Dutch Fork outlasts Dorman; Stephen Davis Jr. injured
At Silver Foxes Stadium, Dorman and Dutch Fork, 4A powers familiar with each other in the postseason, gunned at each other as if they were in the playoffs Friday night.
And on one lightning-quick 5-play, 86-yard drive, Silver Foxes quarterback Cole Douglas burst into the end zone with 24 seconds left to close out a 38-35 victory against the Cavaliers.
Douglas led Dutch Fork (2-2) as the game’s leading rusher who also passed for 215 yards. Austin Connor, who made two clutch catches that moved the Silver Foxes into scoring position on the final drive, finished the night with seven receptions for 130 yards.
Both teams battled through nine lead changes in the game.
It was the first loss of the season for the Cavaliers (4-1).
Stephen Davis Jr., who made his first start in the backfield last week in a 54-34 win at Boiling Springs, went down with a right knee injury in the first quarter and did not return. Coach Tom Knotts said the extent of his injury is not known, but it is being treated as if it were an ACL tear.
Davis, who rushed for 204 yards and six touchdowns and caught a 50-yard TD pass last week, finished the night with four carries and 26 yards.
TURNING POINT
Dutch Fork picked up a first-and-goal at the Dorman 5-yard line with 40 seconds left. Four plays later Cole burst in for the go-ahead score. Later, Bobby Irby intercepted a deep pass to seal the win for the Silver Foxes.
KEY PERFORMERS
Cole Douglas: The Dutch Fork quarterback completed 14 of 21 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a 68-yard touchdown run, a game-winning 1-yard TD, and rushed for 133 yards.
Collin Hill: The Dorman quarterback completed 27 of 38 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns to one interception.
OBSERVATION
Conversion: The Dorman offense proved pretty hard to stop. The Cavaliers converted on third down 8 of 10 times, and their one fourth-down conversion was a 40-yard Collin-Hill to Tyrek Long touchdown pass.
THEY SAID IT
“Coach told us all week that they could put up 40 points and we had to put up 41. That’s just how the game goes.” – Dutch Fork quarterback Cole Douglas
“I don’t know how we did it. We were going to run Stephen (Davis) right and run him left, but then he goes down and couldn’t return. It kind of deflated us a bit, but that’s life, it’s not three straight state championships, life will knock you down. We took advantage of some (Dorman mistakes) and made some plays. That’s why we play Friday night.” – Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts
KEY NUMBERS
9: lead changes.
784: total yards for Dutch Fork (445) and Dorman (339).
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
D – Shanard Bain 7 run (Davis Rogers kick) 6:46
DF – Alec DeBoer 5 pass from Cole Douglas (Ford Williams kick) :15
2nd Quarter
DF – Williams 30 field goal 9:56
D – Tyrek Long 4 pass from Collin Hill (Rogers kick) 3:17
DF – Douglas 68 run (Williams kick) 2:23
D – Woodruff 12 pass from Hill (Rogers kick) :15
3rd Quarter
DF – Clayton Jones 1 run (Williams kick) 1:21
4th Quarter
D – Long 18 pass from Hill (Rogers kick) 11:02
DF – Jones 3 run (Williams kick) 5:07
D – Long 40 pass from Hill (Rogers kick) 1:22
DF – Cole 2 run (Williams kick) :24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: D – Shanard Bain 13-68, Collin Hill 4-10. DF – Cole Douglas 19-133, Stephen Davis 4-26, Clayton Jones 14-45, Chris Colburn 2-5.
Passing: D – Collin Hill 27-38-1. DF – Cole Douglas 14-21-0, Caleb Clark 1-1-0.
Receiving: D – Tyrek Long 14-113, Shanard Bain 5-61, Diquan Green 4-46, Eli Buckley 2-25, Bryson Woodruff 2-18. DF – Austin Connor 7-130, Alec DeBoer 4-33, Dante Scott 2-28, Bobby Irby 2-56.