What We Saw: White Knoll 17, Dutch Fork 14
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RED BANK | It might be an understatement what the White Knoll defense has accomplished this season. The Timberwolves have only allowed one opponent to gain over 200 yards and were at it again Friday night in a dramatic 17-14…
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Continue ReadingRED BANK | It might be an understatement what the White Knoll defense has accomplished this season. The Timberwolves have only allowed one opponent to gain over 200 yards and were at it again Friday night in a dramatic 17-14 victory over defending Class 5A state champion Dutch Fork.
It was the first win over the Silver Foxes since 2009. It was gritty come-from-behind performance by the offense, but the White Knoll defense has been lights out since the beginning of the season. One would be hard-pressed to find a better group statistically than what Jaiden Kimble Jaiden Kimble 6'1" | 190 lbs | LB White Knoll | 2024 State SC , Lincoln Ilunga Lincoln Ilunga 6'0" | 195 lbs | DL White Knoll | 2024 State SC , Demenico Banks Demenico Banks 5'10" | 225 lbs | LB White Knoll | 2024 State SC and Caleb Geronomi Caleb Geronomi 6'0" | 160 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2026 State SC (pictured) and the rest of the pack have done.
They limited to Dutch Fork to 141 yards of total offense that included just 36 yards in the first half. They allow an average of 158 yards per game.
“We have lot of three year starters on defense,” White Knoll coach Nick Pelham said. “They’ve been playing very well and tackling much better than we have the last few years. We’re hitting (people). I love our physicality and love how we’re flying around.”
Leroy Simmons, Marcus Domenech, Nick Pierce, Cooper Burgess have been around the program for a number of years and that experience is finally paying off. James Smith James Smith 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2027 State SC and Devin Geronomi Devin Geronomi 6'0" | 160 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2025 State SC help hold down a secondary that is fast and physical once arriving at the ball.
In fact, the defense made three impressive stops after the Timberwolves took the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Tiyon Fanning Tiyon Fanning 6'0" | 170 lbs | RB White Knoll | 2027 State SC scored the winning touchdown on a 25-yard bootleg pass from Landon Sharpe Landon Sharpe 5'11" | 180 lbs | QB White Knoll | 2025 State SC to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive.
The defense then forced a three-and-out. Then after a Timberwolves fumble, their only turnover of the night, Caleb Geronomi Caleb Geronomi 6'0" | 160 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2026 State SC came up huge. First, he intercepted a pass with 7:58 remaining to halt the next series. Finally, he came off the corner and forced a fumble that Charles Plange recovered with 1:51 left to seal the victory. The Timberwolves converted one first down then were able to kneel out the clock.
White Knoll (7-0, 2-0) took a 10-0 lead into the half. Jordy Aguilera kicked a 22-yard field goal to open things up. Then with 55 seconds remaining in the half, Sharpe connected with Austin Cunningham Austin Cunningham 6'0" | 175 lbs | ATH White Knoll | 2024 State SC on a 23-yard TD pass.
Dutch Fork (2-5, 0-1) opened the second half with a bang. Maurice Anderson Maurice Anderson 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB Dutch Fork | 2025 State SC raced 85 yards with the kickoff to get the Silver Foxes on the board just 11 seconds into the second half. Then after the defense got a fourth down stop on the first White Knoll possession of the second half, Dutch Fork had its best drive of the night.
Jon Hunt helped the Silver Foxes convert two third downs and a fourth down before connecting with Ron Di Pietro on an 8-yard TD pass to give Dutch Fork a 14-10 lead with 3:28 remaining in the third.
It was the first time White Knoll had trailed this season.
Sharpe finished 15-of-26 for 154 yards and two scores, and he was the leading rusher with 46 yards. Evan Henderson was the leading receiver with five catches for 43 yards. Shrine Bowl pick Hasan Lee had four receptions for 25 yards before watching the second half with a boot on an injured foot.
“The dude is Landon (Sharpe). He’s the dude. He’s the best quarterback in South Carolina. People can argue. It’s not always pretty but he’s the best quarterback in South Carolina,” Pelham said. “Our offense led us to get back in the game.”
DUTCH FORK NOTABLE
Hunt finished 8-of-19 for 101 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was a little rusty after not having played since the season opener due to injury. He was the leading rusher with 22 yards. Trent Lodge had six catches for 73 yards.
The Dutch Fork defense was nearly as good as White Knoll’s. They limited the Timberwolves to 253 yards. Deon Winsley Deon Winsley 6'3" | 190 lbs | LB Dutch Fork | 2024 State SC had 12.5 tackles and one tackle for loss. Bryce Nutall had 7.5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Tyler Jones Tyler Jones 6'3" | 200 lbs | DB Dutch Fork | 2024 State SC finished with 4.5 tackles and one pass breakup.