Simmons and Wentzky lead AC Flora over Camden

COLUMBIA | AC Flora looked to be on cruise control in the first half when they built a 27-point lead over visiting Camden. But the Bulldogs never quit and by the time the game reached into the fourth quarter, the Falcons lead had whittled to just seven points.   Enter Jalen Simmons and a band of blockers to end the suspense. The junior running back carried the ball six times on the 8-play, 47-yard march and ended much suspense with a 1-yard TD run with 3;59 remaining to secure the Falcons 40-28 victory and a second-place finish in Region 3-4A.     “I felt like we had let them come back into the game and we had to step it up a notch and control the box and score,” Simmons said.   Simmons carried the ball the first five plays of the drive, ripping off runs of 4, 7, 7, 5 and 21 yards to move it to the three-yard line. Two plays netted two yards before Simmons took it untouched around right end for his second touchdown of the night.   It was no mistake AC Flora (9-1) used the running game, especially late. Camden played two safeties high and wasn't going to let [player_tooltip player_id='1025784' first='Roper' last='Wentzky'] and the passing attack beat them. Simmons ran behind a huge offensive line that included [player_tooltip player_id='618763' first='Jamari' last='Carmichael'], Cayden Brown, [player_tooltip player_id='1639708' first='Brett' last='Epps'], [player_tooltip player_id='1822540' first='Prince' last='King'] and Jeremiah McGown. Add in H-Backs Grady Bell and [player_tooltip player_id='1817785' first='Jordan' last='Spinney'] and he ended the night with 121 yards on 22 carries.   “It feels great to run behind a line that blocks that well,” Simmons said. “They do their job and play aggressively so all I have to do is follow them.”   The Falcons started quickly when [player_tooltip player_id='591391' first='Blake' last='Betette'] took the opening kickoff back 85 yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='1823437' first='Kevin' last='Daniels'] blocked a punt on the first Camden series and two plays later, Wentzky connected with [player_tooltip player_id='1824148' first='Josh' last='Davis'] on a 26-yard touchdown pass. Davis made the catch with one hand with a defender hanging on his back.   After a punt, the Falcons went 44 yards in eight plays that was capped by Simmons' 1-yard run to increase the lead to 21-0 just over seven minutes into the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='1734538' first='Isaiah' last='Smith'] finally got the Bulldogs offense on track with a 27-yard scoring run but it was more of the Falcons after that. [player_tooltip player_id='1592609' first='Azel' last='Banag'] scored from a yard out and Wentzky connected with [player_tooltip player_id='1592441' first='Charlie' last='Scott'] on a 63-yard TD pass and the lead was 34-7 with 4:56 remaining in the half.   [player_tooltip player_id='1513514' first='Navier' last='Boykin'], who ran for 88 yards on 13 attempts, scored on a 16-yard run just before the half to make it 34-14 at the break.   [player_tooltip player_id='1354590' first='Greyson' last='Rimpf'] came to life in the second half. The junior quarterback threw touchdown passes of 74 yards to [player_tooltip player_id='1772703' first='Bernard' last='Green'] and 53 yards to [player_tooltip player_id='1165092' first='Tylin' last='Drakeford'] to pull Camden within 34-27 with exactly 9:00 remaining.   That's when Simmons and the big guys up front took over for the Falcons.   “Part of the game plan was to pepper them outside of the C-gap,” AC Flora coach Ken Floyd said. “The offensive accepted the challenge and really did a great job.”   Wentzky finished 13-of-21 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He had five passes dropped that could have turned into huge gains as well.   Rimpf finished 12-21 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Green had two receptions for 89 yards and an interception. Drakeford had five receptions for 70 yards and three carries for 16 yards.      OTHER AC FLORA STANDOUTS   The Falcons defense ended up with six tackles for loss. Brennan Williams, Nasir Walker, [player_tooltip player_id='1422589' first='Peyton' last='Bishop'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1820034' first='Isaiah' last='Watson'] controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part and made it difficult for Camden to get going in the first half.   The final Camden drive ended when Walker chased down the ball-carrier and forced a fumble that Watson recovered.   “I will be honest with you – I'm happy we only allowed 28 points,” Floyd said. “That's a fast, athletic group and they have guys that can take it to the house at any point. I was proud of the defense hanging in tough. Great first half and then a great finish to the game.”     OTHER CAMDEN STANDOUTS   Offensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1825199' first='Tyler' last='Atkinson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1825196' first='Darion' last='Loney'] played well in the second half when the Bulldogs mounted the comeback. The defensive front of [player_tooltip player_id='1267206' first='Dontrell' last='Wilson'], Lo Kershaw and [player_tooltip player_id='1820164' first='Thomas' last='Bishop'] had some moments but just found themselves defending a short field for much of the first half and couldn't get the stops they needed.

COLUMBIA | AC Flora looked to be on cruise control in the first half when they built a 27-point lead over visiting Camden. But the Bulldogs never quit and by the time the game reached into the fourth quarter, the Falcons lead had whittled to just seven points.