Finley Football-8 Finishes at 2-4
It took some time, but the J. Taylor Finley Middle School eighth grade football team eventually started to play as a group, rather than as individual position players. The Falcons finished the season with a 2-4 record under coaches Kevin Thorbourne and Phil Lowe.
Finley was captained by Ethan Dwyer, Hunter Luckow, Joseph Puca and Ta-Reek Hamilton. Thorbourne pointed to Puca and Exzayvian Crowell as the team's top players.
"Joseph missed one practice the whole season," Thorbourne said about Puca. "He worked harder and played like a leader more than anyone."
Once Crowell started attending daily practice, he shined. "Exzayvian's athletic ability is limitless," Thorbourne said. "He played a big part of our team's offense and defense. Exzayvian can step in next year on the junior varsity and play a big part on their team."
Finley's final record is a little deceiving since all of its games were competitive. "This season was difficult," Thorbourne said. "All the games were close. Our record wasn't indicative of our talent. This eighth grade class has many student-athletes that will contribute to the JV football team's success next year."
Looking ahead to next fall, Thorbourne sees reason to be optimistic for the Finley-8 football program. Several stand-out seventh graders will be moving up a level and the seventh grade team as a whole enjoyed a winning record. "Next year, with hard work, the eighth grade team will be a success," Thorbourne said.