Flomaton's Johnson (7) escapes a tackle from the Royal's Rowdy Nesmith (57)
Flomaton raced to a 34-0 lead by the half and added a single score in the third quarter to cruise to a 40-0 win over the visiting Jay Royals Friday night as the Hurricanes prepare to enter region play this Friday in the first step toward making the playoffs and seeking a second consecutive state 3A title.
Flomaton will host Excel in the regional opener Friday while Jay has a bye before hosting Escambia Academy on Sept. 20.
"It's always exciting to play a rivalry game and it was a good experience for our kids," said Flomaton head coach Doug Vickery. "The more games we play the better we get. We improved from the first game against Northview."
Flomaton opened the scoring with 6:48 left in the first quarter when Daquan Johnson returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed, but the Canes led 6-0.
Johnson found the end zone again with 14 seconds left in the first quarter on a 33-yard run and Travon Brown carried the two-point try into the end zone to give Flomaton a 14-0 lead.
"I thought we played a little sloppy in the first quarter, but we hit our stride in the second," Vickery said.
Tank Franklin opened the second quarter scoring the Hurricanes on an 18-yard run. The kick failed and Flomaton's lead was 20-0 with 11:43 remaining in the half.
Twenty-three seconds later, Brown was back in the end zone on a 30-yard run. A two-point attempt failed, but with 11:10 left in the half Flomaton had stretched its lead to 26-0.
Quarterback Zeb Vickery connected with Johnson on a 50-yard pass with 4:10 left in the half and Franklin carried the two-point try into the end zone to give Flomaton a 34-0 lead at intermission.
At the end of the first half, Flomaton had 204 yards rushing and 94 yards passing for 298 yards of offense. Jay was held to negative 12 yards on 13 carries and completed two of 11 passes for 18 yards for a total offensive effort in the first half of 6 yards.
The only score of the second half came on a 1-yard run by Johnson with 2:45 left in the third quarter. The kick failed and the final score was 40-0.
"We got the opportunity to get a lot of guys on the field to gain valuable playing experience," Vickery said.
While Coach Vickery said his players and coaching staff take each game seriously and with the same preparation, it does become a little different when region play begins.
"We approach each week the same, but we understand this week there's a little bit more on the line than bragging rights," he said. "It means something in terms of post season and Excel is a rivalry game as well."
Friday night's game against Excel will be Flomaton's third straight home game to open the season and he said it's been good for his team.
"Last year we opened the season with three on the road," he said. "When you lose some of the older guys it's important to get early game-time experience and it helps when you are at home."
