On the sideline before the game Friday August 20, defensive coordinator Matt McCormick approached coach Dean Howell with an unusual suggestion.

He thought it might be better if A.C. Flora went on offense first, given the unit’s struggles and slow starts during the preseason. Howell’s response was telling. Force a turnover.

“I’m not going to take the ball first all season because our defense is going to set the tone for us,” Howell said after a 34–3 victory at Class 2A Gilbert in the Falcons’ season–opener on Friday, August 20.

Against Gilbert, the unit did precisely that.

“We were so ready to hit someone else,” said Will Corley, a senior defensive lineman who missed last season due to injury. “I think we had the size and strength advantage along the line. I thought we would have a good night when, on the first play, the center and tackle tried to block me and couldn’t.”

Sophomore lineman Donato Pelzer ended Gilbert’s opening possession by stripping the ball. Forty–eight yards—split by Justice Walker and Devonte Simon because of another fumble—later, A.C. Flora had a 7–0 lead.

Ninety seconds later, A.C. Flora was in the end zone again. The defense forced Gilbert to punt after three plays at its 10. A bad punt snap set the Falcons up at the 3, and junior quarterback Mark Cagle pushed in on the second play for the first of his two touchdowns.

“That start was important because the coaches are always telling us to set the tone,” said Simon.

As a unit, the Falcons’ defense scored twice (Travis Watson’s 44–yard interception return in the third quarter capped the scoring), recorded 13 tackles for loss and five for no gain, allowed only four plays longer than 10 yards, and kept Gilbert out of the end zone even though the Indians had six snaps inside the 10 and three inside the 3 at the end of the first half.

“We wanted the shutout,” senior linebacker Darius Davis said. “It was just a case of everyone staying focused on their jobs. Coaches are telling us all the time that if everyone does his job, the job will get done.”

Despite being on the field for 18:52 of the first half when temperatures were still in the upper 80s, the Falcons’ defense came out and held Gilbert to a net 14 yards of offense in the second half and only 163 yards for the game. Overall, the defense was on the field for more than 31 minutes.

“We weren’t really concerned about (getting worn down),” said Simon, the senior defensive captain. “Normally, the first team defense stays on the field working all practice long. The coaches tell us if we still have the energy to run at the end of practice, we didn’t get the job done during practice.”

On offense, the Falcons, given the early lead, didn’t take risks and produced 157 rushing yards behind six players who carried at least four times. Senior back Ed Kirkland led the group with 69 yards on four carries, although 55 of it came on a touchdown run that followed two consecutive illegal procedure penalties. Senior Andrew Pollard carried the most— seven times for 24 yards.