Falcons have an up and down performance against Central
Quarterback Frankie Johnson rolls right against Central looking down field for an open Falcons receiver.
Photo by Drake Horton
By Drake Horton, Contributing Writer
Playing the first game of the night at the Dennis Miller Jamboree of Champions, the Falcons came up short, losing 19-7, but as with all jamborees, the score can be a bit misleading.
“We did a lot things, we tried to play a lot of people, we want to make sure we have everybody on camera so we can see everybody on film,” Darlington head coach John Jones said after the jamboree. “It’s more about getting guys to compete and getting guys on the field to see what they can do and get them on film so we can correct mistakes.”
Darlington opened up the game, scoring on the first drive when, newly named starting quarterback, Frankie Johnson, showed off some of athleticism that has made him a star already on the basketball court, rushing 18 yards for the touchdown.
“We did pretty good in the first half, I like the fast pace game, it’s just like basketball, it’s like I’m the point guard on the field, I’m the leader out there, I control the game, but we are going to get it together by the time our first game comes.”
Central answered on its opening drive and for the rest of the first quarter both teams traded punts back and forth, before Darlington’s head coach pulled the first string and let the second string play all of the second quarter.
Against the Falcons reserve unit, Central had some success, recovering a botched hand off and later converting it into a touchdown to give the Eagles the lead.
Central scored its final touchdown as time expired, returning an interception on a failed deep pass attempt.
While there were multiple areas that Darlington struggled with at times against Central, one issue that appeared to be more glaring than any other was the lack of protection Johnson had when throwing and the poor running lanes for the multiple tailbacks that the Falcons used.
“We screwed it up,” Jones said on his team’s poor offensive line protection. “There wasn’t any miscommunication, we screwed it up. We had some players going the wrong way and at the end of the day that’s my job to get it fixed and I’ll get it fixed.”
With less than a week away before its first game against Carolina Forest, Jones and company now must make great use of their time and the film gained from these jamborees in order to correct the mistakes shown so that they are not haunting when the regular season begins.
County Scores
Both the Hartsville Red Foxes and the Lamar Silver Foxes also participated in the jamboree hosted by Marlboro County. Hartsville defeated the Chesterfield Rams by a landslide score of 41-0 while Lamar was shutout against the three-time defending 2A state champions, the Dillon Wildcats by a score of 28-0.
