Class 7A, No. 10-ranked Florence proved its first appearance in the AHSAA poll in seven years was no fluke while serving notice the Falcons will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming playoffs.

Florence scored two touchdowns in the game’s first nine minutes Friday and shut down Sparkman 21-0 in Harvest in its regular-season finale. The Falcons (8-2 overall, 6-2 in 7A, Region 4) have an open date before the playoffs begin in early November.

Quarterback Leo Glover ran for one touchdown and threw another, and Jaylen Simpson scored on a 17-yard run in the second quarter as the Falcons earned a sixth straight win. Florence’s swarming defense kept Sparkman off-balance all night, sacking Senators quarterback Josh Ward seven times while coming up with two interceptions.

Florence opened the game with a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive that was capped by Glover’s 26-yard touchdown run with 6:55 to go in the first quarter. Chandler Dixon’s extra point put the Falcons in front 7-0 and it proved to be all the points they needed.

Glover connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass to Kedrick Triplett just 3½ minutes later after the Falcons’ defense stopped Sparkman on downs. Dixon’s second PAT extended the lead to 14-0.

Simpson’s 17-yard touchdown run with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter finished a seven-play, 59-yard march and proved to be the game’s final points.

Sparkman (4-5, 3-4) entered the night with slim playoff hopes, but the loss eliminated them from playoff contention.

Getting defensive: Florence shut out Sparkman for the second straight year with a swarming defensive effort. The Falcons were limited the Senators to 32 yards on the ground, including minus-18 yards in the second half. The Falcons recorded seven sacks and Alabama commitment Jahlil Hurley picked off two passes and had two pass break-ups.

Hurley returned the second interception for 72 yards, but the touchdown was nullified by a personal foul penalty. Hurley earlier had a 79-yard punt return for an apparent touchdown called back due to an illegal block penalty against the Falcons.

Key play: Facing a fourth-and-1 situation at Sparkman’s 26 midway through the first quarter, Glover ran right on a quarterback keeper and broke free for a 26-yard touchdown run.

Stat sheet: Florence – Glover was 8-of-13 passing for 179 yards, including the 65-yard touchdown pass to Triplett. He also ran 13 times. Triplett had four catches for 136 yards. Simpson finished with 62 yards on 11 carries. … Sparkman – Karmelo Montgomery had eight receptions for 65 yards. Sparkman was limited to 113 total yards.

Did you know?: Florence has won six straight games heading into the 7A playoffs as the No. 2 seed from Region 4. The Falcons have outscored their opponents 201-84 during the streak.

By the numbers: 8, Florence’s eight victories are its most since 2014, when the Falcons went 11-3 and advanced to the 6A semifinals. … 134, points (33.5 ppg) allowed by the Senators in four losses this season. Sparkman has surrendered just 23 points (4.6 ppg) in its five wins.

Coachspeak: “The defense just kept fighting. We put them offensively in some bad spots. We took some chances on offense because we knew our defense was going to pitch a shutout. So, I’m proud of them.”– Florence coach Kenny Morson

What’s next?: Sparkman hosts 6A, No. 7 Muscle Shoals in its regular-season finale. Florence has an open date next week and will host in Hewitt-Trussville in a first-round 7A playoff game at Braly Stadium in two weeks.