BY  JAY BENNETT

The top-ranked team in the Class AA ranks came to Cheraw last Friday night and Coach Jackie Hayes’ squad took advantage of five turnovers by the home team to post a season opening 42-0 victory at Meiklejohn Field.  The victory was Dillon’s 16^th straight regular season win, as the Wildcats’ defense did not allow the Braves to get any closer than the 20-yard line during the contest.

Junior halfback, Jabo Lee, led the Wildcats offensive attack with 159 yards on the ground in 15 carries, while Hykine Davis added 73 yards on 13 rushes and he scored two touchdowns.  Marvin Lauderdale led Cheraw with 63 rushing yards on 14 attempts, while Malcolm Hunter set a Cheraw High School record for most pass attempts in a game with 27.  Hunter only completed 11 of his 27 passes for 63 yards, with Deion Sanders hauling in four passes for 35 yards.

“We are all very disappointed with the loss, but you have got to give Dillon a lot of credit for that,” Coach Johnny White stated after the contest.  “We had quite a few mistakes on both sides of the ball, but our defense kept us in the game in the first half.  Dillon had super field position in the first quarter, but once again, our defense only gave up one score in the early going.  Our offense had problems executing  and that was mainly because of busted assignments and not doing what we had practiced all week,”  Coach White added.

The Braves won the coin toss and elected to take the football, but things started to go bad on the very first play from scrimmage.  Justin Chapman took a simple handoff off the right side, but he fumbled the pigskin and Sam McLean recovered for the Wildcats at the Cheraw 14-yard line.   The Cheraw defensive unit refused to give in though, as they held on downs, when Thomas Grossetti’s fade pass to Kwinton Smith fell incomplete on fourth down.

The turnover bug continued to plaque the Braves on their next possession, as Malcolm Hunter’s pass to Storm Jacobs was tipped by Archie Gilchrist and Hishawn Blue came up with an interception at the Cheraw 20-yard stripe.  Four running plays moved the ball down to the 10-yard line, but Jabo Lee fumbled the ball on the next play and Deion Sanders recovered for Cheraw, at the one-yard line.

The home team was unable to move the chains, so James Davis came on to punt the football away.  Davis got off a 29-yard boot, but Lee returned the kick 25 yards to give the Wildcats great field position once again, at the Cheraw 13-yard line.  The short scoring drive was all Hykine Davis, as the senior halfback carried the pigskin all three plays, with the touchdown run coming from two yards out.  Carlos Trejo added the P.A.T. and the visitors had a 7-[0 lead with 4:38 left to play in the opening quarter.

Trejo then kicked the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff and the Braves had excellent field position, at the 35-yard stripe.  The combination of Malcolm Hunter and Deion Sanders hooked up on two pass plays to move the ball down to the Dillon 41-yard line, but that was as far the offense could move the pigskin.  After a delay of the game penalty, James Davis got off a 34-yard punt, that rolled out of bounds at the 16-yard line.

Jabo Lee carried the ball twice to almost pick up a first down, but a holding penalty backed the ball up to the 14-yard line.  Grossetti then threw a lateral to Tyreek Hayes and the Dillon wide receiver was able to fall on the football at the two-yard line.  The Cheraw defense then stopped Lee on his next carry and Logan Turnage’s 34-yard punt rolled dead at the midfield stripe, as the opening quarter came to an end.

The Wildcats had picked up 38 total yards on 16 plays in the first period, while the Braves had 31 total yards on 13 snaps.

Cheraw was unable to take advantage of their great field position and things got worse when James Davis’ punt only went ten yards, giving Dillon the ball back at their own 35-yard stripe.  The Cheraw defense continued to play inspired football though, as they forced another Dillon turnover, as Grossetti’s pitch to Hykine Davis was behind him and Forrest Privette fell on the loose pigskin at the Cheraw 33-yard line.

Another three and out by the home team gave Dillon the football right back, but  Lee fumbled the pigskin away again and Durrell Hawkins recovered for the Braves’, at their own 47-yard line.  Coach White then wanted to go deep on the very first play from scrimmage, but Malcolm Hunter’s long pass to John Cooks was picked off by Lavaris Hargrove, at the 21-yard line.

Jabo Lee then made possibly the biggest play of the game, immediately after the interception, as he appeared to be stopped around the right end, but he reversed his field and raced 79 yards to paydirt to increase the Wildcats’ advantage to 13-0.  Carlos Trejo then added the P.A.T. and the Dillon lead was now 14-0 with 5:40 left in the first half of play.

“That touchdown run by Lee really turned the tide against us,” Coach White stated.  “Our defense had really done a great job of holding them in check, but he just made a super run and that’s what great players do.  I could tell our kids were getting a little tired out there, but we have got to stay in our lanes and not let anyone reverse the field like that,” Coach White added.

The home team then went back to the ground game and started to move the football.  The combination of Marvin Lauderdale and Durrell Hawkins alternated carrying the pigskin and they moved the ball out to the midfield stripe once again, but tragedy struck on a third down play, as Lauderdale caught a swing pass and tried to cut up the field, but the football popped out of his hands and into the arms of Dorian Davis.  Davis caught the pigskin in stride and he raced 55 yards for another Dillon touchdown.  Carlos Trejo then added another P.A.T. and the Wildcats’ lead was now up to 21-0 with only 1:16 left before intermission.

“That fluke play really killed us, after we had played pretty good in the first half,” Coach White said.   “I was afraid the momentum would snowball on us after that late turnover.  We have got to improve on taking advantage of turnovers and putting points on the scoreboard.  We were able to do that in the scrimmages and jamborees, but we did not do that in the first half tonight,” Coach White added.

The Wildcats had a 21-0 advantage at the halftime break and an edge in the statistics battle too.  Dillon had 200 total yards, with 183 of this yards coming on the ground and the other 17 yards in the air.  Jabo Lee already had 134 yards on 12 carries, while Hykine Davis had 46 yards on seven rushes.  The home team only had 64 total yards on 32 plays, an average of exactly two yards a play, but the biggest statistic was four turnovers by the offensive unit.

The Braves came out with a defensive stand to open the second half, forcing a quick three and out by the Wildcats.  Three runs and an offside penalty against Dillon brought up a fourth down and less than a yard for Cheraw, at their own 32-yard line.  Coach White decided to roll the dice and go for it, but Marvin Lauderdale was hit and pushed back, missing the first down sticks by inches.   “I was trying to win the game and the only way to do that was by going for it,” Coach White stated.  “We have to be able to get less than a yard, if we want to be a good football team.  I was sure we could make it, but we didn’t and that’s not good,” Coach White added.

The visitors wasted no time in taking advantage of the gamble, as Grossetti hit Kwinton Smith, in the left flats, and Smith beat one defender and raced the rest of the way to the endzone.  Carlos Trejo added his fourth P.A.T. of the night and the Dillon lead was now 28-0 with 7:45 left in the third period of play.

Cheraw then got some good field position on the ensuing kickoff, as Garrett White fair-caught  a pooch kick and he was hit late for a personal foul, moving the ball out to the midfield stripe.  Two runs by Marvin Lauderdale got the ball down to the Dillon 34-yard line, but three consecutive incomplete passes stopped that march on downs.

After a three and out by the Wildcats, the home team got the ball back, at their own 18-yard line, with 3:37 left in the third quarter of play.  The Braves then put together their best drive of the game, thanks to an 18-yard pass play from Hunter to Sanders, a roughing the passer penalty, a 13-yard pass from Hunter to Storm Jacobs, and a personal foul penalty.  Those big plays moved the pigskin to the Dillon 35-yard stripe, as the third quarter came to an end.

Hunter then connected with Demetris Holiday for 12 yards, on a slant pass, but Durrell Hawkins then fumbled the football on the very next play and Pete Ingram returned the football all the way down to the Cheraw 18-yard line.  Ingram’s 57-yard return ended the 12-play, 61-yard march by  the Braves and it set the visitors up for another touchdown.

Hykine Davis then scored his second touchdown of the night, on a five-yard carry around the left end, to up Dillon’s lead to 34-0.  Carlos Trejo then made it five for five on P.A.T.’s to give the Wildcats a 35-0 advantage with 10:11 still left in the contest.

The visitors then added one more score in the fourth quarter, as reserve quarterback, Malique Gregory, sprinted 18 yards to paydirt, straight up the middle on a quarterback draw play.  Trejo added another P.A.T. and the Dillon lead was 42-0 with 5:32 left in the game.

The rest of the contest was running the football by both teams and the clock ran out with Dillon’s shutout still intact.  “I was pretty pleased with the way we played tonight,” Dillon Coach Jackie Hayes stated.  “Our defense played great, but we are still a work in progress.  We are a lot better now than we were at this point last year,” Coach Hayes added.

The Wildcats piled up 325 total yards in the contest, with 271 yards coming on the ground and the other 54 yards in the air.  Dillon had 13 first downs and they had the football for 19:31 on 48 offensive plays.  Cheraw only had 155 total yards, with 92 yards on the ground and 63 yards in the air. The Braves had 11 first downs and they had the ball for 28:33 on 66 offensive plays.

“The final score was not really indicative of the way we played tonight,” Coach White stated.  “They made some big plays that really hurt us, but that’s what a talented team will do.  They are a great team with a lot of super –talented athletes and they are very well-coached.  We just have to worry about ourselves and get better this week in practice.  Our goal will be to correct our mistakes and get everyone on the same page before we go to Marlboro County.  I am extremely confident that we will do that this week,” Coach White added.

“This is only our first game and we are not putting all of our eggs in one basket.  We will be a good football team before the season is over and I truly believe that.  We just have to keep working hard and get better every day.  We can start to build confidence with a good effort this week and I look for us to do that against Marlboro County,” Coach White added.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

#28                        Senior halfback, Marvin Lauderdale, led the Braves with 63 rushing yards on 14 carries in                         Cheraw’s 42-0 loss to Dillon.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

#34            Senior defensive lineman, David Durant, had eight total tackles; three solo stops and five assists in Cheraw’s 42-0 loss to Dillon.