Hope floats

FLORENCE - Shawn Southward refused to believe that Friday night was his final game at Braly Stadium.

Southward and his Florence teammates played their final home game of the regular season, cruising to a 37-6 victory against Grissom.

"We're determined to get back home for the playoffs," the senior tailback said. "We're in pretty good shape right now, but we've got to get a win next week against Decatur. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we get it done and get to play here again."

Southward did his part to keep Florence's playoff hopes alive Friday, rushing for 111 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Bryce Curtis added two touchdown passes, while the Florence defense forced four turnovers.

The win kept the Falcons alive in the playoff hunt in Class 6A, Region 8. Florence (5-2, 5-2) needs a win at Decatur next week to assure itself of a playoff berth.

"It's just another step in what we need to do to secure a playoff spot," Florence coach Alvin Briggs said. "That's our main focus right now. Now we've got to take that next step next week against Decatur."

Florence scored on each of its first five possessions to take a commanding 31-0 lead into halftime. Briggs was able to rest most of his starters for almost the entire second half.

Grissom (2-5, 1-5) drove to the Florence 36 on the game's opening possession, but eventually turned the ball over on downs. The Falcons then marched 63 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. The score came on a fourth-and-7 play when Curtis threw a shovel pass to Southward, who broke outside and raced to the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown.

The Falcons struck again on their next possession. Curtis found J.J. Jackson over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown and Florence led 14-0.

"We just had to go out and play hard," Southward said. "Our offense is clicking pretty well now, and our defense got some big stops."

Florence added a 19-yard field goal by Bradley Addison to make it 17-0. After Houston White recovered a Grissom fumble at the Tigers' 3-yard line. Southward scored on a 2-yard run, pushing the lead to 24-0.

Late in the half, the Falcons drove 69 yards in 16 plays for another score. Southward fumbled the ball as he was headed to the end zone, but Raheem McCray scooped up the loose ball and took it the final 2 yards, giving Florence a 31-0 halftime advantage.

Backup quarterback Justin Whittaker closed out the scoring for Florence on the first series of the second half, taking an option pitch 40 yards.

Florence's defense held the shutout until the Tigers scored with 8:56 remaining on a 27-yard pass from Dillon Ortman to Connor Moore.

"Our defense showed some improvement tonight, although we still have some mistakes to iron out," Briggs said. "It's tough to play eight straight region games, but if we take care of business next week, it will work out for us."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.