Class 5A State Championship Preview

Jed Blackwell November 30, 2021 @ 05:46 PM

Gaffney (14-0) vs. Dutch Fork (13-0) A matchup scheduled hastily for early in the season was cancelled due to tragedy. Now that it’s here, the winner will taste the ultimate triumph. Gaffney was set to host Dutch Fork way back in Week 1. That game was scheduled due to an unexpected opening on Gaffney’s schedule, and was cancelled following the tragic death of Silver Foxes player Jack Alkhatib. The teams have seemed on a collision course since then. On Saturday, they’ll finally meet. Gaffney was last unbeaten this deep in the season in 2011, when they lost the 4A Division I title to Byrnes. The Indians last played for a title in 2012, when they defeated - you guessed it - Dutch Fork. If they want to pull it off again, the Indians will have to use their rugged rushing game. That was on full display last week, as [player_tooltip player_id="31310" first="Tyler" last="Smith"] torched Spartanburg for 178 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 9.9 yards per carry. Smith added a TD reception, and had 100 more yards and two more touchdowns called back due to penalties in the Indians 56-31 victory. [player_tooltip player_id="89326" first="Sawyer" last="Whitman"] and the Gaffney OL paved the way up front and QB [player_tooltip player_id="89340" first="Grayson" last="Loftis"] did a lot more than managing the game. He threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to Edward Jefferies and a 63-yarder to Emazon Littlejohn. Defensively, the Indians totaled 4 sacks on the night, with Brayshawn Littlejohn, [player_tooltip player_id="59498" first="Jesus" last="Dowdle"], and Landon Bullock leading the way. For the Silver Foxes to continue their unprecedented run of success in the state’s biggest classification, they’ll need to lean on what they were able to do on Friday: survive a test. In basically the only game in which Dutch Fork has been pushed this season, the Silver Foxes pushed back. Leading just 14-7 in the third quarter and with Fort Dorchester driving, Dutch Fork came up with an interception to turn the Patriots away at the 4-yard line, and immediately cashed in as Davin Patterson found [player_tooltip player_id="61070" first="Antonio" last="Williams"] for a 96-yard score to make it 21-7 and provide some breathing room. Williams provided a game-clinching interception for Dutch Fork, and [player_tooltip player_id="91136" first="Jarvis" last="Green"] continued his magnificent season, scoring on a TD run and a 74-yard TD reception before being limited by an injury in the second half.