By Lou Bezjak
It had been 16 years since Cheraw began the season with two
losses, and the Braves made sure they avoided 0-2 again.
Cheraw, which lost its opener to Marlboro County last week, put up 38
first-half points on its way to a 44-7 win over Darlington on Friday night.
“I’m extremely proud of the way we played,” Cheraw coach Johnny White said.
“The defense and offense kind of set the tempo in the first half.”
White said the loss to the Bulldogs, in which the Braves (1-1) blew a 10-point
second-half lead, served as motivation.
“That loss stung us pretty good,” he said. “Our coaches and players were
extremely disappointed. We talked about being able to play four quarters and
take advantage of our opportunities.”
Receiver Jerron Brown had two touchdowns, one on a 73-yard punt return and
another on a 54-yard run on a reverse to make it 38-0 at halftime. Brown
finished with 170 all-purpose yards.
“We are looking at different ways to get him the ball and, when he gets it in
his hand, he’s pretty dangerous,” White said of Brown.
Cheraw running backs Travis Small and Montrell Evans provided a 1-2 punch on
the ground. Small had 100 yards and a touchdown, while Evans added 77 yards and
two touchdowns, including a 53-yarder on Cheraw’s first possession.
Neither back played in the second half as the Braves went to reserves after the
break.
Darlington’s offense didn’t pose much of a challenge to the Braves defense.
Cheraw held Darlington (0-2) to 136 yards of offense. Cheraw picked off Falcons
quarterback Bootsie Gattison two times and forced a fumble on Darlington’s
first play of the game, which led to a Braves field goal.
“Offensively we didn’t get it going, and that’s when you need — your defense to
be able to hold them until you can figure it out,” first-year Darlington coach
Justin Danner said. “But by the time we got some things figured out, we kind of
hung our heads down because the score was kind of lopsided.”
Gattison led the Falcons with 39 yards rushing, while DeMario Goodson had 34
and scored the team’s only touchdown.
The Falcons lost starting receiver Donnie James, who was taken away in an
ambulance with a knee injury in the first quarter. Danner didn’t know the
extent of the injury.
Cheraw will host rival Chesterfield on Friday, while Darlington is at Marion.