Dillon Christian opens region play with 39-13 win over St. John's Christian
Blackmon passes for 157 yards and 3 TDs, runs for 120 and another score
Dillon – The season to date hasn’t been what Chris Alphin envisioned his first year in charge of the Dillon Christian School football team would be, but the Warriors certainly picked the right time to have one of the good moments.
DCS jumped out to a 13-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back as sophomore quarterback Jordan Blackmon led it to a 39-13 road victory over St. John’s Christian Academy in its SCISA Region 1-AA opener on October 3.
Blackmon completed 10 of 12 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 120 yards and another score on 16 carries.
Alphin said the strategy entering the game was to play solid defense, get comfortable running the football and let Blackmon do his thing running and throwing the football
“It’s a treat to be that close to talent,” Alphin said of Blackmon. On the season for the 2-4 Warriors, Blackmon has completed 60 of 114 passes for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for 478 yards and seven touchdowns on 61 carries.
Senior R Bracey was Blackmon’s top target with four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Senior Zachary Ellis had two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore Gray Easterling had two catches for 30 yards.
For the season, Bracey has 29 catches for 680 yards and six touchdowns.
Junior middle linebacker Ethan Moody and senior defensive lineman Braxton Cummings led the Dillon Christian defense with five tackles for loss apiece. Senior outside linebacker Tripp Hyatt had three TFLs.
Junior placekicker Scott Burgarin was 4 of 5 on etra point attempts and booted a 40-yard field goal.
DCS has region games left with defending AA state runner-up Bethesda Academy on October 10 and defending AA state champion Pee Dee Academy on October 31.
Alphin hopes the win over St. John’s was the start of a strong push to end the season.
“We are still trying to shake the monkey off our back, and I think we got one palm off Friday, but we want to be consistent,” Alphin said. “There’s been too many mood swings. It’s time to turn the page and time for these guys to see the big picture and earn what they deserve.
“In the last three weeks I’m looking for performance that earns a playoff bid. That’s what the seniors wanted during offseason camp. That’s what we will work toward, being a great team. If we aren’t working toward that thaere’s no reason to show up.”
