West Florence stumbles in 2nd half as Panthers rally for 2-point win
FLORENCE, S.C. – Given different circumstances, a two-point loss to Carolina Forest to open the season is a result West Florence coach Chad Wilkes could have lived with, he said.
But Saturday’s 16-14 outcome against the Panthers proved much harder to take after a rough second-half performance by his squad.
West Florence's Corey Patterson, right, hauls in a touchdown pass from quarterback Carter Wherry on Saturday during the Knights' 16-14 loss to Carolina Forest.
“The tougher team won – it’s really what it comes down to,” the second-year Knights coach said. “They were mentally tougher than we were. When they had bad things come, they were able to punch back and when we had bad things happen, it just snowballed on us.”
Carolina Forest (1-0) shut out WFHS in the second half and rallied with a 4th-quarter touchdown to hand the Knights (0-1) an opening-week loss.
Now West will have to regroup as it hits the road on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown in Kelleytown with Hartsville.
Here are three things that stood out from Saturday’s game:
1. West Florence defense shines
The Knights led 14-6 at one point and were up 14-9 heading into the final stanza thanks in large part to a strong defensive performance.
The Panthers’ initial score came following a misfire on a punt that set them up deep inside West territory. The decisive TD was scored after CF took over at the WFHS 25-yard line as well.
The defense also forced the Panthers to kick a field goal following a long drive and came away with two interceptions, including one by Jaylen McElveen.
The unit also gave the WFHS offense one last chance at the end by stopping CF at the goalline and turning the ball over on downs.
“Obviously for four quarters they played great,” Wilkes said. “Offensively, we couldn’t keep our defense in a decent spot to play well.”
West Florence's Jeremiah Smiling Waiters, right, tries to shake a Carolina Forest defender during Saturday's game at Knight Stadium.
2. QB Wherry throws 2 TDs, suffers injury
Carter Wherry, the Knights freshman quarterback, had quite the debut in the first half Saturday.
He found North Willis on a short pass that wound up going for a touchdown as Willis slipped a tackle and raced to the end zone to put West up 7-0 on its opening drive of the season.
He threw another TD pass in the second quarter as well – hitting Corey Patterson on the side of the end zone for a 25-yard strike that made it 14-6 at the time.
Wherry’s day did not end well, however. He was under pressure in the second half, threw an interception and then lost a fumble on a play in which he was also sacked and injured.
Markell Scott took over under center for WFHS’ final drive. Wherry’s status going forward was uncertain after the game.
“I’m really proud of him,” Wilkes said of his QB. “He’s a freshman and he took a lot of shots that he shouldn’t have been taking today. He kept getting back up, but eventually it gets to a point where if you’re injured, you’re injured. He took way more hits than he needed to take.
“But I’m really proud of him as a freshman standing there and making some of the throws he made. Again, had he had a little bit more time, probably would have made a couple more.”
3. A tale of two halves
It was certainly a contrast in the second half when it came to controlling the lines of scrimmage, Wilkes added.
“They dominated the line of scrimmage,” he said. “Especially on defense, they dominated the line of scrimmage in the second half, which we did such a good job in the first half of that. We felt kind of good going into the second half there and they went to another level and we didn’t.
“Didn’t do a good enough job of coaching them at halftime, and obviously that’s on us.”
The Knights found some early running room, which helped set up a couple key pass plays from Wherry, but it was much tougher sledding over the final 24 minutes.
West’s first two drives ended in a punt and a turnover, and that was followed by a turnover on downs which led to the go-ahead score by the Panthers.
The Knights were moving the ball a bit after that until Wherry’s injury.
FLORENCE, S.C. − West Florence opened its 2026 high school football season on Saturday against Carolina Forest.
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FLORENCE, S.C. -- West Florence coach Chad Wilkes talks about the Knights' 16-14 loss to Carolina Forest on Saturday.
