Dutch Fork’s early-season domination continues as the Silver Foxes picked up a 42-7 win over Gray Collegiate on Friday. 

The Silver Foxes are now (5-0) this season, having won each game by at least 22 points. The win over the War Eagles was the team’s second-highest margin of victory this season, behind a 42-point win against Spartanburg. 

“This is one of the best teams I’ve ever had,” head coach Tom Knotts said after the game. “I’m just not sure I’ve had this much talent ever.”

That talent was on full display against Gray. 

Quarterback Jaxon Knotts finished 26-of-34 for 282 yards and four touchdowns. 

Quintin Wilson led all rushers, running for 115 yards on 10 carries. A’maurie Harley, Michael Robinson and Jaxon also contributed to the ground game, combining for 125 yards and two touchdowns. 

Maleek Miller had another big game at receiver. He caught eight passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, including a momentum-changing breakaway score before the half.

“Maleek Miller, again, was the man,” coach Knotts said. “Scored on the last play of the first half last weekend, scored on the last play of the first half this weekend.” 

His brother Corey Miller also had a strong outing against Gray, catching five passes for 71 yards. Robinson and Samajae Govan had touchdown catches. Anderson Bean and Jalen Montgomery also had multiple receptions. 

On defense, Jaden Wuerth was disruptive, earning three tackles for loss and a sack. In total, the Silver Foxes had seven tackles for loss. 

K.J. Dupree and James Smith snagged interceptions as well. 

Gray finished the game with just over 300 yards of offense. Most of that came through the air as quarterback Xavier Wright finished 18-of-30 for 235 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. 

His top target was running back Trevon Williamson, who caught five passes for 78 yards. David Quattlebaum caught the most passes, with six receptions. Royce Williamson caught the touchdown with his only catch. 

The War Eagles struggled to establish the run and totaled just 66 yards, with Wright and Williamson accounting for all of them. This made Gray one-dimensional on offense, and eventually the team had to abandon the run altogether. 

“I think for the most part we stopped the running game, but sometimes we’re a little porous on the back end,” coach Knotts said. “We’ve got to continue to work on our pass defense, but you know, a win is a win.”

While Dutch Fork controlled the game from its opening drive, there was a chance just before halftime for Gray to pull itself back in if everything went right. 

Trailing 21-0 and just giving up a blocked field goal, Gray’s defense trotted onto the field and gave the War Eagles a shot of life. 

On the second play of the drive, Jaxon dropped back and threw a ball that wound up in the hands of Gray’s Royce Williamson. He returned it to the Dutch Fork 32 and set his offense up with the perfect chance to get some points. 

Gray capitalized on this gifted opportunity and ended the drive with seven points, and it was Williamson himself who caught the scoring pass. 

With less than 40 seconds in the second quarter and Gray set to receive the second-half kick, the War Eagles were suddenly looking at an opportunity to double up and cut the game to one possession. 

Instead, Dutch Fork’s offense went into quicktime mode and pulled off a two-play, 71-yard drive. 

Jaxon hit Wilson with a quick pass that went for 21 yards to get the team to the 50. Jaxon then found Miller on a short screen, and he took off all the way to the end zone. 

Now instead of trailing 21-7 with a chance to cut the lead to a touchdown, the War Eagles were down 28-7, and hopes for a comeback were getting further away. 

“I thought that was big,” Knotts said. “Again, that was Maleek Miller, just throwing him a little tunnel screen out there. He did the exact same thing last week when Sumter had a little momentum, took it in, and that was kind of the dagger.”

It was the dagger again this week, as Gray never got as close again. 

Dutch Fork kept its foot on the gas in the second half and expanded the lead. The team eventually got comfortable enough to give their backups some run, and they maintained control. 

Gray never stopped trying to score, hoping to make the final difference look a little better, but nothing came of it. 

With the loss, the War Eagles drop to (2-4) this season. Next time out, the team will be back home for its region opener against Spring Valley. 

Dutch Fork’s next game is also its region opener. The Silver Foxes will be on the road, traveling to Lexington. 

Coach Knott’s Silver Foxes are looking for their third straight region championship. To get that, he said everyone’s got to stay in one piece. 

“We’ve got to stay healthy because we’re really thin,” he said. “We’re asking people to do some things that I don’t normally do. We’ve got to have people play on the other side of the ball also... but this is a very talented team.”