What We Saw: Dutch Fork 35, Gaffney 10

Thomas Grant November 18, 2023 @ 08:33 AM

IRMO | Like most of the Dutch Fork football team, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1267290' first='Ethan' last='Offing'] struggled in his role the first half of the season.   He found himself thrusted in the starting role after Jonathan Hunt was injured in Week Zero against Colquitt County (Ga.). By the time Hunt returned to play, the Silver Foxes were 2-5 and in danger of suffering their first losing season under head coach Tom Knotts.   Fast forward six weeks and Offing and Dutch Fork have found their comfort zone. The 35-10 win over Gaffney in third round of the Class 5A Upper State playoffs saw Offing rush for two touchdowns and throw for 188 yards and a touchdown to Trenton Lodge, who also rushed for a score.   It was the Silver Foxes' sixth straight win. More important, this marked the second straight week Offing had successfully guided the offense as Hunt recovers from a hamstring injury.   Offing acknowledged the early struggles have made him a more confident quarterback in the postseason.   “It's helped me a lot more because the game's slowing down and I'm getting more comfortable with my teammates and my O-lineman, understanding the scene of the offense,” he said.   Having a dominant defense has also helped Dutch Fork regain its state championship swagger. Dutch Fork held Gaffney to 166 total yards, 37 in the second half, and without an offensive touchdown for the first time since a 46-2 loss to Northwestern on Sept. 23, 2016.     While pleased with Offing's performance, Knotts did not hesitate in crediting the defense with the victory.   “Defense won the game,” he said. “Lights out. Got down here and held them to field goals and they missed one. That's a good quarterback. That's as good of an overall wide receiving group that there is in the state, and we just shut them down. So, I'm just real pleased with the way the defense played.”   The Indians' lone touchdown came in the first quarter on a blocked punt returned 25 yards for a score by Crysstan Ellis. They also got a 23-yard field goal by Jake Spadavecchia.   Dutch Fork tied the game at 7-7 following Ellis' touchdown with an eight-play, 65-yard drive orchestrated by Offing. Using a combination of short passes and RPO plays, Offing put the Silver Foxes in position to score with his 17-yard keeper.   Offing's 10-yard scoring run on a keeper gave the Silver Foxes a 14-10 lead in the second quarter. Meanwhile, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='119009' first='Riley' last='Staton'] was pressured by Dutch Fork's defensive line to a season-high 54 passing yards.   His best offensive play was a 59-yard run in the first quarter. In the second half, he only completed three passes totaling 10 yards.   “They're really well-coached, real good coaches on the other side of the ball,” said Staton, who won a 2021 Class 2A title at Gray Collegiate.  “They came out. We tried to adjust; they were fixed exactly into what we adjusted to. Then, it was hard for us to get back. Came back out, we kept trying things. We kept trying things, but our energy got really low we honestly fell apart.”   Gaffney head coach Dan Jones credited the constant pressure placed on Staton by the Dutch Fork defensive line with minimizing the offense. In the end, that group did not provide the same production as the defense, according to Jones.   “They made some adjustments on defense,” he said. “They're very sound on defense. They saw he hadn't run the quarterback much and he just pulled it in the inside zone and took off with it. Later on, we needed to pull the trigger a little more instead of worrying about running it. But, evidently, the (wide receivers) were not open and they were pushing pressure on them early.”   Safety [player_tooltip player_id='1142713' first='Deon' last='Winsley'] had a team-high 5.5 tackles, defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='1012706' first='Josh' last='Smith'] (pictured) had the team's lone sack and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='771217' first='Terrance' last='Wells'] had two quarterback hurries.   Dutch Fork will play host to J.L. Mann Friday in the Class 5A Upper State final. It's the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

IRMO | Like most of the Dutch Fork football team, quarterback Ethan Offing Ethan Offing 5'11" | 180 lbs | QB Dutch Fork | 2026 SC struggled in his role the first half of the season.