By Thomas Grant Jr. The high school football playoffs are over, but the All-Star season is in full gear. This weekend will see a pair of games featuring some of the top players from Richland and Lexington counties. Palmetto I-20 Classic The third edition of the All-Star game takes placeContinue Reading
ORANGEBURG | Just two months ago, Dutch Fork was a loss away from posting its first-ever losing season under head coach Tom Knotts. Last week, the Silver Foxes found itself trailing J.L. Mann nine points and facing their first loss in the Lower State final. Friday night at Oliver C.Continue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. The “Greatest Story Ever” is reaching its dramatic climax at Dutch Fork High School. Justin Welch’s 39-yard field goal with 2.4 seconds left gave the Silver Foxes a 31-30 victory over J.L. Mann and the Class 5A Upper State title. The kick capped a frantic comebackContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. The town of Irmo has two football teams still in the running for state titles. Both Irmo and Dutch Fork are headed to the state semifinals in Classes 5A and 4A, respectively. While the Silver Foxes will face J.L. Mann at home for the Upper StateContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. How things can change in the span of six weeks. It was at that time defending Class 5A champion Dutch Fork suffered a 17-14 loss to White Knoll. The defeat not only ended a 32-game winning streak in region play but also put the defending ClassContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. The schools’ Dutch Fork and Gaffney embody championship tradition in South Carolina High School football. The Silver Foxes have won seven state titles since 2013, while the Indians hold the state record with 18. Their most recent title was won in 2021 over Dutch Fork byContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. The arrival of the postseason has not just seen the Dutch Fork football team emerge as state champions. The Silver Foxes become “Road Warriors” who enjoy playing in other domains as much as their friendly confines in Irmo. Since head coach Tom Knotts’ arrival in 2011,Continue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. Throughout Tom Knotts’ legendary head coaching career, he’s always remained fixated on finishing a season strong. That approach was put to the test this season as Dutch Fork found itself in an atypical position. Not only would the Silver Foxes have any share of the RegionContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. The Region 4-5A title may have been settled last week by White Knoll, which has a bye before the playoffs. However, the stakes are very high this week in the final two games of the regular season in the region. In one matchup, defending Class 5AContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. There’s a higher level of urgency around the Dutch Fork football program than usual. With two games remaining, the Silver Foxes will not win a share of the region title for the first time under head coach Tom Knotts. They also find themselves in the positionContinue Reading
By Thomas Grant Jr. It’s unchartered territory for Dutch Fork High School under head coach Tom Knotts. Since arriving from North Carolina in 2010, he has orchestrated a football dynasty in Irmo. Along with seven state titles, he has guided the Silver Foxes to 13 consecutive region titles and zeroContinue Reading