PHOTO GALLERY: Dillon Defeats Mullins, 46-7

Dillon defeated Mullins, 46-7, on Friday night. They play Latta next week.

PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Johnnie Daniels/The Dillon Herald
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By Lonnie Turner
Zareon Hayes scored three touchdowns Friday evening to lead the Dillon Wildcats to a 46-7 win over the Mullins Auctioneers.
The game was played under a continuous clock for the entire second half after the ‘Cats scored 28 points during the second quarter and led, 39-0, at intermission. Hayes, carrying nine times for 127 yards, has rushed for 255 yards and 6 TDs in the first two games of the young season.
While Hayes was leading seven other offensive players to 276 yards rushing, Ty’Quan Porter was busy picking off quarterback Sequan Crawford, twice. One was a 40 yard catch with just a minute remaining in the first half. It was his third pick of the season and second touchdown to lead the secondary.
While Hayes was leading seven other offensive players to 276 yards rushing, Ty’Quan Porter was busy picking off quarterback Sequan Crawford, twice. One was a 40 yard pick six with just a minute remaining in the first half. It was his third interception of the season and second to be returned for a touchdown to lead the secondary. Linebackers Shamar McCallum and Dray Thompson are at the top of the tackle chart with 12 each and McCallum has registered 1-1/2 sacks. Defensive end Shakai Jeanti leads the Wildcat defense with 2-1/2 quarterback take-downs behind the line of scrimmage to lead five players in that category.
The Cats took the opening kickoff and marched 47 yards on 8 plays with Hayes running into the end-zone from a yard out, but place kicker Ahmad Dawad was short with the point-after kick.
After a Mullins fake punt on the Aucs first possession resulted in an apparent first down, the play was called back because an ineligible receiver downfield. The ensuing punt was taken at the Dillon 31 and Jalen Williams went to work rushing three times for 30 yards, Hayes was called on to run the ball in for a yard and a 12-0 lead. Dawad’s kick was off the mark a second time. Two plays into the second possession for Mullins, Porter went high in the air to pick off a deflected pass at the Wildcat 19 and a holding penalty nullified a good gain giving the Wildcats a first down a its own 13. On 3rd down, Hayes took a hand-off up the middle and charged 66 yards, before being tripped up at the Mullins one-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Hayes bolted into the end-zone for his second TD, but an under-thrown pass to Jackson Hayes fell incomplete leaving the score at 18-0.
Following the kick-off and a delay penalty at the Mullins 23, Jeanti recorded the first sack of the game at the Auctioneer 17, jarring the football loose., where McCollum recovered for the Cats. On the first play following, Wildcat signal caller Jay Lester lofted a high pass into the end-zone to a waiting Tyquan Porter for the touchdown. Dawad was perfect with his first of three tries for the extra point and a 25-0 lead with 10:35 left in the half.
Mullins quarterback Sequan Crawford completed a 12-yard pass to Sammy Pressley for the only first down in the half, but the drive, which started at the Mullins 20, bogged down forcing a punt after an 11-play series that saw four flags.
On the next series, the Wildcats drove 68 yards in eight plays with Hayes running the final 30 yards for his third touchdown of the game with 3 minutes left in the half. One minute later, Porter snatched the ball from the hands of a receiver and returned it 40 yards for a 39-0 halftime lead.
At the start of the third quarter, the clock ran continuously, except for time-outs. Reserve halfback Isiah Benjamin carried six of eight plays on Dillon’s only offensive series during the third quarter and ran in his sixth carry from 6 yards out.
Mullins ran eleven plays in the fourth quarter and Crawford hit Jaylon Ritter with a 41-yard pass for the Aucs only touchdown. Chris Wicker added the point after. The clock ran out after the final kick-off by the Auctioneers before Dillon could get a play off in the fourth.
Many players were able to get into the game, including four Freshmen, who will be participating on the Junior Varsity team that cranks up this week.
“It was good to get those younger players in the game, but they’ll all be playing on the JV squad!” Coach Hayes said.
The Wildcats had 365 yards in total offense and Mullins finished with exactly 100 yards, 41 rushing and 59 passing.
The Wildcats will entertain the upstart Latta Vikings at 7:30 this week for the 30th time since 1969. Hopefully the light people will be able to get the lights going on the pole near the home gate. Lightning hit the pole in Thursday’s bad electrical storm.
Get out early Friday for the only county rivalry game on the schedule for the Cats when the Vikings come to town. Should be quite a crowd