West Florence Line Propels Knights Past Conway, into Second Round

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FLORENCE |</strong> West Florence's offensive line has been trending up most of the season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a playoff-opening win over Conway, the Knights up front made it look easy, springing holes galore for primary tailbacks <strong>Tristian Collins</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820596' first='Jeremiah' last='Bryant']</strong> in a 42-7 win that pushed West to a second-round game at Myrtle Beach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“They were creating lanes and opening holes, and we capitalized off them,” Collins said of the linemen and tight ends ahead of him. “I felt comfortable in the first half. After the first play, I felt like we were going to be in control of the game.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823170' first='James' last='Tuttle']</strong> (LT), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816302' first='Kamori' last='Hawkins']</strong> (LG), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820597' first='D'Xavier' last='Simpson']</strong> (C), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823168' first='Matthew' last='Allen']</strong> (RG), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1675030' first='Tayden' last='Singletary']</strong> (RT) and tight ends <strong>Caden Tayler</strong> and <strong>Cooper Creagh</strong> were simply man-handling the Tigers' front seven all game, so much so that by the time fourth-string tailback <strong>Jeremiah Smiling-Waiters</strong> came into the game, he ripped off 72 yards and a touchdown yards on his first three carries.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Collins, the starter, ended his evening with 14 carries for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Bryant finished with 13 carries for 128 and a score. Third-stringer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1738331' first='Matt' last='Benjamin']</strong> had just one carry, but it was a 9-yard touchdown run. And Smiling-Waiters joined the touchdown club with 2 minutes and change left.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Simply, the dudes up front beat Conway into a lopsided final score after it was a narrow 14-7 at half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our first half, we're sitting there talking through adjustments. The offensive line and H-Backs were playing great. Everyone else was not playing the way we expected them to play,” Knights coach Chad Wilkes said. “ … The offensive line played the same in both halves. The score difference was because the running backs started doing what they're supposed to do.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And what they've been able to accomplish for much of the season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While official stats will be reviewed off film, the unofficial numbers showed both Collins and Bryant surpassed 1,000 yards rushing on the season during Friday's victory.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And it's all thanks to the line and tight ends.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Games that we win our offense line dominates. Games that we lose, our offensive line is up and down, a roller coaster. It's up to them,” Wilkes said. “It's always up to them. We don't have a choice. That's the type of team we are. … They have all the talent in the world. They aren't just big; they have good feet. Three of the five of them are going to be college football players. I want that pressure on them.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That pressure will likely be what determines the Knights' outcome at Myrtle Beach. During the first meeting - a 42-38 Seahawk victory on August 29 - the West Florence rushing attack did its job. Collins needed only six carries to hit 170 yards and a score while Bryant finished with 164 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. The Myrtle Beach offense was on point, though, and it equated to 0-2 start for the Knights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since then, the rushing attack has been more productive in terms of chewing off opportunities for the opposing offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rematch should be a doozy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>OTHER WEST FLORENCE NOTABLES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Romelo Patterson</strong> LB, 2026 - Patterson (knee) was held out of the game as a precaution. He entered the game with 83 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble from the regular season. He's expected to be fine for the Knights' second-round game at Myrtle Beach.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1856905' first='North' last='Willis'] </strong>WR, 2028 - Willis, who joined the PRZ rankings earlier this year, caught only three passes for 20 yards against the Tigers. However, his bigger influence on the game came when he pinned Conway inside their own 10-yard line twice during the first half, when the game was still in question. Both times, Conway was able to do nothing with the possession.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>CONWAY NOTABLES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1399640' first='Noah' last='Legg']</strong> QB, 2027 - Legg, who broke his throwing hand last month, was on the field Friday, but not how the Tigers would have liked. With a cast sill on his hand, he was moved to tight end for another game, leaving fellow junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820949' first='Makhai' last='Canty']</strong> starting behind center. Canty finished 16-of-22 for 94 yards. Canty completed his first 10 passes of the second half before throwing his first incompletion on a long third-down attempt midway through the fourth quarter. Legg, with one good hand, hauled in four passes for 43 yards.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gabe Williams</strong> RB, 2027 - Conway's biggest bright spot of the evening had 14 carries for 76 yards and the lone score. Had the Tigers not gone almost exclusively to the passing attack in the fourth quarter, he could have flirted with a 100-yard game. His best effort prior to Friday was a four-carry, 36-yard, one-touchdown performance against St. James on Oct. 17. Williams was predominately only playing linebacker before injures forced him to the other side of the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1371931' first='Jordan' last='Jenkins']</strong> WR, 2026 - The standout receiver's career ended with four receptions for 25 yards at West Friday night. Despite numerous issues with quarterbacks at Conway during his tenure, he still finished with more than 1,000 receiving yards for his career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>UP NEXT FOR WEST FLORENCE:</em></strong> At Myrtle Beach&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->