Carolina Forest starts slow before taking care of business against Loris

Carolina Forest looked sloppy for a half of football and then near dominant for another.

The latter was all that mattered.

The Panthers defeated Loris 32-0 on Friday night in what amounted to the final non-region game for both teams. It was the second consecutive shutout for Carolina Forest over the Lions, but this one had a different feel from last year’s 21-0 victory.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, and one of the Panthers’ two second-quarter touchdowns – neither of which was followed up by a successful point-after-try – was a quirky return off a botched Loris punt. Later, Loris failed to cover up a pooch kickoff from Freddie Kane, and then Carolina Forest started to pull away when quarterback Matt Beale hit Shawn Mallo with a quick slant that Mallo turned into an 81-yard touchdown reception.

The Panthers would add two more touchdowns on their next two possessions, leading to the lopsided final score.

Carolina Forest (3-2) and Marc Morris will return home next week, at which point they will open region play against high-flying Socastee (4-1). Loris (2-3), meanwhile, will play the first of three consecutive road region games when it heads to Lake City.

Turning point

Carolina Forest had missed out on several opportunities to earn a three-score lead in the first half, but finally made good early in the second when Matt Beale connected with Shawn Mallo for an 81-yard touchdown pass. Mallo was allowed to run free courtesy of a nifty downfield block from fellow receiver Jackson Weatherwax.

Key performers

Matt Beale, Carolina Forest: The Panthers quarterback finished with 321 total yards, with 210 of those coming through the air and another 111 on the ground.

Nathan Miller, Carolina Forest: The seldom mentioned lineman picked up a botched Loris punt attempt midway through the second quarter and returned it 21 yards to put Carolina Forest up 12-0.

Waderek Hemingway, Loris: Starting at running back, Hemingway rushed for 117 yards on 23 carries.

By the numbers

18

Carolina Forest piled up 18 first downs in the game, including 11 in the first half alone. It was twice as many as Loris had in the game.

5

Five different Panthers caught passes on Friday, and no player had more than three.

2

Carolina Forest had two turnovers in the game, both of which came in the second quarter and inside the Loris red zone.

They said it

“It’s always been a part of our game. We prefer to run the ball – you know that. I’m not going to deny that any time. But if the situation calls for it, we’ve got a good quarterback and we’ve got the receivers.” Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris, after his team’s second straight big passing game.

“Probably not as far as I want to be, to be perfectly honest with you. We play well in spots. I wish we were more consistent. We’ve talked about that as a team. It’s just something we’ve got to get better at.” - Morris, on his team’s standing heading into region play.

Up next

Carolina Forest: vs. Socastee

Loris: at Lake City

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Carolina Forest starts slow before taking care of business against Loris."