By Craig Brown
The Dillon Christian School Warriors hosted the Palmetto Christian Academy Eagles Friday night in round one of the SCISA division 1A playoffs with the Warriors getting a big 62-19 win to advance to round two next week.
The Warriors 11-0 will host the Williamsburg Academy Stallions Friday night at Warrior Field.
The Stallions lost to the Warriors 47-14 on September 16 but have not lost a game since. Warrior Coach Christian Wolfe expects a much closer game this time.
After Friday night the Eagles of Palmetto Christian Academy might think that no team in SCISA division 1A can stop the Warriors.
On the Warriors first offensive possession they marched down the field at will with Diaz Alexander completing the drive with a two yard touchdown run.
Gage Bazemore added the point after kick to put the Warriors up 7-0 with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
On their second offensive possession Warrior quarterback Michael Minges ended the drive with one yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreke Toomer.
Bazemore’s kick upped the Warrior lead to 14-0 with 4:45 left in the first quarter. With 1:15 left in the first quarter Alexander got his second touchdown on a one yard run. The point after kick was blocked holding the Warrior lead to 20-0 with the first quarter ending with this score.
The Eagles did not get to the playoffs by chance and they proved to the Warriors that they had some offensive weapons when Eagle quarterback Chad Shimakonis hit his running back Drew Brown with a 39 yard pass.
The kick was off but the Warrior lead was cut to 20-6 with 3:35 left in the second quarter. Following the kickoff it took the Warrior offense one minute and nine seconds to score with Alexander getting his third TD on a one yard run. Bazemore’s kick put the Warriors up 27-6 with 2:26 left in the second quarter.
With 49 seconds left in the first half Minges hit tight end Luke Price with a 54 yard touchdown pass. Bazemore’s point after kick gave the Warriors a 34-6 lead going into the halftime break.
Following the halftime break the Eagles decided to go for the onside kick. Luke Price covered the kick and returned it into Eagle territory. Minges finished the short drive with a nine yard touchdown run. Bazemore’s kick was true increasing the Warrior lead to 41-6 with 11:21 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors finished their second drive with Minges hitting wide receiver Jackson Wolfe with a 25 yard touchdown pass. Bazemore’s kick upped the Warrior lead to 48-6 with 6:30 left in the third quarter. The referees ordered the clock run without stoppage at this point in the game.
With the Warriors playing reserves the Eagles offense finished a drive with tailback Eric Salem crossing the goal from eight yards out. The point after kick was blocked holding the Warrior lead to 48-12 with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
The quarter would end with this score. With 7:20 left in the fourth quarter Minges crossed the goal on a 12 yard run. Bazemore kicked the Warriors to a 55-12 lead.
With the clock run without stoppage the clock read 4:40 running almost three minutes off the clock between the touchdown and extra point. Eagle quarterback Shimakonis never quit and found his tight end Ethan Migaha for a 60 yard touchdown pass.
Migaha added the point after kick to make this a 55-19 game with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter. The Warriors recovered the onside kick on their own 49 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage Warrior running back Demontez Alford broke several tackles on his way to a 51 yard touchdown run with 2:49 left in the game. Bazemore added the final point of the game giving the Warriors the 62-19 playoff win. On offense for the Warriors, Michael Minges was 10 of 15 passing for 188 yards and three touchdowns and added 64 yards rushing on 7 carries with two touchdowns, Diaz Alexander had 133 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns and caught a pass for three yards. Luke Price caught two passes for 68 yards with a touchdown, Jackson Wolfe caught four passes for 65 yards with a touchdown, Tyreke Toomer caught two passes for 47 yards with a touchdown, Demontez Alford scored a TD on a 51 yard run, Bryan Davis caught a pass for five yards and Gage Bazemore was 8 of 9 on extra-point kicks. On defense, Luke Price had 10 tackles 4 assists, Demontez Alford had 8 tackles with an assist, Garret Collins had 6 tackles 2 assists, Michael Minges had 5 tackles 4 assists, Walt Bailey and Hamilton Hodges had 2 tackles 4 assists each, Jared Ivey and Ereck Eck had 2 tackles 2 assist each with Eck adding a fumble recovery, Tyreke Toomer, John Rourke, Samuel Coleman and Evan Paul added a tackle with 2 assists each, Bryan Davis, Dallas Feeko, Jared Darmon and Daniel Camp added a tackle each. Game time for Friday’s matchup with Williamsburg Academy is set for 7:30.