BY  JAY BENNETT

Dillon’s Jabo Lee rushed for 141 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the 2^nd-ranked Wildcats to a season-opening 35-7 win over the Cheraw Braves last Friday night in Dillon.  Lee also added an 80-yard score on the second half kickoff to seize the game’s momentum for the home team, after Cheraw had narrowed the gap to 21-7 at halftime.

Tyquan Hayes also had a stellar night through the air for the Wildcats, as the senior completed 10 of 14 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.  Darius Little led the Cheraw offensive attack with 90 yards on the ground and another 32 yards in the air, as the senior saw his first career action at the quarterback spot .

The victory was Dillon Coach Jackie Hayes’ 200^th career win and it marked Cheraw’s worst loss since the 40-14 defeat at the hands of Marlboro County two seasons ago.

“I was very disappointed with some of the things that I saw on tape this morning,” Coach Johnny White stated.  “I know we are a very young team, but we simply did not execute very well at all tonight.  We had an excellent week of practice, but our kids did not carry what they learned onto the field tonight.  We had some mismatches in alignment, but for some reason, we had way too many busted assignments and we did

not take advantage of them,” Coach White added.

The Braves received the opening kickoff and immediately went three plays and out, only gaining nine yards on three consecutive running plays.  Brad Bradley shanked his first punt of the year and the pigskin rolled dead at the Braves’ 48-yard line.

The home team fumbled the ball right back to Cheraw, on their second snap,

as Jabo Lee never got control of the handoff and David Durant fell on the football at the Cheraw 42-yard line.

The Dillon defense came to play on the next possession and they knocked the Braves back eight yards to force another punt.  Bradley got off a hanging 26-yard boot this time and Ray Thomas bobbled it at the 40-yard stripe.  Kiante Wingate was there for Cheraw and his fumble recovery set up the Braves in Dillon territory.

Darius Little then came into the contest at the quarterback spot and his first play was a disaster, as he bobbled the snap and Rashad Miles fell on the loose pigskin for the Wildcats at their own 45-yard stripe.

This time, the home team took advantage of the turnover and went 55 yards in ten plays to take the early lead.  Jabo Lee hit paydirt from five yards out, but Tyquan Hayes kept the drive alive by completing all three of his aerials for 32 yards.  T.J. Grimsley added the P.A.T. and the Wildcats had a 7-0 advantage with 2:07 left in the opening period of play.

Another three and out by the Braves’ offense and a 26-yard punt by Brad Bradley gave the home team the ball right back, at the midfield stripe, as the first quarter came to an end.

Dillon had amassed 77 total yards and four first downs in 14 plays, while Cheraw had 0 total yards and no first downs in ten offensive snaps.

The home team then extended their lead by marching 50 yards in only four plays, with Tyquan Hayes hitting Kwinton Smith on a 20-yard scoring pass, in the left corner

of the endzone.  T.J. Grimsley added his second P.A.T. and the Wildcats had a 14-0 lead with 11:28 left in the second quarter.

Things then went from bad to worse for Cheraw, as Demetrius Miller let the ensuing kickoff hit the ground and he finally picked it up at the four-yard line.  The terrible field position seemed to fire up the Cheraw offensive unit, as they started to move the ball on the ground.  Darius Little ripped off runs of 10 and 11 yards to pick up first downs, but the march ended at the Cheraw 45-yard stripe.  The eleven-play march flipped

the field for the Braves and after a 30-yard put by Brad Bradley, the Wildcats got the football at their own 25-yard stripe with 6:06 left in the first half.

Hayes then went back to the air and he connected with Kwinton Smith for 27 yards to move the ball down to the Braves’ 47-yard line.  Jabo Lee then had a 16-yard burst up the middle and Hayes finished off the 75-yard scoring march with a 15-yard strike to Quincy Bethea, who caught the touchdown pass, laying on his back.  T.J. Grimsley added the P.A.T. and the Wildcats now had a commanding 21-0 lead with

3:37 still left in the first half.

Demetrius Miller then made up for his earlier gaffe by returning the ensuing kickoff out to the 42-yard line.  Little then had three consecutive big runs around the

right end and those runs moved the ball down to the Dillon 35-yard stripe. Little then

hit Brad Bradley on an eight-yard pass play to pick up another first down and then he finished off the scoring drive by connecting with Demetrius Miller for a 24-yard touchdown.  Little lofted the scoring pass over two Dillon defenders and Miller made a diving catch in the middle of the endzone.  James Davis then converted his first varsity P.A.T. and the Dillon lead was now 21-7 with only 12.6 seconds left in the first half.

The Wildcats were also flagged for roughing the passer on the scoring play, so the Braves kicked off from the Dillon 45-yard stripe.  Davis then attempted an onside kick and Kedarian Drake fell on the loose pigskin at the Dillon 29-yard line.  The Dillon front line turned their backs on the kick and Drake was able to sneak in and fall on the football.

Darius Little then rolled to the right and ran out of bounds at the 28-yard line,

as the home team was flagged for a late hit.  That penalty moved the ball down to the

13-yard line with only 2.6 seconds left on the clock.  An illegal procedure penalty backed the pigskin up to the 18-yard line and the first half ended with Little being run out of bounds at the 10-yard stripe.

The Wildcats carried a 21-7 lead into intermission, but the Braves had some momentum with a strong second quarter effort.  Cheraw piled up 113 total yards and eight first downs in that period on 22 plays, while the home team had 109 total yards and six first downs in only eight plays.

“I was very pleased with the way we played in the second quarter, especially in the last six minutes,” Coach White said.  “Darius has a lot of talent, but he’s just short on experience.  He’s only had four days of practice at quarterback, but he’s going to get better. He’s got to throw the ball in the end zone on that last play, but that knowledge will come with playing more,” Coach White added.

The second half kickoff really angered Coach White, as Jabo Lee fumbled the football at the 20-yard stripe and then proceeded to run it all the way back for a touchdown.  Lee found an alley in the middle of the field and then cut it back down the home sideline for the score.  T.J. Grimsley then added his fourth P.A.T. of the night to increase the Dillon lead to 28-7 with only fourteen seconds gone in the second half of play.

“I thought we had some momentum going into halftime, but that long kickoff return really hurt.  Our plan was to hold them on that first series and then get back to within 21-14, but Lee ruined those plans with his great run,” Coach White stated.

The Cheraw offensive unit went three and out on their first possession of the second half, but they caught another break when Lee fumbled Brad Bradley’s 27-yard punt and Martice Hudley recovered for the Braves at the Dillon 47-yard line.

A short run and two incomplete passes, followed by a 32-yard boot by Bradley, and the home team had the ball right back, at their own 28-yard line.  Tyquan Hayes then went to work, as he had a 14-yard scamper and then he hit Quincy Bethea for 30 yards to move the ball down to the Cheraw 27-yard line.  The Braves’ defense then rose to the occasion and stopped Dillon at the 22-yard line, forcing a 39-yard field goal by T.J. Grimsley.  Grimsley kick was low and wide to the left, keeping Dillon’s advantage at

28-7 with 4:11 left in the third quarter.

The third period ended after an exchange of punts, as the Braves had the ball deep in their own territory.  Dillon had 44 total yards and two first downs in that period, while Cheraw had no yards and no first down in 11 plays.

The home team got the football back in great field position, at the Cheraw 28-yard line, after an 18-yard punt by Bradley, but they could not do anything with it.  Two short runs and two incompletions turned the ball back over to the Braves, at the 25-yard stripe.

After another exchange of punts, the Braves put together their second eleven-play drive of the night, but this one also fell short, as Little’s pass to Demetrius Miller was incomplete in the end zone.  The drive was aided by three Dillon penalties, but the Nasty Cat defense held and the home team got the ball back at their own 11-yard line with only 1:55 left in the contest.

After an illegal procedure penalty backed the pigskin up to the six-yard line,

Jabo Lee broke free on a 94-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.  T.J. Grimsley added the final P.A.T. of the night and the home team had their 35-7 final margin.

Many Cheraw followers wondered why Coach Hayes still had his first offensive

unit in the game with under 2:00 to play and holding a 28-7 lead, but that question will be answered on another day.

The Braves had 128 rushing yards and another 32 yards through the air for a total of 160 yards on 60 offensive snaps, while Dillon had 197 yards rushing and 143 yards passing for a total of 340 yards in only 41 plays.

“As I said earlier, we are a very, very young team, but we’ve got to start getting better every day in practice,” Coach White said.  “We’ve got Marlboro County next Friday night and we had better be ready when they come to Cheraw.  They have a very talented team and we will have our work cut out for us.  I’m sure we will have another good week of practice and we’ll see what happens next Friday night,” Coach White added.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

(OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

#6                        Senior quarterback, Darius Little, accounted for 122 total yards,

including 90 yards on the ground and another 32 yards in the air

in Cheraw’s 35-7 loss to Dillon.

(DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

#5                        Junior defensive back, Demetrius Holiday, led the team with

nine total tackles, including five primary stops, three assists and one tackle for loss in Cheraw’s 35-7 loss to Dillon.