Florence Township Memorial asserted their offensive prowess against WJFL division rival Bordentown Regional on Sept. 5, as the Flashes toppled the Scotties in a 61-3 victory.
Claiming sole possession of first place in the division with Friday night’s win, the Flashes offense and defense showcased their versatility on both sides of the ball by scoring a combined total of eight touchdowns in the first-half. With the Scotties coming into the game without a win and enduring several injuries, they couldn’t find an answer to stop Florence.
Making a statement right away, Florence recovered a Bordentown fumble on the opening kickoff, which let Flashes quarterback, Shane Fajgier, and his offense get straight to work. On the Flashes first play of scrimmage, Fajgier immediately connected with receiver Scott Soanes for a 33-yard touchdown pass. The floodgates opened for Florence from then on.
With a little over halfway through the first quarter, Florence’s Jajuan Hays looked to continue his dominance on offense this season. Rushing for 63 yards on the team’s next drive, which included a 32-yard run for a touchdown, Hays put Florence up 14-0.
Scoring three of the five touchdowns the Flashes earned via ground against the Scotties, Hays has become a standout talent for Florence this season. He accredits much of his success to his teammates.
“The offensive linemen were amazing. They opened up a lot of holes for me, and I just ran right through them,” said Hays. “I give the linemen a lot of credit.”
After Hays secured a 20-point lead for the Flashes with a 24-yard rushing touchdown, the Flashes defense scored on Bordentown’s next drive as John Woolston intercepted a pass and returned it for a 31-yard touchdown to close out the first quarter.
As two more rushing touchdowns in the second quarter from Joe LeVach and Hays put the Flashes up 41-0, Florence’s second quarterback, Noah Jackson, came into the game.
With a combined total of 140 yards thrown between Florence quarterbacks, Fajgier and Jackson, both scored a passing touchdown in the game.
After a lone scoring drive late in the first half from Scotties kicker, Johnny Schroeder, tacked on three points for Bordentown with a 28-yard field goal, Florence responded again on their next drive as Jackson aired the ball to Davien Vernon for 21-yard touchdown pass to make it a 48-3 game.
Although the Flashes ground performance upheld their reputation as a “running team” this season, Florence displayed their talents through the air as well against the Scotties. Hays believes Fajgier and Jackson’s talents proved the Flashes can attack upcoming opponents with more ways than one.
“I think [going forward] from this game, we’ll utilize our pass plays a lot more. We now know we can throw more efficiently,” said Hays. “We’re going to use our offensive weapons a lot more.”
Just when it looked like the Scotties were about to close out the half on the following Florence scoring drive, they called a timeout for one final play call with seven seconds left.
As Bordentown tried to squeeze in a score before the half, Woolston hit Scotties quarterback Jayden Bryant in the backfield, causing a fumble. Florence lineman, Tim Vincent, picked up the loose ball and ran 69 yards for a touchdown, putting the Flashes up 55-3 heading into the locker-room.
“It felt great to get the defensive plays like we earned today,” said Vincent. “We’re looking to do the same thing moving forward from here. Just do more physically on the offensive and defensive line.”
With the game being all but said and done at the half, Florence’s dominating win over Bordentown can potentially sustain their energy and confidence as division leaders moving forward.
After the win, Florence head coach, Joe Frappolli, reflected on his team’s recent performances and is looking to build on the team’s improvement.
“We’ve been getting momentum over the last couple of weeks,” said Frappolli. “We’ve been getting a little sharper and mentally tougher, and physically tougher too because of the opponents we’ve been playing. We got Deptford next week at home, so we’ll see what we’re made out of.”
While Florence looks to continue their divisional success, Scotties coach, Stephen Perry, understands his team’s struggles this year, but remains proud of their fighting spirit.
“Our kids never quit. We had a bunch of players hurt tonight and other guys had to step up in different positions,” said Perry. “At halftime, we were down by a bunch and I still had guys looking me in the eye – wanting to come back out and keep getting after it.”
