Homecoming turns out to be home sweet home for the Falcons
Photo by Drake Horton
By Drake Horton, Contributing Writer
In a season that has had so many disappointments, so many setbacks, so many trials and tribulations, so many growing pains, so many head scratching moments, the Darlington Falcons finally had that moment that every football team desires to have. It finally had success.
Forget the disappointing record, forget that the Falcons had not played a home game since they squared off against Lamar on September 1st, and instead think about what this team has had to endure over the last two weeks with the havoc that Hurricane Matthew wreaked over the area.
That is why this homecoming came at such a perfect time and that is why this win, a 21-7 victory over the Lakewood Gators, was so much more than just a victory, it was a season saver and maybe even a program saver.
“I could not be prouder of our young men, I could not be prouder of our coaching staff,” Darlington head coach John Jones said. “The things these young guys and men have went through this week with Hurricane Matthew, the no power and the way the season’s been going early on, our coaching staff and our young men could have hung their heads. These guys fought, they were out there from Tuesday on busting their butt, showing up and going through all of this.”
This game was more than just a first win; it was collection of firsts that signal a growth in this Falcon football team.
For the first time this season the Falcons not only won, they led the game from start to finish, never trailing once. Plus this win was not just any win; it was a region win, putting Darlington, despite a 1-7 record, right back in the playoff hunt.
Darlington got on the score board first in pretty exciting fashion, as quarterback Joseph Scott connected with Montrel Timmons for a 45-yard touchdown reception as time expired in first quarter.
That was not the last time Scott and Timmons would connect as the two found each other again in the third quarter, this time for 23 yards to increase the Falcons lead to 14-0.
“I just had a good game,” Timmons said on his performance. “I just stayed focused and played the game.”
Lakewood cut the lead to just one possession after scoring a touchdown early in the fourth quarter thanks to two really controversial calls that kept the Gators drive alive.
That score did not matter to the Falcons, however, as Darlington drove right down the field answering the touchdown with another touchdown of its own, a five-yard run by Dontae Jackson with 3:03 left to go, sealing the game.
“0-7, trying to get into the playoffs, because I’m not ready for the season to be over with,” Jackson said on his drive for the game.
Despite the win, there were moments that looked like the Falcons were going to find a way to lose because of multiple mistakes that squandered scoring opportunities.
The Falcons had a fumble inside the Gators five-yard line in the first quarter, a 33-yard touchdown run in the second by Jackson negated by a holding penalty and a 40-yard touchdown reception by Tabias Dixon taken away because of a block in the back penalty.
“We had a lot of adversity early tonight,” Jones said. “We had chance to put some points on the board and get ahead turned it over down here on the one and then turned it over on the five and our guys kept fighting and in a season like this that says a lot about our young men and that says an awful lot about that coaching staff and the job they’ve done to keep them fighting and keep them in it.”
But as the offense still had their inconsistencies at times, the defense was there playing their best game of the year.
Defensively, Darlington forced and recovered four fumbles, recorded two interceptions and even stopped Lakewood on a fourth down once, giving the Falcons the ball on downs.
Overall, it was the best effort of the year for the Falcons and in doing so they improve their record to 1-7 overall, but more importantly 1-1 in the region.
County Recap
Hartsville, Lamar and Trinity-Byrnes were all victorious this week as well.
Hartsville defeated Lugoff-Elgin 28-14, Lamar won easily against Timmonsville 58-8 and Trinity-Byrnes was victorious against Thomas Sumter Academy 17-9.
Lamar leads the way when it comes to records, sitting 7-0, Hartsville is 5-1 and Trinity-Byrnes is 5-2.