Dutch Fork running back Jarvis Green’s senior year began and ended in similar, but fitting fashion.

His touchdown return of an onside kick attempt helped seal a season-opening victory over Hough (N.C.) in Charlotte. 

On Dec. 17 at Viking Stadium in Spartanburg, Green’s two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter put South Carolina ahead of North Carolina in the 86th edition of the Shrine Bowl. The go-ahead score gave Green, fellow Silver Foxes defensive back Landon Danley and the Sandlappers the 17-13 win in the first contest between the two states since 2019.

“I told coach to give me the ball, I’ll get it in there, give us a little lead,” Green said, referring to South Carolina head coach Jerry Brown, who previously coached at Batesburg-Leesville and Northside Christian Academy. “So I just want to thank Coach for leaving me in so I could put us up and give us the lead.”

“I knew you were going to get in there,” Danley said.

North Carolina took a 7-3 lead just before halftime on a one-yard touchdown run by Kemarion Baldwin. Green and South Florence quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who was named Shrine Bowl Offensive MVP, were instrumental in both second-half touchdowns for South Carolina. 

The first score came in the third quarter when Sellers found an open Greenville wide receiver Tyler Brown for a 55-yard touchdown pass to put the Sandlappers up 10-7.

North Carolina answered with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive that extended into the opening minute of the fourth quarter. It was a drive aided by three of 15 penalties for 120 yards called on South Carolina, including two for pass interference and another 15-yard personal foul call.

The N.C. squad, called the Tar Heels, capitalized upon the penalties to take the lead on quarterback Jaylen Alexander-Raynor’s 5-yard touchdown run.

Gaffney’s BrayShon Littlejohn’s blocked the PAT attempt by Jack Berkowitz to keep the score at 13-10 with 11:28 left. 

Facing third and 6 at the South Carolina 27, Spartanburg quarterback Raheim Jeter completed a 29-yard pass to Northwestern wide receiver Elijah Caldwell. The pass initially bounced off Caldwell’s chest into the air but came down in his arms for the reception. 

A pair of carries by Green, who finished with 58 rushing yards, and Sellers and three completed passes on the latter’s part set up a first and goal for the Sandlappers. Three plays later, Green bounced off an initial tackle and burrowed his way into the endzone from a yard out with 4:40 left.

The Tar Heels were forced to punt on their final possession with 2:55 remaining. South Carolina ran out the clock with Sellers’ eight-yard run on fourth and 1 ending the game. 

“We’ve been here all week with a couple of people talking throughout the week,” Danley said. “We knew there was going to be a good fight on our hands.” 

“It’s a great way to end our careers,” Green said. “Us coming from a big program and just winning. To top it off like this for my career, it’s a blessing.”

Green to sign with Clemson

For the past two months, Dutch Fork head football coach Tom Knotts spoke about the lack of scholarship opportunities from the Palmetto State’s two FBS school for senior running back Jarvis Green.

As Green helped the Silver Foxes claim a sixth Class 5A title in the last seven years and third with him in the lineup, Clemson University apparently acted on Knotts’ wishes. 

Having received an offer from the Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney, Green returned the favor by decommitting from James Madison and fully committing to the school Dec. 12. He will join former teammates Antonio Williams and Will Taylor in the Upstate and help provide depth for a Clemson backfield with only four scholarship running backs.

“Death Valley I’m home,” Green tweeted. 

Green had initially verbally committed to James Madison early in the season. With offers from both Clemson and Virginia Tech coming in, he eventually decided to decommit to one of the bigger schools. 

In four seasons at Dutch Fork, Green rushed for 4,608 yards and 78 rushing touchdowns. He’s second all-time with the Silver Foxes before former Mr. South Carolina Football Matthew Colburn. He closed out his playing record with 290 total yards and four touchdowns, two rushing, one receiving and one on special teams, in the 47-10 win over Fort Dorchester in the Class 5A title game. 

Final all-star game 

The Carolina Bowl will take place on New Year’s Eve at 4 p.m. at Fuse Stadium in Gastonia, N.C. 

The Youth Game will take place Dec. 30, and all practices for the Carolina Bowl will take place at Limestone University in Gaffney. 

Among the Chronicle Country players named to the team were quarterback Aliam Appler (Dutch Fork), running backs Cooper Johns (River Bluff) and Naahzeikial Mays (Brookland-Cayce), wide receiver Kamadi Maxwell (Lexington), offensive lineman Jacob Beasley (Dutch Fork), defensive linemen A.J. Johnson (Dutch Fork) and A.J. Colter (River Bluff), linebacker John Buetow (Dutch Fork), defensive backs Jadyn Johnson (Brookland-Cayce) and Kendall Strohman (Airport). 

Gray Collegiate wide receiver Devin Johnson was a “Deuces Wild Pick.” 

Another game-winner for fomer Dutch Fork kicker 

For the second time in nearly a month, Tyler Bass has kicked the Buffalo Bills to victory.

The Dutch Fork High School graduate hit a 25-yard field goal as time expired to cap a 15-play, 86-yard drive that gave the Bills a 32-29 win over the Dolphins.

Following the game-winning kick amid the snowy conditions, Bass did a chest first slide on the gridiron. This comes on the heels of Bass’ 45-yard field goal with two seconds left to defeat Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.  

The victory clinched an NFL playoff spot for Buffalo, which leads the AFC with a 11-3 record.