Dutch Fork, Gilbert, Flora among Midlands teams one win from state title games
Dutch Fork used a big performance from quarterback Will Taylor to advance to another Class 5A Lower State championship game.
Taylor, a Clemson commit, rushed for 225 yards, five touchdowns and threw for 131 and a TD in Dutch Fork’s 63-42 win over Carolina Forest on Friday. The Silver Foxes will host Sumter next week in the Class 5A Lower State championship.
Dutch Fork is going for its fifth straight state championship.
Dutch Fork led 35-28 at halftime, but Taylor’s 47-yard run made it 41-28 in the third quarter. Taylor entered the game with just 52 yards rushing on the season.
Trace Danley returned a fumble 95 yards to put the Silver Foxes up 49-28 with 11:40 left.
Carolina Forest quarterback Kyle Watkins had 445 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns in the loss. Dutch Fork came into the game giving up just 6.6 points and 175 yards a game.
Sumter 25, River Bluff 13
In the Class 5A Lower State semifinals, Hayden Vasquez threw for 204 yards and Nathan Harris-Waynick rushed for 181 yards in the win over River Bluff.
The Sumter duo each had a TD in the game.
Sumter led 19-7 before River Bluff quarterback Jackson Stone hit Toriaun Leaphart for a 6-yard TD to get it within 19-13. But the Gamecocks made it 25-13 on Keion Brown 9-yard run with 7:39 left.
Stone threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Sumter held River Bluff to just 53 yards rushing.
AC Flora 41, South Pointe 14
In the Class 4A Upper State semifinals, Matt Pack and Markel Townsend each rushed for three touchdowns as the Falcons moved on to Upper State title game for the first time since 2014.
Pack rushed for 281 yards and Townsend had 136 yards as Flora blew the game open in the second half. The Falcons led 14-7 at halftime.
Pack put Flora up 21-7 on a 67-yard run on fourth down with 9:39 left in third. Townsend made it 28-7 on a 17-yard run two minutes later.
Catawba Ridge 41, Irmo 21
In the Class 4A Upper State semifinals, Catawba Ridge jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead to advance to the Upper State championship for the first time in school history.
Kayden Hager and Jayden Davis each threw two touchdowns in the win over Catawba.
Dedrick Starkes ran for two touchdowns for Irmo.
Gilbert 37, Dillon 6
In the Class 3A Lower State semifinals, Gilbert put the ball in the hands of tailback Colton Mason, and he’s got the Indians one win away from playing for a state title.
Mason toted it 38 times for 230 yards Friday as the Indians went up early and pulled away after the first quarter for a win over Dillon. That puts them in the state semifinals for the first time since 1992. Gilbert made to three straight semifinals from 1990-92.
It is the Indians’ first win in three tries over Dillon, which had made it to eight straight state championship appearances, in the postseason during the last four years.
Gilbert outgained Dillon, 459-207 in the game.
Gilbert (7-0) opened the scoring with a safety and a Jaden Allen-Hendrix touchdown run. After Dillon (6-1) cut into the lead, Izayah Whiteside threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers and ran for a fourth.
Camden-Oceanside Collegiate canceled
The Class 3A Lower State semifinal game between Camden and Oceanside Collegiate was canceled because of a positive COVID-19 test and contract tracing within the Oceanside program.
Camden was informed of the news at around 11:30 a.m. Friday morning. Camden will be given the forfeit victory and host Gilbert in Lower State championship game next week. Oceanside is the first team in the S.C. High School League playoffs to have to forfeit a game because of COVID-19.
Gray Collegiate 33, Christ Church 0
In the Class 2A Upper State semifinals, KZ Adams rushed for 178 yards, all in the first half, and a touchdown as the War Eagles advanced to their first Upper State title game.
Gray travels to Abbeville next week with a trip to the state championship game.
Quarterback Tre Robinson ran for two scores and Justen Brunson picked off three passes for Gray. The War Eagles held Christ Church under 150 yards of offense.
Andrews 28, Pelion 19
In the Class 2A Lower State semifinals, Pelion saw its postseason run end against the Yellow Jackets.
Holly Hill 56, Richard Winn 14
In the SCISA 8-man championship, Holly Hill outscored the Eagles 36-6 in the second half to win the state title.
Zach Pelloni rushed for 207 yards and three scores and Marion Breland rushed for 158 yards and two scores for Holly Hill, which rushed for 474 yards in the game.
Zack Taylor threw a TD pass and B Baker had a TD run for RW.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 11:00 PM.
