Emotional high as Carolina Forest beats Conway for first time
This one will go down in history for the Carolina Forest football program.
The Panthers won an epic battle over Conway on Friday night, defeating the rival Tigers for the first time in 12 tries 46-42 at Big Cat Stadium.
The spiritual significance of the win was amplified by the untimely death of Panthers assistant coach Edward Armstrong on Wednesday. The team's coaches and players celebrated the monumental win afterward on the field with Armstrong - who was the team's running backs coach - at the forefront of their minds.
"I felt like he was going to be with us, and I knew he was going to come through with us," running back Mark Timmons said of Armstrong, who was his position coach. "It's all thanks to him - he taught us almost everything we know. This one was for him - it was definitely for him."
The Panthers wore stickers with the initials EA in honor of Armstrong.
"What can you say?" said Carolina Forest head coach Drew Hummel. "For the first time in Carolina Forest history we beat Conway, No. 1.
"I can't say enough about this community and these kids. They rallied around just a tragic thing [that happened] to one of our family members. [Coach] Edward up there, he's smiling now. He was ready for this football game. I can't say enough about our kids and the resiliency they showed tonight. They laid it on the line."
The Panthers (7-4 overall, 2-3 Region VI-AAAA) ended their season without a playoff berth, but they can relish the first-ever victory over their Horry County rival in the offseason.
For Conway, the Tigers finish the regular season at 5-6 and 2-3 in region play, but still entertain playoff hopes, which will be determined today.
Conway coach Chuck Jordan wasn't concerned with his team's playoff standing afterward.
"I like to play defense and we didn't," said Jordan. "When you don't stop people, you don't win football games and we didn't even try. They outplayed us.
"I give them a lot of credit. They did a great job and jumped on us quick, they stayed ahead and they deserved to win."
Asked his evaluation of his team's playoff chances, Jordan said "I have no idea."
The Panthers pulled off the victory behind the play of quarterback Danny Daly and wide receivers Jarvez Holmes and Aaron Williams.
Daly had a hand in all seven Carolina Forest touchdowns, throwing for six - including four to Holmes in the first half and two to Williams in the second half. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior ran for the Panthers other score.
Holmes, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior, was literally all over the field in the first half, hauling in touchdown passes of 52, 23, 28, and 16 yards from Daly plus picking off Conway quarterback Robert Nelson two times.
Holmes' TD catches of 28 and 16 yards came on fourth down. The 16-yarder came on fourth-and-2 from the Conway 16 with 10 seconds left to give the Panthers a 32-21 halftime lead.
Conway dominated the third quarter, scoring two unanswered touchdowns and taking a 35-32 lead with 2:42 left in the third quarter on a 37-yard pass from Nelson to Malcolm Murphy.
The game turned into a see-saw affair from there. The Panthers scored the game-winner with 1:40 left to play when Daly found Williams in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and the final 46-42 lead.
The Carolina Forest defense stiffened on Conway's last-chance drive and the Tigers turned the ball over on downs to end the ballgame.
This story was originally published November 6, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Emotional high as Carolina Forest beats Conway for first time."