<body><div>Carolina Forest endured a couple of beatdowns at the hands of Irmo and North Carolina power Hough earlier in the season.In fact, the Panthers hadn’t won a game since their opener on Aug. 23.But for Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris, none of that really mattered. What matters is that the Panthers are now 1-0 in Region 6-4A.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1tYfQU_0vvGPbkH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1tYfQU_0vvGPbkH00" width="1324" height="1564" >Jaryn Fox ran for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns on 22 carries as Carolina Forest (2-3-1, 1-0) steamrolled Socastee 37-3 on Friday to open region play.“Everything’s practice until we get to this point,” Morris said. “We came out ready to go tonight and did a great job tonight.”The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and four-game winless streak for the Panthers. Forgotten are the 41-0 loss to Irmo and the 55-7 loss to Hough.“Like I said, to me it’s all practice until we get to region play,” Morris said. “Then it’s the playoffs. You play them as they come and we were fortunate tonight to get a good win.”Friday was the first night of play in the new “beach region” consisting of all Horry County teams.New classifications, new regions: What to know about Horry County's 2024 football seasonBut it was the same old Carolina Forest. Morris oversees a run-oriented, no-huddle, hurry-up shotgun offense and it clicked on all cylinders. The Panthers didn’t throw much but quarterback Patrick Mullen made enough good throws to keep the defense honest.“Every game we tell our offensive line to get going,” Morris said. “We want our offensive line to do a good job of establishing the line of scrimmage.”It clearly worked Friday night.“We really just have to trust the O-line, trust the play calling and trust the coaches,” Fox said. “We play with confidence and play as a team.”All of that was more than Socastee (2-4, 0-1) could handle. The Braves were coming off a morale-boosting 14-13 win over previously unbeaten Loris. But the Braves struggled to move the ball consistently.“I thought we had something going on a couple of drives,” said Socastee assistant coach Chuck Henderson. “Penalties got us. We got behind the chains.”As for the Carolina Forest defense, it was a welcome performance after dealing with some elite offenses over the last month.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=17KiRB_0vvGPbkH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=17KiRB_0vvGPbkH00" width="1696" height="1222" ><figcaption>Socastee quarterback Christian Royals tries to chase down the&nbsp;ball after fumbling. Carolina Forest's&nbsp;Charles McCray (4) eventually&nbsp;recovered it&nbsp; on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (Photo by Mike Duprez/info@myhorrynews.com)</figcaption></figure>“It started with the coaches, watching film with them.” said defensive back Charles McCray, who had a fumble recovery to set up a touchdown. “They gave us the boost we needed. We played like brothers and made it happen.”Fox made it happen early when he raced 75 yards to the Socastee 13 on the Panthers’ second play from scrimmage.“We knew it was going to be open based on what we saw in practice,” Fox said. “And we executed it perfectly and got a lot of yards on it.”Fox scored on the next play.The Panthers got right back in business when Socastee quarterback Christian Royals fumbled and McCray recovered at the Braves’ 48.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3Fd2yT_0vvGPbkH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Fd2yT_0vvGPbkH00" width="1535" height="1351" ><figcaption>Carolina Forest's&nbsp;Nickolas Zincone surges forward&nbsp;on a 26-yard pass completion&nbsp; on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (Photo by Mike Duprez/info@myhorrynews.com)</figcaption></figure>A pair of penalties set the Panthers back but Mullen connected with wide receiver Nickolas Zincone on a 26-yard completion. Three plays later, Fox scored on a 3-yard run and Carolina Forest had a 14-0 lead.The Panthers extended their lead to 17-0 when Kiaan Jan kicked a 28-yard field goal with 4:26 left in the first half.Socastee responded with a solid drive, which ran short of time. But the Braves did get on the board when Daniel Devaux kicked a 32-yard field goal with 8.9 seconds remaining.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3rwJUC_0vvGPbkH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3rwJUC_0vvGPbkH00" width="1616" height="1283" ><figcaption>Socastee's&nbsp;Daniel Devaux kicks a 32-yard field goal&nbsp; on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (Photo by Mike Duprez/info@myhorrynews.com)</figcaption></figure>And, hopefully, some momentum.“We thought 17-3 would be a good springboard for us,” Henderson said.It wasn’t. Carolina Forest received the second half kickoff and Mullen darted 32 yards on the first play. Christopher Livingstone scored on an 8-yard run to cap a quick, 4-play, 66-yard drive and the Panthers pulled away.Fox scored on a 19-yard run near the end of the third quarter. Soon after that, the starters went to bench.Backup quarterback Kamren Long closed out the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.Yes, the Irmo and Hough games are long forgotten.“We really just had to listen to the coaches and keep our heads up,” Fox said. “You can’t dwell on the past. Just have to keep moving forward and try to win the [region] championship.”Carolina Forest visits St. James next Friday while Socastee is at North Myrtle Beach.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Fox, Carolina Forest roll past Socastee

Carolina Forest endured a couple of beatdowns at the hands of Irmo and North Carolina power Hough earlier in the season. In fact, the Panthers hadn’t won a game since their opener on Aug. 23. But for Carolina Forest coach Marc Morris, none of that really mattered. What matters...

Fox, Carolina Forest roll past Socastee

Comments / 0