Run It Back? A.C. Flora’s Chances Of Repeating In 2021

A.C. Flora ran right past everyone, including Lower State champ North Myrtle Beach, en route to the Class 4A crown. The Falcons even made it look easy, doubling up every opponent on the scoreboard. But while coach Dustin Curtis’ team has been trending upward to that point, continued success this fall will be arguably tougher to come by. He’s losing most of his starters - including the most notable ones - to graduation. The cupboard, however, is certainly not bare. <strong>OFFENSE</strong> Over the course of the next two seasons, we fully expect <strong>Markel Townsend</strong> to become one of the state’s most productive tailbacks. During his sophomore year in 2020, the 5-foot-7, 160 pounder averaged better than 10 yards per carry, and more than 70 yards and a touchdown per game. And all of that came despite getting the third most carries of any player on the roster. A pair of rising juniors will also enter 2021 with some decent experience. Even though the Falcons didn’t throw it a ton last year, <strong>Chris Lofton</strong> (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) and <strong>Carew Bates</strong> (5-foot-11, 175) were each nice complements to departing standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82077" first="Eriq" last="Rice"]</strong>. Bates or Lofton was second or third, respectively, in receptions, yards and touchdowns behind Rice. A.C. Flora will have to reload some of it’s line, but left tackle <strong>Thomas Papadakis</strong> (6-foot-4, 245 pounds) returns, providing some stability.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> <strong>DEFENSE</strong> While most of the departures on defense will come up front, the core of the Falcons’ linebackers and secondary will return. And that starts with linebacker <strong>Tyrell Green</strong>. The 6-foot, 195 pounder is a big-time hitter who led the team in solo tackles a year ago. he also had nine tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, proving he’s got no problem going around and through offensive linemen. Fellow linebacker <strong>John Friday</strong> (5-foot-9, 185 pounds) put up 20 stops despite missing time during his sophomore season. And safety <strong>Boyce Bankhead</strong> (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) did a little big of everything, including leading the team in interceptions while also forcing a fumble. Cornerback <strong>Tyler Robinson</strong> (5-foot-8, 160 pounds) isn’t huge, but he is effective. He put up 27 total tackles last fall and picked off a pass. <strong>INTANGIBLES</strong> During all those blowouts last year, A.C. Flora was able to try out a lot of different pieces in a lot of different ways. Take Lofton, for instance. He was able to catch passes, yes, but also run a bunch of end arounds and even attempted a couple passes. Tack on a few guys on defense who got valuable playing time possibly chipping in on offense, too, and it will add some comfort to a team that is losing so much of its production from the championship run.