AC Flora's Roper Wentzky tosses four touchdowns to Kendall Byrd
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – The last time A.C. Flora and Brookland-Cayce faced each other, the two teams combined for 115 points.
The Falcons coasted to a 72-43 victory.
This year, it was more closely contested, but the outcome was the same. A.C. Flora held off Brookland-Cayce 42-35 at Memorial Stadium.
Despite a lower score, there were still plenty of explosive plays on offense. Much of which came courtesy of Flora quarterback Roper Wentzky and wide receiver Kendall Byrd. The two sophomores connected on four touchdown passes.
Senior running back Noah Kelson rushed for over 100 yards for the third straight game. But what put the game in A.C. Flora’s favor was a defense which forced three turnovers, two of which they converted into touchdowns.
A.C. Flora topped Brookland-Cayce, 42-35, on Friday to improve to 6-0 all-time against the Bearcats.
Photo by Thomas Grant
The Falcons scored in the first 14 seconds of the game. A fumbled snap by Brookland-Cayce quarterback Will Young, on first down at his own 22, was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Albert Perkins.
In the second half, A.C. Flora also had a fumble recovery by defensive end Tracy Borden-Bryant which turned into a 42-yard touchdown pass by Wentzky to Byrd. Borden-Bryant then tackled punter Brogan Sox in the end zone, and Jermonte Williams covered the football for the score.
Sox replaced Young at quarterback in the fourth quarter. He threw two touchdown passes to Sullivan Castles to close the gap in the final seconds.
A.C. Flora improved to 6-0 all-time against Brookland-Cayce.
Roper Wentzky continues to shine
Entering the regular season, A.C. Flora head coach Ken Floyd was faced with a decision.
Would he open the season with senior Heath Moser at quarterback or rising sophomore Roper Wentzky.
Floyd eventually inserted the younger Wentzky into the season-opener against Greenwood. He threw two fourth quarter touchdowns in the 24-23 loss, but it was more than enough to solidify his hold of the position.
Sophomore quarterback Roper Wentzky has the Flora offense running in high gear since beating out senior Heath Moser for the starting job.
Photo by Thomas Grant
“It’s unfortunate because Heath has paid his dues and he’s a good quarterback,” Floyd said. “But as a coach, you’ve got to ride that hot hand and right now, Wentzky is giving us the best chance to win and he’s doing a really good job. I think he has 10 touchdowns in three games, and I don’t think I’d be a good coach if I got away from him at this point.”
There’s no shortage of confidence from Wentzky.
“I’m feeling good right now,” he said. “Throughout this game, I threw a touchdown, I threw it with confidence. I was just throwing pass after pass, and it just felt great. Really confident out there.”
Making things easier for Wentzky on Friday was the play of Byrd. His speed enabled him to outrun Brookland-Cayce’s coverages and managed to catch the football in stride with Wentzky whether on short slants or deep balls.
“I always look to him when it’s clutch time like it was tonight,” Wentzky said. “I knew that those corners, they couldn’t guard Kendall to be honest. They had double coverage on him, and we still got the ball to him. He’s a dog.”
Brookland-Cayce highlights
It was a rollercoaster evening for Brookland-Cayce’s Will Young.
The night started with a fumbled snap which resulted in A.C. Flora’s first touchdown. He rebounded with two touchdown runs to put the Bearcats ahead.
As the game progressed, however, the Falcons’ defense slowed down Young and the wing-T offense. Down 42-21, head coach Rusty Charpia replaced Young at quarterback with Brogan Sox.
Displaying a stronger passing arm, Sox threw two fourth quarter touchdown passes to Sullivan Castles. Ironically, he and Young connected on a 66-yard reception to set up the Bearcats’ final score.
Afterwards, Charpia hinted at making some offensive changes to capitalize on the strengths of both Young and Sox.
“We might have to go with a different type of system where Will is in there and there’s certain packages and the other quarterbacks are in there with theirs. But we’ll look at the film and see where we are, and we’ll make those decisions. That’s what we get paid to do.”
