Here is a photo gallery from the Dillon v. Mallard Creek game. In a game of what has been called missed opportunities, Dillon fell to Mallard Creek, a nationally ranked team, 7-3.
PHOTOS BY JOHNNIE DANIELS/THE DILLON HERALD
Click once on a photo to bring it into a single screen, and then again to enlarge.
By Lonnie Turner
Mallard Creek, the top ranked team in the state of North Carolina (All classifications) and the number 10 team in the nation, came to Dillon looking for a big blow-out this past Friday night, but it never happened! Like the last time the two teams locked horns back in 2013, the highly favored Mavericks crawled away with a 4-point win. In 2013, it was a 27-21 barn burner won by Mallard Creek in the waning seconds of the game.
This season, both teams came into the game with new quarterbacks and the Mavericks had everybody’s All -American running back, Darnell Walker, to compare with Johnny Allen, Dillon’s running back who was injured in the Darlington game in 2015. Both did well with Walker rushing 22 times for 82 net yards, 57 coming in the first half on 12 carries and Allen finished the game with 71 yards on 13 carries, but the final word was defense!
In the second half the Wildcats defense, led by Jermaine McDaniel and Damario Currie with 14 and 13 tackles respectively, kept the Mavericks in their own territory. The closest they got to the 50 yard line was their own 44 following two plays from the end of the third quarter.
Walker scored the only touchdown in the game with 3:53 remaining in the second quarter and Drew Covington kicked a 30-yard field goal that would have been good for at least 50 yards with 1:34 remaining in the third.
“That’s what we came here for this kind of game,” said head coach Mike Palmieri. “Last year we opened with Independence and beat them, 58-6, and weren’t a very good team after that. We had four goal-line stands out there tonight and there were some big fourth downs and we made some stops. I think it put our kids in the most uncomfortable situation you can find, and it worked out perfectly for us. It was a million penalties to none, but that’s part of the game,” he continued. We knew coming in here that we wouldn’t get calls and we didn’t!”
That could very well be an understatement for sure, because there were many holding and pass interference calls that weren’t made on the Mavericks defense. They were whistled fifteen times for 115 yards compared to 6 for the Wildcats for 40 yards.
The Wildcats had a 40-yard pass to Johnny Allen for a touchdown called back on a motion penalty on their second possession of the game, but in the second half, the Cats were knocking at the door from at the Mallard Creek 18, 14, 7 and 1-yard line and came away with only 3 points.
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It was a defensive masterpiece last Friday night when the Dillon Wildcats met the Mallard Creek Mavericks in their second meeting of all time, both times here in Dillon in front of football fans who really take their football seriously.
When it was all over, the Mavericks walked off with another close win, topping the Cats by four points, 7-3. Three years ago, it was by six, 27-21, on a 14-yard run by running back Lawrence Pittman to cap an 82 yard drive that followed a Wildcat score that tied the game. Only 1:30 was left in that game when the TD run ended and the PAT was blocked. That’s two of the same caliber of games, highlighted by defense that would surely make Willie Fred Daniels and Paul Chapman proud.
An illegal shift cost the Cats the early lead when Johnny Allen’s 40-yard catch and run for a touchdown was called back in the first quarter.
Mallard Creek, who was getting some terrible kicks from their punter, Myles Lloyd, but it was his 36-yarder to the Dillon two that set up the only touchdown of the game.On three plays, all rushes by quarterback Zareon Hayes, a converted defensive player, netted just eight yards to the ten to set up a punt by Covington. Return specialist Isaac Hamilton fielded the punt at the Dillon and returned it to the Wildcat 14. Walker rushed for a first down to the two and bolted over the goal line with 3:53 left in the first half for the score.John Silverstein was perfect for the extra point.The second quarter was dominated by the Mavericks, but after intermission, the Wildcats played a different game and the penalty flags flew against the Mavericks. A pass interference call on a pass to Kanore McKinnon resulted in a first down at the Mallard Creek 20 after the Wildcats had held the Mavs to three and out to start the second half. Hayes got the Cats as close as the 18, but a false start penalty and three incomplete passes turned the ball over at the MC 23-yard line.
The Mavericks picked up their only first down in the second half on a Walker sprint around end for 11 to the 25 and on the next play after a four yard run, a face mask penalty moved the ball all the way back to the Maverick 14.
After Caldwell was sacked for the first time in the game by Jermaine McDaniel, Lloyd punted 27 yards to the MC 43. Covington ended the 43-yard drive with his field goal to get the Cats on the board, 7-3.
Taking over at the Maverick 38 with a minute, thirty seconds left in the third, Walker carried twice for four yards and McDaniel got to the quarterback a second time for his second sack and to make things worse, the quarterback was charged with intentional grounding, which forced still another bad punt by Lloyd from the Maverick 26. The football came to rest 11 yards further down the field, bringing the Maverick defense back out.
Deep in Mallard Creek territory, the Cats were at the 7 with a first and goal to go, but the Mavericks defense bent but did not break. The Cats were stopped at the three yard turning the ball over to start the final 12 minutes of play.
The Dillon defense held Mallard Creek inside the 15 once again to force still another punt that traveled on 7 yards, giving the Wildcats a first down at the MC 19.
Another pass interference call to the MC 9, resulted in the Cats getting to the one yard line, but running in the Wildcat formation, the fourth down snap from center slipped through the fingers of Hayes for a fumble to end the final threat to get into the end zone by the Wildcats.
“Four stops down there that close was a great confidence builder for our kids,” said Coach Mike Palmieri.
The game could not have been much closer. The Wildcats had the most first downs, thanks to the second half effort and both teams were dead even in total net yards with 163 apiece, with Dillon leading 127-76 in rushing and Mallard Creek getting the edge 44- to 30 passing. MC had 43 yards in returns and the Wildcats had only 6.
This writer doesn’t like the idea of putting down officials, but honestly they looked as lost as can be on quite a few calls, taking a very long time to decide what the call was going to be and who it was going to be against. A game of the caliber as the one in Dillon Friday night with a nationally ranked team going against a team that is coming off four straight State Championships, deserve better.
The Wildcats will be at home again this week to take on the Mullins Auctioneers. Don’t look for a crowd like the one we had last week, but it would be great to see all the Dillon fans rally around our Wildcats and at least fill the home stands.
