Turnovers haunt Florence again in tough region loss

FLORENCE - There were no miracles at Braly Stadium on Friday night for Florence.

After rallying last week from a 21-point deficit in the second half to beat Huntsville, the Falcons got steamrolled 48-21 by Austin and dropped out of a share of first place in the Class 6A, Region 8 standings in the process.

Where did everything go wrong for Florence? Just about everywhere.

n Austin scored 28 points off four Falcons turnovers.

n Austin's offensive front manhandled the Falcons' defense. The Blackbears finished with 472 total yards - 250 rushing and 222 passing.

n After taking a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, Florence (3-2, 3-2 Region 8) surrendered 41 consecutive points.

n After rushing for 149 yards on 12 carries in the first half, star running back Shawn Southward was limited to three snaps in the second half because of cramps.

n Austin converted 7 of its first 12 third-down situations, and converted two fourth downs in the first half.

Florence coach Alvin Briggs called the loss "embarrassing."

"We weren't ready to play," he said. "It's my job to have us ready to play, and I didn't do a good job of that this week. I promised the team after the game that it wouldn't happen again."

When asked if the players shared responsibility in being ready to play, Briggs reiterated that it's his job.

"It's my responsibility," he said.

Austin's D'nico Best had an excellent outing for the Black Bears (3-2, 2-2), scoring three times. He took a shovel pass 69 yards for a score in the second quarter that tied the game at 14 and added TD runs of 3 and 12 yards. Quarterback Stephen Rivers was 18-of-32 for 22 yards and three scores.

"That's a big win for us," Best said after finishing with 143 rushing yards and three catches for 83 yards. "We always knew we had the players, but this is the first time we've put it together and played all four quarters. The offensive line was great tonight. They opened the holes, and I just found them."

Austin coach David Norwood echoed those sentiments.

"Our offensive line did a great job," he said. "D'nico Best ran tough all night, and we had a great plan coming in. We've been preaching 48 minutes. We played 48 minutes tonight."

Florence has now given up 46, 35 and 48 points in its last three games.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter. Austin turned the first of three Bryce Curtis interceptions into a 7-0 lead when Rivers zipped a 7-yard strike to Jacoby Moody four minutes into the game.

Florence answered when Southward slipped out of the backfield and caught a 19-yard TD pass from Curtis.

Curtis gave Florence its only lead when he hit Damien Simmons with a 13-yard TD pass on the third play of the second quarter.

That was one of Florence's final highlights.

Best started the rout when he grabbed a shovel pass from Rivers and raced 69 yards for the tying score on a third-down play on Austin's next possession. A 9-yard TD toss from Rivers to Freddie Moore gave Austin the lead for good at 21-14 with 5:20 to play in the half.

Austin converted a Florence fumble into a 28-14 lead when Best slithered 3 yards for a score with seven seconds to play.

"We knew we had to keep playing because they came back from 35-14 down last week against Huntsville," Best said.

Interceptions on back-to-back plays in the third quarter helped put the game out of reach.

Best ran 12 yards for one score ad Jerome White returned the second pick 32 yards to make it 41-14.

Gregg Dewalt can be reached at 740-5748 or gregg.dewalt@timesdaily.com.