Back to the ’ship: Dutch Fork gets payback on Gaffney, reaches state title game
Dutch Fork football will get another chance to start a championship streak.
The top-ranked Silver Foxes defeated Gaffney 51-28 on Friday night on the road at The Reservation in the Class 5A Upper State finals.
Dutch Fork (13-1) will play Fort Dorchester at noon next Saturday in the state championship game at Benedict’s Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
It will be Dutch Fork’s 10th state championship appearance, all coming since 2012 and all under coach Tom Knotts. The Silver Foxes won five straight state championships from 2016-20 before losing to Gaffney in last year’s championship game.
Getting payback on the Indians (9-4) was on the minds of Dutch Fork players and coaches this week.
“I haven’t beat Gaffney. Lost to them last year, lost to them in the state championship game in 2012,” Knotts said this week. “I don’t like losing to people too many times. I’m definitely motivated to win this game.”
Knotts is now 10-0 all-time in state semifinal games at Dutch Fork.
“They straightened out that mess that happened last year and showed them what Dutch Fork football is all about,” Knotts told reporters after the game Friday. “I’m just real proud of all of them.”
Dutch Fork quarterback Aliam Appler threw three touchdown passes Friday and ran for two more. Mr. Football finalist Jarvis Green ran for a touchdown, caught a TD and returned a kickoff for a score.
Green’s kickoff return came at a pivotal moment after Gaffney cut the Dutch Fork lead to 30-20 with 7:19 left in the third quarter. Green took back the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to put the Silver Foxes up 37-20.
Green, a James Madison commit, finished with 322 all-purpose yards in the game and went over 2,000 yards rushing on the season.
“We couldn’t do it without the team,” Green told reporters Friday night. “Aliam played an amazing game and we just wanted to come back here, beat Gaffney and shut up all the noise. We did that today.”
Dutch Fork scored on its first four possessions of the game to take a 24-6 lead with 11:47 left in the second quarter. Appler had a pair of TD runs in the first quarter of 15 and 18 yards. The senior then hit Green on a 39-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-6.
Appler finished 8-of-11 passing for 147 yards and three scores. He also carried it 10 times for 78 yards. The Silver Foxes gained 459 yards of offense and averaged 9.2 yards a play.
Defensive backs Ja’Von Mack and Virginia commit Landon Danley had interceptions for the Silver Foxes defense.
Gaffney quarterback Grayson Loftis threw for 410 yards and four touchdowns in the loss. Jamarcus Smith caught two of those TD passes for the Indians.
Abbeville 41, Saluda 16
Altavious Patterson and Zay Raford each had two touchdown runs in the second half as Abbeville rallied to win the Class 2A Upper State championship.
The Panthers will play Oceanside Collegiate Friday at 2 p.m for the 2A state title at Benedict College.
Abbeville trailed 16-6 at halftime and was down 16-13 going into the fourth quarter. But the Panthers scored four times in an eight-minute span in the final quarter.
Abbeville’s defense intercepted three passes and held Saluda to 35 yards in the second half. Patterson finished with 144 yards and Rayford had 120.
Saluda quarterback Jonah McCary threw for 134 yards and rushed for 76. His TD pass to JaMarcus Mobley put the Tigers up 16-6 with 2:44 in the second quarter.
This story was originally published November 25, 2022 at 11:11 PM.
