Florence Phantoms



Years of Existence: 2006-2009
Venue: Florence City County Civic Center (Florence, SC)
Accomplishments
2006 -
2007 -
2008 - AIFA Champions
2009 -
Lifetime Record: 28-30
Home: 17-13
Away: 11-17
Playoffs: 3-0
Average Attendance: 3,000

The Florence Phantoms, while usually getting beatup on, played two exciting overtime games. They lost at Daytona Beach, 58-52, but won the highest scoring game in AIFL history, 85-82 at Raleigh. However, in their second to last game of the season, against Chattahoochee Valley, the team was in shambles, arriving late and missing several players. The Phantoms lost that game, 74-10 and then finished their season with a 60-36 loss at Huntington. The Phantoms fell behind quickly in their second year, as well. The team could not rebound well enough from a 1-5 start, finishing at 5-8. The team went out in its home finale with a 45-44 win agains Mississippi. Omar Jacobs led the Florence Phantoms into the 2008 season which began with a 3-4 record. The team strung together seven consecutive wins against mostly mediocre competition to end the regular season and host the divisional playoffs. The Phantoms played a disorganized Huntington Heroes squad and won 56-9. The Phantoms then went on the road to Reading, where they took a 36-24 halftime lead on a four yard pass from Jacobs to Reggie Glover. The Phantoms got the ball first in the second half and with 11:50 to go in the third quarter, Florence led 42-24 and never looked back en rout to a 52-37 victory. Florence hosted AIFA Bowl II and blasted the Wyoming Cavalry, 48-12. The Phantoms of 2009 looked as though they would be defending their title. Omar Jacobs returned to the team, but only for six games early in the year. The team began 6-1, but Jacobs apparently became injured and did not return for the year. The team was unable to win a single game after that. The final seven losses came by an average of 29 points.