in.”
Next, the Redhawks will travel to Camden for another region game.
WHS 0 6 0 0 6
FHS 14 24 14 0 52
Scoring
First Quarter
FHS- Lewis 1 run. Grady kick. (8:59)
FHS-Goss 4 run. Grady kick. (1:47)
Second Quarter
FHS-Pollard 46 run. Grady kick. (11:32)
WHS-Lee 29 pass from King. Kick failed. (9:11)
FHS- Pollard 8 run. Grady kick. (7:14)
FHS- Pollard 7 run. Grady kick. (3:16)
FHS Charlton 16 FG. (0:02)
Third Quarter
FHS-Goss 7 run. Grady kick. (9:39)
FHS- Carlton 9 pass from Lewis. Grady kick. (2:21)
Team Statistics FHS WHS
First Downs 31 8
Rushing Yards 388 2
Comp- Att-int 10/16/1 14 /25/0
Passing Yards 124 159
Fumbles – Lost 1/0 2/0
Penalties – Yards 3/40 1/15
RUSHING – FHS: Goss 8-108, Pollard 6-97, Joyner 8-82, Lewis 6-34, Asbill 6-31, Simon 3-25, McComb 1-8, Morris 2-7, Roddey 3-(-4). WHS: Canady 8-26, John Trapp 3-7, Nick Leveretter 2-(-4), KiJuan Smith 2-(-4), King 1-(-8), Williams 2-(-15).
PASSING – FHS: Lewis 10-16-1 124 yards. WHS: King 13-22-0 158 yards, Williams 1-3-1 0 yards.
RECEIVING – FHS: Carlton 3-39, Roach 2-18, Whitaker 1-2, Bryant 1-17, Pope 1-15, Joyner 1-13, Simon 1-0. WHS: Lee 8-125, Smith 3-26, Williams 3-8.
