What We Saw: Dillon 33, Newberry 28

Chris Dearing November 22, 2024 @ 11:40 PM

NEWBERRY | [player_tooltip player_id='1267317' first='Daniel' last='Capehart'] might have taken his cape off by the time his Dillon Wildcats team pulled into the school parking early Saturday morning.   The Wildcats 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior played nearly every play of the second half and was instrumental on both sides of the ball in leading Dillion to a 33-28 victory over Newberry in the second round of the Class 3A Lower State playoffs.   Capehart's 11-yard run with 1:06 remaining in the third quarter gave the Wildcats the lead for good.   “It felt amazing, but I couldn't do anything without my teammates coming together as a unit,” Capehart said. “We played hard, and we played fast and were explosive on both sides.”   Dillon (10-2) was forced to use Capehart more in the backfield after leading rusher [player_tooltip player_id='346196' first='Jamarion' last='Fling'] was injured in the second quarter. Fling was on his way to an outstanding night as he had 94 yards on 11 carries in the first half, but he went down awkwardly in the middle of the second quarter and only returned for a few snaps in the third quarter.   That left the bulk of the running game in the capable hands of Capehart, the younger brother of Clemson defensive lineman Demonte Capehart. He ran for 80 of his yards in the second half. Plus, he played every play on defense and was instrumental in limiting the Bulldogs to just 114 yards in the second half after they gained 302 yards in the first half.   Dillon switched up coverage in the second half and that seemed to slow the Bulldogs.   “Our guys came out and played exceptionally hard (in the second half),” Dillon coach Kelvin Roller said. “Our secondary made a little bit of an alignment adjustment and I think that helped them.”   Dillon quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1573996' first='Rahmond' last='Hamilton'] was only 11-of-21 but he threw for 180 yards, including an 18-yarder to Ejan Green with 7:26 remaining that gave the Wildcats a 33-21 lead. Zamaurious Roberson caught eight passes for 100 yards.     Capehart and fellow linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1025771' first='Keryien' last='Brown'] controlled the middle of the field while Zephania Campbell had a second half interception and a Tamerein Rogers recovered a fumble in the second half. Capehart stopped a first-half Newberry drive with an interception in the Red Zone. Defensive lineman Azavion Deberry also made several big plays   The first half was a back-and-forth affair. The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and went 76 yards in nine plays and scored on a 2-yard [player_tooltip player_id='1267234' first='Kenton' last='Caldwell'] run. The Wildcats answered right back with a 13-play, 81-yard drive of their own that ended with a 1-yard TD plunge from Fling on fourth down.   Capehart halted the next Newberry drive when he stepped in front of an errant throw and returned it 40 yards to the Bulldogs 48-yard line. Three plays later, Fling raced 34 yards for the score and a 12-7 Dillon lead.   Caldwell then orchestrated a 13-play, 86-yard drive that ended when he found Calab Levy on a 20-yard scoring strike. Dillon looked like they would take the lead into the halftime locker room when Hamilton connected with Robertson for a 17-yard yard TD pass on another fourth down play.   But it only took Newberry one play to respond when Caldwell connected with [player_tooltip player_id='1113710' first='CJ' last='Earl'] for a 57-yard slant pattern with 1:35 remaining in the half to give the Bulldogs a 21-20 lead at the break. Caldwell finished 26-of-36 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He added 24 carries for 123 yards and two scores. Earl caught four passes for 90 yards and Levy finished with seven catches for 67 yards. Tight end [player_tooltip player_id='816735' first='Jamel' last='Howse'] added six catches for 40 yards.   Caldwell scored on a 1-yard run with 2:51 remaining. Newberry forced a punt and got the ball back at their own 5-yard line with 1:43 remaining but the clock ran out with them just past their 40-yard.

NEWBERRY | Daniel Capehart Daniel Capehart 5'11" | 180 lbs | LB Dillon | 2026 State SC might have taken his cape off by the time his Dillon Wildcats team pulled into the school parking early Saturday morning.