Dutch Fork continues rolling with rout of White Knoll
Dutch Fork’s perfect season and bid for state championship continued Friday night.
Freshman running Ron Hoff rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns as the top-ranked Silver Foxes defeated White Knoll 42-7 on Friday in the third round of the Class 5A.
Dutch Fork (13-0) will host Fort Dorchester in a matchup of the two top-ranked teams in next week’s Lower State championship. The Silver Foxes defeated the Patriots 35-22 on Sept. 1.
“It’s fun, but I just wished we would play a little more consistent. We are a little inconsistent for my liking. We won’t beat Fort Dorchester like that,” Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts said. “They had a rough week the week we played them last time and were able to beat them. They got a great quarterback and great players on the edge. We will have to play a lot better to beat them to go to the state championship.”
Dutch Fork was sloppy at times with penalties, but took control early after a blocked punt in the first quarter to make it 14-0. Led by Hoff, the Silver Foxes’ ground game took over from there. Hoff averaged almost seven yards a carry and Dutch Fork outrushed White Knoll 260-43 and outgained the Timberwolves 412-231.
White Knoll’s lone score came on a DeAngelo Jacobs’ 96-yard kickoff return to cut it to 21-7 in the second quarter. The Timberwolves finish the year at 8-5.
Dutch Fork played most of game without receiver Austin Connor, who was on crutches after an ankle injury in the first quarter.
TURNING POINT
Leading 7-0, Dutch Fork’s Taylor Wiggins blocked a punt and Alex Smith picked it up and returned it 2 yards for a TD to make it 14-0 with 6:51 left in the second quarter.
KEY PERFORMERS
Ron Hoff: The freshman had his seventh 100-yard game in his past eight games and has 25 TDs on the year.
Dutch Fork defense: Held White Knoll to 2.4 yards a carry, picked off two passes and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown.
KEY NUMBERS
8: Penalties on Dutch Fork, which totaled 77 yards.
4: State semifinal appearances for Dutch Fork in past five years.
THEY SAID IT
“We thought we could block one (punt) drawn up like that so we went for it. It helped us jump out 14-0 like that.” – Knotts
“At the beginning of the season, I asked God if he would give me a chance and in the scrimmage he blessed me to do well in it and coach Knotts saw my talent and let me play against Independence. And it has just been a blessing from God.” Hoff
“A lot of lesser teams with lesser character would have quit when we were 4-4 … But they kept battling and turned it around and had one of best seasons in history of the school.” – White Knoll coach Dean Howell
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
DF – Nichols 8 run (Williams kick), 8:11
DF – Smith 2 fumble return (Williams kick), 6:51
2nd Quarter
DF – Hoff 15 run (Williams kick), 7:16
WK – D. Jacobs 96 kickoff return, 7:01
DF – Hoff 1 run (Williams kick), 1:29
4th Quarter
DF – Hoff 8 run (Williams kick), 10:05
DF – Paredes 1 run (Williams kick), 1:36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: WK: Jones 14-44, Summers 3-2, Jeffcoat 1(-3). DF: Hoff 21-145, Nichols 9-74, Paredes 2-15, Hall 4-12
Passing: WK: Jeffcoat 21-32-2 144, Clariday 2-2-0 44. DF: Nichols 11-16-0 152
Receiving: WK: Jones 10-55, Clariday 4-26, Lindsay 4-59, Hayes 2-8. DF: Irby 5-58, Hoff 2-21, Hacklen 1-23, Cannon 2-44
This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Dutch Fork continues rolling with rout of White Knoll."