Carolina Forest wins after coach's sudden death

Carolina Forest (Myrtle Beach) assistant coach Edward Armstrong died from an apparent heart attack last week, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

In honoring him, the Panthers beat Conway for the first time in school history on Friday night. Carolina Forest won 46-42 while wearing stickers with the initials "EA."

The funeral for Armstrong, who was the team's running backs coach, was held on Sunday.

"I felt like he was going to be with us, and I knew he was going to come through with us," running back Mark Timmons told the paper. "It's all thanks to him - he taught us almost everything we know. This one was for him. It was definitely for him."

Quarterback Danny Daly led the way for the Panthers, having a hand in all seven touchdowns. He threw for six scores and ran for another.

"I think as a coach, the biggest thing I was worried about was that I knew my guys would be very emotional for the game," Carolina Forest coach Drew Hummel told the paper on Monday. "I knew they were dedicating the game to coach Armstrong and his family. ... I was worried if they didn't get the job done, would they feel like they let [Armstrong's family] down."

The Panthers didn't, though, as they beat Conway for the first time in 12 tries.

Here are some more tidbits concerning South Carolina football:

2. Brookland-Cayce coach Abby Bray will be the first coaching change following this season. Bray, according to The State, notified his school district that he will step down as the head coach and athletic director, effective June 30, 2011. The Bearcats, who had a 6-26 record in Bray's three seasons, lost in the first round of the playoffs 70-0 to Myrtle Beach.

"I've been at it three years, giving it all I had, worked as hard as I could, and it got to a point where I felt like it was time to step down and let someone else have a chance; that's the politically correct way to explain it," Bray told The State.

3. Dutch Fork (Irmo) lost to Irmo (Columbia) to start the season, but won the season finale and the Region IV-4A championship. The Silver Foxes finished 5-0 in the conference after downing their rival 38-35. The win finished coach Tom Knotts' first season at the helm with a 9-2 mark, the most regular season wins in school history. Knotts won seven state championships as the head coach at Independence in Charlotte, N.C. Brandon Quattlebaum led the way for Dutch Fork, as he ran for 184 yards and scored three times.

4. The three all-star teams in South Carolina have been selected.

The state's Shrine Bowl team will be led by Northwestern quarterback Justin Worley, South Pointe defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and Dorman wide receiver Charone Peake. The 74th annual all-star game, which pits South Carolina's top seniors against North Carolina's best seniors, will be played at 1 p.m. on Dec. 18 at Gibbs Stadium on the Wofford College campus in Spartanburg. Click here to see the South Carolina Shrine Bowl roster.

The South Carolina Automobile Dealers Association North-South all-star game will be played on Dec. 11 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach. Click here for the North roster and click here for the South roster.

5. The Clinton Red Devils were the first - and only - defending state champions to lose in the first round of the playoffs. Daniel (Central) downed Clinton 21-14 to oust the Red Devils, who won the Class 3A title last year.

Here's how the other defending champions did on Friday night:

Berkeley (Moncks Corner), which won the 4A Division II state championship last season but was reclassified to 3A, went on the road to win its first game. The Stags beat Camden 36-28.

Dillon, the two-time defending 2A state champion, is now 11-0 after knocking off Bishop England 31-17. Chesterfield, which has won three straight 1A Division I state titles, knocked off Ware Shoals 37-9 in the first round. Williston-Elko, last year's 1A Division II champion, had the easiest game of the defending champs as the Blue Devils won 64-0.

Click here to view MaxPreps' South Carolina football playoff brackets.

STARS FROM LAST WEEK
Woodland quarterback Robert Smith led his team to a 49-21 win by accounting for five scores. He threw for 170 yards and ran for 182 yards on 12 carries in the win ... Myrtle Beach quarterback Everett Golson, an Elite 11 quarterback, started his first game since Week 2 on Friday. Golson, who missed action due to an injury, ran for a score and threw for four scores in the first quarter. He finished with six touchdown passes and he threw for 281 yards on 10 of 13 passing ... Belton-Honea Path quarterback Cody Spence threw three touchdown passes and for 241 yards on 14 of 27 passing in the 42-10 win over Greer. The Bears are the lone undefeated team left in Class 3A.

ON DECK THIS WEEK
Fairfield Central (Winnsboro) (10-1) at Union County (Union) (8-3): The Griffins reached double digits in wins for the fourth time in six years, while the Yellow Jackets won their second straight region title. The game will be a battle of athletic quarterbacks, as the Griffins are led by Danny Miller (1,844 passing yards and 19 touchdowns) and Union County's Keiston Smith (1,459 passing yards and 18 touchdowns).

Lamar (10-1) at Chesterfield (8-3): The last two teams to win three straight state titles, this will be a rematch of last year's 1A Div. I state championship game (which Chesterfield won 36-6). Lamar actually changed its defense some for this season to help against Chesterfield's passing attack.

White Knoll (Lexington) (7-4) at Dorman (Roebuck) (11-0): The Cavaliers, last year's 4A Div. I champions, are riding a 16-game winning streak and are the No. 1 seed in this bracket. White Knoll will bring a tough rushing attack, but the Cavaliers are a much better team. There could be a Gaffney-Dorman showdown looming in the state semifinals.

Jason Gilmer is an award-winning writer who has covered football in South Carolina for more than a decade. He does a statewide high school football blog on GoUpstate.com. You can reach him at palmettofootballtalkblog@gmail.com.