Florence captures region crown, will host Hoover in first round

FLORENCE - Moments after locking arms with Florence cheerleaders in a celebratory dance, Florence coach Alvin Briggs offered an unnecessary explanation for his outburst.

"Anything to get these fans fired up," Briggs beamed.

Not like the crowd at Braly Stadium needed it at that point.

D.J. Bonton already had whipped Falcons fans into hysterics Friday with a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown that iced Florence's 34-21 win against Huntsville.

With the victory, Florence (8-1, 7-0) won the Class 6A Region 8 title - the school's first region championship since its 2004 inception - and earned a No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

As a reward, the Falcons will host perennial powerhouse Hoover in the first round of the playoffs in two weeks at Braly. The Florence faithful seemed anxious for the matchup, chanting, "We want Hoover," after Bonton's game-clinching return.

The Falcons them reason for such confidence Friday.

After pushing a 14-14 tie into the fourth quarter, Florence claimed its first lead when sophomore wide receiver Damien Simmons took an option pitch and bolted 34 yards to the end zone with 7:15 remaining.

But Huntsville's William Neighbors fielded the ensuing kick off and streaked 75 yards down the sideline to tie the game at 21 just 15 seconds later.

"Who missed that tackle is what I thought," Briggs said.

Again led by Simmons, the Falcons responded with a 73-yard drive that took 5:18 off the clock to take the lead for good.

Covered for most of the night by Neighbors, Simmons withstood punishing hits by the Alabama commitment at defensive back, while racking up 66 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.

Perhaps none was better than the 5-yard catch he made over the middle on fourth-and-2 at the Huntsville 26 late in the fourth quarter. Simmons reeled in a high ball and managed to hang on, giving Florence a first down at the Panthers 15.

"I hit him, and he took the lick like a man," said Falcons quarterback Chad Willis, who completed 14-of-25 passes for 175 yards. "He kept our drives going. I kept telling him throughout the game to stay tough. We had this one route that they just couldn't stop, and he hung onto the ball every single time."

Two plays later, Shawn Southward ran for six of his 131 yards and one of his two touchdowns to cap Florence's final scoring drive.

"That young guy stepped up tonight," Briggs said of Simmons. "Neighbors was knocking him out every play, and he kept coming up kept pushing. I told him, 'Hey you played against an SEC player tonight, and you're just a 10th-grader.' "

Simmons considered himself lucky. Other Falcons have waited a little longer for a taste of a title.

"Being a senior, that's the way you want to go out," Willis said. "On Senior Night, I couldn't ask for a better ending."

Well, maybe an ending in Birmingham, and that road starts with Hoover.

"We're ready for it, Southward said. "That's what we want."