Carolina Forest pours it on in win over St. James
When moved from its typical Friday night slot to Thursday evening, rain wasn’t expected to play much of a role in the annual Coney Bowl matchup between Carolina Forest and St. James.
Apparently, the Panthers failed to get the memo.
Though not of the wet variety, Carolina Forest poured it on against its rival, totally dismantling the Sharks en route to a 42-0 win.
“Our goal is to really play each play as perfectly as we can, and see where it goes,” said Carolina Forest head coach Marc Morris. “(Thursday night) our kids came out very excited and focused on the task at hand, and we’re happy with the result though far from where we want to be.”
Morris may have a tough time deciding who to hand game balls to following this one.
The Panthers (2-0) dominated all three phases of the game, scoring 21 points in the opening quarter. Two of those scores came on the offensive side of the ball – one courtesy of quarterback Matt Beale’s 15-yard pass to wideout Ismail Garcia, the other a 5-yard touchdown scamper by running back Anthony McAfee.
But it was the one sandwiched between those that may have taken the wind completely out of the Sharks’ sails.
Down 7-0 and seeking to convert on fourth down in Carolina Forest territory, a blitz by the Panthers flustered St. James quarterback Berkeley Young. As the young signal-caller struggled to keep the play alive, the ball was jarred loose and picked up by defensive lineman Stephen Akel, who rumbled 52 yards for a touchdown.
St. James (0-3) never recovered.
“Turnovers are humongous,” said St. James head coach Robby Brown. “You put the ball on the ground, you’re going to lose ballgames and get blown out real easy.”
Beale added a touchdown just before the halftime break, a 10-yard run to pay dirt. For the game, he was 7-for-10 for 96 yards and touchdown passing, and six carries for 36 yards and that other score on the ground.
The onslaught continued after intermission, as Carolina Forest went 52 yards in four plays, McAfee going the final nine yards en route to his second score of the game.
Not to be outdone, Panthers star running back Dyverse Simmons – who surpassed the 200-yard mark for the second consecutive week – put a lid on the scoring deluge, breaking the tackle of several St. James tacklers and skirting the sideline to get into the end zone.
Despite another sterling performance, the Carolina Forest standout’s mind was on one of the few mistakes he made in the game.
“This wasn’t one of my better games,” Simmons said. “I had no business fumbling on that one run in the second quarter, and there were several other things I could have done better. I’m not satisfied.”
His coach echoed those sentiments, believing the Panthers have plenty of room to get better.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Morris said. “We’re hoping this is just the beginning.”
Carolina Forest | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | — | 42 |
St. James | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
First quarter
CF — Ismael Garcia 15 pass from Matt Beale (Freddie Kane kick)
CF — Stephen Akel 52 fumble return (Kane kick)
CF — Anthony McAfee 5 run (Kane kick)
Second quarter
CF — Beale 10 run (Kane kick)
Third quarter
CF — McAfee 9 run (Kane kick)
CF — Dyverse Simmons 50 run (Kane kick)
Individual leaders
Rushing: Carolina Forest: Dyverse Simmons 14-255, Matt Beale 6-36, Anthony McAfee 4-19, Nas Nesmith 4-20, S. Garcia 3-9, No. 32 2-13. St. James: Jay-Mion Pressley 18-31, Sage Pascoe 1-9, Berkeley Young 5-(-7), No. 17 2-(-1).
Passing: Carolina Forest: Beale 7-10-96-1, S. Garcia 2-3-12-0. St. James: Young 6-14-39-1, Jack Floyd 1-2-8-0.
Receiving: Carolina Forest: Ismael Garcia 4-46, Richmond Collier 1-30, Shykym Little 3-26, Derrick Alston 1-6. St. James: Hayden Davidson 1-16, Pascoe 3-13, Bryce Terhart 2-11, Gage Flohr 1-7.
Joe L. Hughes II: 843-444-1702, @thejournalist44
This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Carolina Forest pours it on in win over St. James."