Decatur defense dominates Florence

FLORENCE — For the Florence offensive players, it must have seemed as if Decatur was playing with 15 or 16 defensive players Friday night.  Lamonte Thompson would run right and he would get swarmed under by a multitude of white Red Raiders jerseys.

Beniquez Brown would dart left, and faced a similar scenario each time. And when freshman quarterback Kendrick Doss dropped back to pass, bad things happened.

It was all part of a dominating 27-14 Decatur win at Braly Stadium that kept the No. 4 Red Raiders (7-0, 5-0 Class 6A Region 8) in a first-place tie with Bob Jones.

For the Falcons (2-5, 1-4), held to six total yards and one first down by the best defense they have seen this year, it was a costly region loss after they had gained some momentum with back-to-back victories.

Those victories were achieved mostly behind the dynamic running combination of Brown and Thompson and the continued development of Doss.

Decatur brought that momentum to a grinding halt courtesy of Desmond Lavelle's two interceptions, one that he returned for a touchdown, some tough inside running by Joshua Matthews and a couple of big plays in the passing game.

Florence's touchdowns came courtesy of Brown's 92-yard kickoff return in the third quarter and Austin Summerhill's 41-yard interception return that pulled the Falcons within 17-14 in the third quarter.

“We had a good plan coming in,” Decatur coach Jere Adcock said. “The kids bought into it and did what they had to do. We got some big plays out of our defense against a very good, well-coached offense. Florence has been playing as well as anyone, and we tackled pretty good tonight. That's a really good group of backs to have to tackle.”

Florence coach Alvin Briggs gave credit to Decatur.

“We never really got into any rhythm on offense,” he said. “We knew what kind of a team we were playing. It's frustrating, but It's great to see our guys keep competing and competing and give ourselves a chance.”

Florence has played four teams ranked in the Top 10 this season.

Decatur led 10-0 at the half on William Walraven's32-yard field in the first quarter and Matthews' 1-yard rush on a fourth-down call midway through the second quarter.

Matthews' (35 carries, 101 yards) TD was set up buy a clutch 66-yard pass play from William Laughlin to Devonte' Taylor with the Red Raiders' facing a third-and-seven from inside the 10.

Florence had one first down and 12 total yards at the half. The Falcons' longest gain all night was an 8-yard run by Thompson, Florence's leading rusher with nearly 700 yards, who was held to 24 yards on 10 carries. Brown had -3 yards on six carries.

Things got interesting in the third quarter. Doss was 2-of-11 with two interceptions for 7 yards.

Lavelle returned his first interception 25 yard for a score for a 17-0 lead before Brown took the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for the Falcons.

When Summerhill picked off Laughlin and returned it for a touchdown two plays later, suddenly the Falcons were with 17-14 with 9:25 to play in the third quarter.

Decatur's defense took care of the threat, however, never allowing Florence to threaten the rest of the way.

Walraven's 19-yard field goal made it 20-14 and when Lavelle's second interception set up Laughlin's 22-yard TD pass to Littrell for a 27-14 lead, it was all but over.

Gregg Dewalt can be reached at 256-740-5748 or gregg.dewalt@TimesDaily.com.