LEXINGTON, S.C. — The last loss for Dutch Fork was in October against White Knoll, a 17-14 decision in Red Bank. That loss dropped the Silver Foxes to 2-5 while the Timberwolves would go on to post the program’s first undefeated regular season which allowed them to win the region title outright.
Meanwhile, Dutch Fork would keep plugging away and the Silver Foxes have found a way to string together seven consecutive wins to earn a rematch with their Region IV-5A rivals for the 5A state title.
White Knoll will take a 13-0 (one forfeit on the schedule) record into Friday’s contest. This will mark that program’s first trip to the finals but their head coach knows what it is like to play on that stage. When Dutch Fork was stringing together five consecutive 5A state titles, Nick Pelham was the defensive coordinator for the Kelly Green. Pelham is in his third season as the White Knoll head coach and he will try to go 2-0 this season against his former boss Tom Knotts.
Pelham has his experience working under Knotts to help mold White Knoll into a championship contender. Knotts has won seven state titles at Dutch Fork including six in the last seven seasons. Dutch Fork is playing in its 11th state championship game in the last 12 seasons.