Carolina Forest makes sure history doesn’t repeat itself in first round of playoffs

Carolina Forest lost its final four games of 2016. Matt Beale and his Panther teammates wanted to make sure history didn’t repeat itself.

The team won its first playoff game as a member of the state’s largest football classification with a 34-21 victory at Lexington on Friday. And they did it in dynamic fashion.

After trailing by 14 points 13 minutes into the game, the offense came alive and the defense followed suit, carving up the Wildcats en route to the win.

“It was frustrating at the beginning,” Beale said. “Once we got past that, once we got past the nervousness, past ‘Oh, wow, we’re in the playoffs at Lexington,’ we just did our thing.”

Coming into the game, Lexington was allowing an average of just 17 points per game. Carolina Forest doubled that mark with a combination of some effective play calling and a few huge plays. Maybe none of them was bigger than Beale’s 72-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Weatherwax 16 seconds into the fourth quarter. It gave the Panthers a 13-point lead and it was as close as the game would be the rest of the way.

“Our offensive line was starting to win that battle up front,” coach Morris said after his first playoff win at the school. “We were able to get 5-, 6-yard carries. … No doubt, that third quarter was huge. Scoring on the first drive (of the second half) was huge.”

Lexington dominated the first two meetings between the two schools, in 2014 and 2015. And the Wildcats and coach Perry Woolbright – who had his first head coaching job at North Myrtle Beach before heading to the Midlands – were favored to win this game, too.

However, Carolina Forest, a No. 4 seed, kept its season alive. Morris and Co. will head to Fort Dorchester, which made quick work of Socastee in the opening round, next week. Few will expect the Panthers’ season to extend another week, but if nothing else, they changed the narrative from the one that haunted them after last year.

“After that Conway, I looked in the mirror and said I couldn’t end my season with four straight losses,” Beale said. “We couldn’t have that again.”

Turning point

Carolina Forest earned every bit of the momentum necessary in the third quarter. During that 12-minute span, the Panthers turned a seven-point deficit into a six-point advantage, in part because it allowed the Wildcats to gain fewer than 20 yards in the quarter.

Key performers

Matt Beale: The Carolina Forest quarterback had 137 yards passing and 91 rushing, with all but 3 of those total yards coming in the second half.

Jose Carter: The sophomore defense end had several tackles for loss and quarterback pressures while playing opposite of a senior offensive tackle.

Shawn Mallo: Two of Mallo’s three receptions went for touchdowns, and both came in the second half.

By the numbers

5

This was Carolina Forest’s fifth all-time playoff victory, and the first as a member of the state’s largest classification.

8

From the beginning of the second quarter on, the Panthers recorded eight more first downs than Lexington.

22

The two teams combined for 22 penalties in the game for 160 total yards.

They said it

“That was about our defense. We gave up a couple big plays early, but we weathered the storm. … We came out and we were so nervous, we could barely run a play on offense.” - Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris.

“You go in to win, don’t you?” - Morris, on having to play the state’s No. 1 team, Fort Dorchester, in the second round.

“When we had a chance, we didn’t put our foot on the gas pedal. … And then we came out flat in the second half.” - Lexington coach Perry Woolbright, on his team going from a 14-0 lead to a 34-14 deficit in a matter of basically two quarters.

Up next

Carolina Forest: at Fort Dorchester

Lexington: season over

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Carolina Forest makes sure history doesn’t repeat itself in first round of playoffs."