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Florala made a long trip to Ashford for basketball Thursday night and passed an early-season test with two huge varsity wins.

FHS knew it would be a challenge facing a much larger Class 4A team, but it did not slow down the varsity girls or boys. The Wildcats downed the Yellow Jackets 64-50 in the girls’ contest and followed it up with a 66-54 win in the boys’ matchup.

The Lady Wildcats (1-0) led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter and built a 34-28 lead at halftime. Florala held Ashford to only six points in the third as the advantage swelled to 48-34 after three. Although the Lady Yellow Jackets found a rhythm in the fourth quarter, it was too much to overcome.

Head Coach David Bass was very proud of his girls.

“We played really well offensively. We are getting better every day, and that is something we preach to the girls daily. We struggled defensively in the first half but made some halftime adjustments and played much better. Although we are not where we want to be, our team is playing hard night in and night out,” he said.

Kyndra Anthony and Sharae Coleman were locked in from the floor with 19 points each. Alyssa Thames was not far behind with 16 and made it rain from downtown with five three-pointers. Cheyenne Regan added eight points. Coleman went 4-of-5 at the line as FHS finished the game 8-of-11 in free throws. Meagan Odom and Coleman both picked up 15 boards as the Wildcats earned 50 total rebounds (19 offensive, 31 defensive). “Alyssa and Kendra really had the hot hand from behind the arch. Sharae and Meagan dominated the boards,” Bass added.

Florala’s varsity boys (1-0) were paced by four players in double digits. Ashford took an early 17-11 lead after the first quarter before Florala rallied to tie the game 29-29 at the break. The Wildcats roared to a 24-point surge in the third as the Yellow Jackets managed only six. AHS woke up in the fourth with 19, but FHS made the opening eight minutes of the second half count.

According to Head Coach Troy Turman, it was a good team win to open the season.

“We played hard and together. We competed in the boards really well. We have a lot to improve on, as we are a very young team with three freshmen, four sophomores, and two juniors. We want to improve each game and learn and hopefully get healthy along the way,” he said.

Rayshon Coleman led the charge with 15 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Dalton Jackson had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jayden Seago added 12 points, and Ronald Johnson tallied 10 points.

Florala is back in action Friday, Nov. 19 with a trip to Zion Chapel beginning at 4:30 p.m.