5A Playoff Preview: Carolina Forest at Goose Creek
If any high-school football teams ever felt like an 8/9 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament, it has to be Carolina Forest and Goose Creek. The two teams will open the Class 5A playoffs against each other this week, with…
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Continue ReadingIf any high-school football teams ever felt like an 8/9 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament, it has to be Carolina Forest and Goose Creek.
The two teams will open the Class 5A playoffs against each other this week, with the winner expected to head to four-time defending state champion Dutch Fork in the second round. Still, you can’t take on the best if you don’t get to play the best. And it’s not like this is unfamiliar territory.
Goose Creek and Carolina Forest met a year ago in the playoffs, too. Behind then-quarterback Mason Garcia (229 total yards, three touchdowns) and running back David Legette (245 rushing yards, two touchdowns), the Panthers romped to a 41-14 to earn a trip to the Lower State finals (also against Dutch Fork).
This time around, Legette and Garcia are now playing for Wofford and East Carolina, respectively, and it’ll be up to a different backfield tandem.
Goose Creek, meanwhile, will be loading up with a first-year starting quarterback of its own alongside a 1,000-yard rusher.
What these four players do in this game could illustrate how well it has gone for either side.
LUKE JANACK, RB, CAROLINA FOREST
The budding star tallied four 100-yard games during the regular season, and the lone times he didn’t probably had more to do with the fact that he was given seven or fewer carries. Still, while rushing for 825 yards and 16 touchdowns, Janack is a home-run threat every time he breaks at the snap. It’s why the junior will likely have some offers coming his way soon.
KYLE WATKINS, QB, CAROLINA FOREST
A two-year starter at receiver – and also the school’s starting point guard for the basketball team – Watkins is a pure athlete who has taken the job and run with it. The senior leads the team in rushing (835 yards) to go along with his 612 passing yards. All told, he’s played a role in 23 touchdowns on the ground and through the air.
DREW MOORE, QB, GOOSE CREEK
Moore replaced Emmanuel Mukuamu, an all-star dual-threat quarterback. Moore is certainly much more of a true pocket passer. The 6-foot-1 sophomore has made the most of his big targets on the outside (namely 6-foot-3 senior James Levine) and threw for an average of 230 yards and two touchdowns per game during the regular season.
Demetri Simmons Demetri Simmons 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Goose Creek | 2022 State SC , RB, GOOSE CREEK
Simmons has been chewing up a ton of real estate all season. He averaged better than 6 yards a carry and 177 yards per game while playing a pretty competitive slate. The 6-foot, 185-pound junior probably didn’t get into the end zone as much as he liked (once every 25 carries or so), but he moves the chains so much behind a big offensive line that it can help the Gators late in the game.