Darlington snaps 2-year losing streak with win over North Myrtle Beach
By Drake Horton
Contributing Writer
Over the past 735 days a lot of things have happened, but one thing that has not happened was Darlington winning a football game.
For the past 735 days the Falcons have endured loss after loss and this year especially has been bad, with the defeats coming bigger and the roster size at an all-time low with just 25 players dressing out this past Friday night at home against North Myrtle Beach.
The Chiefs, unlike the Falcons, do not have any of these problems.
Their roster is over 50, they have won plenty of football games and they even happen to be ranked in the South Carolina 4A poll.
Somehow, though, throughout the supposed mismatch, someone forgot to tell the Falcons and in front of a packed homecoming crowd, with the band rocking, they went on to pull the biggest upset in the state this year, stunning the Chiefs 10-9.
“The kids are doing it,” Darlington head coach Raymond Jennings said.
“They have no reason to listen to anybody; they have no reason to keep coming to practice. It is 25 of them. They have no reason to do it, except they believe in something. I just think it is the kids, man; it’s the kids and the coaches.”
Down 9-7, Darlington put together a 16-play drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Diego Martin kicking the game-winning field goal from 24 yards out to give the Falcons the lead with 4:03 left and they never relinquished it from there.
“I dreamed about it before I did it,” Martin said. “Last night I was thinking it could actually happen.”
North Myrtle Beach had its chances, but outside of the opening touchdown in the first quarter the Falcons’ defense played their best game of the year by far. The Chiefs were never able to find any rhythm offensively and Darlington’s red zone defense was spectacular.
“We pretty much played man inside the 20s and told our guys that they were either going to score or we were going to stop them,” Jennings said.
The Chiefs started off like most of the other teams that the Falcons have played this year.
They forced Darlington to punt and then proceeded to need only three plays before going up 7-0 with 10:21 still left in the first quarter.
With such a quick start, the game had the look to be another blowout loss for the Falcons, but that touchdown turned out to be lone offensive score of the game for the Chiefs as the other two points came off of a safety at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Instead, what we saw was the best defensive performance the Falcons have had in two years and while it was not much, they also got just enough offense to get the job done.
Down 7-0, Darlington finally found the end zone as quarterback Tyrone Perkins ran in from four yards out, resulting in the first time this season that Darlington was not trailing in the second half of a game.
Tied at seven, North Myrtle Beach flipped the field on Darlington with a punt, backing the Falcons up to their own five-yard line and after a two-yard loss on the first play, pressure got to Perkins, resulting in him getting sacked for the safety to give the Chiefs the lead back.
Most probably thought that was it for Darlington because the Falcons now trailed by two and North Myrtle Beach was going to be getting the football back in good field position, starting on Darlington’s 25-yard line following the kickoff after the safety.
Down but not out and still plenty of time left on the clock in the fourth the Falcons’ defense held once again, to go along with a holding penalty that forced the Chiefs to have to punt and not try a field goal.
That forced punt was the difference as Darlington followed that punt up with the eventual game-winning 16-play drive.
North Myrtle Beach got one more opportunity, but Darlington’s defense was just too much for the Chiefs and it forced a turnover on downs with 2:50 left in the game.
The Falcons were able to convert one first down and run the clock out.
“Tonight it bounced our way,” Jennings said.
“We got a couple of first downs, we got a big kick at the end and we just kept playing opportunistic defense. It was a fun game to coach.”
Darlington is now 1-7 overall, but 1-2 in the region and takes on region foe Marlboro County this Friday at home.