By Lonnie Turner

It was billed as one of the top games in the Pee Dee when the Loris Lions came to town, pitting two outstanding runners and a seasoned defense that hadn’t allowed a single point to Region teams, against a Dillon Wildcat team that had allowed only six points to conference foes. Dillon would showcase Super Soph Avery McCall, senior running back Anthony Blue, and junior wide receiver Eri’Reon Hayes in retaliation.

McCall picked the Loris defense apart in the first half with pinpoint accuracy hitting 11 of 18 passing attempts for 160 yards and two touchdowns and completed three more in the second half for another touchdown on the way to a one-sided 44-0 win. Hayes caught eight passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns and Blue, along with his 104 yards rushing and three touchdowns, caught four passes for 60 yards and a fourth touchdown.

While the offense was putting points on the scoreboard, the Nasty Cat defense, led by Ja’Monte McGill, played havoc with quarterback Bennett Winslow, sacking him seven times in the first half for minus 30 yards. McGill got to the young Signal Caller four times in the first 24 minutes. Levi Moody was held to minus eight yards on four carries and Ryan Bellamy carried twice for minus 11 yards as the Cats completely shut the Loris running game down with minus 15 yards in total offense and only three first downs.

Hayes and McGill put the Cats in front 6-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter on a play that was voted WPDE’s End Zone play of the week. Hayes was wide open over the middle and made a leaping over the shoulder catch, falling into the end zone for the touchdown. Tara Grimsley was perfect for her first of five extra point attempts, giving her 29 of 31 for the season.

After holding the Lions to three and out, McCall came right back two minutes later, finding Blue running down the Dillon sideline for a 25-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead.

Everything was working for the Cats, who sealed home field advantage throughout the playoffs by winning the Region 8-2A Championship.

“Dillon is the standard in our Region and they did a great job getting their kids ready to play,” said Loris Head Coach Jamie Snyder. “Things didn’t go too well for us and seems like everything went their way. We’ve just got to go home and get better for the playoffs that are coming up!”

“I’m really proud of our team tonight,” explained Dillon’s Jackie Hayes. “We were at 100% for the first time in a while and we played well on offense and defense.”

The Cats went up 21-0 on the first series of the second quarter, capping a 54-yard drive with Blue scoring his first rushing touchdown on a 5-yard run. The score was set up by McCall when he ran out of the pocket and threw a 22-yarder to Daeshawn Davis who had gotten open over the middle.

With seven minutes remaining in the first half, a high snap from center on a punt attempt by Bryan Ayala sailed over his head and Justin Cyprien scooped the ball up and returned it to the Loris 17. Following an off side penalty, Blue was in the end zone for the third time on an 8-yard run for a 28-0 lead.

With just four ticks on the clock in the half, Drew Covington kicked a 25-yard field goal, his fourth of the season, to send the Cats into the intermission with a 31-0 lead.

Loris tried a bit of trickery on the opening kickoff of the second half. On an attempted reverse, Desmond Dozier and Ryan Bellamy lost control of the football and Isaiah Williams recovered to give the Cats possession at the Lion 21-yard line. Four plays later Blue was in the end zone from 3-yards out for a 38-0 lead.

With the clock running continuously, McCall and Hayes combined for the final score of the evening with a 30-yard touchdown pass between two defenders.

The Wildcats finished the game with 214 yards through the air and 145 yards on the ground while piling up 20 first downs.

The final game of the season will be at home Friday when the Cats take on the Waccamaw Warriors at 7:30 p.m.

Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click the images below to view at full size!