A countdown to jubilation ensued at Daphne High Friday night, but quick-scoring Blount led by Kadarius Toney kept the tension high until the final seconds
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continue |
DAPHNE — Daniel Taylor picked up a rare Kadarius Toney fumble and returned 87 yards for a touchdown on Blount's first series. Diego Guajardo’s first-of-four extra points gave the Trojans an early lead and a countdown to jubilation ensued at Daphne High Friday night. But quick-scoring Blount led by Toney kept the tension high until the final seconds. Only then did Trojan Nation exhale with a huge 28-18 win over the No. 1 Class 6A Leopards.
“We asked our guys to compete to the end,” said Daphne head coach Kenny King. “Just believe in yourselves, believe in what we’re saying. That’s part of the process of getting better. Process, process. These guys came together and did that. I’m happy and excited for them. Now we go back and work to keep getting better. Blount is a good team, well disciplined and great coaches over there. So blessed to get this win. The defense and the whole team worked and fought hard all night.”
Three times in the second half and twice in the closing minutes Toney’s passing and running got his team within the Trojans’ red zone. But DHS defense, Blount penalties and three missed extra-point attempts—combined with seven turnovers (five interceptions, two fumble recoveries) overall— sealed an end to the Leopards’ undefeated league run.
Undaunted to the end, the Florida Gators commit tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Burroughs in the first half. In the fourth quarter, he connected with Collins Woods III (7 yards) and Lebarron Jones (31 yards) on the TD-receiving end. The try-for-two conversion failed twice to a stiff Daphne defense and the first extra-point kick attempt was blocked.
Kaleahl Johnson had three INTs to lead the Daphne defenders, Ty Reynolds and Grant Weaver each had one. Bryan Mitchell’s fumble recovery set up the Trojans’ second touchdown and he also blocked the Blount PAT kick.
On the offensive side for Daphne, Chance Newman threw three touchdown passes: a 9-yarder to Ja’Quan Myles 57 seconds before halftime, a 30-yarder to Myles Henderson and a 12-yarder to Taylor Smith down the stretch. Mike Franklin’s running helped set up those scores with 27 carries for 135 yards. The Trojans had only one turnover against the Leopards when Newman was picked off.
Up next (Oct. 21) both teams face region opponents as Daphne (6-2, 5-1) heads to Robertsdale, while Blount (7-2, 6-1) will host Gulf Shores in the Leopards’ regular-season finale.
The sixth-straight DHS win — after falling to 7A Davidson and league-rival Spanish Fort — sets up a possible three-way, tie-break situation for the top-spot in 6A’s Region 1 between Blount, Daphne and Spanish Fort as each has one league loss (BHS to DHS, SFHS to BHS and DHS to SFHS) so far with two weeks left in the 2016 regular season. Ultimately only two will get to host a first-round playoff game.
“We take one game at a time and that’s part of the process, too.” King added concerning the postseason and possible tie-break scenarios.”
On Oct. 28, the Trojans will close out at Baldwin County High and the Toros at LeFlore (Ladd-Peebles).
