Florence vs Fort Payne 102926
93.9 The Score WYTK - October 29, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/florence-vs-fort-payne-102926/

This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record.

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Now let's join the Falcons radio crew live from the stadium for pregame coverage.
The 2026 football season for the Florence Falcons has been memorable to say the least.
Tonight, the Class 5A Region 7 champions will try to cap it off with a 9-1 regular season as the story continues.
Welcome to Florence Falcons football. Hello everyone. I'm Kevin Johnson, voice of the Florence Falcons.
Welcome to the TNT Fireworks pregame show here on your home of Florence Falcons football 93-9 score.
We are from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at Fort Payne tonight.
We're joined now by my good friend Mike Albertson.
Mike, how does it sound to say Florence Falcons region champs?
I mean, how can it not sound great?
Am I right?
You know, just the way that this year had played out, we knew going into the season we were going to have a special team.
You know, there have been several years where we feel that way and, you know, you fall a little short.
So to live up to that billing and to be able to finish the job that you started out to do is just definitely a great feeling
and a testament to the hard work that not only the coaches but the players have put in.
Let's be honest, that's the flagship station for Florence High School.
We've followed this program closely for many years.
People have no idea what a grind a season is for a team, and it surely has been that way this year, week in, week out with this region.
What a grind.
It certainly is.
You know, any football season is tough, you know, not only on the body but mentally, you know, each and every week.
You know, you come off a high victory and you face another opponent.
You don't live up to that standard.
You fall a little short.
You know, you read your own press clippings a little bit.
You start believing your own hype and not working as hard.
Like, it really is as much physical as it is mental.
But, you know, as the season goes on, you know, not only that but injuries.
You know, players get nicked up.
They get, you know, really they're having to grind.
But that next man up mentality of this program and of the way we've done things, you know,
the depth of this program has been quite impressive as well.
So while it is a grind, you know, that next man up leaves it to where we've been relatively fresh for the most part.
You know, as a unit.
Kevin Johnson, Mike Albertson with you here live from Fort Payne, Alabama on a beautiful high school football night on a Thursday night.
Glad you're with us on the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
And, Mike, last Friday night, Florence took on Hartsville.
It was senior night for Florence.
And as we always say, something special happens on senior night.
One of the seniors out of nowhere had a great game.
Right.
And, you know, senior night you're expecting, you know, big things from Bursky and Irons who have done it for the last two years just at a very, very high level
and have played phenomenally.
But, you know, Austin Klotzbach just seemed to have this game that was out of this world.
You know, just in every play, even if he didn't get the tackle, he would rush a play or, you know, his footsteps would make a guy miss a catch and everything.
He just was like the all-purpose guy last week to really, I mean, just really shown all over the field.
Just did great.
You know, Mike, this Florence team, people have asked me a lot in the past few weeks, why is this Florence team so great?
And one of the things I'm starting to realize is that Kenny Marson, the head coach, has assembled a tremendous coaching staff.
And this coaching staff has played a big factor, I feel like.
You know, you have to have the right mix in that.
And I think he's found that.
You know, the staff has done a great job as a whole, you know, both offensively and defensively,
to be able to come up with schemes and things to stop teams, you know, from doing what they do best.
And really in that preparation, you can see, I mean, you look at a practice, you see, you know,
Coach Triggers running around and the defense is winded, you know, and he's looking like he's as fresh as a, you know,
he's ready to still play.
But you also have guys like Coach Harden and, you know, guys just continuing to work.
You got Coach Wisdom on the defensive side, Coach McGuire being able to diagnose and dial up some things.
But that organizational leadership starts at the top.
Kenny Morrison has done a great job of letting his guys do their thing.
And if there's things that they need to adjust, he works with them on that.
But kind of giving them the autonomy to kind of take their baby and run with it is also important,
especially for a program.
Earlier this week, I got to sit down with the head coach of the Florence Falcons, Coach Kenny Morrison,
hear his thoughts on tonight's matchup.
Joined now by head coach Kenny Morrison, the Florence Falcons,
as a coach, a Wednesday practice finishing up, getting ready for a Thursday night game.
Hard to believe it, the 10th game of the year, but it's going to be a long trip.
Well, it got here in a blink of an eye.
I told these seniors way back in fall camp that it was going to be here before you knew it.
Don't wish it away.
I know it was hard fall camp for them.
And first part of it in the summer deal was tough, but it's here.
It got past them, and they got to make the most of what's left.
Coach, region championship, first time in 12 years.
Had time to celebrate this week, but also take everything in,
maybe just looking back over the past five years.
Yeah, it was a rebuild, no doubt.
And it was some tough times along the way.
There were some great times along the way.
But we got there.
You know, I don't want to even think we've reached the pinnacle with a region championship.
There's a lot more out there for us.
Playoffs, win a playoff game and see what happens.
Get a deep run.
Get a home playoff game, deepen the playoffs and see what happens.
I agree with that.
We speak with Coach Kitty Markson, the Florence Falcons.
And Coach, Fort Payne's, first time we've ever played them.
When you scheduled them this year earlier, I thought, what are you doing?
They've been winning 10 games a year.
This year, they're not as good on the record-wise, but they're still a pretty good team.
Coach Elmore does a phenomenal job with those kids.
They're 12-1 last year.
They did graduate some guys off that team.
But they've been a 10-win season, 10-win-plus season for a lot of years.
It's a good program over there.
And they're a little down this year, but they're going to be well coached.
They're going to come prepared.
It's their Super Bowl.
It's senior night.
We've got to be ready to play.
Should be good.
And one last thing.
This week, did you change practice up a little bit, knowing it's a non-region game,
knowing playoffs around the corner?
Changed a few things up?
We trimmed it a little bit to keep our guys' legs up under us.
But it was a short week, so we had to get our work in.
We didn't cut that part out of it.
We had to get some work in.
We might have shaved a little time along the way, but same workouts we've been doing all year.
We're in a routine.
We're going to keep that routine.
Well, that routine will begin tonight, Thursday night at Fort Payne.
Coach, best of luck, okay?
Thank you.
Go Falcons.
The head coach of the Florence Falcons, you're listening to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
We're back in one minute.
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Just a little reminder as we come back to the TNT Firearms Pre-Game Show that it is Halloween on Saturday,
so please be careful of all the things that are going on there,
so watch out for those little kiddos going around and taking care of them and being a part of that as well.
Glad to be with you tonight.
From Fort Payne, Alabama, Wildcats Stadium here in Fort Payne
as Florence gets ready to take on the Wildcats and should be a great matchup.
And Mike, let's talk about it for a few minutes.
Stats, they don't lie.
This Falcons' starting defense has only given up about 10 points a game.
Really, just one game where they struggled.
Why is this defense so special?
I mean, it starts up front.
I mean, this defensive line is just phenomenal.
They disrupt each and every play and really get things started for the collapse of that offensive play,
whatever that looks like.
You know, getting the quarterback to move his feet or, you know, a guy to kind of miss a block here or there
and the linebackers come in and fill those gaps.
But our front seven is probably the strongest front seven I've seen at this level in many years.
You know, I would love to, you know, have a debate with somebody about that sort of thing
because our front seven is as good as it gets.
And so it really starts up front.
And then from then on, I mean, obviously that disruption, it's going to get the quarterback,
you know, the ball out of the quarterback's hand sooner, which gives our defensive backs less time to actually, you know,
have to defend.
And it just, I mean, it kind of cascades down from there.
So I would say our defensive line right there is the catalyst, the linebackers on that second level.
And then on the back end, the defensive backs, you know, they were just doing their thing.
Yeah, I would agree with you.
And I also think that this is a more balanced team, Florence, on offense and defense.
But let's be honest about it.
We hang our hat on the defense, have for many years.
And this defense is really special.
And I agree with you on that.
And, Mike, I'm going to let you be a sports psychologist for a minute because our friends may not know it,
but Mike can really, as a good guy, to vent to and talk about things a lot of people do,
including your street from time to time.
But, Mike, let's talk about what is your message?
If you're talking to the Falcon team tonight, what is your message going into tonight's game and the playoffs?
You know, I think, I mean, I think it's something that Coach Saban, you know, kind of implemented.
It's one of those things that it's just so important to remember is that each and every play,
each and every rep matters.
Every time that you're out there, all you're trying to do is win that play.
You don't have to worry about the play after or the play before.
Just that play is the play to focus on and focus on only.
And if you continue to just win each and every play, at the end of the game,
you're going to have a lot of great results.
So just being able to break down the whole game into each and every play there
and focus on being the best you that you can be.
You can't worry about all the other stuff outside of just your job and your position on that play.
And if you hit 100% each and every time on that play,
there's no stopping you as far as being able to do your job the best you can for your team.
But being the best you that you can be starts each and every play with your attitude and your effort,
and that's that.
That's well said.
I like that from Mike Albertson.
Our third member of the crew, he's on the sideline usually with us.
He's up in the booth right now with us for a few minutes.
Jeffrey Jones.
And Jeffrey, first of all, what a beautiful place.
Oh, yeah.
It's a great, great, great atmosphere.
Great mountains in the background.
I feel like we're in a mini Provo, Utah a little bit.
It's a beautiful setting over here in Port Payne.
My first time here.
Yeah, but it's set in between, we'll talk about between two mountains,
Lookout Mountain, Sand Mountain, right here.
Some mountains.
Yeah, some mountains.
It's in the Appalachian foothills.
And it's really beautiful.
And the stadium sort of set down in a little hole too, but just a gorgeous setting.
And you can feel that mountain air a little bit, can't you, just getting here.
You feel like just a tad coming off that mountain and that's a little bit different.
JJ, let's talk about this.
Have you ever seen last week, like we had, a post-game scene that was like the Falcons
waiting to find out their fate?
Well, it was very interesting.
You know, we stayed on the air for what, about an hour?
Probably 35, 40 minutes, yeah.
Yeah, so it was hard to fill some of that gap of time, you know,
while we were waiting on the fate.
But, you know, no, I've never seen, hats off to Jacob Adams for getting the game up on the scoreboard.
And he, it was, it was great.
You know, family was down there.
You know, they encouraged the family and the players to,
I think they gave you 20 minutes after the game to go hang out down there.
And we spent all 20 of it sitting there watching that scoreboard, watching the scoreboard.
And, you know, we had a tough week the week before.
And it was just, that felt that much better watching Russell seal our fate, basically.
And, you know, I know that Coach Higgins and Coach Morrison,
they FaceTimed on the field before the team got on the buses and left.
So, I think instead of an extra biscuit for the coaches show on Saturday,
I think Morrison might owe him a steak dinner at George's.
Yeah, he may take him out there sometime this spring or summer, I guarantee.
Two guys that went to high school together and two of the best coaches.
Good friends, too.
Good friends and two of the best coaches in the region as well.
What has this season, J.J., meant to Florence High School, you think, overall?
Well, you know, I've said it before.
I'll say it again.
The football season sets the tone for the school year.
You know, and it bleeds into basketball.
You know, when we have a good school year, good football season,
the basketball crowd seemed to be, you know, that much better and whatnot.
And then it leads into the spring sports.
But as far as restoring, you know, pride in what we do, you know, it's – you've got people that don't – in the past really didn't really care if we won or not.
You know, they just didn't pay attention.
Now you've got parents and kids in the elementary level showing up, you know, caring about what we're doing.
You know, we've always traveled well.
But that's just because our parents and our band parents and our cheerleader parents are so involved.
But, you know, this year has really been different.
You know, it's felt different.
We've got talent on both sides of the ball.
We've got some good kids.
You know, we've lost some good kids from last year's senior class.
But we – you know, our senior class this year has just been phenomenal.
You know, and it goes all the way up and down the lineup.
You know, it's just – you've got sophomores that are contributing.
You've got sophomores that are taking leadership roles now.
You've got juniors that we're going to be glad to have back next year.
We've got some seniors that we're going to miss.
You know, everyone – they're all – we're going to replace them all with some good athletes.
But, you know, as far as what it's meant to the community, you know, go look at the homecoming parade.
It was packed full.
And it was on a Friday afternoon, you know.
So, it's just – we've kind of brought back – and another thing, this team right here has proven to the next ten teams that it's possible to go undefeated.
It's possible to have a great 9-1 season after finishing, what, 6-5 last year?
Yes.
You know, so – or 6-6, I can't – I don't even know.
It's a long time ago.
But I will say this.
We have turned the corner.
Our athletic department as a whole, the expectation is great.
You know, Coach Miles has done a great job of kind of making these coaches and kids be accountable.
And so, it's set the tone for the next couple years for sure, and I'm excited about it.
Okay, guys, we're in Fort Payne, Alabama, famous for the great musical group Alabama.
What is your favorite Alabama song?
J.J., what's your favorite Alabama song maybe that you think of when you think of the group Alabama?
That's a good question.
I'll give you mine while you're getting to that.
Yeah, go ahead.
I'll start off.
My favorite one, believe it or not, it's just a couple months away, Christmas and Dixie.
I've always liked that.
I thought that was one of the coolest songs.
You know, they only have 41 hits, okay?
41, number one, so you have a lot to choose from, but that's my favorite one, I think, is Christmas and Dixie.
What about you, J.J.?
I'm not going to say Dixieland a lot because that's just overplayed.
It's a good song, but it's just overplayed.
I'm going to have to say I'm in a hurry.
I'm going to hurry to get things done.
And then also I stole it from Cheap Seats.
That's one of their newest ones.
You know, they don't have any new ones, but it's one of their –
I think you just stole mics, didn't you?
Is that right?
Well, I mean, as a baseball guy, you know, that was a song that played during our warm-ups all the time,
and it was awesome, you know?
And, you know, the line in there, you know, we got a great pitcher, what's his name?
Oh, we can't even spell it.
Well, nobody could spell my last name, so it really hit home for me.
That song was great, but I also do appreciate mountain music.
It was just one of those.
It's a good peppy song.
It always makes me feel good when I listen to that one.
We saw a lot of the memorabilia and the tributes to the group Alabama coming in in Fort Payne
and a great tribute to their city, that is for sure.
We want to go back to our 93.9 The Score studios where James Moody will give us all the updates throughout the night.
James, take it away.
Thank you, Kevin, and I'm in a hurry, and it works, by the way, my favorites.
We're going to keep up with all the Thursday night action tonight.
We've got Bob Jones, Austin, Mars Hill, Deschler, East Limestone, East Lawrence,
Phil Campbell, Hackleberg, Huntsville, Muscle Shoals, Lexington, Rogers, James Clemens, Spain Park.
Should be a good one.
Coleman, West Morgan.
Also, Wilson, Calvert County, Tharptown, Decatur, Harris.
Just a few of the games we're watching tonight.
A couple of Tennessee games, too.
In college, we've got Troy and James Madison, Florida Atlantic, and North Texas.
We've got no baseball because the Brewers wrapped it up last night, but we'll also keep up with the NFL,
the Packers, and the Panthers, and we'll not have a scoreboard tonight, but we'll have one tomorrow night
from 10 to midnight right here on 93.9 The Score.
Now back to the stadium for more of the pregame show.
Thank you, James Smitty on this Thursday night special, TNT Fireworks pregame show.
KJ and the crew, glad to be with you.
I want to say a big thank you to our good friends at Garner Pierce Auto for our courtesy vehicle tonight.
They do a good job, and it was a nice ride down here, wasn't it, JJ?
Yes, it was a great, great ride.
You know, this is our first time playing here.
We haven't been here, so as far as getting over here, I was a little more worried than it really.
You know, all you've got to do is go to Scottsboro, turn right, go over the mountain, go up the mountain,
and then hit Rainsville, and then you're in Fort Payne.
And so it's, you know, one question you asked is would you rather come here or go to Albertville?
I want to say here all day long.
Yeah, easier drive.
It's an easier drive, and you don't have to go through Sneed.
You know, Sneed wasn't fun to go through.
But at the same time, you've got a little bit of a view here with some mountains around you.
It's gorgeous up here.
It is a beautiful town.
We stopped looking over at view there.
It was just gorgeous, so it's a beautiful place, that is for sure.
So thank you to Garner Pierce Auto for our courtesy vehicle tonight.
We enjoyed the ride, that is for sure.
And shout-out to our good friends, Lost Pizza in Florence tonight.
They're listening in to our broadcast.
Lost Pizza will satisfy you and your family with great food in historic downtown Florence.
Countdown to kickoff continues here.
You're listening to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
We're back in one minute.
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Welcome back to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
Kevin Johnson and the crew, glad to be with you live from Fort Payne, Alabama.
Home of the Wildcats, where Florence will end their regular season taking on the Wildcats on this Thursday night special.
Don't forget, next Friday night, Florence will be at home for round one of the Class 5A playoffs, hosting St. Clair County.
The Saints will come marching into Florence, and we make sure we have a big crowd there for Florence and St. Clair County next Friday night.
Mike, let's talk about DeCarson Johnson.
Carson is, sometimes he goes by Carson, sometimes DeCarson.
We'll call him both, but whatever, whatever he wants to be called, I call him that because the goose has been loose a lot.
He's carried the ball a lot.
He has just been special.
And man, last week, the way he rebounded was pretty special.
I think that tells me a lot that I need to know about him as a competitor.
You know, just being able to have an out-of-character game, just an off game, and everything that seemed to go wrong could go wrong.
You know, the previous game, and to be able to bounce back on senior night and really tote the rock quite well.
You saw an adjustment in the way he was carrying the ball, the way he competed as a whole.
But that just tells me, you know, who he is as a person.
He's going to be able to figure some things out and make sure that those things don't happen again, not only for himself, but for the team.
And, you know, he's done it for us all year, so having that one game was kind of confusing.
You know, it was really strange seeing it unfold, but just the way he carried himself, the way he bounced back,
was really just a testament to this young man and how hard he works.
Jeffrey Jones, this week, or this next week, we go to the playoffs for the first time.
And playoffs are going to be a little different, I think, just because it hits different at home.
You're playing at home.
It's just a different feel.
I'm excited about the playoff run we have the opportunity to make.
Anytime you're playing at home in the playoffs in November, it means you had a pretty good year.
You know, we haven't had many home games as far as the playoffs goes in 7A.
So, you know, this year's playing at home is going to be huge, easier on the mileage, easier on the getting in and out of there.
So, I'm excited.
I think that St. Clair County is going to – I guarantee you, most of the folks from St. Clair County,
they don't know where Florence is and they've never been there.
So, it'll be interesting to see our visitors coming in next week.
And, Jeffrey, I'll keep it with you for a minute.
J.C. Gillespie playing tonight for Florence, a senior here.
But his dad is here tonight at the game, too.
It's sort of a special homecoming for him.
It is.
You know, I spoke with him about it this summer.
I've known John David for a couple years now and gotten to be good friends with him.
And, you know, I told him, I said, what do you think about going back and playing for a play?
And he said, man, I couldn't have asked for better.
He's like, that's just the topping on the cake, you know, his son's last regular season home –
or last regular season football game is going to be played in his dad's hometown.
You know, it's just great.
You know, we did – I've never been to Fort Payne before, like I said,
and so I didn't know where to eat.
So, I just checked his Facebook page and he told us where he was eating.
So, we just went and grabbed a bite there as well.
So, it's a beautiful area, and I'm sure, you know, John David's met up with quite a few friends that he grew up with.
And I'm going to interrupt you because, you know, Mike, he played basketball here.
He had a pretty special coach when he was here too, didn't he?
He certainly did.
You know, I didn't realize it, but, you know, got a little helpful tip from one of the senior dads.
You know, Sean Elliott texted me and said, oh, yeah, by the way, his high school basketball coach was Coach Anthony Reed.
You know, and so, yeah, that's special and that's definitely interesting.
You know, all the ties come back to Florence, don't they?
Yeah, they really do.
I mean, it's amazing.
I grew up in the small town of Leighton.
I'm very proud of that.
And how many times I've told people everything goes back to Leighton.
But the more I get spread out, the more I feel like everything goes back to, well, guess what, to Florence.
You see a lot of common denominators with Florence as well.
Tonight is senior night for Fort Payne as well.
They are here for senior night, and they are from one end of the field to the other as well.
Their colors are black and gold, and gold helmets, black jerseys, gold pants.
So, they're here for that.
So, looking forward to having a good time with them.
And, you know, one of these things that we find out, Mike, when we look at senior night, we see it from ours, but we see it from the other side, too.
We've been on the other end with some seniors stepped up against us before.
Oh, we certainly have.
And, you know, senior night is always a special night to not only, you know, celebrate the seniors of our school, but the other schools as well.
Like, they work just as hard, and they put in the time, energy, and effort that our program does as well.
So, sometimes we get these special nights that, you know, might throw up the schedule a little bit for kick or halftime or what have you, but it's always special to honor those who've kind of, you know, laid it all out there and their families as we've, you know, been able to go and do these things.
But sometimes you catch one of those games where there's a special player out there or even a player that just flies under the radar, but senior night, the lights are a little bit brighter for them, and they just make an impact.
They do make an impact.
You know, and, Mike, the other thing I see all the time is we come to these, and even if it's the visitors, we still get chill bumps because it's just, we know what is special.
We can't imagine what all these parents and kids are going through.
It's a rite of passage, and it's one of the first steps of their senior year, almost this senior night of high school football, and to see the cheerleaders and band members and all the football players out there.
But I know even just helping and coaching and being on the staff, there were times when we saw those seniors go out, and we'd sit there and go, wow.
It just seemed like yesterday that they were a ninth grader coming up, and we were trying to teach them how to buckle their chin strap, and now here they are a grown man.
So, it's always special to see, that's for sure.
It certainly is, and, you know, like, look, my daughter's a junior, so I'm seeing it from a little different perspective now as a father, and knowing that, you know, time is undefeated.
It's going to come for all of us, and so as this year goes on and the season goes, it's one of those that you just take those special moments and continue to share those with the people that you love.
Our statistician, John McDaniel, has been working hard up and down the steps today, helping us get things ready, and John, I was going to ask you just a quick question.
That is, you've been there in the playoffs before as a player at UNA.
You know, playoffs are just different, and it makes you understand postseason is a special time.
It really is a special time.
It's not something that everybody gets to experience.
I experienced it a few times in high school and only one time in college, and, you know, you really take it, you try not to take it for granted because, you know, it goes by so fast, but you want to not just be satisfied that you're in the playoffs.
That's not the accomplishment.
Finishing out the goal, whether that, hopefully getting to the state championship game, that's got to be your goal, and you want to approach it not as a, hey, we did it, we won the region, and we're in the playoffs.
That's great.
We've still got unfinished business, and for the Falcons, I hope they've got the right attitude of, let's go out and make the, let's finish this, let's finish this race.
Jeffrey Jones, we have a nice scoreboard.
We watched the Falcons watch the Russell Bowl in that one last week to give us the region championship and heard Alan Willenham on the call from the voice of the Russell Golden Tigers.
But this is a pretty nice scoreboard here, too.
Yeah, it's a nice field, nice scoreboard.
So they've been, they've touted that this is the second largest in the stadium, high school stadium, high school stadium scoreboard.
I think that ours is either the same size or bigger, you know, that's just, but they might have considered ours to be a college at the time when they did the, when they did it.
But yeah, it's a, it's a great setting.
The turf is new.
They've got a nice wildcat going from the 25 to the 25-yard line.
Nice Fort Payne logo on the, on the field.
So, you know, we talked about this on the way in.
I, I like to pay attention to when we go to these towns, especially the new towns we go to, to kind of see what drives the community, you know, learn a little bit about the community before we get here and learn about what, you know, what drives the community, the largest employers, that sort of thing.
I know it's a nerd, nerd in me, but you're right across the way.
We've got a huge manufacturing plant.
They, it's called, it's Heil, H-E-I-L.
They build, it's the largest manufacturer of, of large, like dump trucks, like waste management type trucks in the, in the world.
So, and they've got, they, there's thousands and thousands out there waiting to be sold.
So it's, it's not a dealership, it's the, it's the manufacturer.
So it's pretty, pretty interesting.
It's a beautiful little area over here.
And we're only a couple miles, you know, as the crow flies from the, from Georgia.
It's the furthest, closest to Georgia the Florence Falcons have ever played.
Well, I'll tell you, we may send the bill to Heil after that.
That's a nice little compliment to that great company.
And they are, it's huge.
Looks like, looks like they can pay the bill.
I think they can without any problem as well.
Tonight, Florence getting ready to take on Fort Payne, Fort Payne coach for Chris Elmore.
It's ninth season.
This is his first losing season at Fort Payne.
He's an excellent coach coming off back-to-back 10 win seasons.
He's been to the playoffs every year except for this year.
His dad, actually, Jerry Elmore, was a, I mean, just a legend here.
Coach of Fort Payne from 1984 to 1998.
Kenny Marson in his fifth season at Florence.
He won a state title at Fayetteville High School in Tennessee.
And he has the Falcons in the playoffs each and every year in his five seasons,
including a region championship this year as well.
Florence and Fort Payne have never met.
Fort Payne comes into the game three and six on the year.
They broke a four-game losing streak last week, though, with a win over Alperville.
Florence is eight and one, and they got a big win over Hartzell last week.
And they've never had a nine-win season.
07, 09, 14, and 22.
All those teams went eight and two.
But no Florence team has gone nine and one.
We're about to find out tonight if the Florence Falcons can make history
and be the first nine-in-one team in school history.
When we come back, we'll count down to kickoff.
You're listening to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
We're back in two minutes.
Carbine Construction is honored to be a part of building projects
with the Florence City School System.
We're also glad to cheer on the Falcons as they celebrate milestone achievements as well.
Good luck to head coach Kenny Morrison and the Florence Falcons football team
on building a special season to remember, as Carbine Construction wishes you the very best this season.
Remember, at Carbine Construction, we build trust, we build relationships,
and like the Florence Falcons football team, at Carbine Construction, we continue to build.
Irons Electric has been family-owned and operated for over 65 years.
Irons Electric is deeply rooted in the Florence High School tradition
and is happy to be a part of many past projects, including the new Braleigh Stadium Fieldhouse.
Irons Electric Company was voted the number one electrical contractor in 2023.
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Let's win together.
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Go Falcons!
Tonight, the Falcons of Florence fly across the state and land in the beautiful city of Fort Payne to take on the Wildcats.
Fort Payne is most famous for arguably the greatest country music group of all time,
simply known as Alabama.
Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook became household names to country music fans everywhere.
And because of their great success, including 33 number one hits,
they also put the small city of Fort Payne on the map.
This season, a group of young men known as the Falcons have helped put the city of Florence in the limelight as well.
One of the greatest runs in the 23-season history has stirred up the nest in a good way,
and Falcon fever has hit the city of Florence.
With a win tonight, once again, this team will make history as the first Falcons team to go 9-1 in a regular season.
So what is the message from head coach Kenny Morrison to the Florence Falcons team tonight?
Two words.
Roll on.
Roll on highway, roll on along.
Roll on, daddy, till you get back home.
Roll on family, roll on crew.
Roll on mama like I asked you to do.
And roll on, 18-wheeler, roll on.
Roll on!
The Falcons' 18-wheeler continues to roll this season,
and a win tonight will have the Falcons rolling on into the state playoffs.
It's time to shift into another gear and continue the journey,
and let's keep it rolling on.
Tonight, the last stop of the regular season.
And from Fort Payne, Alabama.
Florence Falcons football starts right now.
Back here at Wildcat Stadium, Kevin Johnson and the crew, glad to be with you.
Live from Fort Payne, Alabama as we're here.
And it's a big night for Florence.
Nice little crowd on hand so far for Florence.
A lot of others may be traveling in on this Thursday night to come in for this one as well.
And, you know, Mike Albertson, this game could be a good time to maybe,
for Kenny Morrison and staff to mix and match some things.
Maybe some new faces in new places.
Wouldn't be surprised to see if some players get limited playing time.
All those things are on the table, I think.
Yes, I mean, look, at the end of the day, aside from, you know, the personal record,
this game does mean very little for our future.
You know, it's kind of just continuing the wheels going
and maybe getting some guys reps that may not get all the reps in the world.
Just being able to have that next man up ready if, you know,
if their number gets called in a playoff game situation.
And work on some things that maybe, you know, we should shore things up.
So maybe, you know, clean up some things on offense or defense
that maybe we've struggled with at times.
But, you know, at the end of the day, the intensity of this game, you know,
between the ears isn't going to be too much for the Falcons.
So just being able to make sure that they stay focused in the time that they're out there
and, you know, and be able to continue to compete and do what they do best.
John McDaniel, our statistician, you played at UNA,
and you had to make some long bus trips.
Lawrence has made a lot of long bus trips, including last year to Baker,
now tonight at Fort Payne.
But how did you handle the long trips and those bus trips and maybe the warm-ups even?
Well, fortunately, the Falcons don't have to travel to Valdosta,
which is about 12 hours one way on a bus.
So they ought to be pretty good.
But you're right.
We've made a lot of road trips.
We've put a lot of miles.
Certainly Baker stands out.
But these guys should be ready.
I mean, this is not, even though it's a little bit longer than the average trip,
it's not going to be a significant change.
They got out of school a little early today.
They ride in nice buses.
So the comfort level, they shouldn't have any type of issues with, you know,
being cramped up for several hours.
I know they stopped somewhere around Huntsville to eat.
You know, you just want to make sure that you really, when they're, you know,
this short two and a half hours, something like that,
it's easy to really kind of be locked in.
The guys just need to be, they really just kind of need to be focused on their way in.
It's just as long as they're not cutting up
and more worried about the practical joke than they are the game.
As long as they get here, that this ride, they should be good.
Jeffrey Jones, when you think of Fort Payne, Alabama,
when you think of the group Alabama, also on football,
you think of the McPherson brothers that were record-setting kickers here.
Yeah, and still are having a great year for the Auburn Tigers.
You know, Fort Payne really, they've had quite a few good kickers over the years,
but those McPherson's are, you know, big brothers in, he's in the league.
Cincinnati Bengals.
Yeah, he's still in the league.
Matter of fact, I'll give you a quick stat on that.
Evan McPherson kicked a 60-yard field goal against Pelham back in 2017
to have the state record.
His record was broken in 2021 by Alex McPherson.
His brother hit a 61-yarder against North Jackson.
I don't think either one hold the state record anymore.
I think someone else does, but for Fort Payne, those two had big legs
and went big places, and that's been present there.
Good family, too.
Yeah, good family.
Good kids.
That's well said about that as well.
Let's look at the potential starting lineup for the Florence Falcon team
tonight on offense, starting with Costin Mayhem, the quarterback, 6'2", 225,
a sophomore.
He's 71 of 122 in the year, 891 yards, nine touchdowns to about four interceptions.
Also has one touchdown on the carry as well.
But, you know, Mike, as long as he takes care of that football,
he's doing his job as a young quarterback.
He certainly is.
And, you know, his continued maturity as he's developed over the year,
you know, and his continued leadership, you know,
just being able to grow as a young player, but not only, you know,
as a leader of the offense, but of this team, being able to, you know,
convert a couple of fourth down passes that are really tough, you know,
and he's been rewarded by, you know,
they're opening up the playbook a little bit more
and being able to throw down the field some.
So it's really just continued growth in that regard is going to be
of the utmost importance to him,
especially when the lights get bright in the playoffs.
DeCarson Johnson, the tailback, the senior, 5'10", 175,
wears number zero, 120 rushes for 1131 yards, 13 touchdowns as well,
and had a great night against Hartzell with 14 carries for 154
and three six-pointers for him as well.
At wide receiver, Nelson Elliott, 6'1", 170, a senior,
wears number 17, five catches on the year.
He's just Mr. Consistent, and he does a lot of little things too.
That's what I love about him.
He's just the one that you can count on at all times.
Sullivan Haddock will get the start some of his times as well
if we go four wide out.
He wears number 80, a senior, 170.
He has done a great job this year as well.
Kevontae Green's been the go-to guy though.
220, 6'3", 220 senior.
Kevontae has 18 receptions on the year and three touchdowns.
And then in the slot is John Carter Goolsbee.
He's a 5'11", senior, 165 pounds, 15 catches on the year,
208 yards and one touchdown.
So a plethora of wide receivers that they can go to at any time for Costin Mahan.
And then up front, the big uglies have been really good.
Raymond Russell, a sophomore, 6'1", 280.
He's the left tackle, wears number 71.
He'll be joined by Ezra Bird on that side, another sophomore, 6'1", 306.
It's good to have those two with us for a long time.
He'll wear number 77.
Jacob Harper, only a junior, the center.
Wears number 57, 5'11", 245.
Then on the right side, a couple of seniors.
Dre Moore, he's the right guard.
Wears number 51, 5'10", 255.
And C.J. Bolden will get the start, 6'2", 230 pounds.
The kicker is Parker Greenhall.
He has done an excellent job for Florence as well.
So that's potential starting lineup for Florence here tonight.
Florence averaging 34 points a game, giving up 14 on defense.
Meanwhile, Fort Payne averaging 25 points per game, giving up 23 points per game.
On the season.
And that's pretty good.
By the way, this Fort Payne team led by a quarterback, Neal Vinson.
Vinson had a special night last week.
Excuse me, I said Neal, Lane Vinson, excuse me.
Vinson in a 45-21 victory over Alverville.
Caden Adams, Bentley Webb, Elijah Boggs, Michael Washington, Eli Goggins,
Will Montsey, Challen Crowe, Jaden Sayre, Patrick Buffington, Isaac Northcutt.
All those guys, that's 10 receivers.
He hit 10 different receivers.
It's not a state record because they don't keep up with it, but some historians have said
they don't remember a game where 10 different receivers caught passes like that.
So he had a special night against Alverville last week.
They will put the ball in the air some, so we'll have to make sure we watch the big lefty.
He wears number 13.
He's a really good quarterback.
Let's get a scouting report a little bit on this team.
And then go to John McDaniel.
You saw this Fort Payne team on film.
Give us a quick scouting report there.
Yeah, this team, I mean, this is a proud program.
They've been in the playoffs the last nine years.
They'll miss it this year, but it's the first time in a while.
They've won 35 games in the last four years.
They have been a really power.
This unit, on defense, their best group really is their secondary.
They're a little undersized in the front, but they have good technique and they play well
in the pass game.
The secondary and safeties are good.
Offensively, their running back, Caden Adams, he's number one.
He's about 170 pounds senior.
He shows good speed on film.
As you mentioned, they have a solid passing attack.
They have guys they can get out, multiple receivers, and let their quarterback kind of choose where
the opening is.
This is going to be, you know, this team is a little bit undersized for what the Falcons
have traditionally played, but they play extremely hard.
Of course, they're well coached with that kind of success.
So, look for them to pull out, you know, they will be in play for some trick plays tonight.
While we have a moment, too, I want to give you a quick rundown of the 5A North bracket.
It's pretty much set.
Mortimer Jordan will be at Douglas.
That's what we're pretty sure on that one.
Austin will travel to Clay Chalkville.
And then in our fourth set, A-Rab will be traveling, we think, to Minor.
If Minor takes care of business in their game, they would probably travel to Minor.
And St. Clair County will come to Florence.
So, the winner of St. Clair, Florence will play the winner of A-Rab and somebody, and we
think it's Minor High School.
Pell City most likely will travel to Russellville.
Mae Jemison will be at Parker.
Muscle Shoals will travel to Oxford.
And Gardendale will go to Boaz, giving you a rundown on a tough North region.
There's some really good teams in that North region.
So, it's going to be a dogfight to see who can get to Hancock-Wedon Stadium down in South
Alabama for the state championship.
You know, last year, we pitched a fit.
We were so mad that they sent us to Mobile.
I'm still mad about it because we shouldn't have had to go.
This year, Jeffrey Jones, I want to go to Mobile.
I'd like to go down there for a state championship with this Florence Falcon team.
Yeah, that's the only reason I would want to play a game in Mobile again would be playing
for a map.
That's for sure.
You know, looking back on it, I learned a lot that day.
I learned that I can drive 14 hours straight, basically seven down there and seven back.
And, you know, it wasn't so bad.
I think it was more for the experience, you know, because the year before, going to Oblika
really helped us prepare for that.
But, yeah, I would love to be playing in Mobile.
But I will say this.
I think we're going to spring for a hotel room if we do.
I agree.
Maybe for two nights even.
Yeah, that's right.
We'll have a little fun with that.
They're still doing senior night here at Fort Payne High School, Wildcat Stadium.
While they're doing that, let's take a one-minute timeout.
You're listening to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
We're back in 60.
Hey, guys, this is Mark down at Warehouse Tackle.
So we offer the best fishing tackle and outdoor supplies in the Shoals area.
We're located on 417 East College Street.
Our phone number is 256-980-0951.
And you can find us on the web at www.warehouse-tackle.com.
Come and see us.
We're proud to be a sponsor of Florence Falcons football.
And we wish Coach Morrison and the team good luck to you in your season.
This is Miranda Haddock with the Florence Education Foundation.
We invite you to support our Friends of the Foundation campaign.
As a friend of the foundation, you can contribute any amount to help fund classroom needs in Florence
City schools.
Please visit our website at FlorenceEducationFoundation.org
to explore our new giving levels and the added perks available.
We would like to wish Coach Morrison and the entire Falcon football team good luck this season.
Welcome back to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
We're about 15 minutes away from kickoff of Florence and Fort Payne on a Thursday night special
to end the regular season.
KJ and the crew, glad to be with you here at Wildcats Stadium.
On the other side of the state.
And again, thank you to our good friends at Garner Pierce Auto for giving us a good ride
over, taking care of us as well.
Let's look at potential starting lineup for the Florence Falcons defense.
Up front, it'll be A.J. Dixon at one defensive tackle position.
He's a junior, 5'9", 240.
He'll be joined by Nate Pride on the other side, 6'2", 60.
And those two guys going around, Jaden White, Mike, we don't talk about them enough.
They do a really good job of, well, just causing havoc, too.
They certainly do.
It's easy to key on one guy if the other guys aren't strong, but it's hard to key on three guys.
And each and every play, those guys are a disruptive force in the backfield.
And they do a great job.
And Jaden White, obviously, he's the one that gets a lot more attention.
However, those guys do a phenomenal job on that defensive line.
And Jaden White is the nose guard at 6'3", 275, a junior.
By the way, before I finish the rest of this whole defensive lineup, potential starting lineup,
I want you to know we're on the visitor's side.
In the visitor's press box, it's a nice little setup.
It's not – the home side is bigger a little bit over there, obviously,
but they fix it up where we can all be together.
Our coach is to our right, and we're here to our left.
So, looking forward to a good night tonight.
On the linebackers, there's four good ones out there.
Jaden Martinez, number 32, 5'10", 170-pound junior.
He'll get the start at one side.
Austin Klotzbach will get the start at the other, 6'2", 205-pound senior,
whereas number 22 had an incredible game last week.
And then the two middle linebackers, Bo Burski, number 26, 6'1", 205, a senior.
And Jaden Irons, number 23, a 6'2", 215 senior.
Mike, I've said it all year long, I would go roping with those two any day
because those two are really catalysts for this team.
They certainly are.
They've done it at a very high level for the last two seasons,
and really it's one of those where you're sitting there and watching
while they are – while they're seniors
and they're playing their last games at the high school level,
just watching the young guys underneath them learn from them
and do the things that they're doing.
The future is bright, but those guys have done just a phenomenal job.
Dez Brown will be the cornerback.
He wears number two, 5'10", 175-pound senior.
London Pettypool will be on the other side.
Wears number 12, 5'8", 140 pounds.
Small kid, but he can get after it.
Made big plays.
And Jaden Allred will be in there a lot, too.
You'll hear his name as well.
Safeties, we'll have Landon Rayner in there, 6'165", a senior.
Wears number 15.
And Otis Sistrunk, junior.
Otis, my man, is 6'1", 210.
He is a hitter.
He's a thumper.
He'll find you, and he will light you up if you're not looking.
And I'll guarantee you, Caden Ward will play some at safety, too, tonight.
5'11", 160-pound senior.
So, that's your potential starting lineup for the Florence Falcons tonight,
which is a really good starting lineup there for that defense.
We always talk about this Falcon defense and all they do, but, Mike, when it really comes
down to it, it's really about getting off the field on third down, making sure you win
the money down.
That is something Florence has got to do from here on.
Absolutely.
You know, just being able to get off the field and win your guys extra possessions is definitely
an important factor in any game.
But, you know, and really getting off the field the third down just so that you don't have
to play another whole set of downs, you know, that defense wearing out in that second half
is, you know, is a thing.
If you run enough plays, you can wear some guys out.
So, getting off the field in third down is super important so that you don't have to get
battle-weary towards the end of the game.
John McDaniel, this is a game where Florence already has everything in the bag, knows where
they're going in the playoffs, won the region championship.
You can put a few extra things on film for future opponents to have to watch tonight.
You can throw some wrinkles in there just to make somebody look.
You could.
You could absolutely, you know, things such as like the swinging gaiting on the PATs to
make them have time to look at.
Maybe a few odd formations that you don't really plan on using.
But, as you said, make them have something to work on.
There's only so many hours in the week and each period or time that the players in practice
are focusing on something that's really not in a game plan.
It's time they're not working on things Florence will actually use.
It's a good time to put those on.
Good coaches will show it.
Maybe we start out in it and then shift our regular formation.
But just to give them some more eye candy.
Great coaches run the same plays out of lots of different formations.
Our guys have the ability to do that.
Jeffrey Jones is our sideline reporter.
He's right there, I think, around the 50-yard line.
JJ, you got to see our team a little bit down there.
What did they look like pregame?
How did they feel?
Were they pretty loose?
Yeah, they're really, really loose.
You know, it's kind of hard coming in two and a half hours.
Oh, there's train tracks right there.
I didn't realize that.
Coming in two and a half hours, they needed to get out and stretch a little bit.
They've been here for a while, though.
They got here a little bit early.
But, you know, it's one thing that they've gone to the locker room now,
but the locker room is a trek.
It is a long way away.
So, they're talking about possibly during halftime going and sitting in the end zone,
you know, on the far end zone on the far side.
And I remember the last time we had a locker room this far was at Thompson.
Thompson is in the gym, basically.
But, anyway, they built – Fort Payne has a new locker room over there in the north end zone,
but it doesn't look like they built enough to put the visiting locker room.
It's kind of a competitive advantage on their part.
And, J.J., it's a turf field and really nice weather tonight.
It is very nice weather.
I brought my big winter coat just thinking that I was going to freeze down here,
but a little bit of a breeze.
But, you know, I think this mountain kind of helps shield a little bit of the real wind.
You know, when we got here, the first thing we were looking at is these mountains in the distance.
And we saw a house up there at the top of the mountain.
Well, now it's the only thing I can see up there is that one house at the top of that mountain over there.
But it's a great environment, great facilities.
They've done well.
They really have.
Back to you.
By the way, as the train comes through, as the train comes through here –
It's a fast train, too.
It's a fast train flying through here.
It makes me think of the head coach of Florence Falcon, Kenny Morrison, his dad, Mr. Tommy Morrison,
who's always a big supporter there along with his nephew, Ben, all the games and been there.
And one of the things I think about Mr. Morrison has been saying all along was keep that train a-rolling.
Keep that train a-rolling.
Maybe that's a sign with that train rolling through here for the Falcons.
Let's keep that train a-rolling one more time as we go into the playoffs
and try to get to 9-1 on the season.
That would be a huge stat for this Florence Falcons team.
This Fort Payne team is 3-6 on the year.
Florence is 8-1.
So, again, new territory for Fort Payne to have a losing season.
Florence, also a little bit new territory.
It's been 12 years since the Falcons have had a region championship.
Our stat of the week, as always, brought to us by our good friends at Chick-fil-A.
If you haven't tried the waffles and chicken yet, you need to try it.
It's really good.
You'll enjoy it.
I promise you we appreciate them helping us with the stat of the week.
I'm going to take it and run with it, though.
I'm going to throw a little curveball to you guys because I stole everything
from John earlier, and he's like, man, that was my stat of the week.
So, I apologize to John for stealing the stat of the week.
But I'll throw another one.
Florence has never played at Fort Payne, but a Florence City school has played
at Fort Payne.
And only two games have been played between Florence City schools
and against Fort Payne, and it was the Bradshaw Bruins.
They actually opened the season both years in 1996 and 97, one of those games
with an overtime loss to Fort Payne at home, I believe.
But here on the road, if I'm not mistaken, Bradshaw won that game,
so they split in that series.
And I actually came down for that game, and I remembered how much I loved this
stadium.
And, you know, Mike, we sort of talked about it.
It's just a cool little stadium.
Once you get here, we turn around and say, you know, this is a neat little
high school stadium.
This is a great setting for high school football.
You know, just the entire atmosphere.
I mean, you know, you have nice facilities here, which is very helpful.
A big jumbotron, some beautiful LED lights.
But, you know, with the mountain backdrop and just, you know, the vibrance
of this city going on, it's definitely a neat place.
It is.
The Falcons team left early, got down here.
I think they ate lunch, dinner, excuse me, I should say, in Scottsboro
before coming over to Fort Payne.
And they're wearing their road white uniforms, white pants, blue helmets.
Won't have to do that next week.
They'll be at home at Brawley Stadium on Friday night in the first round of the
playoffs.
So it's good to see them coming out as captains well and getting ready here in a
few minutes.
They haven't played the national anthem yet, so I've been stalling a little bit
for that.
But I'll tell you what let's do.
Let's pause for a one-minute timeout.
You're listening to TNT Fireworks.
Post-game show of, a pre-game show, I should say, excuse me, Florence Falcons
football.
We're back.
We'll make it in three minutes.
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This is Congressman Robert Adderholt.
Serving the people of Alabama's 4th Congressional District is truly the honor of my life.
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I'd be honored to have your vote on November the 3rd.
I'm Robert Adderholt, and I approve this message.
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Welcome back to the TNT Fireworks pregame show.
Kevin Johnson, the crew, glad to be with you.
Captains are about to meet at midfield.
Captains for Florence tonight are John Carter Goolsby, Austin Klotzbach, Hiram Betts, and
CJ Bolden.
They're making their way out there.
I want to go to John McDaniel real quick.
John, we want to congratulate the cross-country team for Florence High School.
Yeah, the junior varsity boys and girls teams won first place in sectionals this afternoon in
Decatur.
They will be moving on to the state meet later on, but congratulations to the boys and girls
cross-country and to my niece Reese placed in the top 12 in her group.
So, congratulations, guys, and good luck.
Jeffrey Jones?
We're going to go some good sportsmanship while we're out here.
Okay?
Florence, you're the visiting team, so I'm going to let you call a toss.
I got a tails and I got a heads.
Heads and a tails.
Make the call.
Heads.
The call is heads.
Okay, here we go.
And it is a heads.
Florence, you've got one to toss.
What do you want to do?
Defer.
Okay.
Stand right here.
Here you have it.
Florence has won the toss.
They will defer.
The 10th game of the season, a chance to make history and go 9-1.
Florence Falcons football returns in 30.
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Now let's go to the press box for tonight's game.
Here's the voice of the Florence Falcons, Kevin Johnson.
On an absolutely perfect night for high school football,
here come the Falcons with the big blue band playing the fight song,
wearing the road white uniforms, blue numbers, blue helmets,
on the road at Fort Payne to try to go 9-1 for the first time in school history.
Mike Albertson, let me ask you this.
What is the key for Florence tonight?
I think just doing what you do.
Every rep matters, so doing the best you can to win each and every down,
no matter who's in that game, is most important.
John McDaniel, what do you want to see out of this Falcons team early on?
I want to see our guys come out and be sharp.
A good team comes out and puts the hammer down on a team that they should be.
They get their work done quick, and they get out of the game.
That's what I want to see the Falcons do.
Jeffrey Jones, your key for Florence tonight.
Stay ahead of the chains, you know, and get out to an early lead.
I mean, you know, if things go like we think they will and how they should go,
we should get a lot of players from playing time.
But we'll see how that's easier said than done sometimes.
Florence will be kicking off from the right to left as you listen to us.
We're on the visitor's side.
They'll be kicking towards the Wildcat Stadium scoreboard here at Fort Payne.
Back deep, one of the guys is Eli Goggins.
Goggins had an 88-yard touchdown return on a kickoff last week,
so we've got to keep an eye on him.
Parker Greenhall will have the rights to do it.
It's a black helmet, black jersey, gold pants night for Fort Payne.
All white for Falcons.
Let's get game 10 underway, and here we go.
Greenhall will kick it high and deep, and Goggins will catch it at the 5.
Comes up the seam, tried to go to the left.
Head of the 15 and going knocked down right at the 19-20 yard line.
We'll give them the 20, and that's where Fort Payne will have it first and 10
when we get started.
Let's pause for station identification.
This is Falcon football.
The voice of the Florence High School Falcons.
WYTK-FM.
Rogersville.
Athens.
Decatur.
The Shoals.
93-9.
The score.
Fort Payne will have it first and 10 at the 20 against the Falcons
as they get set in shotgun formation.
Two backs in the backfield will include Boggs and Adams.
Caden Adams has been a really good running back.
He'll go in back motion behind him in pistol formation.
I'm going to leave with Adams off the left side, looking for running room,
and got a little bit to the 23-24 yard line.
Give him a pick up about five to the 25 before he stopped by a couple of Falcons there.
But too much on that first play right there.
A little too much push.
A little too much push.
You know, a little slow off the ball to start.
You know, this game, you know, Fort Payne did a great job of getting their edge out there
and really making it to where they got a nice solid gain of four yards.
One back in the backfield is Adams.
Two or three wide receivers.
We'll have to keep an eye on them.
They rotate wide receivers left and right.
This time going to leave it again right up the middle.
Has a little runner into the 29 and close to the first down marker.
I think they'll have enough to move the chains.
That'll be a five-yard gain right there.
So back-to-back five-yarders.
And that'll move it for a first down.
30.
31.
Oh, they're going to move it back.
Okay.
Well, he didn't have the 20 then.
He gets to the 30, but it's 31.
Thank you for correcting me there, J.J.
Third and a short one.
Adams will stay at tailback.
Actually, they go under center now with the quarterback, Vincent, at 6'3", 170, a junior
with three backs in the backfield.
He'll have Bassett, the tight end, to his right.
Going to give it to the back off the right side and got the first down that time
as he brings down to the 35-yard line before Sistrunk and Rayner make the tackle.
And so far, Mike, five yards.
Five yards and five yards.
That's not what you want to see.
It's definitely not what you want to see.
But, you know, maybe Fort Payne saw a little bit of what Austin was doing,
and they're just going to line up and just lean on our defensive line all this first quarter.
Just underway.
No score.
Two backs in the backfield with the quarterback.
We'll try to keep that well back there right now.
Bentley Webb.
Quarterback, Vincent, gets it.
Going to leave it with his back off the right side.
This time he goes nowhere because Bo Burski caught him.
He made me, well, he pushed forward and still got pushed forward.
He made something out of nothing.
The line kept pushing.
Nobody helped Burski.
And they pushed him all the way out for about four or five yards.
Jeffrey Jones, that was bad for Florence right there.
They should have had him for no game.
Yeah, and the coaches are letting him hear about it.
We shouldn't be giving up that, especially when all they're doing is pushing the foul.
These guys are not better than us.
We've got to get our defense dialed in right here.
A little wake-up time for Florence right here.
Daugherty will go wide to the left on the second-down play.
Again, the back off the left is Adams.
Has a little runner in, put to the 43.
Got the first down.
He drags the defender across the 45 to the 47.
Irons will make the tackle.
I wouldn't be surprised if Kenny Marson might not waste a timeout in a minute
and wake this defense up.
Right now, it doesn't look good.
Somebody's got to wake them up.
They're really getting slow up off the ball,
and they're getting pushed around up front, which we very rarely see.
But it looks like they're just going with a power run game
that we're not really dealing with quite well just yet.
First and 10 at the 48.
Just underway, no score.
Three wide outs for Fort Payne.
Two backs in the backfield for the quarterback, Vincent.
This time, Vincent again, right up the middle.
Big running rim across the 50 to the 45.
Rayner has to make the tackle.
Gain of seven as Adams continues that.
And where's the Florence defense?
Actually, check that on that run, by the way.
That was a run by number five, Elijah Boggs, 5'11", 185, junior.
And Boggs is a very similar body type to what we saw Austin running,
you know, through, what was it, Aiden?
I forgot his last name.
Aiden Davis, yeah.
Right.
You know, that kid gave me nightmares, so I just tried to forget it.
One back in the backfield with the quarterback, Vincent,
on the second down and three play.
And I'll bring two back in the backfield.
It's a slide.
Goggans back there with him.
Goggans is going to get it off the left side looking for room.
He slipped down and fell down, but he had plenty of room to go,
but he gets no game, maybe even lost a yard.
But again, you know, from what I see, it's pushed the Falcons down the field.
The hole was there.
If he didn't slip, you know, that was a first down for sure.
And these holes aren't just tiny holes.
They're pretty, pretty large holes.
And, you know, it's pretty concerning watching it the first several plays of this game.
Right now, Falcon defense needs to wake up on this Thursday night.
Falcon fans trying to help them out here with the cowbells going.
It's third down and four to go.
The big blue band trying to make some noise here.
Two backs in the backfield.
Going to lead with Adams off the left side.
Scoots out.
Got the first down across the 40 to the 38 to the 37.
That's the first down.
So a big first down there.
We'll move the chains again.
And Kenny Morrison really not happy with his defense.
And I believe the timeout has just come from Coach Kenny Morrison.
We'll do the same.
No score, 749.
Falcon football returns in 30.
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Welcome back to Florence Falcon football, 93-9.
The score of Thursday night special.
Kevin Johnson and the crew, glad to be with you.
749 to go in the first.
No score, but Mike Albertson,
Fort Payne has just marched it down the field on Florence with ease.
Ease is a wonderful word there.
Coach Morrison definitely called the timeout
just based on the lackadaisical effort of his defense thus far.
But they're really just getting bullied up front, plain and simple.
We can't say much more about it.
Two backs in the backfield for the shotgun quarterback.
Vincent wants to pass this time.
Looking.
The left-hander wants to fire down the middle of the field.
Got a man out there.
Can he get to it?
He will.
Touchdown.
Goggins will bring it in.
And just like that, Fort Payne strikes first.
Wanting to try to knock off the number nine ranked team in the state of Alabama.
They lead it 6-0, pending the extra point.
Well, if Florence didn't have a wake-up call before then,
you know, just coming ahead of the timeout,
going from run, run, run, run, run,
to then pass it, you know, 40 yards over the top,
is just definitely one of those daggers there.
If we don't wake up after this one, buckle up,
because it's going to be a long one.
Extra point attempt coming for Fort Payne.
Their kicker is Adrian Vega, a right-footer.
Goggins to hold.
Falcons might have been a little early.
Kick is on the way, and the kick is good.
Let's check the penalty.
It will be against Florence.
The kick will stand, and it's 7-0.
Fort Payne with the early lead.
Falcon football is back in 30.
Getting the kids to practice on time.
Remembering if it's your day to bring snacks.
Making it to the game with a clean jersey.
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Back here at Fort Payne High School,
TNT Fireworks pregame,
we talked about Florence come out and start strong.
It was actually Fort Payne that come out and started strong.
That last drive from our statistician, John McDaniel.
Kevin, four minutes and 11 seconds for the time of possession.
It was nine plays and covered 80 yards.
Of course, finished with that 35-yard touchdown pass.
Vincent to Goggins for the touchdown from 35 yards out.
And Fort Payne on senior night comes out,
strikes early 7-0, back deep for Florence.
I see pretty sure back there maybe, yep,
Tripp Morris and also it's going to be
Goolsby back deep standing at the five-yard line.
Vega will kick it away.
But I've seen this before, Mike,
where a team come on the road like this
and nothing to lose at home
and they say, you know what, this is our Super Bowl
and they come out playing like it early on.
They certainly did.
And, you know, look, again,
we've said it a million times,
senior nights are special nights,
not only for the Falcons,
but for other teams sometimes.
And they're looking like they're about to start,
you know, start shocking some of the people
in this state with this football.
I'd be alert if I'm Florence here.
Sky kick to the sideline.
Sullivan had it.
We'll look at it and catch it right at the 30-yard line
and hit hard and knock down there.
Got hit real big, but he's okay and held on to the ball.
But right now, all the momentum in the black and gold.
That's one of those situations right along the sideline there.
Let it go out of bounds.
Yeah.
That's a, you know, that's one of those moves
that, you know, he just kind of hung himself out to dry there
by catching that ball.
And that defender running full speed, he had no chance
and just took a big hit for no reason.
Braden Gatlin on the big hit.
So first and 10 for Florence.
Two backs in the backfield.
Ja'Kylan Williams will be joining Carson Johnson
with quarterback Costin Mahan with two wide outs.
Three wide outs, excuse me.
Going to lead with Carson off the right side, left side.
Looking at it and have a whole lot of rim.
Gets maybe two to the 32-yard line.
Flag on the plate.
And a flag on a play in the area of holding.
A little extracurricular there, too.
Saw from a couple of players, including the defensive player of the week
for Fort Payne last week, was Baron Sanderson pushing a little bit.
But you are on the road, and Falcons get called for a hold early on.
And Jeffrey Jones, we might need to get the alarm clock set for this Falcon team.
Yeah, it's that time.
You know, down 7-0, but we still got plenty of time to play.
I think we'll get it together.
7-24 to go in the first.
The 10-yard penalty will make it first down and 20 to go.
Two back still for Mahan.
Wants to pass.
Has time.
Sets up in the pocket.
May go deep down the middle.
Trying for Goolsby and couldn't get to it.
Tipped away.
Goggins in defense got his hand on it, and it brings up second down and 20.
Yeah, it's kind of interesting watching this team that has three wins on the year
talk trash each and every play.
It's kind of – you could see who wants it more right now.
Let's just put it that way.
They are playing like this is their Super Bowl for sure.
Second down and 20.
Elliott will go wide right along with Green and Goolsby.
So, three wide outs to the right.
One back in the backfield will still be the Carson Johnson
on this second and 20 play against a four-man front.
Now the Falcons will shift Boyd to the left.
Going to leave with Johnson.
No one to pass.
Throw it down across the middle and incomplete.
Went through the hands too high for Elliott, and it brings up third down.
Boy, I think if he'd given it to Carson Johnson,
he might have had some running room over here,
but he ran the read option and threw it across the middle.
I mean, either way they had it.
That ball was delivered a little high.
Tough ball for the receiver to bring down.
But the reality was is that lack of execution.
Now makes it third and 20, and this is just not a high percentage play here.
Mays and Sullivan Haddock will join four wide receivers.
One back in the backfield is still Johnson on the third down,
and most of Fort Payne to go at their own 20-yard line.
They have to touch the 40.
Down 7-0 are the Falcons.
Straight drop.
Mahan looks left.
Now has time.
Now he's in trouble.
Gets rid of it down the left sideline, going for Kevontae Green.
He goes up and couldn't bring it in.
There was a lot of hand fighting, but I never saw a flag.
That is unbelievable.
They were grabbing him and pushing him right on the Florence sideline,
and welcome to Fort Payne.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, we're two for two on interesting calls right off the bat,
but the reality is our execution wasn't there either.
So, you know, while we aren't doing ourselves any favors, you know,
the officials certainly aren't going to be either.
So, we've got to really get down to executing well,
and we're not doing that right now.
I think on those guys they were saying both were fighting with each other,
and that's what I think the referee was calling.
Greenhall to boot it away.
High snap.
They come after.
He gets rid of it.
Low kick.
Goggins is going to let it hit.
Bouncing around the 50.
Down to the 45.
It takes another little bounce down inside the 40 to the 39.
We'll take the big roll.
Florence trails at 7-0 with 6-39 to go here in the first quarter on the road.
And Jeffrey Jones, we've talked about this Falcons team,
all they've got to do.
Right now you can't go down two scores if you're Florence.
No, defense is going to have to prove why they are who they are.
You know, it's one of these things we haven't gotten out manned really with athleticism.
It's just, you said it earlier, they just look like they want it more right now.
Fort Payne will have Monty will come in wide receiver to the right.
I have one to the left will be Goggins.
One back in the backfield.
It's Adams still.
Going to leave with Adams up the middle.
Cuts for arch.
Spins.
Got to the 43.
Gave him about four or five before the Falcons pushed him back.
Too much, too much ground that he gets before the Falcons even touch him.
Right.
The push up front just isn't there right now.
And we're not able to really have even the linebackers fill the gaps properly right this second.
They're just a step slower than we're used to seeing them, that's for sure.
Second down and four at the 45-yard line.
Fort Payne leads at 7-0 and already got it with a second and four.
Pistol formation.
Again, going to give it the back off the middle.
And that's Adams and pushes forward and got the first down across the 50 all the way to the 48 of the Falcons.
Just leaned in and pushed forward.
And Adams at 170, 5-10 gets a big push there.
But let's check it.
There's a flag there, Kevin, thrown right in the backfield.
He said holding against.
Face mask.
Face mask against Lawrence.
Okay.
He's faced away from us with a face mask to be added on.
Hands to the face.
Will that be a 15-yarder or a five is the question.
They're going five.
They're going 10.
Oh, we're 15.
We're 15.
All the way inside the 35-yard line.
Whoa.
To the 34.
So, it was from the place where the play ended, the 15-yarder will be added.
And 5.56 to go.
And right now, the train comes through.
And the train is coming through on Florence.
It's Fort Payne Wildcats football with a 3-6 record.
Two wideouts left.
One to the right.
Two backs in the backfield for Vincent, the quarterback.
He'll put his tailback behind him now.
And going to leave it off the left side.
And cut up at the 30.
And finally chop down to 29.
And that's Irons making the tackle.
As Elijah Boggs at 185, the junior running hard up the middle.
Gains about three or four.
They'll make it three-yard gain.
Second down and seven.
So, the Wildcats have come out and come out with a attitude.
And it's working so far.
Two to the left.
Daugherty is one of those.
Again, going to leave with this big back in the middle.
And that time, Martinez comes up and catches him right at the line of scrimmage.
Only a gain of about one.
Brings him down at the 27-yard line.
Martinez has quietly become a really big player for Florence this year.
He certainly has.
Working along the outside there, he's really done a great job
and made some big impact plays here for this defense.
Third and five for Fort Payne.
147 to go in the first.
The Wildcats leave Florence 7-0.
Falcon fans trying to encourage.
It's a small crowd here trying to encourage this Falcon team.
Three wide outs for the quarterback, Vincent.
He brings a man in motion.
That's Goggins to the right.
Goggins will stop now.
And they're going to leave with the back off the left side.
And Adams got a little running room there.
Excuse me, Davis.
Adams, excuse me, still pushing around the 25.
They finally blow the whistle.
He'll be short about three yards as they stop him at the 25-yard line.
Jeffrey Jones, you've got a better look.
Is it about two yards to go?
Yeah, it's going to be about fourth and one and a half.
Okay, so they'll give him all the way to the 24.
He's got a good spot, as you would expect.
Fourth and one, the ball on the left hash going in.
And this is a big play for this Falcon defense.
This is a huge play for the Falcon defense.
We've yet to really get in the backfield and disrupt what they're doing.
Again, giving the inside, and I don't think he got it.
He did not.
He didn't get it.
That time, the Falcon defense, Irons comes up big, made the play.
Depending on the mark, they gave him a great spot.
Oh, my goodness.
The spot is incredible.
That spot was a yard ahead of where it was supposed to be.
And we're going first down.
And they're going to say first down.
Jeffrey Jones, are we blind up here, or does it look like we got him behind the chains?
No, I mean, it was – everyone saw where the kid went down, and, I mean, we had him stop.
This – that – you don't see that often.
Yes, we do.
On the road, you do.
Caden Adams gets the first down, and now the tailback will be Boggs.
Three wideouts to the right, one to the left.
At the 22 of Florence.
Goggins will come in motion to the backfield.
Long count.
Going to give it to Goggins off the left side.
Fumble the ball.
Ball on the ground this time.
Still fought for it.
I think Goggins got it back at the 30.
That might be the break Florence needed right there to get him behind the chains, Mike.
Yeah, I mean, the – on the handoff kind of little miscommunication, it looked like, you know,
that was one of those RPOs.
But, you know, as he was leaving the ball on the guy's hip, the guy was cutting up field.
So, he did not look for the ball.
Definitely break for the Falcons there.
About a seven-yard loss.
Wide receivers everywhere.
Now they've got a little odd formation.
They've got four to the left.
They've got one to the right.
A little odd formation here.
Trying a little wrinkle with no backs in the backfield.
Going to run the quarterback keeper up the middle to the 25.
Got hit at the 23.
Got good yardage.
Close to the 20-yard line.
He may have the first down.
He will.
So, the Falcons see something they haven't seen where linemen spread out different places.
No first down.
Kevin, I'm sorry about that.
Yep.
Back to the original line of scrimmage.
I was looking at the chain.
These chains are messing me up because they've got numbers on it.
And so, I couldn't see it.
So, it'll be third and nine.
Excuse me for that.
Third and nine at the 22.
Now, shotgun formation for Vinson.
Again, puts the man in motion to the right side.
He's going to run up.
He's going to inside and run the little gimme play under the legs.
Falcons are there.
Falcons get him at the 20.
He breaks hard to the 15.
He gets down around the 14-yard line.
Falcons read it, but he's still got six yards, but he's going to be short of the first down.
That was the old Woody play that Gus Malzahn ran where the quarterback put it under the legs of the back in front of him.
And he stood there for a second.
He went left when everybody went right.
So, Fort Payne throwing everything at Florence.
And they faced fourth and one.
But, once again, poor execution on tackling there.
You know, he broke a couple tackles there and got the extra yardage to make this a fourth and one.
We should have had that strung up way earlier.
Vinson under center.
Hard count.
Got the Falcons to jump.
Sure did.
And an easy first down.
So, that will move it to the 10.
And first and goal for the Wildcats who are celebrating leading 7-0 with 1-14 to go in the first.
And they've got visions of upset in their head.
The ball down at the nine-yard line.
On any given Friday night or Thursday night, anything can happen.
Goggins will go wide right.
Heavy set for the rest of them, though.
Three backs in the backfield.
A tee set under center.
Going to look to pass.
Wanted to throw it to Goggins.
One-on-one out here.
Goes up and he catches it.
Touchdown.
Goggins moved around the defender.
Found it.
Caught it.
And all of a sudden, Fort Payne leads at 13-0 with 55 seconds to go in the first.
And we have a big time upset in the making here for the Fort Payne Wildcats on this Thursday night.
Yeah, the Falcons just got beat on the outside there.
It was a one-on-one situation.
The quarterback just threw it up there.
And the wide receiver made a great play in the end zone for a Fort Payne touchdown.
Vega to attempt the PAT.
Goggins to hold.
And that time, jumping for Fort Payne a little bit.
But, boy, you can tell this Falcon team made the trip over here, but they are not all here yet
because I'm telling you, they haven't woken up on this Thursday night, and they're down 13-0.
A lot of game left to be played.
The penalty will push it back and make it a little difficult for the extra point.
But Goggins and Vincent hook up for two touchdowns in the first quarter
to give the Wildcats a big lead early on.
Good snap this time.
The kick is on the way, and the kick is good.
New score, Fort Payne 14, Florence 0.
Don't go away.
We're back in 30.
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Back at Fort Payne High School, Florence Falcons on the road,
and the Falcons find themselves in unfamiliar territory, trailing 14-0.
That last touchdown drive, John McDaniel.
Not something we've seen from this Falcons defense.
Two long drives, 11 plays, 61 total yards,
five minutes and 43 seconds off the clock, KJ.
Get ready for the onside kick here.
They're throwing everything at Falcons right now.
Scoop kick again to the sideline.
And it's going to be a fair catch call for and taken by Haddock right there at the 35.
He let him go.
They don't blow the whistle.
He's down the left sideline to the 40 and knocked out of bounds.
I don't think they blew the whistle.
He gave a little half signal for fair catch.
But they did not call it, and Haddock will return it to the 34.
So, luckily, it bounced right up into his arms, and he goes down the left sideline.
That could get his kick started.
That was a good job by Haddock.
A little shaky job there by Florence by even letting that one bounce.
That was the design play to put it in between the two layers of Falcon players.
Once it hits the turf, it's kind of a gamble.
It's a scramble for both teams.
Luckily, it bounced right into Haddock's hand.
He ran along the soft line.
The white hat is all the way back here at the 30-yard line.
He's saying come back.
And I don't know.
Did he see it?
Nobody else has signaled him.
Well, first off, if it was going to be blown dead, it was a flag.
There's no flag thrown on the play.
I have not seen a flag thrown on the play.
If he saw that and called it on his own, it's the right call.
I'm not going to say it wasn't the right call, but there was never a flag thrown.
So once there's never a flag thrown, I think you've got to leave it there.
But they do have the – I mean, go ahead, KJ.
Kenny Morrison, he's right up the 50-yard line.
The officials are right in front of him about 10 yards, and they're discussing this.
But nobody threw a flag on this.
It is a five-man crew tonight.
Do they have the option, KJ, to change it before the ball is snapped?
That's the question, and I don't know the answer.
I mean, if they don't throw the flag and they're going to do this retro,
then I think you've just got to say you missed the call and go forward.
The Falcons are going to have it at the 34, but the White Hat was trying to put them at the 30.
But I think Florence is going to get it at the 34-yard line.
And I think that's what happened.
Jeffrey Jones, I think they just realized they missed it.
Yeah, they're just going to count their blessings and move forward.
Coach Elmore across the way not happy.
Johnson's the back in the backfield to the left of the shotgun quarterback, Mahan.
Johnson, look, no going to throw the pass.
Out pattern, complete.
Got it, complete at the 30-yard line.
Gain of about four right there.
Nice catch by Goolsby.
Brings it in.
Brings up second down.
We'll call it six to go.
Great job with the pitching catch there by Mahan and Goolsby.
Nice footwork there.
Delivered a beautiful ball.
Goolsby right along the sideline.
Nice catch to get a nice four-yard gain.
Forty seconds going to first.
Florence down 14-0.
Now the Falcons split out.
Mays wide, wide to the right.
And second down and sixth play.
Mahan going to lead with Johnson.
No one's to throw again.
Complete.
Got it right to six.
First down by Goolsby.
Check that.
That's Green who caught it right in front of the Florence bench and goes down to 21.
Yeah, there's a nice little play fake there by Mahan and Johnson being able to hit Green just beyond the sticks to get a Falcon first down.
So they're setting him up on these little quick hitches.
The hitch and go should be open in a minute.
Kevin, you were reading my mind.
Three wide outs.
One back in the backfield is Johnson.
This time Johnson's going to get it off the right side.
Break the tackle and stays on feet.
25-15 to the 10, to the 5.
They bring him up and he'll sling him down.
But he will get in the end zone.
Touchdown, Florence.
I believe it's the one.
They marked him at the one-foot line.
They said his knee hit.
I'm talking about a half an inch away.
With 11 seconds to go, Johnson.
I thought was in.
Everybody else thought he was in.
But they're going to mark him at the one-foot line.
What an individual effort there by Johnson.
He cut to the right.
Then he cut back to the left into the center of the field.
Then back, bounced it out onto the outside.
Just missed getting a touchdown there.
Mahan under center.
Sneaks it up and in.
It should be a touchdown waiting on the signal.
There it is.
Touchdown, Florence.
Everybody here said it.
And they're going to mark him down again at the one-inch line.
Unbelievable.
All the Falcon fans are just like, are you kidding?
That's the end of the first quarter.
They're still talking about it.
And the first quarter is in the books.
We'll have to go to the other end of the field.
Florence trails 14-0 but are knocking on the door.
This is Falcon football.
We're back in one minute.
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We're also glad to cheer on the Falcons as they celebrate milestone achievements as well.
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as Carbine Construction wishes you the very best this season.
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James Moody with a score update.
East Lawrence leading East Limestone 14-0.
Lexington leading Rogers 14-0.
Austin leads Bob Jones 14-0.
Hatton leading Central 7-0.
Up in Tennessee, Mount Pleasant and Loretta tied at 0.
Lawrence County leading James Lawson 7-0.
In Mississippi, Mattahatchee and Belmont tied at 6.
North Pontotoc and Tishomingo County tied at 7.
In college football, Florida Atlantic, North Texas tied at 10.
And the Panthers lead the Packers 3-0.
Thank you, James Moody, here at Fort Payne High School, Wildcat Stadium.
Florence finds himself down 14-0 after one.
But they are at the one-foot line, maybe the one-inch line.
I'm telling you, I thought they were in twice.
Johnson thought he was in.
Then Mahan thought he was in on the quarterback's knee.
But it will be second down and goal as we go to the other end of the field.
I truly, the first one, I give the benefit of the doubt.
The second one, I'm really curious as to what just happened there because I saw Mahan in there.
However, you know, look, you've got to deal with what's called out there.
And we've just got to execute.
The second down now, you've got three more opportunities.
If you don't get it in now, at this point, who cares?
Make it undeniable, as you said.
Take advantage.
Put it all the way in the end zone where no one can deny it.
And hold on to it.
That's the big thing.
Yeah, good point.
So the Falcons are about six inches away from getting it into the end zone.
The first score of the night for them.
Mahan will go under a center again.
Mahan will sneak it off the left.
Pushed in.
He's way in the end zone.
And even the officials all raised their hands.
Touchdown, Florence.
Well, yeah, Mahan had all six feet of his body across the goal line.
So that was very helpful.
But, yeah, they pushed him through.
And, you know, at this rate, you know, I think it's a wake-up call for everybody.
We're in the second quarter now.
There's no surprises.
You're going to have to be undeniable, as John just said.
Greenhall to attempt the PAT for Florence.
He has been great this season.
Gets that one up.
And that one is true as well.
And you score.
Florence trims it to 14-7.
11-54 they're going to have.
Falcons football return 10-30.
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Back at Wildcats Stadium, Kevin Johnson crew.
Florence trims it to 14-7.
11-54 to go on a one-yard score from Costa Mayan.
How long was that drive there, John?
Kevin, it was five plays, 34 yards total, just under a minute off the clock.
Really quick.
Sullivan had it with the big return on the kickoff return.
Greenhall's going to kick it up and deep.
Taken by Goggins at the nine.
Goggins looks at the 15-20 and hit and clip down right at the 23-yard line.
Boy, he got clipped and flipped right there.
And a big hit from Jekyll and Jones.
Knocked him down.
And one of our guys a little slow getting up.
Checking on him.
Maybe Roulette a little slow to get off.
So it'll be first and ten for the Fort Payne Wildcats.
Don't forget, Saturday, we will have the Georgia-Florida game here
on 93-9 of the score starting at 2.30 p.m.
Two backs in the backfield.
One right behind the quarterback in shotgun formation.
One to the right of Benson.
Straight drop.
Going to give it to his tailback.
And he has hit right at the 25.
Pushed forward to the 28.
Again, five, six yards.
A lot of more power than I anticipated on when I watch and film, Kevin.
A lot of push up front.
And our defense does not have an answer for it right now.
I mean, just following the playbook of Austin, just run it straight at us.
Second down and five.
Ten, excuse me, 11.22 to go.
The clock is hard to see on both sides really for me.
We're in a tight, tight box.
We can see, but it's a little tighter than you expect.
One back in the backfield.
Going to lead with his back again.
He hit the mile in scrimmage.
He spins off.
Gets across the 30 to the 31.
Jaden White was there, I think, waiting on him.
But he spins off White and gets a couple of bringing up what will be a third down and two.
Yeah, he was anticipating that hit by White.
He was spinning before White could even crouch down.
It was one of those where he just spun right off a white stackle
and was able to get a couple of yards to make this a third and two.
20 on the play clock.
They substitute this.
The Wildcats are 14.
Under center will go Vinson.
Vinson will have one back behind him.
Going to look, give it to the left side, right side, push forward, and hit and didn't get it.
He only got about a yard at that.
He did not get a yard.
They gave him almost a yard and a half on the far side.
They actually passed the 31 to the 31 and a half, bringing up a fourth and a half yard to go.
Well, depending on where they mark it now.
Now it's going to be fourth and one, and they're going to bring the punt unit in.
And just be alert here on the fourth and a yard and a half.
Hey, Kevin, our punt team just sprinted onto the field after our issues the last couple of weeks, getting on and off.
These guys were well-coached this week on how to get on.
North cut to punt it away, but you've got to be alert.
And Falcons are going to call timeout.
Somebody was short, not enough to get on the field.
Florence takes their second timeout.
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We're back in 30.
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9.54 to go on the half.
Florence trails Fort Payne 14-7, but the Wildcats face the fourth and long one
at their own 32-yard line.
They'll bring the punt team in.
The up back is Webb.
He's a pretty good athlete.
And the punter there is Northcutt.
Be alert to anything.
Wildcats have nothing to lose.
There's the fake right off the right side.
Looking, got the first down.
No, I don't know.
It depends on the mark.
He's going to be, I think, about a half-yard short, depending on the mark across the way.
Florence's offense is starting to think they got the ball.
Florence's special team is in us.
And it's first down for Florence.
White hat.
First down Falcons or first down?
First down who?
Wildcats.
Fort Payne.
Fort Payne gets a first down across the way.
This is unbelievable.
That was stopped at the 32, and they would give him the 33-and-a-half.
33-yard line.
So, the mark's not going the Falcons' way.
And here's their frustration.
Jeffrey Jones, there's frustration on the sideline right now.
They're going to have to do it and take it out on the field.
Yeah, as there should be.
You know, we probably should have.
We played it well.
I mean, they only got a yard at most.
But things are going well for them right now, that's for sure.
So, the fake punt gets a first down to the 33.
You know, you've got to be alert on games like this.
They're going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at us.
Going to give it off to the tailback.
Looking off the right side and hit finally at the 37.
Brought down there.
Big hit.
And so, he's brought down after a game of about three or four.
Sistrunk came up and introduced himself to the big tailback, Caden Adams.
It was a great job by Sistrunk coming up and making that hit undeniable.
You know, at this rate, you know, you can't worry about the officials.
You've got to keep playing each and every play and winning that play.
And Otis did that very thing on that first down play.
So, second down, we'll call it six to go.
Two to the right.
Now, three to the right.
One's at the tight end slot.
So, there's really four receivers to the right side.
One back behind the quarterback.
Going to give it with his back again.
And Adams is hit this time and driven back by three Falcon players
as they bring him back and knock him down.
Ball's out.
Whistle blown.
It was whistled.
The spot.
I always look now at the spot.
The spot here is at the 37 by this official on this side.
So, no gain.
It should be third down and about six yards to go.
Much better.
It was a great job by the Falcons to really plug up those holes
and really drive the runner back.
That's the first time that we drove the runner back all game so far.
And if this defense is starting to wake up, you know, whether it be a faulty spot or not,
as long as they're here and they're competing at this rate, they've got to answer the call at this point.
This play's big.
They bring in some more wide receivers.
They'll have one back in the backfield.
That's Boggs for two backs in the backfield now.
Man will go in motion.
It's Goggins to the right.
Before the snap, timeout taken by Fort Payne.
We'll do the same.
7.52 to go here, or 7.25 to go here in the second quarter.
Florence trails at 14.7.
We're back in 30.
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Go Falcons!
Welcome back to Florence Falcons football Thursday night special.
KJ and the crew with you.
Florence trails Fort Payne 14-7.
The Wildcats came out and put two touchdowns up in the first quarter.
Florence answered back in the second quarter.
Now the Wildcats face third and six at the 37-yard line.
They got two backs in the backfield and three wide receivers for the softball quarterback,
Vinson.
Lane Vinson looks over a four-man front.
Need to get some pressure on him right here.
Brings a man in motion to the right side.
Vinson played up.
Going to give it to his back.
Goggins, who's trying to push out around side.
He's brought down from behind.
He's not going to get it.
Brought down around the 37-yard line.
Should bring fourth down and about four to go.
Good job by the Falcons of really staying in their gaps on that D-line.
That zone read, they really ran to the side, and everybody held their gap, and Maiden had
nowhere to go.
Well, they faked a punt earlier.
It's actually no gain, so it'll be fourth and six.
The Falcons have gotten safe on the defense now.
They're just going to leave their defense out and put Gouldsby back to return the kick.
Northcote will get it and boot it away.
Gouldsby calling for the fair catch signal, and will take it at the 27-yard line.
And Florence will have it 73 yards away from tying this one up, maybe, with 6.42 to go here
in the first half.
And, Mike, I feel like maybe the momentum is switching a little bit back to the team
that's 8-1 on the season.
Well, the 8-1 team better, you know, better remember that they're still on the road.
So just being able to execute with, you know, with efficiency and being able to march this
ball down to the field and be undeniable is really what the task at hand is.
You've got 6.42 left in this half, but the reality is that we need points here.
Kirkman, Elliott, Gouldsby wide to the right, I believe it is.
We'll double-check that.
The back is Johnson.
Johnson's going to get it.
Look, he's cut up in the middle.
Got him running around 40 to the 45.
One-man to make to the 50 to the 45.
He's got an angle on Dick Carson.
He stops and spins away but can't get away and knocked down to the 25.
A touchdown-saving tackle by Buffington, but there's Carson Johnson making a big run.
Yeah, that was a great job.
Big hole right up the middle.
Carson Johnson wound up, you know, just finding that hole with ease and then popping it to
the outside, and it became a foot race.
And, you know, while the defender had the angle, you know, it was just a great run to
flip the field there by Carson.
Three to the right.
Ball on the left hash.
One back in the backfield.
Still Johnson in the first and 10.
Johnson again cuts up the middle, found a little run, run to the 21-yard line down to
the 20.
Give him about four or five there.
Jeffrey Jones, it's good to see the Carson Johnson running like we've seen him run all
year.
Yeah, and he's just gotten so much better, you know, not that he didn't start off great
this year, but he's so much bigger now.
I think he's been working out throughout the whole season and just gotten real sharp with
his cuts and whatnot.
I mean, it's an exciting young man to see him run the ball.
That's for sure.
Kirkman wide left, Elliott wide right.
Blank in motion.
Johnson still the tailback on the second down play, and it's going to be Johnson again.
Cuts back to the left, got a little running room, pushed it up across the 15, and has
enough, I believe, close to the first down mark, depending.
I think they're going to call him about a yard short.
So third and one.
Third and one at the 15.
5.30 to go here in the first half.
Lawrence trails 14-7, but knocking on the door again.
Kevin, they changed it to first down.
Oh, they do, but they changed.
So I was looking at the chain gang who said he's a yard short, and the officials around
said, let's move it to chains.
First and 10 at the 15.
Johnson still the tailback.
Boyd will lead the block on this as Johnson right up the middle, couldn't get away that
time, only a gain of two.
Brought down a good tackle there by Fort Payne.
Making the play was Colin Wilson.
Colin Wilson is 6'1", 210, senior.
Defensive tackle.
It's not something we play against a lot.
A 210-pound D-tackle.
Second down.
We'll call it eight to go for the Falcons at the 13.
Trailing by seven here.
Midway second quarter.
Actually past that.
Driving at 447.
Johnson stays to the right of the quarterback, Mahan.
Watch for Goolsby here.
Going to leave it.
No throw.
There he goes.
Got it to Goolsby at the five.
He scoops it, catches it.
That's enough.
Should be right at the chains.
Jeffrey Jones, you have a better look.
Is it enough to get a first down?
It's going to be very close.
It's going to be third and maybe one.
Third and one.
Heavy defense coming in.
Power defense now for the Wildcats of Fort Payne.
21 on the play clock.
You can take your time here.
And I said, Tejada will be the fullback.
Johnson is the tailback on the third and one play.
Under center.
Gives it off to Johnson.
No, he's going to roll out.
Look to throw.
Then Mahan's going to keep it and get the first down and push far to the three.
He didn't want to risk it right there.
And he said, I'll go ahead and run it.
Mike, that was a smart play by the sophomore.
It certainly was.
The receiver, you know, was kind of flat-footed and backpedaling as he was going.
That wasn't going to be an easy catch and turn there.
And so, Costa made the wise decision and just cut it upfield to get the first down
and be able to give the Falcons an opportunity here for a touchdown.
At the three, Tejada will stay in at fullback.
One wide receiver to the left is going to be green.
The tailback is still.
Johnson under center is Mahan.
Going to look to run it.
Oh, it mixed up in the backfield and Johnson's caught at the five.
Mahan was looking to go one way.
Johnson was going another and will lose a yard or two back to the five,
bringing up second down and goal.
Yeah, the running back and quarterback kind of met shoulder-to-shoulder,
just square with each other, you know, and just at that point the stalemate goes.
He just handed it to Carson Johnson.
He was trying to get it back to the line of scrimmage.
I think he might have lost one.
You know, they go back to a regular defense when Florence takes the fullback out
and goes back to three wide receivers.
But Florence really just goes to two wide receivers.
We really got two tight ends right now.
Let's see if Falcons can run this thing in.
Second down and goal from the five.
Wants to throw the fade.
Going up for green.
Overthrew him.
Trying to get out there, but overthrew him by a good bit.
So it brings up third down and goal.
Sometimes that pass is a little rushed there,
and I know you're trying to get it up for your guy to make a play,
but that was way out.
Green had no chance to even get to that one.
Jeffrey Jones, I wouldn't mind seeing Johnson get another chance
to crack it to the end zone here.
Yes, high percentage play right there.
I mean, we trust him in either that or maybe a slant.
He may throw the same thing on the other side to the wide side.
This time on third and goal at the five.
Mahan's going to lead with Johnson cut up.
What a cut to the 3-2-1 touchdown.
Oh, what a cut by zero, and Carson Johnson puts the Falcons a point away
from tying this up.
That was a great job by Johnson.
He saw where he was trying to run.
It was kind of all stopped up.
You know, Fort Payne did a great job.
He stuck his foot in the turf and just turned it upfield,
found that little wiggle space, little wiggle room,
and found the end zone for a touchdown.
Mahan to hold.
Greenhalter tried the PAT.
Good snap.
Good hold.
Kick is up.
Kick is.
Good.
We're tied at 14 with 240 to go.
This is Stoppings Football.
We're back in 30.
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We're proud to be a sponsor of Florence Falcons football.
And we wish Coach Morrison and the team good luck to you in your season.
New score with 240 to go.
Florence ties it up at 14.
That last drive from our statistician, John McDaniel.
Nine plays, 73 yards, Kevin.
And it was finished with a four-yard touchdown run by DeCarson Johnson.
DeCarson already has over 80 yards rushing.
Greenhal to boot it away.
It's going to go to Goggins at the 10.
He catches it.
Comes back to his left.
Looking for run room.
Has some blockers out here at the 20.
Still gets room to the 30.
Down the sideline and knocked out of bounds at the 35.
Good play right there by coming up and making a play for Florence.
Actually, on that check, that is going to be Dez Brown making the play.
Knocking him out of bounds at the 35.
So, 231 to go, tied at 14.
Very rarely do you see a Falcon, you know, the Falcon special teams let up a run like that.
They allowed them to get to the outside edge there and just be able to run the ball up the field.
A little bit better starting position than we're used to having at the 35.
So, Vinson will bring his team out.
Caden Adams will be at tailback.
He'll have two wide out to the right, two to the left.
Going to lead with Adams off the middle.
He cuts back left.
Got a good little run across the 40 to the 42.
Give him about seven.
He broke a tackle right at the 35 and he just pushed forward for a seven-yard gain.
He hits the hole hard.
He certainly does.
You know, he definitely runs with authority and you're not going to be able to arm tackle him.
You're going to have to wrap him up pretty well.
Jeffrey Jones, the problem is when he hits the hole hard, the hole is wide open right now tonight.
Yeah, we were kind of lucky to get a hat on him when we did.
He hit it hard, hit it fast.
Second down and four to go at the 41 for the Wildcats.
Tied at 14.
Florence on the road at Fort Payne.
This time going to give it to the back off the right side and Adams pushes forward across the 40 to the 42.
He'll knock down at the 43.
It's going to be about a yard short of the first down with a minute 44 and 43 and counting.
Remember, Florence has used two timeouts.
Fort Payne has used one.
They'll actually make it two yards to go, third and two at the 42.
Boy, it would be a big opportunity, but you can't go to sleep here.
This is where they may play action and go for the big play.
Do not go to sleep with your Florence.
T formation going to give it to the back off the right side.
He pushes forward and he should have enough for the first down around the 45-yard line,
depending on the mark, and both officials mark him at the 45.
Should have been short.
He didn't get to the 45, but both officials immediately put him up at the 45-yard line,
and that's a first down.
It was already sort of going to happen.
Five-man crew, and they already said, we're going to move it forward.
Under a minute to go, though.
Now watch for the pass.
Vinson will have two backs in the backfield, three wide receivers.
Vinson looking to play action.
Wants to throw.
Pressure coming.
Now he's in trouble and just throws it away over to the sideline.
Incomplete.
Good job by Falcons right there.
I'm not sure if he was out of the pocket, but they're not going to throw the flag
and bring it up second down and 10.
Let's wait and see.
He had a receiver in the right, and he landed at a receiver's feet, so it should be okay.
Second down 10, 46.6 on the clock.
This Falcon defense, not only do I want them to play well here
and keep Fort Payne out of the end zone, I want to see this Falcon defense pick one off here,
make a play.
It's time to get a turnover.
Two backs in the backfield for Vinson.
Vinson this time going to give it with his back right up the middle,
and Goggins has hit right at the 47, 48-yard line.
Good job of the Falcons bringing him down there.
He brings up third down and seven, 36 seconds to go,
and it looks like Coach Elmore across the way might be content with a 14-14 tie
with a top-10 team right now, Mike.
Yeah, I mean, you would expect if he's trying to get the ball down the field,
he would move with some sense of urgency or maybe call some timeouts here.
It looks like they're just running the clock out.
I'm not a big fan of wasting time here,
especially when the Falcons get the ball back to start the second half.
This is not strategic.
Jeffrey, are you surprised as we are about him not going for it there
and just taking the time down?
Well, as far as the scoreboard goes, I'm a little surprised.
But, you know, the effort in the second quarter, we won the second quarter for sure.
Timeout on the field.
Falcons football tied at 14.
We're back in 30.
This is Miranda Haddock with the Florence Education Foundation.
We invite you to support our Friends of the Foundation campaign.
As a friend of the Foundation, you can contribute any amount
to help fund classroom needs in Florence City schools.
Please visit our website at FlorenceEducationFoundation.org
to explore our new giving levels and the added perks available.
We would like to wish Coach Morrison and the entire Falcons football team
good luck this season.
Back at Fort Payne High School.
Florence and Fort Payne tied at 14.
9.5 on the clock.
Fort Payne will have it right at midfield.
They're 52 yards away.
They have one timeout left.
They have wide receivers everywhere now, and he wants to pass.
Looking to give the smoke draw up the middle.
And that's going to be Adams hit the 50, gets across the 45,
and finally knocked down at the 41 with 1.1 on the clock at the 42.
And they'll use their last timeout.
Jeffrey Jones, thank goodness they don't have a McPherson
as a field goal kicker right now.
Yeah, I think we're safe there.
They're either going to throw it up right – well, they've got to throw it up.
Not a bad idea.
They call a timeout.
We'll keep it right here.
At the half, don't forget, we're supposed to have a special guest with us.
I think our Associate Athletic Director, Tim Bowens, if they made it down,
we're going to be with us at the half.
We're looking forward to having him with us.
He's on his way up.
Very good.
Florence, tied at 14 after an ugly first quarter.
They saw the Falcons down 14-0.
Mike, you've got to thank Hail Mary right here from the 42.
Yeah, you definitely do.
And, you know, in the huddle here on defense,
you're telling all your guys just to knock it down.
You know, wherever that ball is, get up in the air,
high point it, and knock that ball to the turf.
Just, you know, don't try to do anything crazy.
They're trying to get a touchdown here.
Yeah, do not take the cheese.
No underneath routes are going to matter.
Caden Ward checks in at safety as well.
He'll go back deep.
Cistron's still in.
They have four wide outs to the left, one to the right.
Vincent wants to throw.
Now he steps up.
He's going to go one-on-one down the sideline to the other side.
Throws it up there, and it's knocked away and incomplete.
And no flags, and that'll do it for one half of football.
Florence and Fort Payne, there's a battle for one half.
And at the end of the half, we're all tied up at 14.
You're listening to Florence talking football.
We're back in two minutes.
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The voice of the Florence High School Falcons, WYTK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shoals, 93.9, The Score.
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James Moody and the 93.9 The Score Studios with a score update.
East Lawrence leading East Limestone 21-10.
Muscle Shoals leading Huntsville 20-13.
Lauderdale County leads Ardmore 21-0.
Austin leads Bob Jones 21-0.
Marcia leading Deschler 7-0.
James Clemens and Spain Park tied at 7.
Hatton leading Central 14-0.
Lexington leads Rogers 14-0.
Phil Campbell leading Hackleberg 21-7.
Up in Tennessee, Mount Pleasant leading Loretto 6-0.
James Lawson leading Lawrence County 16-7.
In Mississippi, Manitachi is leading Belmont 14-12.
North Pontotoc leading Tishmingo County 14-13.
In college football, JMU is leading Troy 21-7.
Florida Atlantic leading North Texas 17-10.
And in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers leading the Green Bay Packers 10-6.
Now back to the stadium for the halftime show.
Thank you, James Moody, here on the TNT Fireworks halftime show.
Florence and Fort Payne in a battle tied at 14.
You never know what might happen on the road,
and if Florence has come over here to Fort Payne
and found a team that is saying this is our game,
we're going to make it like it's our state championship,
and they've played it like that in the first quarter.
But Florence bounced back, put 14 points up in the second quarter
and tied up here at the half, 14-14.
Kevin Johnson with you, voice of the Florence Falcons,
joined now by the Associate Athletic Director at Florence High School,
Coach Tim Bowens.
Coach, how are you doing tonight, my friend?
Good, Kevin.
Thank you all guys for having me tonight.
Man, glad to have you.
Is this your first trip to Fort Payne by any chance?
It is.
I'll tell you, I've recruited here one time before,
and I went into school.
I think it's changed a lot since I've been here.
It's changed a lot.
It looks like they're still building over there.
I'm telling you.
It's an impressive facility, an impressive place here
at Fort Payne High School.
And, Coach, when you talk about this Florence Falcons football team,
you've been there before as a player, as a coach.
Sometimes you just have one of those magical runs,
and they had that this season.
Oh, no question.
I'll tell you, really proud of what these guys have been able to do
and accomplish.
You know, it don't just start when we kick off the ball, right?
It starts in offseason, the spring,
all those things that take place before you get to here,
the discipline, the weight room,
all those things that you've added up, so to speak,
and now you're able to go and play.
So, that's what makes it so special,
those guys that have been with you this whole time.
And that's something they'll never forget over the years.
This is one of those, your senior year for these seniors,
don't never forget, man, what a season we had already.
Still a lot of meat left on the bone going into playoffs.
No question.
Lots of it.
I think that you take the approach of going 1-0 every week,
and every game is important.
You know, this game is important because it's the next one, right?
So, you know, you go out here and you go and execute
and make sure that you're doing the small things
because it's going to get – the margin of error gets even smaller
the further you go.
You know, this game tied at 14, a 3-6 Fort Payne team,
a proud tradition they have here, but not the season they used to.
But this is maybe a good thing for Florence
to have this happen to them tonight instead of maybe next week.
No question.
You know, that team over there is playing for pride right now.
I mean, they are laying on the line as if they don't want it to end,
and that's how they're playing, and we've got to play the same way
every snap, every play, no matter who's on the other side of the ball.
You know, I think the more we grow and growing as a program,
we've got to continue to instill that.
We're joined here by Associate Athletic Director Coach Tim Bowens
and Coach, a lot of different other sports going on right now as well,
fall sports.
You're on the road constantly.
You are going to watch games left and right,
but you've got to be proud of what you see on all these other sports.
Oh, no question.
We actually just came from across country today in Decatur and Point Mallard,
so we got here a little bit later than we wanted to get here,
but we got to see our girls running.
Our guys kicked it off as we were leaving
and just really proud of where they are and flag football and swim.
We're so young in swim right now and just in what they're doing.
And, you know, it's been a great start.
I mean, I think about our cheer.
I mean, they've done a heck of a job as well getting us kicked off as well.
So, and just a lot of things going on
and excited about everybody and their seasons
and how they've got the fall started out.
You mentioned flag football as well.
They'll have their first-round playoff game at home.
I think it's Tuesday night.
Tuesday, yes.
Pinson Valley comes down.
Do you know what time that's been said yet?
Five o'clock.
Five o'clock.
Yes.
So, fans can come be a part of that.
That is not at Brawley Stadium.
That is at Florence High School on the field behind the high school there.
So, come be a part of that.
Bring a lawn chair is what I would encourage you to do.
Please do.
And come and enjoy the game.
But it's been fun to see that inaugural season.
They've done a really good job with flag football.
They have.
Really proud of Coach Pell.
Coach, you know, Coach Miles was talking about that the other day.
She said, you know, I think that there's different programs
and you can see girls coming from point A to point B
and how much they've grown just in the hallways.
And just seeing them grow and do those things and make you proud
because, you know, who knows what they could be doing
if they're not playing flag football or any other sports.
So, just glad to see those girls continue to grow.
Coach, next week Florence will be at home for the first-round playoffs
in football here at Brawley Stadium against St. Clair County.
Home field is really important.
But, man, if you don't have that home field crowd, it doesn't matter.
How important is it to have the city of Florence come out and support these guys?
Oh, we need everybody in the city of Florence to come out.
I mean, come and support all of our athletics, but especially Friday night.
I mean, it's going to be a spectacular night.
We're looking forward to getting our guys out there and going to compete.
You know, obviously we've got to take care of business tonight.
But, man, we need all of Florence to be out there and support your Florence Falcons
because we are your team.
So, come out there and see us and see these kids.
Go compete.
You know, they go to your churches.
They go to your stores.
They go to all of the places that your business, you know, that you work at
or that you may own.
And these are our kids and the families, and we want to make sure we're supporting our band.
You know, I'm proud of this band who've done exactly their job and had some ratings
and just proud of everything they're doing for this team and, like I said, our cheer earlier.
But, you know, we need not just their parents, but we need the whole city to come out as well.
Well said by Coach Tim Bowens, Associate Athletic Director at Florence High School.
One last thing.
Basketballs are starting to go up and dribble around.
This season is going to start here in early November.
Both girls and boys teams are really going to be special.
Got a chance to be really good teams this year.
Yes.
You know, we're really looking forward to it.
We've been getting our facility ready for that, and as some people have seen,
we made some overall changes in our stadium at Raleigh,
and we had to get the flag football ready for competition so that they could play.
So now we're kind of in that phase of getting the coffee gym ready to go
and so our guys and girls can go out there and enjoy themselves
and not only enjoy themselves but get some wins and victories
and learn some life lessons and be champions.
Coach, aren't you glad it's not as cold as it was at Austin that night we were down there?
You know what, Kevin?
I'm glad you guys are not outside too, you know.
I mean, this is football weather.
I mean, this feels good tonight.
What a spectacular night for football.
I mean, you know, there's no rain, there's no wind right now.
I mean, this is really good.
So we're hoping for this next Friday night too.
I agree.
You start praying for us right now, okay, so we can get everybody from Florence out there.
No pressure, Coach, no pressure.
Coach, thank you so much for being our halftime guest
and continue to do a great job, and we welcome you again to Florence High School.
We're glad to have you, okay?
Thank you, Kevin.
Thanks for having me.
That's Coach Tim Bowens, Associate Athletic Director at Florence High School,
TMT Fireworks Halftime Show.
Florence and Fort Payne tied in a good one on the Thursday night special at 14.
We're back after this two-minute timeout.
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I'd be honored to have your vote on November 3rd.
I'm Robert Adderholt, and I approve this message.
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Back here on the road at Wildcats Stadium, Fort Payne High School.
Florence and Fort Payne tied at 14 as the Falcons come on the road
and took a shot or two from the Wildcats and found themselves down 14-0
but battled back in the second quarter to tie it up
and they found themselves in a dogfight, really a catfight with the Wildcats here.
And it's going to be tough for the Falcons.
They're going to have to wake up and try to win this game to go 9-1 on this season.
Our stats brought to us by our good friends at Chick-fil-A.
John McDaniel, I will let you take it away.
All right, thank you, Kevin.
As always, we'll start with the opposing team.
The home Wildcats in the first half, 156 yards of offense.
They had 29 rushes for 113 yards, 2 for 4 passing for 43.
They had 9 first downs in the half, 4 for 8 on 3rd down conversions,
a big one, 2 for 2 on 4th down conversions.
One penalty for 5 yards, no turnovers.
2 for 2 on the PATs, and 17 minutes and 47 seconds time of possession.
Falcons in the half, we had 107 yards of offense.
We had 10 rushes for 87 yards, 3 for 7 passing for just 20 yards.
We had 5 first downs in the half, 1 for 2 on 3rd down conversion,
and no 4th down attempts.
We had 3 penalties for 31 yards.
We had no turnovers, also 2 for 2 on our PATs.
And our time of possession, 6 minutes and 13 seconds.
Guys, that's 3 to 1 time of possession difference.
That's quite a drastic thing you don't see very often.
And we saw that in another game that the Falcons lost at Austin,
and they were down in the same way in time of possession.
And Jeffrey Jones has joined us up here in the booth.
And, J.J., if you don't have the ball, you can't score usually.
That's exactly right.
After that first quarter, I knew which game film they watched and paid more attention to.
You know, we had one possession until about 50 seconds left in the first half.
So, you know, two possessions technically.
We put it in and scored on the first or second.
A couple of plays into the second half.
It was definitely a painful thing to watch, watching them run it on us and keep it out of our hands.
We're going to have to combat that this half.
We're going to have to make some adjustments.
There's no doubt about it.
Again, they were, you know, Fort Payne took the opening kickoff and just pushed it right down the field.
80 yards, nine plays.
It was a 35-yard touchdown pass from Vincent to Goggins.
Made it 7-0.
They stopped the Falcons.
The Falcons had to punt it away.
And lo and behold, if they didn't do it again and go right down with 11 plays, 61-yard drive,
that's where they got the time of possession.
Florence only had it one time in the first quarter before they were down 14-0.
Again, it was Vincent to Goggins for a nine-yard score.
Florence, though, answered back on the first play of the second quarter
to cap it with a five-play drive, 34 yards after the big kickoff return from Sullivan Haddock.
One-yard sneak by Costa Mahan made it 14-7.
And then late in the first half, Carson Johnson from five yards out tied it up at 14
to cap a nine-play, 73-yard drive.
Mike Albertson is with us here.
I can only imagine at the half that Coach Kenny Morrison has had a few comments for his team
saying this is what playoff football will look like,
this is what you're about to see the next two weeks,
and we need you to show who you are in the second half.
Absolutely.
You know, this Falcon team got punched in the mouth a little bit.
They responded towards the end of that half.
But the second half, we're definitely going to want to see a different Falcon team coming out there
and really handling their business properly.
You know, this game doesn't mean much to us, you know, scoreable.
I mean, record-wise, you know, our playoff history is ahead of us.
It's not even – nothing will change here.
However, when it comes to Fort Payne, this could be their Super Bowl.
This is what they hang their hat on senior year.
You know, these players want to come out with a victory.
And so they're going to pull out all the stops.
We've already seen a couple trick plays, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more piled on top of each other
in that second half.
Don't forget the AHSAA scoreboard show on Friday night, tomorrow night, from 10 to midnight.
I'm giving you all the rundown of everything that's happening in high school football
as we end the regular season.
And then next week, playoff time, Florence is already assured of home game as the number one seed.
And the region champions, they will host St. Clair County.
The fighting saints will come for the first time to ever face the Florence Falcons.
And we need a big crowd at Brawley Stadium for that one.
That should be a big matchup.
And, you know, if nothing else, Mike, I said off the air, in a way, this might be good
that Florence had this happen to them in week 10 instead of in the first round of playoffs.
Oh, absolutely.
You know, but the problem is, is I said that, you know, after the game at Austin.
Maybe it was a good thing that we, that we took one in the mouth and, and really lost that one.
And we, I mean, we looked ahead pretty quick, didn't we?
Yeah, we really did.
And so being able to handle your business properly each and every play is, is kind of what we're,
what the task at hand is.
So being able to come around this second half, execute well, and get out of here with a W
so that we have some forward momentum and not a bad taste in our mouth as, as we host a game in,
in our own stadium.
We are listening now to the TNT Fireworks Halftime Show, Florence and Fort Payne, tied at 14.
We're back with you after this one-minute timeout.
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Getting the kids to practice on time.
Remembering if it's your day to bring snacks.
Making it to the game with a clean jersey.
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Lawrence Falcon football here on 93-9 of the score.
The TNT Fireworks halftime show tied at 14 with Fort Payne in a game much tighter than most people believe.
But Fort Payne on senior night, played like a bunch of seniors, come out, and a pretty senior-laden heavy team, many of them.
They had a lot of seniors out there.
And Jeffrey Jones, you saw that on the sideline.
It was a lot of seniors they recognized pre-game for Fort Payne.
You know, we were commenting on the sidelines.
We thought we had a lot of seniors.
They had more seniors than we do.
So that's a good thing, you know.
But they did, the reason why it took so long is because they were reading the name, the players' names,
their parents, grandparents, a bio since probably pre-K-3.
So, you know, when you do that, it tends to take a little longer.
We were, me and Sager were talking about it on the sidelines, you know,
how Carolina Oglesby had to sprint from the 30 or from the 20 all the way to the other side of the 20
during our senior night after the football players were spread out from about the 15 to the 15.
So, I expect us to come out in the second half and really take care of business.
You know, the team's coming out of the locker room right now.
And I want to interrupt you because we talked about, you know,
we're just going to go down here and stand in the end zone.
After the way we played in the first half, it was a locker room moment.
Yeah.
And he took them up the hill and said, let's go to the locker room and have a little chat.
And I think Coach Marson delivered a message to him.
Let's see if it was taken by this Falcon team, tied at 14.
Hey, guys, big day in college football on Saturday is the Florida-Georgia game.
Just real quickly, who do you like in that one played in Atlanta?
I'll start with you, J.J.
I was wondering why I was in Atlanta.
It seems like Jacksonville, they're doing some work on the stadium.
They're doing some work for two years.
So, it's temporary, but I know these Georgia fans are going to be pumped up
by having that game in the state of Georgia just a couple miles to the west of Athens.
So, I'm going to take Georgia pretty big in this one.
All right.
John?
Yeah, neutral side.
I love the way they phrase that.
It's hard to be that it's that close to Athens.
I'm with Jeffrey.
Super impressed with what Florida's done, but I just don't think when Georgia's going to get up,
we'll see if the Auburn game was a blip or a trend.
Okay.
Mike?
Yeah, I'm going to go with Georgia on this one.
Florida's so wildly inconsistent, and, you know, I think just Georgia's the better team overall.
That, you know, that Auburn game, we will find out if that was a, you know,
a trend or an anomaly and move forward there.
I just got a feeling Florida's going to do it.
I don't know why, but I just think Florida's going to win it, and I really like Ball, the running back,
and I just feel like I think Florida's going to pull off an upset in Atlanta,
and, boy, that would really shake things up.
Auburn goes to Ole Miss.
They look terrible against LSU.
They look great against Georgia, but Ole Miss, though they lost to Texas,
has been one of the more consistent teams.
Anybody believe that Ole Miss doesn't win this game?
I think Ole Miss wins it.
JJ?
Yeah, you've got to take Ole Miss in this one.
I'm just glad Auburn got that win against Georgia because that's going to be their only win
of the month of October.
All right.
John?
Early kick.
Auburn will keep it close early, and then they'll stretch it out in the fourth quarter.
Okay.
Mike?
At Ole Miss, yeah, I don't think that there's really a chance.
Auburn's been playing a little bit better, but not.
Yeah, I just don't think they have enough offensively.
I agree.
That's the key.
I don't think Auburn has enough offensively.
I think they could play them tight for a while.
Supposed to be a little rain in that game maybe, but we'll see.
That would be one of the keeping on.
Any other games catch your attention?
Yeah, a couple.
South Carolina versus going to Oklahoma, both are four and three.
Could be an interesting game.
Lenore Sellers has been playing a lot better.
And then Ohio State breaking in a brand-new quarterback, going to USC.
USC's had a lot of coaching rumors flying this week,
so they could either be flat or sky high.
Don't know what you're going to get.
Those are two interesting games I saw on the schedule.
All right.
What about anybody else?
Any others you see there?
I have a quick question.
How long is staying out for Ohio State?
The year.
Wow.
That is a big miss for Ohio State there, so we'll keep an eye on that.
Both teams are out warming up here, getting ready for a second-half action.
We'll take a break and then come back for third quarter.
Florence and Fort Payne tied at 14.
The TNT Fireworks halftime show comes to a close.
We're back in one minute.
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On the road at Wildcat Stadium in Fort Payne, Alabama.
And right now, there's been way too much mountain music played on the other side.
We're tied at 14.
Florence has battled back to tie it up.
This Falcon team on the road in a new place, a new face, and it's taken a little while to adjust to it.
And speaking of adjustments, Mike, what adjustments does Florence need to make here in the second half?
I mean, I think just play their game.
They put it together in the second quarter.
They were able to move the ball down the field.
They were able to get some stops as well.
So just continue on that trend that you did in the second quarter, that energy, whatever that was in the first quarter,
you've got to leave that, kill that, and never see it again.
Well, Fort Payne's already thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Florence.
They've done short kicks to about 15, 20 yards and almost got it where it could have been a tough play.
Again, Florence's return guys are deep, but they also got guys at the 30.
I would slide those guys up a little closer.
I'd put them up about the 35-yard line, but that's just me.
I'd be ready for an onside kick.
I'd be ready just about for anything here.
And again, Vega will kick it off.
Florence will go right to left wearing the road white uniforms,
Fort Payne in black jerseys, black helmets, and gold pants.
I think Pittsburgh Steelers right there, Vega to kick it away.
This one's going to be taken by Haddock, and he calls for the fair catch and takes it at the 35,
and he's hit right there, and the Falcons asking for a flag, and they don't get one.
And he got hit right in front of the Florence bench, and Kenny Morrison said,
you saw it, I saw it, they saw it, everybody saw it, but no flags.
This is just a wildly interesting interpretation of the rule.
Five-man crew.
It doesn't matter how many men there are.
If somebody gets hit after a fair catch, they get hit.
I do think it matters in some ways, because sometimes you've got more of the influence,
and Kenny Morrison working them all, but he's not winning that battle.
But Florence will have it first and 10 at the 34.
I will say to Sullivan Haddock, you've got to do a better job on the fair catch call.
You've got to get that hand up there a little more, but he did make the catch.
Florence has it 66 yards away, going right to left.
Two backs in the backfield, including Jekyll and Williams in there, along with DeCarson Johnson.
Still waiting on the official there to get everything ready, and here we go.
First and 10 at the 34, going right to left as you listen.
Mahan checks back, 20 on the play clock.
Gets the play.
It's two wide receivers wide right, one to the left.
Blitz coming.
Deliving it off with Jekyll and Williams off the right side.
Gets by one guy, but hit at the 45.
35, excuse me, knocked down to the 37.
The ball came out late.
Whistle said he was already down.
Thank goodness we got that call.
Second down, and we'll call it seven to go.
Williams will check out.
Johnson will stay in.
Second down and seven for the Falcons at the 37.
Tripp Morris wide to the left.
He has great speed, too.
Elliott wide right.
Gouldsby in the slot.
Four-man front.
Going to leave with Johnson right up the middle.
Gets hit.
Knocked down.
Well, he splits by one, but he goes down at the 38.
Gets a yard.
He got hit by a guy who was driving him back, and DeCarson Johnson literally threw him off of him.
He certainly did.
As he was coming around the edge, he was getting wrapped up, and you saw him just shimmy his body off
and kind of just threw him off a little bit.
But he held himself up just enough to where the rest of the defense crashed in, and Four-Pain did a good job there.
Third and sixth.
Wildcats have about nine in the box right here.
Everybody's tight for the Falcons, too.
Back to pass.
Man, gets rid of it across the middle.
Caught right at the sticks.
We're going to be short by Haddock.
He's about a half yard short, I believe.
Jeffrey Jones, you have the best look.
I think he needed a 44, and he got to the 43.
That's exactly right.
About fourth and one.
They moved it up a little bit.
They moved it up.
Maybe a half yard to go.
Yeah, about a half.
Two foot.
Two foot.
I've never seen that in all my years, and the Falcons are going to go for it.
They have an electronic chain.
Wow.
And it says fourth and two foot.
Let's get three feet and make sure here.
Under center is Mahan.
The tailback is Johnson.
Need this here for Florence.
Coming to the left side.
Johnson found the hole and breaks it to the 45 and got the first down to the 50.
Good job right there.
Coming off the left side and a hard run.
And Florence will have a first down in a new set of four downs.
Go ahead, Mike.
That was a good job up front by the Falcon offense, being able to blow that hole open.
Carson Johnson had a nice easy hole to run through, picking up the first down on a fourth and short.
Raymond Russell and Ezra Bird, the sophomores, leading the way.
First and 10 at the 49.
In Wildcat territory, tied at 14, just underway in the third.
Going to lead with Johnson again.
This time he's in trouble.
Breaks the tackle.
Scoots far to the 45, to the 40, giving him about eight.
That was all Carson Johnson right there.
Yeah, he was trying to get around the edge.
He was getting hit and held up a little bit, but he found the hole.
He stuck his foot in the turf, pulled it upfield.
And just really exploded through that hole to get nine.
John, Fort Payne's bringing a lot of pressure.
They're bringing blitzes left and right.
Yeah, they're stacking the box, and that's the best chance they've got.
They know where they're outsized, but they're going to overload it,
and we are going to have to make a miss.
Second down and two.
Could be a money down right here.
Go for it.
Nope, going to lead with Johnson off the left.
This time he's caught from behind, but he'll get forward
and should have had enough for the first down around the 35.
Falcons will move the chains again.
And don't see no flags there.
I was trying to see what they're doing.
He said, oh, move the chains.
So you can't tell here what the officials did,
but they said move the chains with 9-10 to go here in the third.
Tied at 14 in Florence now, deep in territory of the Wildcats at the 35.
Ja'Kylan Williams will give to Carson Johnson a little breather here.
Keep it on the ground, Kevin.
They're having a lot of success.
Let's see them keep going.
Jackson Mays wide right, green wide left on this first and 10 play.
It's going to be pass play.
Look, he's going to have to get rid of it.
He's going to be sacked.
Mahan got it.
Mahan goes down at the 41.
Too much pressure there.
They brought the blitz, and they bring him down.
That was Colin Wilson coming here and making the play.
Number nine coming out of that place.
Made it.
And a loss of about six.
After Mahan's first read, he saw it wasn't there.
He kind of tucked it in and realized the pressure was on him.
Tried to flush out a little bit, but just tucked the ball and went down,
which was ultimately the smart play on that.
Morris Mays Goolsby to the right.
Sounds like a law firm.
Ja'Kylan Williams to the right of the quarterback.
Mahan on the second down, 16 play.
High snap.
Going to leave with Williams, and he's tripped.
Tripped over the foot of his own quarterback, I think, right there.
As their feet tangled, he had good look of room there, too.
Looked like that play could have developed.
It certainly could.
It looked like we had sealed the edge a good bit.
But as he was getting the ball from Mahan, his eyes came upfield,
and he clipped legs with Causton and wound up going to the turf.
We've got third and Jeffrey Jones to go.
He stands down at the 25.
The ball for Florence is at the 41, actually the 43.
So 18 to go.
Four wideouts for Florence.
Pressure coming with Blitz.
Going to roll to the right.
The Blitz is picked up.
Mahan has a chance.
Looked to throw to the side of the center of the field.
Intercepted.
At the 22, coming back to the 30, and knocked down at the 35.
As he was picked off, as he threw across his body,
and Pat Buffington will intercept it.
And that's a turnover for Florence.
We saw that early in the season.
We went towards the edge there.
It looks like there's a flag on the play.
Flag on the play.
It looks like.
Yeah, it's a personal foul.
I'm not certain of who they're going to call it on.
Anyway, as Costum was making that.
Hold and call against Florence.
That's what they're going to say.
Hold and follow.
Actually, I think he was signaling personal foul.
Yeah, okay.
It was personal foul.
Off-setting on both of them.
But it was post-interception.
So, the turnover will go back to Fort Payne.
Back to you there, Mike.
Sorry about that.
No, as Costum was rolling out to the outside there,
he tried to throw it across the grain, down the middle again.
That's the second time that he's done that.
Both times it's been picked off.
It's not a move that the quarterback needs to do at this varsity level.
These defenses are far too good.
Two backs in the backfield.
Shotgun formation for Vincent.
Going to lead with his back.
Adams, he gets across the 36, but hit hard at the 37.
Better job of the Falcon defense there.
Only a gain of three.
Irons coming up and cleaning up along with Burski.
Check on Irons slow to get up there.
He's okay.
He just tripped over a guy.
Second down and eight.
Only a gain of two, they'll say.
Jeffrey Jones, this defense, we're going to have to call on him after that.
Yeah, you need to step up right here.
Nice little two-yard gain right there.
We're in control on the front.
Oh, it's loud down here.
It's almost like they got mic'd up down here.
I don't know if they are or not.
Second down and eight.
This time, gives it off.
No, it wants to pass.
Looking down to the right sideline.
He has time.
Now he's flushed out of the pocket.
He's trying to scramble, but he can't go nowhere,
and he goes down at the 42.
He'll gain maybe one.
Tina has come up and cleaned it up with Bursky.
He was chased out of the pocket by Smith and friends,
and it brings up, or check that,
Pride and friends and Dixon.
It brings up third and eight.
The Falcon crowd coming to its feet here in front of us.
It's a slim crowd, but they have been loud.
Third and eight for the Wildcats at their own 37.
Vincent, straight drop.
Looked right.
Wants to throw to the sideline, and it's nearly intercepted.
Knocked away by Florence.
A great read on that one by Petty Poole.
It was a good job by the Falcon defense there on the outside.
Petty Poole came up.
Almost made that interception, but we're getting the ball back here.
It's going to be fourth and eight,
so Falcon's getting the ball back after that interception.
It looms huge.
Well, the Wildcats have already faked one punt,
but that was on fourth and two.
This is fourth and eight.
And Northcutt will go back to kick it away.
Remember, Webb is the up back who ran it earlier.
They do have two wideouts on this,
so Florence will keep their defense safe.
Snout back to the punter.
He goes up and gets it and boots away.
High-hanging punt and fair catch being called for by Goolsby,
and he catches it calmly at the 35-yard line,
and Florence will have it there 65 yards away
from possibly taking the lead with 552 to go here in the third quarter.
In a game where Florence has not played their best,
we knew it was a long trip.
We knew the game was one that, as you said, didn't count necessarily,
but it does count.
It's a chance to go nine and one.
Florence will have it.
Let's see if this offense can put some points on the board.
I'm looking for a big play out of this Falcon offense here.
Yeah, after that last set of downs,
I'm looking for the Falcon offense to really put it together
and get this ball in the end zone.
Johnson behind the quarterback, Mahan.
Two wideouts, including Kirkman wide right.
Giving it off.
Johnson off the left, nowhere to go.
He ran into all black jerseys, and he lost a yard maybe.
There's no running room.
Again, a lot of it was just the blitz that came up,
and you can see that.
They're bringing pressure, bringing up second down and 11.
Make it second down 12.
They'll lose two.
Well, we're giving St. Clair a lot of stuff on film.
Ways to attack us for sure.
You think they're rubbing their hands and saying,
oh, goody, goody, look at this who we're playing.
Second down and 12 to go.
Three wideouts for Mahan.
Tied at 14 with 5.15 to go here in the third.
Goolsbee will come in motion, orbit motion behind.
Going to leave it with his back up the middle this time
and cutting forward and getting about four or five is Johnson to the 38.
He was hit hard there as he went down.
Brings up third, and we'll call it about maybe six or seven to go.
Let's see, six to go.
So he gets six on that.
Haddock will check in, and Green will check out.
Elliott, excuse me, Morris will check in, and we'll go five wide.
Mays and Green to the short side on five wide on this third and sixth play.
Mahan looks over the defense now.
He looks back to the sideline.
Three-man front for the Wildcats.
Has time, straight drop.
Steps up, throws down the sideline.
Got Goolsbee out there.
Catches it at the 35 and knocked down at the 31.
Beautiful delivery there from Mahan to Goolsbee.
That was a great job by Carson Mahan.
Seeing his feet was set beautifully, delivered a beautiful ball.
Goolsbee brought it in nicely as he was getting contacted.
Nice concentration catch there.
And, John, to pick up the blitz on the outside, 19 was coming.
Somebody chipped him just enough.
Yeah, Carson felt him enough to just fade away from him,
go into his arm side, and was able to set his feet, as Mike said,
and made a beautiful throw.
Carson Johnson back in the game, first and 10 at the 31 for the Falcons.
Going to give it to Johnson off the left side.
Looking cut back, nowhere to go.
He scoots forward for maybe two, maybe three, maybe four, maybe four and a half
as they finally blow the whistle at the 25.
Jeffrey Jones on the sideline.
Number zero, I will say this, he's come with electricity.
We did a little bit of what they've been doing to us in the first half right there.
We started pushing the Powell.
That was about a two-yard gain, turning into something nice for the Carson.
But, yeah, I'll take him any day of the week.
He's just running well and finding some holes and cuts, and cutting well.
Second down and five after the five-yard gain.
Johnson will go to the right of the shotgun quarterback, Mahan.
Three wide outs to the wide side to the left.
Again, look to pass.
Quick screen.
Got it out to Mays.
He's got a block.
Down the sideline.
20.
Makes a man.
Mays jumps over and 15 to the 10.
He'll go down at the 10-yard line just outside of the 10 as Jackson Mays goes running through
and over and jumping and leaping down to the 11-yard line.
Mays did a great job on the outside there.
As he caught that ball, he turned it upfield, was able to do a great job of making a guy miss,
cutting away, but also the blocking down the field, great job by the wide receiver.
Justin Hurtman was the wide receiver who sprung him on that play.
Great job of effort.
Beautiful job.
Falcons want to go fast at the 11.
First and 10 at the 11.
Trying to break this tie, which is at 14.
Actually had him at the 12.
Johnson off the left side.
Looking.
Cuts up in the middle.
Got across the 10 and knocked down around the 9-yard line.
Still pushing forward for maybe 2 or 3 yards.
Second down.
We'll call it 7 to go.
That was a good job by Carson to be able to make something out of nothing there.
All the areas and holes that he was going to run through were all kind of plugged up.
He had a little hesitation move to be able to set some things up for himself
and just be able to make something out of nothing.
2-30 and counting here in the first or third quarter.
Florence tied at 14.
Johnson back there with Mahan.
The ball at the 9.
Again, Johnson this time off the right side.
Final little run.
5, 3, 2, 1.
Touchdown.
Carson Johnson as he breaks the tackle and just walks into the end zone.
And Florence leads for the first time tonight.
20-14.
It was a great battle job there by the Falcon offense to be able to get some
some points after this beginning of this half.
He looked so nonchalant when he ran in there.
Once he saw the hole and he got to the 5, he said, I'm here.
Greenhalder tried the PAT.
Snap good.
Hold good.
Kick on the way.
Kick.
It's good.
New score, 2-16 to go in the third.
Florence leads at 21-14.
Don't go away.
This is Falcon Football.
Hey, guys.
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Don't go away yet, Falcon fans.
Florence leads at 21-14 for the first time tonight.
They take the lead with 2-16 to go in the third.
That last drive from John McDaniel.
Kevin Seven plays 65 yards total covered.
It was a 3-minute and 35-second drive total,
but finished with an 8-yard touchdown run by Carson Johnson.
Greenhalder booted away.
Takes a short boot.
Goggins will catch it around the 5.
Bring it up to the 10.
15 comes back to the sideline.
It's hit.
Spends away at the 20.
Knocked down there.
Good coverage there by the Falcons.
Ja'Kylan Williams coming up and helping make the play as well.
So that's where the Wildcats will have it 80 yards away.
And on the sideline, a little more life down there,
Jeffrey Jones, than we see in this Falcon team.
Yeah.
And, you know, everybody's staying focused.
Offense is studying when they're on the sidelines.
The defense is as well.
They got good technology down here,
and they're learning what to do and what not to do.
I think we're missing pretty good adjustments at halftime, too.
Adams, the tailback.
He'll be joined back there, along with Croft, on this first down play.
Three wide outs for the quarterback, Vincent.
Vincent going to give it to his tailback.
Cuts up in the middle and hit right at the line of scrimmage and goes nowhere.
Maybe a yard or two at best.
He fought hard for two, but he had to get all he could.
Falcons drove him down into the dirt after a gain of two.
Nice job there.
Falcons filled the hole better there, John.
That's something we talked about, filling those gaps.
Yeah, actually, the linebacker, the inside linebacker, it flowed away from him.
He was backside, and he came off the backside tackles and made the tackle own a very shifty running back.
Second down and eight.
I would think a pass play may be here.
Let's see.
Three wide outs, two backs.
Vincent trying to get the Falcons to jump.
Straight drop.
Wants to pass.
Sets.
Throws across the middle.
Complete.
Got him at the 25 to the 30 and out of bounds at the 32-yard line.
He hit a little shallow route there for a first down as he found a guy out of the backfield web.
Yeah, it was a little hole in our defense, and, I mean, it was wide open.
He had plenty of space, and he just took everything that we gave him and headed out of bounds smartly,
but picked up a nice four-peen first down.
I would say we might say I play again in the near future.
First and 10 at the 33.
One back in the backfield.
Going to leave it with him off the right side.
Pushed forward and got a little running room across the 35 and still pushed out to the 37 to the 40
and still pushed out.
Got enough for the first down, and the whistle hadn't blown, and the pile still goes to the 45.
Now that pop is still going to the 50.
Nobody has stopped him, and finally they blow the whistle.
And I know what the Falcon coaching staff thinks about that.
That was 10 to 12 yards after the pile.
It looked like a rugby scrum going down the field, and the whistles were held in the pocket right there.
I mean, what's good for one is good for the other.
We had a play on the previous drive where we pushed it a good six, seven yards into that pile.
So, you know, no harm, no foul there.
You know how they're going to call it.
However, the Falcons need to stop that pile.
If they're going to get bullied with this Fort Payne team that only has a couple wins,
it's going to be tough sledding going forward.
Under a minute to go into third.
Florence leads at 21-14, but at the 50-yard line sits the Fort Payne Wildcats.
And a whistle and a timeout.
I think the Wildcats had to take one there.
Or was it Florence?
And I think it's going to be Falcons.
And it was Fort Payne.
Let's check.
There was a timeout call either way.
We'll do the same.
Florence leads at 21-14.
Falcon football returns in 30.
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47 seconds to go in the third.
Florence on the road leads at 21-14.
And a game much tighter than we expected for the Falcons tonight.
Fort Payne, give them credit.
They have fought hard and played on their last regular season's game like it meant everything to them.
And right now they're still fighting.
At the 49-yard line.
Four wideouts.
One back in the backfield for the quarterback, Benson.
He'll bring Goggins into the backfield now with two backs in the backfield.
Going to look to give it off to Goggins off the left side.
Being stretched out there and hit right at midfield and pushed back after a gain of one.
Better job of the Falcons stringing it out there, Mike.
Definitely, you know, that was that situation where we have one guy held up
and the rest of the Falcon team cleaned it up nicely.
You know, just keeping it now at second and ten, so no game there.
Better job of the Falcons.
They may get one more playoff here in the third quarter.
Falcons lead it by seven.
Three wideouts to the short side, across the way, towards the four-pain bench.
One to the right.
Quick snap.
Throwing it out there, trying to hit the screen.
Complete to the 45.
And he pushed up to the 43.
Give him about seven on that.
Knocked out of bounds across the way.
A quick snap.
Caught the Falcons snapping a little bit.
And a pickup of about seven.
Brings up third and three as they move to the 42.
Did they put him out of bounds, KJ?
Pushed him out of bounds.
Clock stopped with 9.1.
It's a well-lit field, but it's hard to see at times.
We're in a very small box.
We have one window closed because it slides and one window opens.
So I'm on the closed window, so it's harder to see.
We'll say it that way.
Third and three.
Two backs in the backfield for the quarterback, Vincent.
In motion is Goggins, and they're going to give it to the side,
trying to get outside and find the run room
and did get the first down across the 40 to the 38.
And that will be enough for a Wildcat first down
inside the Falcons 40 down to the 37-yard line.
And, again, this Fort Payne team has found something with Boggs
coming off the big back at 185 pounds.
And the Falcons precariously lead at 21-14 after three.
Falcon football is back in one minute.
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Here's a score update.
Muscle Shoals leads Huntsville 27-13.
Phil Campbell leading Hackleberg 29-21.
Spain Park leads James Clemens 35-7.
Lauderdale County leads Ardmore 28-6.
East Lawrence leading East Limestone 28-10.
Central leads Rogers 14-7.
Hatton leads Central 28-0.
Austin leads Bob Jones 28-7.
Mars Hill leading Deschler 10-3.
Cold Springs leading Tanner 27-7.
And the Packers lead the Panthers 20-10.
Here at Wildcats Stadium, Florence leads Fort Payne by a score of 21-14.
But the Wildcats have it in Falcon territory at the 37-yard line.
Going right to left as you listen.
Vincent, the quarterback with two backs in the backfield.
Going to look to give it off to his back to the side.
He wants to throw.
Throws it to the sideline.
Going up there to the incomplete.
A little trick play coming out.
But it didn't work.
And the Falcon defense was ready for it that time, Mike.
They were ready for it.
You could tell that there was no way that that kid was going to have his number called
to throw a pass and not throw that pass.
Like, he was throwing that pass no matter what.
It wasn't a wise decision, you know.
But, you know, lucky for them, it wound up hitting the turf and not a Falcon jersey.
Second down and 10.
Boggs threw it again.
All the trick plays have been thrown at Florence tonight so far.
Adams back in at tailback.
Second down and 10.
And Vincent wants to give it to Adams.
Off the left, he's hit.
Spins forward.
Lost the ball.
He's on the ground, though, and he got it back.
And they got it, and he got it yardage up to the 31.
He lost the ball, if I'm not mistaken.
He lost the ball at number three.
He picked it up.
Wow, Goggins is everywhere.
He picked it up, bounced right up into his waist.
And he grabbed it and ran with it.
Jeffrey Jones, sometimes everything bounces your way.
Should have been about a one-yard gain at most.
And we hit him so hard, he fumbled it.
He's just having to fumble it to his own guy.
This guy picked it up and ran with it.
That's what living right does for you.
Yeah, it sure does.
Third and four at the 31.
The back is still Adams.
Going to leave with Adams off the right.
Next, actually, no, he's not going to get it.
He's brought down at the 30-yard line.
They went to their big back, Boggs.
And Boggs got bogged down for no gain just about.
And it's fourth down and four.
It was like Dixon might have been in on that play there.
He followed around the edge and came from behind.
That was a nice play.
He started to come out.
And they said, no, no, no.
It's fourth down.
You're staying in, big boy.
This may be the biggest play of the game.
Leading it by seven.
Fourth down and four.
Don't jump on the hard count here if you're Florence.
Play clock at 15.
Shotgun formation.
Trips to the left.
One to the right.
Vinson, the quarterback, puts a man in motion back in the backfield.
Vinson going to leave it with his running back.
That's going to be Goggins who tries to get outside.
He's not going to get there.
He's knocked down to 29.
He's going to be short.
Florence Falcon defense has come up big, and that's a hold.
Jeffrey Jones on the sideline.
What a play by the Falcons right there.
I don't think the defense really realized it real quick that they had held them.
And now they do.
Offense is coming out on the field.
The defense is being greedy by the whole team coming off.
I think it's just a delayed reaction after what's been going on this night.
Mike, wouldn't you think so a little bit?
You know, maybe the left foot and the right foot, you know,
it just winds up wherever the ball lays down.
It might be a first down, so who knows.
We've got to make sure we don't celebrate too early because of the spots.
Right.
But the reality is the Falcon defense did a great job and held there,
and that was an opportunity for them to run a whole heck of a lot of clock
and to get a steady dose of our running backs.
At the 30-yard line, actually the 29-yard line, first and 10,
for the Falcons going left to right.
Blank, and Boyd will move to the left.
Johnson would go right up the middle, cuts back, found a little run length,
tripped up, though, at the 32.
Give him about four there.
I thought he might see that whole back-to-back side.
Right.
On the back side, it was wide open.
He cut it back in a little bit.
He just didn't cut it to the right far enough.
There was plenty of space out here, but the reality was a nice gain on first down,
being able to run some clock there.
Strong safety, Colin Pugh made a terrific open field tackle there in the line.
Three to the right to the wide side for Florence on his second down and seven play.
Johnson going to get it off the left side again.
Cuts up four.
Got to break it to the 40, to the 45, to the 50.
Down the left side, to the 40, to the 35, to the 30.
Trying to outrace and knocked out of bounds.
Inside the Wildcat, 25, down to the 21.
Carson Johnson continues to put the Falcons on his back in the senior with another big run.
What a run here.
Just what a string of games this season here for Carson Johnson.
Just being able to get to the outside, find the edge, and just his foot speed.
Just being able to outrace everybody.
The defender wound up getting the angle and knock him out of bounds.
They asked if he wanted to sub, and he waved them all.
First and 10 at the 22.
This time going to move Carson to the right.
He cuts back left, looking, stays on his feet, and got about four or five to the 15, or 16, we'll say.
That play was designed right, and immediately saw it was not there.
And he has great visions, what I'm getting at, Mike.
He certainly does, and his ability to cut on a dime and cut it upfield, you know,
and really just his athleticism is super impressive.
I mean, you want to talk about a player that, you know, from his junior to his senior year,
he really took leaps and bounds forward.
Ja'Kyle and Williams checks in on the second down and sixth play from the 16.
Ja'Kyle and no play action.
Look to throw.
He's got a man wide open, complete.
Got it to blank.
Caught it right there at the 10.
Pushes forward.
Flag on the play.
He's down to the seven.
Let's hold and see what the flag is for.
But he catches it at the seven-yard line.
But let's wait and see what the penalty's for.
It might be – I'm not sure, but it might be –
Ineligible man downfield.
Right.
Because you see the offensive linemen are very far upfield.
And that's what you have with the RPO sometimes, John,
when that RPO, it'll get you like that.
Yeah, they usually get kind of a cushion of three yards.
But sometimes our guys get lost.
They're not sure if it's a pass or a run.
And they're just blocking what they heard.
They can't see the backfield.
It's a tough play for our linemen.
So, it'll be moved back to the 21-yard line.
Kenny Morrison's still arguing that a little bit.
He didn't like it.
So, it'll be second down and 10 at the 21.
Jeffrey Jones, right now, we need a big play.
We do need a big play.
It's – yeah, second down and 10.
We just got to pay attention right there.
Can't go downfield.
It's an offensive lineman.
May have to call a timeout here.
Yeah, it looks like –
I'm not sure.
Now the official –
They're debating on if it's lost or down or not.
It's not lost or down.
The official, that has to reset the clock, the play clock.
So, we'll get – I don't have to use the timeout.
So, Florence will have it second down and 10 at the 21-yard line
with 8.33 and counting.
Six, seven in the box right now, even eight in the box.
Williams is the tailback.
Williams is going to get it.
Oh, going to pass.
Looking down the left side line.
Open caught.
Touchdown, Florence to Goolsby.
Mahan hit him on the wheel route, and he wheels it in.
And daddy's happy that he's come back home to Fort Payne
and puts the Falcons up by two scores.
That's a great pass there by Costa Mahan.
JC did a great job of reeling that one in.
Beautiful route, beautiful pass.
Great execution for the Falcons.
What a calm play right there by Costa Mahan.
Cool, calm, and collected.
And a great catch by Goolsby.
Greenhall to attempt the PAT.
Mahan to hold.
Kick on the way.
High, up, true, good.
New score.
Florence leads it 28-14 with 8.19 to go in the game.
Falcon football is back in 30.
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Back at Wildcat Stadium, Florence leads at 28-14.
KJ here got a little too excited and unplugged everything because I think I kicked the cord,
so I'll stay seated for the rest of the game.
But Florence now forces a second down and 10 for Fort Payne.
He'll have to start throwing it down by two scores.
Vincent wants to roll to his left, wants to throw, fading away, looking, looking, just throws it out of bounds, incomplete.
He had pressure coming, and Nate Pride was coming, and Nate Pride was coming saying,
do you really want to do this?
And he said, no, I don't.
I'll throw it away.
Third and 10.
Sir, I would like to put another down.
Yes.
Jeffrey Jones on the sideline.
The touchdown by Goolsby had to be pretty special for his dad who grew up here.
Yeah, he was down there on the field level, got a good view of it, and you just didn't look on his face.
He ran back up in the crowd.
It was a pretty throw and a pretty catch, too.
It was a great executed play.
Not bad to come back home and to watch your son get a touchdown catch to put you up by two scores.
Looking to give it off to the tailback off the left, stringing him out.
Great tackle right there by Florence.
Ja'Kyle and Jones comes up, along with Rowlett, stops him at the 19.
It'll bring up fourth down and 11 to go with 7-11 to go, and Florence up 28-14, and the punt unit will come out.
In a game which Florence went down 14-0 early, haven't played their best, but have fought and fought and come back and lead it by two touchdowns now.
Goolsby, why not?
Don't fair catch this one.
Let's go ahead and take this one back to the house.
The punter is Northcutt.
Florence, though, is going safe the rest of the way after the fake punt.
We may play safe like that the rest of the year.
Northcutt wants to throw it down the right sideline, fake punt, and it's incomplete.
Any flags over there?
Yeah, yes, there he is.
That's a pass interference, and it's a good call.
Florence was guarding the guy that was running down as the outside guy,
and so you throw it to where he's blocking him,
and when you're blocking and don't know the ball's coming,
it's sort of a tough play for a defender.
It's definitely a tough play for a defender.
What I don't particularly care for on the play, and since nobody asked, I might not share.
I want your opinion.
Mike, tell us your opinion.
But the reality is the wide receiver did not look back for the ball either.
It looked like he was actually trying to make a play on trying to make a tackle.
Like, he did not look back at all.
There was no play on that ball.
JJ?
He was blocking.
He was blocking the whole way down.
First down.
That was a bad call.
First down.
After the fake punt, Kenny Morrison's still not happy, and he's going to call a timeout.
He's going to call a timeout, and he wants to have the white hat come and have a conversation with him.
We'll do the same, 638 to go in the game, Florence up 28-14, we're back in 30.
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638 to go in the game.
Florence leaves it 28-14.
And right when we come back, my good friend Jeffrey Jones on the sideline
just had his microphone on just enough to hear Coach Kenny Morrison say
he was blocking the whole time down the field.
I told y'all.
First and 10 for the Wildcats.
They have three wide outs.
Look at the pass.
Vincent wants to go deep.
He's hit.
Sacked from behind.
Lost the ball.
Ball on the ground.
I think Florence has it.
It was Irons that got him.
It was White that recovered.
It's Florence football at the 25.
And the Falcons starting to sniff it out right now.
Let's wait and see.
Florence had the ball.
There's a flag over here on our sideline, too.
And now, Jayden White gets pushed down.
And there's a flag.
It's one of the Fort Payne guys pushed him down.
And I'm not going to say anything, but Jayden White right then.
They are signaling that.
Let's see.
Let's let them sort it out here.
The White had.
I know there's a flag post on the guy from Fort Payne pushing Jayden White down.
Jayden White sold that pretty nice, didn't he, Mike?
Well, let's put it this way.
When you're near 300 pounds and there's a guy that you're going to have to allow a guy that's much smaller than you to knock you down.
That was an accidentally on-purpose sort of situation.
I'm afraid they're discussing right now any way they can to get Fort Payne the ball right there.
The White hat has signaled from the start.
He actually overruled the side judge initially.
He marked Florence with the ball, and I saw him give the hand signal.
He did.
You're right.
But now the White hat.
He's doing all the talking, and everyone's doing the listening.
Now they've got the notebooks out to write down the numbers.
You've got this number, and you've got this number.
So they'll sort it out.
But I think, Jeffrey, it should be Florence's ball around the 28th.
It should be Florence's ball, and there should be a – I don't know what this flag is right here.
That was called during the play on our – it was close to our sideline.
But there's two other flags that are definitely unsportsmanlike conduct on number 70.
Florence leads at 28-14 with 6.30 to go in the game.
It was Irons who got one of those kill shots on the quarterback that you just dream of, Mike.
You come from behind.
It was very reminiscent of Lawrence Taylor coming around the back edge, you know, blindsiding the quarterback.
And that ball came out.
Irons did the perfect, you know, that little swim move to knock that ball right out of his hands to the turf.
And White picked it up.
So now we'll see.
They're going to come explain everything.
Coach Kenny Morrison.
And we'll see what the calls are.
I'm not sure what they're saying.
He's doing a lot of different signals where it is going.
And none of them are in.
Sideline warning to somebody against Florence.
And then first down Florence.
I don't know what happened, but first down Florence.
Yeah, he's doing –
And he's doing all kinds of penalties.
He was not good at the signals, but all in all, we got the ball.
He almost looked like he was doing a karate-type tata there.
He has his back to us, so we cannot see him.
But I will say this.
He was kung fu fighting.
And right now –
Jeffrey, are they going to add the personal foul onto that?
My return went out just a minute ago, so I didn't hear anything y'all said.
But it looks like it's going to be our ball on the 13-yard line.
I know that.
That's the 15-yarder afterwards, the 15-yarder.
So after the Florence Falcons recover the fumble, Jaden White recovers it.
Florence will have it first and 10 at the 13, up by 14 with 6.30 to go
and trying to cap a 9-1 season.
Johnson, the tailback, four wide receivers, all tight, bunched up.
Mahan, play action, wants to pass.
Crossing route, throws it out, complete to Johnson.
Three, two, one, give him six.
Touchdown, Florence, and put away the Wildcats.
It's 6.22 to go in the game.
That was a nice play there.
Nice, beautiful ball there by Costa Mahan to put it right where his receiver
can get it and catch it and just drive it right on towards the pylon
into the end zone.
And beautiful hands out of Carson Johnson to be able to come out of that backfield.
A little deeper in the playbook, too.
First time we've seen that to Johnson out of the backfield.
We'll talk about this play after this takes the point.
Greenhawk attempts it, puts it up.
It is up.
It once again is good.
He's perfect on the night.
And the Falcons lead it 35-14.
6.22 to go.
We're back in 30.
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The voice of the Florence High School Falcons, WYTK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur,
the Shoals, 93-9, the score.
Back at Wildcats Stadium, Florence extends the lead 35-14.
That last drive was pretty simple, John.
Yeah, it was just one play, 13-yard touchdown.
Beautiful pass from Mahan to Johnson.
Greenhall to boot it away, and he'll put that one deep into the end zone.
Touchback.
Greenhall has been kicking it high and shorter.
That one, he said, I'm just going to go ahead and put this one to back a pound
behind the Fort Payne.
Jeffrey Jones on the sideline, your defense gets a turnover, your offense gets six.
Yeah, that's exactly how you draw it up, right?
You know, we've really gotten – we put it in second gear in the second half.
You know, it's 35-14 looks a lot better than 14-0 when we got here.
So, the defense is still in control.
You know, we've got a leg up on them now, and we're not gassed.
We're ready to go this –
I tell you, if you had told me that they would still have only 14 points
with six minutes to go after the first quarter, I wouldn't believe it.
But they do.
This Falcon defense has really woken up.
Vincent going to give it to his back off the right side,
and Adams is crushed at the 20.
He has hammered no game.
Klotzbach came up and popped him along with a couple of other guys.
They're playing a little mad right now, you know, and I don't blame them.
They gave up 14 points early.
That was Klotzbach and Burski.
Burski came in there and just threw an elbow at him.
You know, it wasn't illegal or anything, but he cleaned it up pretty well.
Just an elbow.
No real – just an elbow.
That's like it.
I like it.
35-14.
Lawrence with a lead.
Second down and 10.
I knew what you meant there, JJ.
Vincent gets the snap, wants to throw, looks.
Now he straps up in the pocket.
Now he's in trouble.
Now he's hit.
Now he throws.
He's hit.
Complete at the 25.
And boy, did he get hit.
Doherty got hit by Irons and stuck.
And now I think they threw a flag maybe late.
We'll see.
Yeah, it's starting to get chippy down there, and I find it pretty interesting.
You're watching the Falcons fly all over the field now, and we've got –
yeah, it's just getting silly now.
Well, both quarterback and wide receiver took big hits on that play.
Quarterback dodged one of our D linemen, and when he went to throw it,
he took a rib shot.
And there was no penalty on the play.
I'm not sure what happened.
There was no penalty on the play, and it's third down and five.
After all that no flags.
Jeffrey Jones, man, it's WWE down there right now, isn't it?
Yeah, we had a pretty good flop, too, by number five.
It was impressive.
LeBron would be proud.
Way late, too.
NBA style.
Not even wrestling style.
Third and five for the Wildcats.
They're going to look to give it to their back.
Off the side, Boggs goes to the right, and he's not going to get it.
He's knocked down around the 27-yard line.
Well, he might have got a little further than a foul.
And he's got to –
There's a late flag there.
Wisely called a personal foul on them.
That'll be his second.
He should be gone.
He should be ejected after that.
The lineman there rolled over and just continued to roll over a Falcon player.
Well, after, you know, I just watched that play closely, and, you know, Jaden White, the last two plays had really blown up their defense, and now they double teamed him and then threw a third guy at his legs towards the end there, and I don't know what happened.
I can feel that in, Mike.
He was on top of one of our players, and when he went to get himself up, he shoved our guy twice as he was pushing – getting up, and the referee was standing there and rightly threw the flag.
It was short of the first down.
It would be fourth and one.
We've got 434 to go, and I hate us getting chippy because it's been a cleanly played game up into the last few minutes, and it's senior night, and Fort Payne had this one right in their hands, and Florence all of a sudden takes over, and sometimes the emotions get you.
I know that the emotions get you, it's your senior year, you're up, you know, it's the last game, and you're really – I mean, after a frustrating season, you know, just – this is not the type season that Fort Payne used to have in either, and so, you know, just the culmination of all that, plus, you know, thinking that you're in a game and then Florence takes over, you know, it just wound up being an ingredient situation where it was going to get ugly quick.
Right now, Coach Kenny Warson's brought his whole team together, as he's done before, and he's going to let them know.
He's putting them on the knee and going to have a little talk with them right now.
That's Coach Wisdom.
The problem is they're about to – they're about to blow the plate ready for go.
He lets his team know, and hey, no more – any more stuff, play with a smart play.
I think they called that against Florence on that penalty.
I can't believe that.
But something happened, they called it against Florence, and it's going to go all the way up to the 43-yard line.
So, Jeffrey Jones, I didn't see – we saw it differently, but they saw it differently than we did.
Well, maybe I saw retaliation.
I don't know, but I do know number 70 for them was – it was the second altercation.
So, timeout taken by Kenny Marson.
I'm going to stay here with us.
JJ?
They're on the field to run a play.
They're trying to run a play without our defense even on the field.
Yeah, well –
The referees are not going to allow that.
Yeah, well, we called timeout, and they signaled it.
So, clearly, there's a lot of miscommunication here.
We're at 434 to go in the game.
Florence leads at 35-14.
Both teams come to the sideline now.
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Kenny Martin, Mike, has them all on a knee.
He is wise in how he handles his team on this.
He's been there before.
He says none of this.
Well, because Fort Payne has nothing to lose.
If we get a guy that gets tossed, he sits out next game, and there's no reason for that.
That's exactly what he said.
We have nothing to lose.
Play like it.
Let's play some football and just let's get this done.
First and 10, giving up the middle to Adams.
He gets across the 50, stays on his feet, breaks the tackle, the 45, down the right line to the 40,
and down at the 37-yard line.
He's slung down there.
Big tackle by Florence.
I don't know if they called a flag for slinging him down or not.
That should not be a penalty.
That shouldn't be a penalty.
Not at all.
I was blocked a little bit.
It was the crowd reaction that you were going with.
There was nothing wrong with that play.
Falcons up 35-14, 420 to go in the game, and now Fort Payne with a little fire to them.
Let's see if this Falcon defense can get one more stop.
Going to leave it with Adams up the middle.
This time he's hit right at the 25 and stopped there at the 24.
Second down.
We'll call it about seven to go.
Jeffrey Jones on the sideline.
Kenny Marson, he does everything he can to control his team's emotions.
Yeah, and it's not easy.
You know, it's a very emotional game, and, you know,
we've got to remember that right now they're in their last three and a half minutes of their season.
We know that.
They know that.
This is all they're playing for.
So, we've got a lot to lose.
We've got to keep our composure, which we, for the most part, have.
At the 25.
Second down and seven.
Going to leave with Doc.
He wants to throw.
He wants to throw to the end zone.
Now he's in trouble.
Now he wants to run.
Vincent slides down to the 21.
They'll give him the 20, though he slid at the 21.
So, he gets an extra yard, depending on the mark.
The one on this side says he's down at the 21.
But the fire official marks him down at the 20, and that's what they get.
Nope, he moved it back.
All right, good.
He started to slide there, so that's a good job of officiating.
At the 21.
It'll bring up third down and about two to go, two and a half.
They go that funny set with four wide outs to the right.
One to the left.
And a timeout taken.
The whistle blows.
Timeout.
No, it's going to be the – actually, the referee called the timeout there.
I'm not sure what it's for.
Can you help us with that, J.J.?
I don't think even the white hat knows why he called them out.
Extremely confused right now.
Third and two.
I've seen a lot of football, but there's some things that have gone on today I'm very confused about.
Well, I even said it was a five-man crew because the two back judges, and there's a seven-man crew.
They don't even come up during these official meetings.
I've only seen them do it once.
I count seven officials.
Yeah, there's seven.
I can't call five, but there's seven.
Five willing participants.
Five willing participants, too, are over there just saying it's a great night to be at the football game.
Two-55 to go.
Third and two.
Florence leads it, though, 35-14 and trying to cap a nine-and-one season.
Kenny Morrison with his team giving them instructions.
Gorgeous night in Fort Payne, Alabama.
And now –
Now they've just announced a delay of game on Florence.
Not sure why that was, but they call it delay of game against Florence in five yards or maybe unsportsmanlike conduct.
He waved his hands like unsportsmanlike conduct.
He did another sideline warning.
A sideline warning, so that's what it was.
Jeffrey, you're going to have to stay off the sideline.
We had a player that had been ejected earlier, and he was actually back on the field.
Didn't realize it, so it was confusion on Florence's part.
Didn't know he was ejected.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Didn't see that ejection sign.
Look to give it off.
Wants to throw down the middle of the field, and it's knocked away.
Beautiful defense by Sistrunk there.
They tried a little trick play.
Goggins was going to throw it down the middle of the field, and Sistrunk knocked it away at the last minute.
Brings up second down and goal at the 10.
That was a great job by Otis to close that play down and make sure he knocked it to the turf.
He didn't – he didn't try to go for an interception there.
He just did his job, and that was a heady play.
Second down and goal at the 10-yard line.
Florence leads it, though, comfortably 35-14.
Let's just get out of here, boys, if we can.
Benson, the quarterback under center.
Confusion from Fort Payne.
They had to have a late substitution come on with five on the play clock.
Quarterback wants to throw the fade route to the left.
Going for Goggins out here.
Couldn't get it.
Incomplete.
Brings up third and goal from the 10.
Good coverage there by Florence.
That was Brown on the play, I believe.
Brings up third and goal at the 10.
2.42 to go.
Jeffrey Jones right now, just get out of here and keep him out of the end zone.
That'd be nice, keep him out of the end zone.
Third and 10, we're playing them pretty tight.
So, yeah, last two minutes and 42 seconds, let's just play a clean game
and get out of here and head on back home.
Let's get back to that quarterback here.
Going to give it a back in the back of the middle.
He's hit at the seven and knocked down around the five.
They still ain't blown the clock.
Now they finally blew it dead at the five-yard line.
Sistrunk did a nice job.
A player came from Fort Payne to try to block him at the last minute,
and he sort of sidestepped him and said,
no, I'm not going to get into that tussle.
So it's fourth and goal at the five with the clock running at 2.30.
And the Falcon defense with some pride here.
They don't want to give up points.
Goggins wide to the right, spin their key player.
Shotgun formation.
Vinson wants to throw the fade to Goggins, to the sideline,
and I think he caught it out of bounds, incomplete, and that's going to do it.
Florence defense holds as he was out of bounds when he caught it,
and the defense all in white and blue get a standing ovation.
Coach Harrell Wisdom is out there meeting his team, congratulating him on doing a good job.
That was a good stand there by the Falcon defense.
You know, the bend but don't break.
You know, had some help there with some miscues and flags along the way,
but being able to get that stop now with 2.11 to go,
just really just run the ball a few times, so hopefully we get a first down here
so that we can take some knees and get out.
So Colin Williams is your tailback from the five-yard line.
But all the starters pretty much in the game, including Mahan.
Williams gets it, cuts back, looking for a little run.
He gets it outside to the 10 and pushed out of bounds around the 12-yard line.
So that will be a gain of about seven as he was pushed all the way out to the track.
Yeah, he was tackled out onto the track.
You know, he engaged before he went out of bounds
but kind of rode a little bit far.
2.02 to go in the game.
Florence, though, gets a seven-yard run, brings up second down,
even an eight-yard game, make it second down and two.
A couple of first downs could put this away as the clock will run.
Let's learn to run the clock a little bit.
Let's get it down within five.
And Mahan's doing a better job of that play clock down to seven.
And he gets everybody sitting out with six, five, and now he puts it in motion.
He's done a good job here.
Great.
Gets the snap, leaves it with Williams, looking for a running run,
pushed up in the middle, and gets maybe a yard or two there.
Knocked down right close to the line of scrimmage.
He'll be about a yard short, I believe, J.J.
They'll mark him at the 16.
No, I think he's going to win a first down.
All right, they're going to move the chains.
I couldn't see my angle, so they'll move the chains.
With a minute 25 to go, and you can probably take a knee here.
I think Coach Elmore, a veteran coach over there, will wave the white flag.
Especially with how chippy it's been.
You know, he's no dummy.
If he just keeps calling timeouts, it's just going to get people riled up.
Take a knee, right, K.J.?
I think so.
He's putting the shotgun formation, and he's putting Williams back behind him,
and he takes the knee.
That body language bothers me right there.
So, he takes the knee with a minute to go,
and the clock should continue to run.
I don't know why the clock stopped.
Did Fort Payne call timeout?
If they did, that's Bush week.
Just let it go.
Or was it a flag before?
I mean, the clock should be running.
Why is the clock not running?
Kenny Marson says, run the clock.
We've been sitting here the whole time.
They gave him about five extra seconds on that.
That is unbelievable.
We're trying to get out of here.
There's no.
We can get it down to 40 and take a knee.
Mayhem will let it go all the way down to two to one,
and he'll take the knee now.
Go ahead and take it there.
Take the knee, and that should do it.
That should do it there.
And the Falcons offense patting the Fort Payne players on the back.
That's a good sign there.
And Florence will come and line up at midfield,
and the Falcons will go to 9-1 on the season
as they knock off the Wildcats at Fort Payne.
This is Florence Falcon football.
We're back in one minute.
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Getting the kids to practice on time.
Remembering if it's your day to bring snacks.
Making it to the game with a clean jersey.
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That's simple human sense.
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Good news, Falcon fans.
Florence comes on the road and gets behind early,
but comes back and recovers and wins it 35-14
over a gutty Fort Payne team,
and they close out the regular season 9-1,
and the crowd's loving it.
Let's send it down to Jeffrey Jones with the head coach.
Coach had a little bit of a slow start,
but we recovered pretty well.
Yeah, it was real sluggish.
We could tell that that bus ride was long for us.
We might have ate too much at pregame meal.
We were real bad sluggish.
They were not focused from the time we got them at 12.40 today
until the time we kicked off at 7.
We knew it was coming.
It needed to happen for us,
and it was a good wake-up call for us at halftime.
That's what we discussed a little bit about waking up
and getting our feet unders, which we did.
We had a pretty solid game,
pretty balanced just as far as you got to throw it in the air a little bit,
and that was good.
Yeah, very balanced.
Offensively, we were real solid.
Defensively, we got pushed around.
Hats off to Fort Payne.
Coach Elmore had those guys ready,
and they took the fight to us,
and we didn't, for four quarters,
defensively handle it very well.
We got to go back to drawing boards.
It'll be a short-lived playoff.
Preseason's over.
Real season starts next week.
Got a home game.
Very proud of that.
Tell us about what your next week looks like.
St. Clair County at home.
It's glad to be home.
Again, I've said it every week.
We got to worry about us.
If we don't fix the little things that we got going on,
like I said, it'll be short-lived in the playoffs.
We got to be better in a lot of areas.
Go with your team and have a safe trip, Tom.
Coach Kenny Marson, the Florence Falcons,
who tonight ties Alvin Briggs as the most wins as a head coach
in Florence high school history.
They win it 35-14 over the Fort Payne Wildcats.
You're listening to the TNT Fireworks Post Game Show.
We're back in one minute.
Carbine Construction is honored to be a part of building projects
with the Florence City School System.
We're also glad to cheer on the Falcons
as they celebrate milestone achievements as well.
Good luck to head coach Kenny Morrison
and the Florence Falcons football team
on building a special season to remember
as Carbine Construction wishes you the very best this season.
Remember, at Carbine Construction, we build trust,
we build relationships,
and like the Florence Falcons football team,
at Carbine Construction, we continue to build.
Irons Electric has been family-owned and operated for over 65 years.
Irons Electric is deeply rooted in the Florence high school tradition
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including the new Braleigh Stadium Fieldhouse.
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Our professional team on staff and master electricians
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TNT Fireworks post-game show on the road.
Florence caps a 9-1 season with a 35-14 comeback victory
over a tough Fort Payne team here in Fort Payne, Alabama.
As the Falcons were down 14-0 at the end of the first,
but went 35-0 in the rest of the game against the Wildcats
and win it 35-14.
It wasn't pretty, Mike, but it's what you need to do.
And you know what?
It showed a lot about this team.
They're pretty gutsy.
They'll come back and do what they have to do.
You know, there was a point in the second quarter where, you know,
it kind of felt like the defense said enough is enough,
and then they started taking advantage of some mistakes,
and the offense started clicking a little bit.
And once we were able to get and right the ship
and really weather that initial storm,
and you're going to do that on the road.
Like, that initial storm on the road is a real thing.
You're going to be, you know, a little bit tighter off the bus,
a little bit, you know, a little bit fat and happy after your meal
and all that other fun stuff.
But being able to weather that storm and then come back
and really right the ship is what it's all about.
And, you know, while this game may not have prepared us for next week,
it might prepare us down the road if we do wind up going on the road.
So Florence wins it 35-14 tonight.
After being down 14-0 on a Thursday night,
it was a weird game, to be honest with you.
It's like, where's the Falcons?
What's going on?
But finally they started waking up in the second quarter,
tied it up at the half,
and in the second half they outscored this Wildcat team 21-0 to win it 35-14.
And let's get our stats brought to us by our good friend John McDaniel.
Chick-fil-A is still open for a little bit.
Go by and tell them that KJ and friends sent you that way.
John, take it away.
All right, Kevin.
Thank you very much.
The home Wildcats tonight for the game, 245 yards of offense.
They had 47 rushes for 181 yards.
Five for 13 passing for 64 yards.
15 first downs tonight.
Five for 14 on third-down conversions.
Two for four on fourth-down attempts.
Two penalties for 20 yards.
They had one turnover.
They were two for two on their PATs.
The time of possession was 28 minutes and 52 seconds.
The Falcons tonight, 294 yards of offense.
We had 29 rushes for 189 yards.
Eight for 13 passing for 105 yards.
Fifteen first downs on the night.
Two for five on third-down conversions.
One for one on fourth-down attempts.
Seven penalties, seven accepted penalties for 78 yards.
We had one turnover as well.
Five for five on our PATs.
Our time of possession, 19 minutes and eight seconds.
Some of our top performers,
Costin Mahan, he was eight for 13 passing for 105 yards
and two touchdowns.
DeCarson Johnson had one catch for 13 yards and a touch.
J.C. Goolsby, he had three catches, 31 yards and a touchdown.
And our leading rusher, Carson Johnson,
20 carries, 188 yards and two touchdowns.
Impressive night by the Falcons to come back
after being down 14-0.
And sometimes it's hard to get that jump started
when you get shell-shocked like that.
But the Falcons did.
They were down 14-0 after Vinson hit back-to-back touchdown passes
to Goggins, one from 35 yards, one from nine yards.
They were long drives.
They took most of the first quarter.
They really took the clock down in Fort Payne.
Florence only had the ball for maybe a one possession
and a half a possession.
And they were down quickly, 14-0 at the half.
But the Falcons had gotten a good kick return from Sullivan Haddock
to put the Falcons in good position after being down 14-0.
And it was only a short drive.
It only lasted five plays, 34 yards.
And Costin Mahan with the one-yard sneak.
Parker Greenhall with five extra points on the night.
All were good.
Trims it to 14-7.
Then with 2-10 to go in the first half,
it was Carson Johnson again on a five-yard run
to cap a nine-play, 73-yard drive.
The extra point made it 14-14.
In the third quarter, the Falcons started putting it away.
It was Johnson on an eight-yard run to make it 21-14
to cap a seven-play, 65-yard drive.
Mahan to Goolsbee from 21 yards out in the fourth quarter.
And then Mahan to Johnson on a 13-yard pass.
Two touchdown passes from Mahan on that one
with 6.22 to go, 35-14.
Costin Mahan, two touchdown passes and a touchdown run.
And Florence wins it tonight, 35-14.
Final thoughts from our friends.
Jeffrey Jones, I'll let you take it.
Great game tonight.
Well, actually, pretty ugly game tonight.
But, you know, it says a lot.
I think what Coach Morrison said, it opened our eyes a little bit.
We needed to be down 14-0.
We need to get a little bit of a scare.
You know, and that's – I'm okay with that.
You know, we answered the call in the second half
and had a very balanced game.
You know, got some players.
Hats off to J.C. Goolsbee.
You know, I know his dad's proud, and he had an excellent game tonight.
And, you know, another thing that we don't give him a lot of credit for is
I trust him back there catching those punts.
You know, I really do.
And that says a lot because I know I sure as heck can't catch punts like that.
So, yeah, that's one thing I can't do, John.
That's right.
So, anyway, good win.
I'm ready to head back to Flowtown, and I don't know about y'all.
Amen to that.
Let's go, John McDaniel, your final thoughts on tonight's game.
Yeah, hey, this was a terrific season.
And they finished it off, got started slow, but managed to come back after that.
Once they settled in, they played well, managed to, for the most part,
keep their composure, you know, against a team who was – had nothing to lose.
And so, looking forward, sort of Jeffrey kind of said it in an interview with Coach,
you know, now the things – now it gets really real.
I mean, one and done.
Everybody, every time you lose, you come out not ready to play
and get beat this time, that's the end of it.
So, you've got to have good weeks of practice.
You've got to have good preparation.
And I look for the Falcons to start hopefully locking in this week
and got one extra day.
Let's make the use of it and let's see how good we can play next week.
Mike Albertson?
I feel like I've either grossly overestimated this team
or we haven't seen this best Falcon team yet.
Like, I really don't think that they've played to their potential,
which is frustrating at times because you see flashes of what they can be.
And if we don't get – you know, it's playoff time
and there's no more leaving gas in the tank.
You've got to just burn it all.
It's just – you've got to leave it all out there
and really focus on each and every play.
You can't take plays off.
You can't feel sorry for yourself.
You've got to look towards the very next thing that you can do
to contribute for your team.
And so, while this was ugly at times,
the Falcons were able to right the ship and come away.
And, you know, it's kind of amazing that I'm sitting there
talking about an underestimated – a team that's, you know,
kind of fallen a little short to my expectations
and they're 9-1.
You know, just that sort of thing.
I feel that strongly about this team and this coaching staff.
However, if they start pulling these,
we're only going to play one half of solid football in the playoffs,
it's not going to work out.
It just isn't.
So, they have an opportunity.
They have that extra day off, which, you know,
that's part of what this Thursday game was about,
being able to recollect and kind of put in the extra film work
and things necessary to come away with a victory at home
and then let the chips fall where they may at that point.
Well, I agree.
And I agree with you, Mike.
I think this Falcon team,
I was wanting them to put some things on film that might would say,
boy, look at this team and sort of intimidate your opponents to come.
But the fact is, they probably put some things on film tonight
that gives opponents of the future some hope.
And they're going to say, wow, look what Fort Payne did.
They had a 14-0 lead.
And they're going to look at some things.
So, Florence has a lot to work on to be at 9-1.
I agree with you, Mike.
I think there's a lot to work on.
And I think Kenny Morrison and his staff knows that.
Got a lot to work on.
But, you know, you're still wanting to grow.
You're still wanting to peak at the right time.
And believe it or not, I agree with you, Mike.
I think this Falcon team is yet to peak, but they can.
And it starts next week.
And they're going to need all the support they can at home
with the Falcon fans come out and support this team.
They need a huge crowd at all these playoff games.
And hopefully, it will be several playoff games,
one starting at Brawley Stadium next Friday night
as Florence will take on St. Clair County
in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Florence Falcons, Class 5A Region 7 champions,
9-1 on the season, the greatest regular season
in school history by the 2026 Florence Falcons team.
That's going to do it for us tonight on this Thursday night special
for our station manager, Greg Thornton,
for James Moody and the 93.9 The Score Studios,
for Jeffrey Jones, John McDaniel, and Mike Albertson,
I'm Kevin Johnson saying have a great night.
Congratulations to the region champs.
And, folks, I'll see you in church on Sunday.
Good night, everyone.
Hey, Falcon fans, this is Keith, Cypress Creek Indoor Range.
We know a great defense starts up front,
and the Falcons start with Jaden White, a defensive tackle.
Whether stopping the run or disrupting that quarterback,
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Go Falcons!
Hey, guys, this is Mark down at Warehouse Tackle.
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We're located on 417 East College Street.
Our phone number is 256-980-0951,
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Come and see us.
We're proud to be a sponsor of Florence Falcons football,
and we wish Coach Morrison and the team
good luck to you in your season.
This is Miranda Haddock with the Florence Education Foundation.
We invite you to support our Friends of the Foundation campaign.
As a friend of the foundation,
you can contribute any amount to help fund classroom needs
in Florence City schools.
Please visit our website at www.florenceeducationfoundation.org
to explore our new giving levels
and the added perks available.
We would like to wish Coach Morrison
and the entire Falcon football team
good luck this season.
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Craving authentic Mexican flavor?
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Start off with fresh tortilla chips
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Then enjoy mouth-watering tacos, enchiladas,
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We're open Tuesday through Thursday
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where every meal is a fiesta.
See you soon at 4160 Florence Boulevard
at the entrance to Kendall Gardens.
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To take advantage of these convenient ways
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for more information.
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At First Southern Bank,
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We always root for the home team
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First Southern Bank,
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member FDIC.
This is Congressman Robert Adderholt.
Serving the people of Alabama's
4th Congressional District
is truly the honor of my life.
Whether it's helping veterans
get their benefits they've earned,
protecting Social Security,
keeping our rural hospitals open,
or bringing investment
and opportunity to our district,
I'm focused on working hard
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every single day.
I'd be honored to have your vote
on November the 3rd.
I'm Robert Adderholt
and I approve this message.
Paid for by Adderholt for Congress.
You've been listening to
Florence Falcons football
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Thanks for listening
and go Falcons!