Lakewood grinds out win over Darlington

DARLINGTON — Leading by seven points with half a quarter remaining Friday night, Lakewood’s offense continued a pattern from the first three quarters — the Gators ate the clock and sat on the ball as time ran out on Darlington.

Lakewood began its final drive with 6:09 left, and running back John Walker gained 71 of his game-high 251 yards to keep the ball out of Darlington’s possession and give the Gators a 14-7 win.

“That was big,” Lakewood coach Doc Lewis said about not giving the Falcons’ offense another chance. “When we took over ... I looked at the offensive coordinator (Tony Hubbard) and said ‘I don’t care if you score, but eat up at least six minutes of this.’”

Darlington coach Justin Danner said the Falcons’ offensive game plan had to be adjusted after starting quarterback Damien DuBose sprained his left knee last week against Marlboro County.

DuBose split time in the first half against the Gators (3-3, 1-1) with D.J. Woodham, but watched from the sidelines in the second half after Danner said the Falcons’ offensive line wasn’t providing him with enough protection.

“We’re not looking for an excuse,” Danner said. “But you love to have your best (players) every time you go out.”

Trailing 7-0 late in the second quarter, Darlington nearly tied it   when tailback Dominique Cooper reached the end zone on a 50-yard run, but the play was called back when the Falcons (2-5, 0-2) were called for holding.

“That was major,” Danner said. “I’ve been refraining from (saying) anything negative about any call made, but the call that went was called on a tight end on the other side of the field by the (official) on the far side of the field.”

Darlington finished the first half with just 28 yards and failed to get a first down before the break.

“We told those guys (during halftime) if they want to be in this game, they’re going to have to respond like men,” Danner said.

The Falcons responded on the opening drive in the second half with runs of 25 yards and 17 yards from Woodham and receiver Quaishaun Ross, respectively. However, Darlington eventually had to punt, and Walker scored from the 3-yard line on Lakewood’s ensuing possession to give the Gators a 14-0 lead.

Darlington finally got on the board when Cooper scored on a 39-yard run with 18 seconds left in the third quarter.

“Darlington is a physical team,” Lewis said. “That’s what we were most worried about coming in here — being able to match up physically. But we had some breaks go our way tonight.”

Darlington is at Camden next Friday at 7:30 p.m.