It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Darlington can now relate to. They were beaten by the Hartsville Red Foxes 49-16 on Friday. The Falcons were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-8.
Darlington's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaylen Augustus, who rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, and also threw for 96 yards and a touchdown. Augustus' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 111 rushing yards.
Darlington wouldn't let Hartsville keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Darlington can thank Nygel Mcfadden and Malik Moore for forcing both of them. Mcfadden also made eight total tackles, which is notable because Darlington is 4-2 when he posts at least three total tackles, but 2-4 otherwise. Another thorn in Hartsville's side was Oreion Small, who made ten total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended a pass.
Even though they lost, Darlington was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 202 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 202 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Darlington dropped their record down to 6-6 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road. The slump could be explained by some tough opposition over that stretch, namely Hartsville, they, and South Florence. As for Hartsville, the win (which was their tenth in a row) raised their record to 10-1-1.
Darlington does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Hartsville, their homestand will continue as they prepare to take on South Florence at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Hartsville's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last ten matches.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
