Dillon Travels To Socastee and Gets 27-7 Win on the Road

Larry Gamble

HSSR Photo Editor

Myrtle Beach  – The Dillon Wildcats traveled to Myrtle Beach to take on the Socastee Warriors. It is still early in the season.  Teams are still working out the new schemes and players adjusting to being the starter or playing both ways. 

Socastee put the first points on the board with a 40 yard TD pass from junior QB Christian Royals to senior WR/SS Jonathan Goswick and the PAT was good for a 7-0 led. That woke up the Wildcat offense. Starting from their own 28, three quick carries by junior RB Dominick Felton moved the ball near midfield.  Then two plays later, Felton broke free on a 53 yard TD run. Senior kicker Steven Rojas made the PAT to even the score.

The second quarter started with Socastee driving deep into Wildcat territory then on 4^th and goal, Dillon’s senior DB Dan Graves picked off Royals pass in the endzone and returned it to the 13 yard line. This set up a 6 play, 87 yard drive that ended with a 17 yard pass from Rahmond Hamilton to Zay Robertson for his first TD. Rojas stubbed the PAT, setting the score at 13-7 Dillon. During Socastee’s next drive, WR/SS and back up QB Jonathon Goswick had to replace Royals under center which changed their offense scheme.

Dillon mounted one more scoring drive in the second quarter with a Hamilton to Robertson 39 yard TD pass and Rojas PAT to put the Wildcats up 20-7 and giving Robertson a second TD for the game. 

In the second half, the game was locked in a defensive battle. Dillon burned off over 6 minutes of the third quarter. In one series, Dillon to move the ball quickly from their own 33. Hamilton got the Wildcats to the Socastee 38 in two plays, then the drive stalled for 15 plays where the offense failed to score despite getting the ball inside the Socastee 20.  The Wildcats ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Socastee 19 yard line. 

The game remained locked in this defensive battle until the middle of the 4^th quarter when Felton would turn 3^rd and goal from the 7 into a TD run. With Rojas PAT making the score 27-7, that is how the game ended.

Socastee coach Benjamin Hampton commented post-game, “It’s hard to lose our starting QB, we are going to work next week and get better as we get ready for Aynor.” In the second half the Socastee defense held Dillon on 15 scoreless plays during 6 minutes time of possession with ball in Socastee territory. Coach Hampton praised his defense for their teamwork, “Our whole defense played great in the second half, I could not be more pleased with their effort. They had their backs against the wall on multiple times and they got the stops.” “We could not keep them (Dillon) off the field, and they just kept plugging.”

After the game, Dillon coach Kelvin Roller had this to say, “It’s next man up, that how we play, and that what they expect.” “Dominick Felton has a lot of speed and he made some great plays for us.” When asked about the defense, “they put us in a position to have more scores, but we just didn’t capitalize. We just need to go back to practice and continue to get better.”

Next up for the Wildcats is an away game against Wilson and the Warriors travel to Aynor, both team play on Sept 6^th.