Falcons fly into new season

The Darlington varsity boys’ basketball team has gotten the 2008-09 season off on the right foot.

The team’s first four games have been against AAAA schools, and they have won three of those contests. The Falcons split a series with Hartsville and swept West Florence for a 3-1 start to the season. Their most recent victory was a 53-43 win over the Knights.

In spite of the quick start, Darlington head coach Ken Howle said the team is exactly where he expected it to be.

“We feel like we are where we should be,” he said. “We felt real good in the loss (to Hartsville) because we were short handed. We had two players suspended and one hurt. This team has a lot of potential.”

The team has missed Devon Joint, who suffered a broken leg earlier this season and will miss a considerable amount of time. Howle hopes to regain Joint’s services some time next year.

Howle said the team has been getting great effort from its bench in the absence of some regular players. He named Maxie Jacobs and Trey Sheikh as players who have stepped up in the absence of starters.

“Maxie Jacobs has been the biggest pleasant surprise,” the coach said. “Based on where he was last year and how he is this year, he is playing well.”

Howle said he has been playing an eight-man rotation with some players out, but expects the playing time for the bench has really helped the depth of the team when the starters return.

The Falcons will once again compete in the Farm Bureau Holiday Classic at Chesterfield High School next week.

They will face Central of Pageland at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 29.

Darlington finished in second place at the tournament last year following a loss to Daniel High School in the tournament championship.

They will return to regular season action on Tuesday, Jan. 6, when they host South Florence.