Nashville falls to Flora
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ROLLING OUT — Nashville’s Cole Stiegman runs with the ball Saturday against Flora in the 2A football playoffs.
Sentinel Photo/PAUL HINES
By PAUL HINES
phines@morningsentinel.com
FLORA — A pair of big plays bookended halftime and propelled the Wolves comeback effort Saturday against Nashville.
Nashville led 21-7 in the opening half, but Flora rallied for a 42-39 victory.
“We just gave up way too many big plays, especially in the passing game,” Nashville coach Stephen Kozuszek said. “They had good success running the ball, but our defense did a good job in the run defense of bending but not breaking. We forced them into obvious passing situations, but we kind of let them off the hook too.”
Parker Helm passed for five touchdowns and 265 yards to lead Flora. He connected with Kehlin Crawford on a trio of touchdowns.
Despite trailing for a bulk of the final half, Nashville was driving late in the game, seeking a victory. The Hornets were on the Flora 14-yard line in the closing minutes before a holding penalty pushed them back.
Wide receiver Brantley Kozuszek then took the snap from center and tossed an interception. Flora kneeled on the ball and ended the contest.
“It’s a bad play call on my part,” coach Kozuszek said. “I put my son in a bad situation there on that last play. It’s just not a good down and distance to be running it. We wanted to run that next play, obviously we got the holding call, put us in more of an obvious passing situation. I should have opted to call something different.”
Flora started the scoring behind bruising running back Kormik Massie. He scored on a short run to put the Wolves up 7-0 late in the opening quarter. Massie finished with 109 rushing yards.
Nashville responded with three straight scores. Cole Stiegman hit Palmer Renken on a short pass. Stiegman ended with 181 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Hornets added a pair of rushing touchdowns to go up 21-7.
The Hornets appeared to have control of the game until Helm connected with Kehlin Crawford for a 58-yard strike along the Nashville sideline in the final minute of the half. The pair connected again early in the third quarter. This time the pass covered 52 yards. The score evened the game 21-21.
“We needed to come out and get them off the field right away,” Kozuszek said. “Special teams was key too. We spotted them I don’t know how many short fields. That’s something that’s got to improve.”
Nashville still trailed 35-33 going into the fourth despite scoring in the final seconds of the period. This time Stiegman found Gannon Turner from 38 yards away. The Hornets did claim a 39-35 lead with eight minutes remaining.
“Our kids did a good job. They didn’t quit,” coach Kozuszek said. “They gave us a chance there at the end.”
Flora took the advantage for good when Helm hit Gage Dugan with 4:44 left on the clock from 29 yards out.
Nashville finished the season with a 5-5 record while Flora improved to 9-1 this season.
“Our team’s kind of very reflective of our 5-5 record,” coach Kozuszek said. “It was a season very up and down. We were just way too inconsistent.”
Flora 42 Nashville 39
Scoring
First quarter
F – Kormik Massie 4-yard run, Parker Helm kick
Second quarter
N – Cole Stiegman 7-yard pass to Palmer Renken, Gannon Turner kick
N – Brantley Kozuszek 1-yard run, Gannon Turner kick
N – Evan Kroeger 9-yard run, Gannon Turner kick
F – Parker Helm 58-yard pass to Kehlin Crawford, Helm kick
Third quarter
F – Parker Helm 52-yard pass to Kehlin Crawford, Helm kick
N – Carter Seaton 1-yard run, kick blocked
F – Parker Helm 50-yard pass to Dulaney Bullard, Gabriel Calherios kick
F – Parker Helm 38-yard pass to Kehlin Crawford, Helm kick
N – Cole Stiegman 38-yard pass to Gannon Turner, pass failed
Fourth quarter
N – Cole Stiegman 20-yard pass to Brantly Kozuszek, pass failed
F – Parker Helm 29-yard pass to Gage Dugan, Helm kick
N F
Rushing yards 239 133
Passing yards 181 265
Sacks 1 1
Interceptions thrown 1 1
Fumbles lost 0 0
Penalties 4-25 4-35
Individual Leaders
Rushing
N: Cole Stiegman 15-84, Brantley Kozuszek 8-71. F: Kormik Massie 23-109.
Passing
N: Cole Stiegman 14-26-181-3-0. F: Parker Helm 8-18-265-5-1.
Receiving
N: Brantley Kozuszek 6-70, Owen Diedrich 1-43. F: Kehlin Crawford 4-134.
