Trailing 12-4 to Geneva County after the first period, Florala stepped up its defense for the rest of the game to get a crucial 40-37 area win on Friday night.

With this victory, the Wildcats are 5-15 overall, and 4-2 in Class 1A, Area 2. FHS finished as the No. 2 seed at the end of the regular season area play.

“We stepped up on defense in the second, third and fourth and that was the difference,” FHS coach Daniel Allison said. “I’m very proud of our boys. They had one win last season, and they’ve worked real hard to get to this point.”

Jonathan Burleson led the Wildcats with 14 points. Erik Vega had eight points, and Austin McNeil had six points.