Phantoms face must-win game

FLORENCE — The Florence Phantoms know they have no margin for error.

With three games left in the season, the Phantoms need to win out and get some help if they are going make the playoffs and try to defend their AIFA Championship.

Heading into tonight’s home finale against South Carolina, Florence (6-5) trails Fayetteville and Columbus by two games in the South Division playoff race.

The top two teams in each division make the playoffs and Fayetteville and Columbus, both 8-3, play tonight and in the final week of the season.

Florence has a game remaining next week in Columbus.

“The playoffs are still in our reach,” Florence coach Mike Watson said Friday. “We just got to find some pride in ourselves and come out ready to play.

“It’s our final home game, so we want to play hard for our fans because they deserve it.”

The Phantoms, who haven’t played at home in nearly a month, enter the game on a four-game losing streak with their last win coming April 24 at Baltimore, 58-52.

And Watson said losing has definitely took its toll on the team.

“The beginning of the week, they were definitely down, but they have had a good week of practice and should be ready to go,” he said.

And a key for the Phantoms will be trying to kick-start an offense, which was one of the league’s best but has struggled since the loss of AIFA MVP Omar Jacobs.

Florence is averaging just 20.6 points during its last three games. The Phantoms also have fallen behind by double digits at halftime in each of those games.

Florence also struggled with penalties in last week’s loss against Fayetteville. The Phantoms were penalized 11 times in the 59-27 loss to the Guard.

“We need to find a way to make some big plays and cut down on the mistakes,” Watson said “They have been killing us. Hopefully, we can correct it and get back to that championship mindset.”

The Force, who are quarterbacked by former Presbyterian standout Andrew Webb, have won two straight, including a 50-36 victory over Harrisburg last week.

This is the second meeting between the Phantoms and the Force. Florence defeated South Carolina 63-59 on April 11 in Greenville.

Note
With their 57-28 win over D.C. last week, the Baltimore Mariners became the fourth team to clinch a spot in the playoffs joining North Division foe Harrisburg, Wyoming and Utah Valley.

The spots up for grabs are in the South Division where all five teams are within three games of each other.