Hartsville tames the Tigers in the season opener
#1 Carmello McDaniel celebrates after he ran in a touchdown against Conway. PHOTOS BY WILL JOHNSON
A Hartsville Assistant Coach goes over plays with players while they get rejuvenated to get back in the game.
The Red Fox offense lines up against the Tigers on the eight-yard line in the red zone.
By Will Johnson
On Friday night, 8/18 the Hartsville High School Red Foxes faced the Conway Tigers at Kellytown Stadium. After winning their scrimmage last week against Scotland County at the Pee Dee Jamboree of Champions, the Red Foxes were optimistic about the game. The Community was as well. There was a large crowd of support for the Red Foxes with the stands nearly full and people lined up all along the fence separating the field from the concourse. The Hartsville High School student section came out in great force in their Hawaiian-themed outfits, chanting all game. It is no surprise that with the support the Red Foxes had, they could make a series of big plays all game. Four minutes into the first quarter the Red Foxes would find the end zone with a run on first and ten by #1 Carmello Mcdaniel. The Redfoxes would keep constant defensive pressure on the Tigers all game. They kept the secondary covered forcing the Tigers to primarily throw short passes. The Red Fox defensive line kept pressure up front either forcing the Tiger quarterback to scramble or get sacked. This would give the Red Foxes good positioning on the field throughout the game. The Red Foxes would force 6 sacks, 2 fumbles, and an interception in the game. Still, in the First quarter, the Red Foxes would find good positioning again after a big sack leading to the Red Foxes being on the Tigers’ 31. Which would lead to a Red Foxes touchdown by a pass to #15 EJ Smith. The Redfoxes would then give up a touchdown to the Tigers but would quickly answer with a touchdown. That would be the Last time the Tigers would score in the game. The Red Foxes however showed no signs of slowing down with another touchdown on a QB keeper by #6 McKendrie Douglas. With the offense and defense constantly gaining momentum the Red Foxes would get another big sack giving them ample time to get another touchdown by a run from #0 Hakeem Watters. This would bring the Score to 34-7 at the Half. Coming out of Halftime the question was if the Red Foxes would be able to maintain their momentum or if the Tigers would be able to find their weakness. The immediate Touchdown by #1 Carmello McDainel of the kick return would answer that. This is a Red Fox team that just could not be stopped and with the crowd enthusiastically behind them the energy in Kellytown stadium would give anyone goosebumps. The Red Foxes would go on to score two more touchdowns with runs by #1 Carmello McDaniel and #24 Kylif Miller. The final score was 55-7. When asked, “How were you able to find your gaps and holes to create big runs throughout this game?” Carmello McDaniel had this to say, “Really just trusting the process and looking for my blockers, just having the vision on the field and trusting in my teammates and coaches allowed me a lot of space.” When asked, “How will they prepare for their rival game against Darlington next week?” McDaniels said, “Don’t let the high be too high and don’t let the lows be too low, anything is possible, we will prepare like we always do.” The Red Foxes take it to Darlington next week in their rivalry game against the Falcons at 7:30.