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Phantoms easily take apart depleted Huntington squad |
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All week, the Florence Phantoms prepared for Friday night’s rematch with American Indoor Football Association power Huntington and its brash coach Teddy Keaton. When the game began, Florence didn’t get the Heroes or Keaton, but a makeshift version of the team instead. Keaton and every other Huntington player quit the team due to financial strife with the Heroes’ ownership group two days before the game. The Phantoms showed no mercy, getting 23 points from its defense as Florence handed the first-place Heroes their worst loss of the season, 66-12 at the Florence Civic Center. “The defense had a lot of built-up tension from our past losses,” Florence middle linebacker Nick Freet said. “We had to take it out on someone, and Huntington happened to be here.” “All during practice, I didn’t know I was going to play this game because of my Achilles and my neck. But I knew I had to step up,” Phantoms linebacker Cory Groover said. “We’ve practiced two weeks in a row with no breaks. We came out fired up tonight.” The league replaced the team with a local players and members of Baltimore’s practice squad before Friday’s game. “A win’s a win,” Florence coach Tavares Bowens said. “We appreciated this team coming out and playing hard under the circumstances. “But as far as we’re concerned, we played the Huntington Heroes tonight.” From the opening kickoff, the Phantoms (3-3 overall, 2-1 East Division) took advantage of the short-handed Heroes. After Florence stopped Huntington on a fourth-down gamble, it took just one play for the Phantoms to crack the scoreboard. Omar Jacobs found former South Florence standout Torrey Pettigrew in the end zone from 25 yards away and Florence held a 7-0 lead with 11:17 remaining in the opening period. Then Freet took over. The Phantoms’ middle linebacker made two huge plays in the first quarter that led to Florence scores. After scoring a safety on a sack of Huntington’s Earl Harvey, Freet forced a fumble on a first-and-goal attempt on the initial play of the second quarter that the Phantoms recovered on the Florence 6. Jacobs capitalized on Freet’s punishing hit by completing a 30-yard rainbow to Tres Moses to give the Phantoms a 16-0 advantage at the 11:18 mark of the second. The Phantoms’ defense got on the scoreboard once again on the Heroes’ next possession. Leonard Moore blasted Harvey in the end zone. Former USC star Brian Brownlee pounced on the gift for another Florence score and a 23-0 lead with 6:46 left before halftime. Jacobs capped the first half by finding A.J. Bennett from 17 yards away as time expired for his third scoring pass of the game. The Phantoms ran into the locker room with a 30-0 tally. Jacobs finished with five TD passes, three to Moses. Bennett finished with two TDs, including a scoring catch from former Lakeland teammate Aso Pogi in the fourth.
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Phantoms’ Groover expected to be OK |
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When Florence Phantoms’ defensive end/linebacker Cory Groover lay on the field turf of the Florence Civic Center during the third quarter of Saturday’s win over Canton, many fans feared the worst. Some suspected a broken neck. Many might have figured his football career was over. But the news on the former Hannah-Pamplico and Clemson star wasn’t nearly that bad. Groover was released from a local hospital late Saturday night with what was diagnosed as a strained neck.
“We expect a full recovery,” Phantoms general manager Bennie King said. “We’re probably going to sit him a couple of games. “But hopefully, he’ll be ready for our next home game against Huntington (on April 25).” Groover was injured when he collided with Florence linebacker and former USC player Cody Lucas while trying to make a tackle at the 3:09 mark of the quarter. Groover was on the turf for several minutes but had full movement in all of his extremities as he was wheeled out of the Civic Center. “Obviously when a player is on the ground for that long, everyone starts to worry,” King said. “But that was a precautionary measure by the trainers and doctors.”
Groover’s injury was just another reminder of how brutal football is. Defensive back Javon Camon died while making a similar tackle for the Daytona Beach Thunder on Feb. 27 last year.
“Sometimes you take it for granted with all of the equipment we have,” King said. “But this is a violent, vicious and unforgiving game.”
By Shaun Singleton Florence Morning News
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The Florence Phantoms of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) have a new look, new team, and most importantly new ownership. The Phantoms have been in Florence since their inaugural season of 2006, working to bring quality football and family fun to the Pee Dee area. In this their third season the organization has decided to allow you the fans to name our mascot! We're down to the 5 finalists so place your vote in the box on the right.
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Phantoms try to fix mistakes after opener |
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Mistakes are a part of every game in every sport.Some mistakes don’t affect the outcome of a contest.In the Florence Phantoms’ season-opening 35-32 loss to Baltimore last Saturday, the miscues were magnified.On offense, the Phantoms committed two turnovers that led to Mariners touchdowns. One turnover was returned 27 yards for a score by Alfred Dubose on the first play of the second quarter.Defensively, Florence forced two turnovers that were called back due to penalties.“You’re going to have adversity,” Phantoms coach Tavares Bowens said. “A couple of plays stole our momentum and we weren’t able to recover from them. “We have to stay on top of our game and finish games out.”Special teams were not immune to miscues, either. A high snap on Colby Wright’s 37-yard field-goal attempt, which would have tied the game with 34 seconds left, disrupted the timing, causing the Lake City native to push the ball wide left.“I take the brunt of (the criticism) for that loss. I need to do a better job of coaching,” Bowens said. “But my team needs to do a better job taking care of the football.”While the Phantoms struggled against an American Indoor Football Association expansion team last week, tonight’s opponent had no such troubles in its opener. Florence faces Huntington, a team that beat expansion Florida 56-9.The Heroes (1-0) are a mirror image of the Phantoms, a completely revamped team, with a coach Bowens knows well. As coach of the Lakeland Thunderbolts, Teddy Keaton won the AIFA championship at the Florence Civic Center last June.Bowens was part of Keaton’s staff in Lakeland, and knows the Phantoms must play a better game to get their first win.“We had everything we needed to win this game (against Baltimore), and we let it slip away,” he said. “We need to take what the defense gives us and not force anything.”Bowens added his team will not be afraid of the Huntington fans.“We’re not going to be intimidated by the crowd,” he said. “We came here to win, not to lose.”
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