Football Recap: Jayce Donaldson Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Ridgeland + How To Watch

It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Darlington ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Ridgeland Panthers, sneaking past 44-42. That's more bragging rights for the Tigers, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

Jayce Donaldson

Rushing Touchdowns (Career)

08/29/25 vs Ridgeland	2
11/01/24 @ Bremen	1
09/27/24 vs Pepperell	1
08/30/24 @ Ridgeland	1

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Darlington to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jayce Donaldson, who rushed for 69 yards and a pair of TDs, and also picked up 38 receiving yards. The dominant performance also gave Donaldson a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two). Another player making a difference was Nate Kunczewski, who rushed for 34 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite the loss, Ridgeland saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kaiden Williams threw for 246 yards and four TDs while picking up 11.7 yards per attempt.

Darlington now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Ridgeland, they now have a losing record of 1-2.

Darlington will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Whitefield Academy at 7:30 p.m. on the 12th. As for Ridgeland, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Coosa at 7:30 p.m.