By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter

bnimmons@thepccourier.com

WILLIAMSTON — The Daniel Lions got off to a scorching start in region play on Friday as they dismantled the Palmetto Mustangs by a final score of 59-9.

The Lions asserted their dominance early, scoring the first 28 points as they easily beat the Mustangs on their own turf.

“I thought we executed at a pretty good level tonight,” Daniel coach Jeff Fruster said. “Our kids played hard for the whole 48 minutes and they really believed in one another. I told them to take care of Daniel, and that’s exactly what they did tonight.

“Our offense was prepared, and that’s what led to the hot start tonight. I’ve been preaching preparation all year, and it paid off tonight. We work these boys hard, and that makes Friday the easiest part of the week for them.”

The Lions were paced offensively by the play of star quarterback Tyler Venables, who picked up four touchdowns in the first half to bump his season total to 20.

However, the performance of the night came from senior receiver Hampton Earle, who had four catches for 140 yards and three scores to go along with a 21-yard first-quarter touchdown run.

“Scoring four touchdowns feels amazing, but the best thing is picking up the win,” Earle said. “Especially taking off two weeks, it felt good to come out here and get a win.”

The Lion defense had another dominant night, picking off Palmetto quarterback Blair Garner twice while completely shutting down the Mustang rushing attack.

“My defensive coaches had a great gameplan tonight,” Fruster said. “They figured out a way to shut down a very good quarterback. He is athletic and very similar to the type of player we see every day in practice, so hats off to my staff.”

Neither team could get much going early until the Lions took over midway

You must be logged in to view this content.