Conway pulls away in rivalry game to head into postseason with momentum

As it turned out, the result of Friday’s Carolina Forest-Conway game meant nothing to either team’s playoff matchups.

But after the Tigers scored five straight touchdowns en route to a 42-21 win, first-year coach Carlton Terry’s squad will be entering the postseason with a head of steam unlike any Conway team in a decade.

Conway tied up the game at 14 just before half, then outscored the Panthers by three touchdowns in the third quarter, using their quick-strike offense and all its weapons seemingly to perfection.

“Carolina Forest, they came in with a great plan. Their offense is explosive,” Terry said. “… But it does give us a chance to improve. Coming out here in the second half, it’s going to help us in the playoffs. Just because we get down, we can’t get down on ourselves. We have to execute on offense.”

The Tigers did just that, especially during the second half. They had six plays of 14 or more yards in the span of just 14 minutes of game time, blowing up a close game and cruising into the waning moments.

Conway, which finished the regular season 9-1 overall and a perfect 5-0 in Region VI-AAAAA, will now face Wando in the opening round next week at home.

Carolina Forest, meanwhile, was going to finish fourth in the region regardless of the outcome, thanks to West Florence’s victory over South Florence. All that was left for the Panthers was to discover an opponent. Coach Marc Morris’ team will head to Lexington, marking a trip to the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

“It’s a lot of credit to a lot of people. Our senior class, we had them as freshmen when they were coming in. We worked on winning football – not necessarily winning games, but how to be successful and how to be a part of a program,” Morris said. “It’s a tribute to a lot of people, a lot of coaches. The kids bought into it. … The goal is to win the state championship. You can’t win it if you ain’t in.”

Turning point

Carolina Forest was leading 14-7 late in the second quarter when it took over on its own 9-yard line. The Panthers recorded three first downs and got to midfield before an interception set Conway up for a quick-strike drive of its own. From there, the Tigers scored five consecutive touchdowns and weren’t threatened again.

Key performers

Antonio Long: The Conway tailback had just nine carries for 45 yards in limited action, but two of those rushes went for touchdowns.

Darren Grainger: The Tiger quarterback threw for a score, ran for another and tallied 171 total yards.

Matt Beale: The Carolina Forest quarterback threw for 216 yards, his fourth 200-yard game of the year.

By the numbers

5

Five different Tigers scored touchdowns on the night.

6

Conway had six plays of 25 yards or more against the Panthers.

3

This is the first time in Carolina Forest’s history that the Panthers have qualified for the state playoffs in three straight seasons.

They said it

“We do everything the same. We meet on Sundays and see what advantages we can get with our playbook. But we stay within our playbook. We want to keep things the same for our kids.” - Carlton Terry, on Conway’s preparation for the playoffs.

“Allowing them to score right before half to make it 14-14, and us not being able to score (was huge). They go ahead 21-14, and then we get down there. Not only do we not score and throw an interception, but we allow them to flip the field on us. That was the biggest play in the game right there.” - Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris, going from a touchdown lead to a two-touchdowns deficit in a mere matter of minutes.

Up next

Carolina Forest: at Lexington

Conway: vs. Wando

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Conway pulls away in rivalry game to head into postseason with momentum."