Phantoms trying to rebound

FLORENCE — Last Saturday, the Florence Phantoms rolled into Reading a confident team looking to go a game over .500 in American Indoor Football Association play for the first time in over a year.
Three hours later, they left Reading a thoroughly beaten team looking for answers.
Unfortunately for Florence, the team has no time to dwell on missed opportunities. The Phantoms welcome Eastern Division-leading Huntington tonight at the Florence Civic Center.
A win over Huntington would give Florence (2-3 overall, 1-1 in division) a leg up on the postseason. The top two in each division qualify for the AIFA playoffs under the new format, so tonight’s game is critical.
“This is a must-win game for us,” Phantoms general manager Bennie King said. “Even though it’s still early in the season, this game has playoff implications. We’ve got to have it.”
“We’re trying to get into the playoffs right now,” Florence defensive back Deon Lewis said. “This week, we can’t afford to have mental busts. If we can cut down on those, we’ll be fine.”
The Heroes (5-1, 3-0) head into Florence a confident team with an even more confident coach. After Huntington’s 47-32 win over the Phantoms on March 21, coach Teddy Keaton talked about confusing and controlling Florence quarterback Omar Jacobs.
“We gave them a whole new look,” Keaton told the Huntington Herald-Dispatch after the game. “We had to counter what they were doing. We all know each other and the systems. We changed everything.
“Defense wins championships. You have to come up with so many stops to make your offense successful. We controlled Omar, too.”
The Phantoms believe they are a completely different team than the one that played the Heroes five weeks ago.
“We have to be more consistent,” first-year Florence coach Tavares Bowens said. “We beat ourselves in the first meeting.”
“The most drastic change between the first game and (tonight’s) game was Omar’s progress,” he said. “That was the second game of the season. (Huntington) showed him a lot of zone coverages.
“Five weeks later, we expect him to read and beat those coverages.”
Defensively, Florence knows it has to contain Huntington’s multi-faceted offense. In a league that caters to high-powered passing offenses, the Heroes have rushed for a league-leading 14 touchdowns.
Quarterback Darnell Kennedy has thrown for 18 scores and rushed for six more. Wilmont Perry leads the team in rushing TDs with seven.
Florence defensive lineman/linebacker Cory Groover returned to the lineup against Reading, and is expected to see even more time against the Heroes.
“Our defensive line has been upgraded,” Bowens said. “I look for them to put pressure on (Kennedy) and get to him.”
“Defensively, we have to play all four quarters and not let simple mistakes beat us,” Florence middle linebacker Nick Freet said. “I feel that little things beat us the first time we played Huntington.
“But we are a good team, and we will be good for the rest of the season.”
Notes
n Phantoms defensive back Rontrell Woodruff left the team to be with his family after losing his brother to sickle cell anemia.
Woodruff played in Saturday’s loss to Reading before returning home.
“The Phantoms family sends our condolences to his family,” Bowens said.
n Florence sent WRs Devon Lewis and Rishard Stokes to Baltimore for future considerations.