St. James got the jump on Carolina Forest last week.
The Panthers made sure that didn’t happen again as they raced to a big early lead and rolled past the Sharks 42-14 in the first round of the 5A state playoffs Friday night.
Quarterback Ethan Hamilton threw two touchdown passes to Finn Mahood and ran for another while Jamauri Davis returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown as the Panthers (8-3) won their seventh in a row. The Panthers will host West Ashley in the second round next Friday.
“The kids did a good job,” said Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris. “I don’t know how many people have done it but it’s difficult to play somebody back-to-back, especially when they have a coach like Tommy Norwood. … Our kids did a great job tonight.”
The Panthers made big plays on offense, defense, and special teams in building an insurmountable 28-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“All week we preach that we’re the better team,” Davis said. “We came out expecting that. We did our jobs, we excelled, and you see the score.”
St. James (3-8) couldn’t match last week’s beginning in the regular season finale when the Sharks stunned Carolina Forest early and led 14-0. The Panthers recovered and won 35-14.
The Davis interception, a fumble recovery in the red zone by Jonathan Rivas and a long punt return by Carson Kwant heaped a lot of woe on the Sharks.
It’s not for lack of trying. The Sharks opened the game by recovering an onside kick and quickly moved to the Carolina Forest 28. But a holding penalty led to the effort unravelling.
“We got an onside kick to start the game, which is what we planned to do,” Norwood said. “Then we got a 15-yard penalty that backed us up. From there, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. … They’re a good football team and when you get an opportunity to make some plays, you’ve got to make them.”
Soon after the Sharks’ chance, Khalil Johnson took off on a 54-yard jaunt to the St. James 1. Hamilton ran it on the next play and Carolina Forest led 7-0.
