Florence finished his career with 74 touchdown passes, the most in school history. All but eight came in his two years as a starter.
Florence threw 38 touchdowns this season, a North Coast Athletic Conference record. Maybe someday all that will serve as consolation, but this was a tough ending for the Southeastern High School graduate and his fellow seniors.
“Coming to Wittenberg was the greatest time of our lives,” Florence said. “No regrets coming here. We have the best coaching staff in the nation. I couldn’t be happier being here.”
Receiving records: Florence completed two touchdown passes to senior Brendon Cunningham in the first quarter. Cunningham finished with nine catches for 168 yards, giving him 63 receptions this season (second most in school history) and 172 in his career (third most).
Missed chance: The turning point came late in the second quarter with the game tied at 14. Wittenberg thought it had recovered a fumble by Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke, but the officials ruled he was down when he lost the ball.
Coach Joe Fincham and his staff protested as hard as they could to no avail. One play later, Burke converted on third-and-18 with a jump ball on the sideline to Luc Meacham. The Purple Raiders took the lead for good two plays after that on a 5-yard pass to Jack Nicholls.
Run game: Mount Union outgained the Tigers 275-36 on the ground. B.J. Mitchell led the Raiders with 143 yards on 19 carries, and Burke ran for 83 yards on 14 carries.
“They have a great quarterback,” Wittenberg defensive lineman Josh Montgomery said. “We kind of thought he was the key to everything. We wanted to keep him contained. I think our calls and checks got screwed up here and there at the wrong times.”
Moving on: Mount Union (12-0) will host Wesley in the national quarterfinals next Saturday. Wesley beat Ithaca 23-15 on Saturday.
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