Florence – Florence Christian School made a magical run to reach the SCISA Class AAA football state championship game last season. The Eagles went on the road and beat both Hilton Head Christian Academy and Wilson Hall to get to the title game against Pee Dee Academy. They lost to the Golden Eagles 36-35 in overtime in front of a big crowd at West Florence High School.
Florence Christian lost a good bit from that team though, returning just three starters on offense and six on defense. They have gotten off to a 0-2 start, losing to AA state runner-up Colleton Prep 33-23 in the season opener on August 18 and to 6-time defending state champion Hammond 47-0 on August 25.
Veteran head coach Neil Minton, while not happy to be 0-2, is biding his time and looking toward the future.
“We are very young and inexperienced, but there are some signs of improvement,” Minton said. “We have a lot of work to do, but I do like the character of this team.”
The Eagles have a pair of sophomores battling for the quarterback job in Gavin Holt and Landon Feagin.
“Gavin Holt and Landon Feagin are both improving and showing signs of good things at quarterback,” Minton said.
They are working to replace Juw-el Huntley, who ran for 605 yards and six touchdowns last season while passing for 559 yards and five scores. Florence Christian does have Huntley’s brother, Juels Huntley, back at running back.
Juels ran for 1,915 yards and 24 touchdowns while catching 18 passes for 246 yards and two TDs. He ran for 124 yards against Colleton Prep.
Joining Huntley in the backfield is sophomore Josh Davis and junior Dawson Anderson.
“Juels has been nursing a hamstring but is playing solid,” Minton said. “|He will get stronger as the season goes and our offensive line improves.”
The offensive line is anchored by junior Stone Poston at center. On his right side will be senior Justin Cain at tackle and junior Hunter Miller at guard, while seniors Josh Munn and Dakota Lawson will be the tackle and guard, respectively, on the left.
Junior Austin Johnson is the wide receiver and senior Jameson Berry is the tight end.
Up front in FCS’ 3-4 defense is Munn, Anderson and Cain. The linebackers are Berry, junior Dylan Fredrick, senior Caleb Forehand and freshman Hayden Schwab.
The secondary includes Huntley, Davis, sophomore Brooks Poston and freshman Andrew Miller.
“Our defense is getting better, and if we tackle better, we will be OK,” Minton said.
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