Dominant second half helps Daniel cruise to win

TRAVELERS REST | The halftime score Friday night at Chico Bolin Stadium really didn't indicate how close the Daniel-Travelers Rest game felt. While the Class 4A No. 5-ranked Lions led 21-7, they had just a 143-138 advantage in total yards. After some halftime adjustments, that was no longer the case the rest of the night. Daniel had a 282-104 edge in total yards in the second half to pull away for a 53-7 win.   Fifty of those 104 second-half yards for Travelers Rest were gained on the Devildogs' final drive. That came after the Lions scored a touchdown for the fourth time in as many second half possessions to initiate the running clock with 5:58 remaining.   "After those halftime adjustments, we just really settled in for the second half," Daniel senior defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1738821' first='Bryson' last='Freeman'] said. "Moving forward, we've just got to finish all four quarters and continue to work."   Travelers Rest's I-formation, option run offense is one that just isn't seen all that often these days. After the Devildogs went three-and-out on each of their first two possessions, their offense got some momentum going to answer Daniel's opening score - a one-yard touchdown run by [player_tooltip player_id='1608532' first='Kingsten' last='Bibb'].   On third-and-two from the Daniel 20, TR quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1821978' first='Colby' last='Epps'] kept for a 20-yard touchdown as the Devildogs tied the score 7-7 with 9:38 left in the second quarter.   Lions' quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1094520' first='Jace' last='Grass'] had a quick response. He went 5-for-5 on Daniel's ensuing possession, hitting four different receivers in the process. The last of those passes was a nine-yard strike to [player_tooltip player_id='1467841' first='Trey' last='Wimbley'] in the end zone.   Disaster struck the Devildogs on a fumble two plays later, which Freeman recovered at the TR 27. Two plays later, Grass found [player_tooltip player_id='1732654' first='Anthony' last='Scott'] in the end zone for an 18-yard score to push the lead to 21-7 with 5:21 left.   The biggest sequence of the game followed as the Devildogs tried to answer with a methodical 12-play drive that reached the Daniel four-yard line. On second-and-goal from the four, there were 15 seconds left and TR was out of timeouts. Epps took the snap and dropped back to pass. Seeing nothing, he quickly tucked the ball and ran but was tackled by Daniel's [player_tooltip player_id='1592019' first='Dexter' last='Johnson'] at the one-yard line. As the Devildogs rushed on the field goal unit, they got lined up just as the first half clock struck zero and the Lions took the 14-point lead into halftime.   Daniel got the ball to start the second half and on the third play faced a third-and-10. Grass hit Wimbley on a perfect slant pass and there was no safety in sight as Wimbley went 53 yards for a touchdown. Going from possibly trailing 21-14 at the half to trailing 28-7 just 54 seconds into the second half seemed to pop Travelers Rest's balloon.   "That (Travelers Rest offense) was a new look for us. For me, it was exciting. I wanted to go out there and play because that I-formation triple option is what I ran in high school," Daniel coach [player_tooltip player_id='1821779' first='Chris' last='Stone'] said with a smile. "You've got to play it different. You've got to play assignment football. You can't just sit there and try to watch the ball. Our guys figured it out as the game went along.   "Once we made those adjustments on defense, we just played good complimentary football."   On third-and-10 on the Devildogs' ensuing possession, they took their first deep shot. It was picked off by Daniel's [player_tooltip player_id='1172351' first='PJ' last='Chancellor'] and returned 27 yards to the TR 48. Two plays later, Grass found [player_tooltip player_id='1820865' first='Jack' last='Coats'], who weaved his way to the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown to help push the lead to 35-7 with 7:18 left in the third quarter. The Devildogs' had a nine-play drive on its next possession, but was halted when Freeman and Jaiere Benson combined on a third-down sack.   An eight-yard touchdown run by Daniel's [player_tooltip player_id='1820861' first='Daimien' last='Curry'] early in the fourth quarter helped remove all doubt. Grass added a one-yard rushing score on the next snap as Daniel recovered the ensuing squib kickoff at the Devildogs' one-yard line. Chancellor capped the scoring with a 10-yard catch from Grass.   Grass finished with 323 yards on 20-of-31 passing with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Scott finished with 123 yards receiving on six catches, while Wimbley caught four passes for 82 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1819126' first='Andrew' last='Anderson'] led Daniel (6-1, 3-0 Region II-4A) in rushing with 48 yards on his only carry.   "I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it is to have him (Freeman) as a senior captain this year. ... He just works so hard. He goes out there and just keeps plugging away," Stone said. "(Grass) is coming along. He's seeing different things and getting better every single week. He protects the football and he's got a lot of weapons around him. ... We're starting to figure it out a little bit."   Epps led Travelers Rest (2-5, 0-3) with 87 yards rushing on 16 carries and he completed 5-of-9 passes for 47 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1821980' first='Preston' last='Garraux'] rushed for 56 yards, while [player_tooltip player_id='1819495' first='Cooper' last='Blake'] ran for 54 also for the Devildogs. Blake also caught two passes for 16 yards.

TRAVELERS REST | The halftime score Friday night at Chico Bolin Stadium really didn't indicate how close the Daniel-Travelers Rest game felt. While the Class 4A No. 5-ranked Lions led 21-7, they had just a 143-138 advantage in total yards. After some halftime adjustments, that was no longer the case the rest of the night. Daniel had a 282-104 edge in total yards in the second half to pull away for a 53-7 win.