By Lonnie Turner
“You hit ‘em hard and you hit ‘em low and if they get up, you hit ‘em again!”
Those were the instructions of an old college football coach. And you know, the Dillon Wildcat coaching staff can add another bit to that pep talk, “and hit ‘em quick!”
Evidently that must be what the coaches have been telling the team prior to nearly every game this season. Just look at the scoring frequency, especially in the first and second quarters. By halftime in all games but against Aynor, the Wildcats had scored a total of seventeen touchdowns and Friday evening, they added eight more in a 54-13 drubbing of Georgetown to clinch the top spot in Region 7-3A.
Senior running back Nemo Squire has scored at least four touchdowns in four of the five wins and has a total of 14 six-pointers for the season. He’s rushing at 7.2 yards per carry with 472 yards on 66 attempts and has rushed for over 100 yards in every game except Waccamaw when he left the game with four carries in the first half for 48 yards.
In the meantime, another senior leading the offense, quarterback Jack Grider completed six of nine pass attempts in the first half for 166 Yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Allen has thrown the football well as backup to grider. He completed an 89-yard scoring bomb to Donnez Alford to score the final TD against the Bulldogs.
Alford and Grider got the scoring going with a 47-yard pass and two minutes later Charles Brayboy hauled in a 38-yarder from Grider to put the Cats on top 14-0. Ny’an Maxwell was perfect with his first of six extra point kicks on the night.
Then it was time for Squire to get on the scoreboard with four consecutive runs for 10, 18, 63 and 5 yards in a span of 14 minutes to give the Cats a 40-6 lead. Ty Martin, a junior wide receiver who also occasionally runs out of the backfield, scored on a 2-yard run with only 44 seconds left in the half.
Georgetown used three different quarterbacks in the game with sophomore Owen Powell playing most of the first half. He put the bulldogs on the scoreboard at the beginning of the second quarter with a 10-yard TD to senior tight end Andre McGill.
He completed six of 13 attempts for 88 yards.
In the second half, the Bulldogs scored after taking the opening kickoff with junior running back Taji Mitchell running in from 5 yards out. The Wildcats finished with 277 yards rushing compared to 102 for the Bulldogs and the Cats had 228 yards passing and Georgetown had 120.