‘This team has been tested’: Carolina Forest tandem leads a blowout win over Socastee
It’s the Janack brothers’ world; we’re all just living in it.
Maybe it’s not quite that simple, but it sure seemed that way Friday night, as the brothers Janack led Carolina Forest to a 41-6 romp over region foe Socastee, clinching its place in the Class 5A playoffs. The pair starred on offense and defense, with younger brother Luke finding the end zone five times – three on offense and two on defense – with older brother Adam on the receiving end of a 54-yard bomb from Kyle Watkins.
Panthers (3-1, 2-1 Region 6-5A) coach Marc Morris could only laugh when asked about the tandem following their stellar performance.
“Those guys are two of the best football players I’ve been around,” he said. “You know, they are really good defensive players, but they both showed how much they can offer on offense (tonight). They work incredibly hard during the week and it shows on Friday night.”
In a matchup of two teams vying for the second playoff spot from the region, Carolina Forest showed its chops, quickly putting the hammer down on the accelerator with a 21-point first quarter. No matter the circumstances surrounding the game – Socastee’s homecoming, the Braves debuting new uniforms, a sellout that had a playoff atmosphere pregame – Carolina Forest looked cool and collected all night.
“We’ve been in this situation before, this team has been tested over the past few weeks,” said Luke Janack following his team’s win. “Last week (at Sumter) we were in a tough atmosphere and didn’t come away with the result we wanted. All week at practice we had that as fuel, we knew this was going to be a big matchup and a tough atmosphere.”
Things got away from Socastee quickly, with a three-and-out on offense leading to a quick Carolina Forest score to open the game. From there, the first quarter would look like a Luke Janack highlight film, as the running back and linebacker scored twice more in the frame, while his brother got into the action in the second quarter before Luke’s first pick-6 ended the half with a bang.
“Right now, we know that Carolina Forest is who we have to measure ourselves against,” said Socastee coach Ben Hampton. “They are the class of this region and you saw the difference tonight. (Coach Morris) is quite a few years into building their program, we’re about eight months in over here, so we know what we’re aiming for and working toward. Tonight, you could tell on the field that they are bigger, stronger, and faster than we are – that’s not an excuse, that’s just where we are. We’ve got a chance to end year one at 5-2, which would be a big win for us. We wanted to make the playoffs and put ourselves into a position coming into this game to get there, but playoffs or bust wasn’t how we came into this season.”
Hampton was quick to heap praise on Carolina Forest and its defense, which put his offense behind the sticks, forced negative plays, and turned over the Braves multiple times in each half.
“We put our defense in a lot of bad spots tonight,” he said. “A lot of that is because of what Carolina Forest was able to do (to put us in bad spots). We have to take the right attitude from this and continue to work hard the rest of this season. There’s a lot we can improve on. I’m proud that my guys didn’t give up and put some points on the board at the end of the game. We aren’t looking for moral victories, but that effort showed me a lot.”
Friday’s result aside, Carolina Forest is back in the playoffs, something that Morris feels is a checklist box for his program each year.
“To make the playoffs this year, you have to be one of the top eight teams (in your bracket),” he said. “Everybody that makes it that far is going to be a good team, but we have no problems getting on a bus and going to play at someone else’s place.”
For now, the Panthers and Braves will have a few weeks of regular season games to play, with program expectations building on both sides.
CF – 21 13 7 0 – 41
SOC – 0 0 0 6 – 6
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CF – Luke Janack 7-yard run (JJ Chadick kick good) 9:12
CF – Luke Janack 17-yard run (Chadick kick good) 5:57
CF – Luke Janack 15-yard run (Chadick kick good) 2:08
Second Quarter
CF – Kyle Watkins 54-yard pass to Adam Janack (kick failed) 10:02
CF – Luke Janack 80-yard interception return (Chadick kick good) 8:26
Third Quarter
CF – Luke Janack 33-yard interception return (Chadick kick good) 5:51
Fourth Quarter
SOC - Rocco Wojcik 4-yard run (2-point try failed) 5:45
Statistical Leaders
Passing
CF – Kyle Watkins 4-7-76 TD
SOC – Jake Marlow 6-13-56
Rushing
CF – Kyle Watkins 8-78
SOC – Michael James 10-14
Receiving
CF – Adam Janack 2-68 TD
SOC – Raymond Christian 3-65
Interceptions
CF – Luke Janack 2, Patrick Mauro, Noah Chudyk, Zach McLaughlin
SOC – None