MHSAA 5A Playoffs: Florence Eagles shut out Wayne County in 36-0 romp
FLORENCE — For the first time since 2018, Florence is moving to the second round of the playoffs.
Behind a potent rushing attack and some stiff defense, the Eagles raced past Wayne County 36-0 in the First Round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs on Friday night.
Florence (8-4) will host Gautier in the Second Round of the Class 5A playoffs next week.
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“Defensively we finally showed tonight what they’re capable of and they came to play tonight,” said Florence coach Rod Davis. “These guys played their tails off on both sides of the ball and I’m so proud of these guys.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Florence’s Xavier Smith scored on a 1-yard run on the second play of the second quarter and a successful two-point conversion gave the Eagles an 8-0 lead.
On Florence’s next possession Will Reed found Bryan Davis on a 26-yard touchdown pass to extend their lead to 15-0 with 2:06 remaining in the first half.
With 5:15 left in the third quarter Xzavion Quick scored on an 8-yard to give Florence a 22-0 lead.
After the Eagles recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff Reed found Davis again from 25 yards out to seal the game and give Florence a 29-0 lead with 2:22 left.
Quick added an 11-yard touchdown run with 7:18 left in the fourth quarter to give Florence the 36-0 lead.
The Florence held Wayne County to just 78 yards of total offense and to just three first downs.
“Offensively we do what we do and that’s run the ball and when we get the opportunity to take shots, we take shots and that’s what we did,” Davis said. “Keep playing, keep winning, keep moving that’s something we preach, and we get to play next week.”
Quick had 108 yards rushing on 20 carries with two touchdowns for Florence.
Reed went 4-of-7 passing for 81 yards with two touchdowns and added 73 yards rushing to lead the Eagles.
“They stacked the box, and we got some good receivers that we can get the ball too,” Reed said. “Our offensive line does a great job blocking and defensively we did great job of shutting them down all night. Great team win.”
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Wayne County finished its season 3-8.
“They did a good job of playing keep away and we didn’t get stops on defense when we needed too,” said Wayne County coach Jack Hankins. “They deserved to win, and we didn’t deserve to win. This is hard on us having the season end like this, but the positive thing is we got a lot og guys back for next year.”
