A win away from South Carolina High School sports immortality.

It’s where the Dutch Fork football team finds itself Friday night at Charlie W. Johnson stadium on the campus of Benedict College. 

The Silver Foxes blanked Sumter 24-0 for its 5th straight Class 5A Lower State title. Quarterback Will Taylor threw for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 90 yards and a score as the defense posted its 14th shutout win since 2016. 

Should the Silver Foxes defeat TL Hanna in the Class 5A title game for the 2nd time in 4 years, they would have succeeded where 6 other South Carolina teams failed in winning an unprecedented 5th straight title:

• Florence (1916-19): Charleston won the state title in 1920

• Woodruff (1975-78): defeated by Batesburg-Leesville in 1979 Class 2A title game

• JF Byrnes (2002-05): defeated by Gaffney in 2006 Class 4A Division 1 quarterfinal

• Christ Church (2011-14): Lost to McBee in 2015 Class A quarterfinal 

• Dillon (2012-15): Lost to Chapman in 2016 Class 3A title game 

• Abbeville (2015-18): Lost to Saluda in 2019 Class 2A Upper State final

Dutch Fork is the 4th team to play in a 5th straight title game, joining Woodruff (1975-80), Myrtle Beach (1980-84) and Dillon (2012-19). 

Woodruff had its bid thwarted by Batesburg-Leesville in the 1979 Class 2A title game, Myrtle Beach was defeated in its 3rd trip to the Class 3A finals by JF Byrnes and Dillon fell to Chapman in the 2016 Class 3A final. 

Dutch Fork has already achieved state history, becoming the 1st team in SCHSL history to win 23 straight playoff games. The previous mark of 22 was set by Abbeville from 2015 to 2019. This goes with its current streak of 49 straight games without a loss and 48 straight wins over in-state teams. 

Standing in the way of more state history for Dutch Fork is a familiar state final foe in TL Hanna. The Silver Foxes defeated the Yellow Jackets 59-20 in the 2018 Class 5A final as it scored 42 unanswered points.

This year’s Yellow Jacket team enters the game also at 9-0, following playoff wins over Ridge View (28-20), Gaffney (34-33) and Northwestern (28-24) in the Lower State final.

Kickoff is at 7:30 pm Friday. The game can be seen on WACH 57 or online for a fee at www.nfhsnetwork.com. 

Gilbert, Gray Collegiate

fall in state semifinals

The quest for a 1st ever state title appearance ended with road losses for Gilbert and Gray Collegiate.

The Indians fell 58-7 to Camden at Zemp Stadium. Quarterback Izayah Whiteside accounted for the team’s lone score on a 44-yard touchdown run as running back Colton Mason was held to a season-low 82 yards. 

Over at Hite Stadium, the War Eagles fell 28-10 to top-ranked Abbeville. Gray Collegiate had a 10-7 lead in the 1st half after a 5-yard touchdown run by KZ Adams when Abbeville used a halfback option pass from Ty’rell Hooden to convert a 64-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the lead for good.

Both teams ended their seasons with a 8-1 record. 

Familiar ties

Class 4A finalist North Myrtle Beach were previously led by current Lexington School District 1 coaches Perry Woolbright (Lexington) and C. Blair Hardin (River Bluff). 

AC Flora head coach Dustin Curtis is a Lexington High graduate who played for the 2000 Class 4A state runner-up team. The Falcons face North Myrtle Beach in this year's Class 4A title game that can be seen at 7:30 pm Saturday on Spectrum Channel 1250.

Daniel is playing for its 1st state title since 1998, when it won the 4th of its 5 state titles under former Lexington head coach Allen Sitterle.

ALL-CHRONICLE COUNTRY TEAM NOMINEES

All coaches can send their player nominees for the 2020 All-Chronicle Country football teams to chroniclesports@yahoo.com. The deadline for all nominations is Dec. 18.

AT BENEDICT COLLEGE

(Friday’s Games)

TL Hanna vs. Dutch Fork (Class 5A) 7:30 pm

(Saturday’s Game)

Southside Christian vs. Lake View (Class A) 11:30 am

AT SPRING VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

(Saturday’s Games)

Camden vs. Daniel (Class 3A) 3:30 pm  

North Myrtle Beach vs. AC Flora (Class 4A) 7:30 pm