Falcons lose 2 OT Thriller to Wilson

When it comes to high school football there are blowouts and tight games. And then there is an evenly matched game that ends with two overtime possessions. Unfortunately, the Darlington Falcons ended up on the short side of a 33-30 thriller to the Wilson Tigers even though both teams scored in both extra periods.

The first quarter showed Darlington punting from theirown 27 when they were unable to move the sticks. The first break in the game came when Wilson fumbled the ball on the punt return and Keontae Scipio pounced on the loose ball to give the Falcons another chance at the Wilson 40. After a 2-yard rush, Wilson was called for an encroachment penalty. Alston Singletary rushed for a first down to the 25 but the Falcons were flagged for a personal foul call that put the ball back at the 40. On the next play, a pass intended for Jaden McMillan was overthrown and picked off by the Wilson defender at the Wilson 15. Unable to advance for a first down, the Tigers punted with the Falcons returning to their own 40 but could not take advantage of that possession. They got another chance when Amari Jordan picked off a Wilson pass at the Falcons 30. After going backwards, Singletary ran for 17 yards setting up a 4th and 3 at the 37. He then rushed for 4 yards for a first down but could not get any closer to scoring and punted the ball back to Wilson as the quarter ended.

Wilson could not mount an attack and punted the ball back to the Falcons. That play proved critical when the fair catch by Darlington was fumbled with Wilson recovering at the Falcons 7. The Tigers were called for a holding penalty but that did not deter Wilson when the next play went for a 20-yard pass completion for a touchdown with 10:40 left in the second quarter. The point-after-touchdown kick was good for a 7-0 Wilson lead. On Darlington’s next possession, two incomplete passes and a run stopped at the line of scrimmage forced the Falcons to punt. That punt was only good for 15 yards and gave Wilson excellent field position but the Tigers could not take advantage and punted the ball back to Darlington. Starting at their own 25, Simon Whaley completed a 17-yard pass to Zi’reon Shannon to the 42. Four rushes netted 26 yards to the Wilson 34. A pass interference penalty gave the Falcons the ball at the 18. A bad snap moved them back six yards and a personal foul call against Wilson moved them inside the Redzone at the 12. An encroachment penalty against the Tigers moved the ball to the 8 where Whaley connected with Joseph McClain for a Darlington touchdown. The PAT kick was no good and with 2:33 left in the half, Wilson clung to a 7-6 advantage. After Wilson failed to advance on the ensuing kickoff, Darlington had one more chance before halftime. With nine seconds left, Darlington attempted a 37-yard field goal that was no good. Instead of kneeling on the ball, Wilson attempted a pass that was intercepted by Scipio but time expired before the Falcons could run another play.

The second big break for Wilson came on the second half kickoff. They ran a reverse that resulted in starting the drive at the Falcons 30. It took just five plays to reach paydirt with 9:42 left in the third quarter. Even though the PAT kick failed, Wilson led by a 13-6 score. Darlington got a break on their next series when Wilson was penalized for running into the kicker on the punt attempt. Four plays later, the Falcons were intercepted near midfield with the Tigers returning the pick to the Falcons 33. Five plays later with the ball on the Falcons 10, Darlington was called for encroachment, giving Wilson the ball at the 5. Two plays later with the ball at the Falcons 1, Wilson was flagged for a false start, then a delay of game penalty that moved the ball back to the 11. Two plays later, an 8-yard pass completion for a touchdown and PAT an Wilson had taken a 20-6 lead with 1:07 left in the quarter. Just after the third quarter clock had expired, Wilson was penalized for a roughing the pass call that gave Darlington new life. Six plays later, Singletary covered the remaining 11 yards for a Falcons score. Jackson Sandifer’s PAT kick sailed through the uprights to make the score 20-13 with 9:30 left in the contest. Bad snaps from centers to quarterbacks doomed possessions for both teams after the Darlington score. After the second Wilson punt, the Falcons put themselves in a hole when an unsportsmanlike penalty moved them back to their own 10. Whaley completed passes to McMillan for 26 and 5 yards and ran for 9 more. A Meleak Duncan 10-yard run put the ball at the Wilson 27. From there, Whaley and Shannon hooked up for the score and Sandifer’s kick tied the score at 20-20 with 2:23 left. Wilson had to punt and the Falcons took over with just 0:32 seconds left. A Whaley to McMillan catch and run for 47 yards gave the Falcons a chance to win with 0:26 left and the ball at the Wilson 10. A run for three yards and then an incomplete pass created a third down with just seconds left. When Darlington was sacked, time expired in regulation.

Wilson got the ball first for the first overtime and took just one play to score on a screen pass in the left flat. The PAT kick made the score 27-20 in their favor. Darlington took three plays to tie the score on a Whaley plunge from a yard out. Sandifer made the PAT to tie the score at 27-27. The Falcons got first possession in the second overtime. When three plays only gained one yard, Darlington elected to kick a 25-yard field goal by Sandifer to take a 30-27 lead. That lead was short-lived as Wilson’s quarterback kept the ball an eluded Darlington tacklers for the 10-yard score and 33-30 winning score.

Whaley completed 11-of-20 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Singletary led all Falcons rushers with 53 yards. McMillan caught five passes for 88 yards. Scipio had seven tackles in addition to the fumble recovery and interception. The Falcons defense registered eleven tackles for losses against the Tigers offense.

Game played September 4, 2026