Florence Christin Football Starts 2-0, Eagles Focused On Deep Playoff Run
By: SCOTT CHANCEY
Special Contributor
FLORENCE – Florence Christian made one thing clear during its 2-0 start. No matter what opponents throw the Eagles’ way, coach Neil Minton’s team has an answer.
The Eagles scored two touchdowns during the final minute to win 42-35 over Dillon Christian. In Week two, Florence Christian’s “quick start” set the tone for a 33-14 victory.
“We’ve shown a lot of different things, and I’m really, really excited about moving forward,” Minton said.
Trailing Dillon Christian 35-28, junior quarterback Riley Minton completed a TD pass to Benjamin Sims Jr. with 40 seconds left. After Andrew Miller’s two-point run, teammate Hayden Schwab scored on an interception return.
Against PDA, the Eagles built a 20-0 lead and never looked back.
“I think the key for us right now is we’ve just been very balanced and we have a lot of capable weapons on offense,” said Minton, whose team hosts Lee Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
One primary weapon is junior quarterback Riley Minton, a third-year starter and the coach’s son. He has passed for 154 yards (15 of 23) this season along with that dramatic touchdown.
“You can just see his confidence right now; he always feels good about the playbook,” Minton said. “And he has a good connection with our receivers. We feel like if people try to take something away, we have answers. And we feel like Riley sees those answers.”
The Eagles not only have the 6-foot-2 Sims at receiver (7 catches for 84 yards), but also 6-1 Jaxon Nealey (7 for 58).
“We feel like both receivers are tall and athletic enough to where they can run good routes and go up and high-point balls and do some things that we really had not been able to do in the past,” Neil Minton said.
Florence Christian also has more than one threat at running back, giving Miller more time to excel at linebacker. Rashod Park has rushed for 173 yards (13.3 per carry) and three touchdowns, and William Hicks has 101 yards (11.2 per carry) and three scores of his own.
“If we have two guys like that playing well at running back and Andrew isn’t one of them, we feel really good about that type of balance,” Minton said. “We can share the ball and not put all the burden on just one person. As a result, we can keep him a little fresher. And that helps our defense because they all can play defense and rotate on offense – which is nice.”
Schwab leads the Eagles’ defense with 13 tackles (10 solo), followed by Park (seven solo) and Miller (six solo) with 10.
The Eagles also have other heroes: Offensive tackles Preston Fowler and Landon Simmons, guards Brody Cariati and Mason Altman and center Kirk Jordan. There are also defensive ends Hayes Hamilton and Landon Simmons, and defensive tackles Cariati and Jayce Johnson.
