“Super comfortable,” Carmical said of his confidence in chucking the ball deep. “And I had all the time in the world tonight — I have a fantastic offensive line.”
Carmical’s first touchdown throw came on the Falcons’ first drive, when he threaded a pass across the middle to running back Trey Dudley, who hauled it in with one hand and powered his way into the end zone.
His second came just minutes later on a deep downfield flick to junior Tyler Yoder, who raced past a Panthers defender for a 57-yard score. His third and final touchdown of the half, a high-arcing 65-yard pass, landed softly into the arms of junior Colin Capistrant to push the lead to 21-0 at halftime.
One more strike early in the fourth, again to Capistrant, accounted for the final margin and earned Carmical the rest of the night off.
“We made big plays,” Burnett said. “They’re tough in the box … and when they do that, we have kids who can make plays, and we were able to get the ball down the field.”
The Falcons have three games remaining until the postseason begins, including a clash with perennial powerhouse Stone Bridge later this month. But for now, Carmical and the Falcons will try to keep their focus on what comes next — in this case, Lightridge next week.
With his team taking a knee in the end zone after the win, Burnett asked the Falcons a simple question.
“What’s better than 6-1?”
“7-1!” the Falcons responded in unison.