Football

Hillliard Darby keeps win in perspective

At a glance

TOLEDO ST. JOHN'S at DARBY

*When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7

*Last meeting: First meeting

*Top Titans: Liam Allen (WR/DB), Tony Harper (TE/LB), Matt Miller (OL/DL), Jake Nachtrab (OL/DL) and Brogan Roback (QB)

*Top Panthers: Caleb Day (RB/DB), Cameron Kohl (RB/LB), Chase Longwell (QB), Alex Martin (OL), Michael Porter (RB/DB), Sam Valenti (DB) and Hayden Van Kirk (RB/DL)

*St. John's (0-2) to date: Lost to Cleveland Heights 56-24; lost to Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's 47-7

*Darby (2-0) to date: Defeated Whetstone 71-28; def. Davidson 17-3

*What to expect: Darby's spread offense will try to wear down St. John's defense with its running game. The Panthers have rushed for 673 yards and nine touchdowns on 85 carries -- a 7.9 average -- through two games.

Day has rushed for 142 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries and has two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown, and Porter has rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Longwell has 91 yards rushing and a score on 17 carries.
Roback, an Eastern Michigan recruit, leads St. John's offense, with his primary targets being Allen and Harper. Leading the Titans' offensive line are Miller, a Wisconsin recruit, and Harper, a Pittsburgh recruit.

*Last week: Darby ended a four-game losing streak against Davidson. Day led the way, rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. The Illinois recruit added a 43-yard kickoff return to begin the second half, setting up his 50-yard touchdown run on a reverse as the Panthers opened a 14-3 lead with 10 minutes, 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

St. John's lost to Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's 47-7. The Titans' only score came on a 66-yard pass from backup quarterback John Novak to Allen in the third quarter.

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Chris Parker/ThisWeek

Darby's Caleb Day scores the game's first touchdown on a 5-yard run against Davidson in the second quarter Aug. 31. Day added a 50-yard scoring run in the third quarter as the Panthers defeated host Davidson 17-3. Buy This Photo

By FRANK DiRENNA

ThisWeek Community News Wednesday September 5, 2012 11:49 AM

As students from their school celebrated on the field, members of the Hilliard Darby High School football team kept their 17-3 win over host Hilliard Davidson on Aug. 31 in perspective.

Panthers coach John Santayana and his players realize they still have a long road ahead in their pursuit of a Division I, Region 3 playoff berth.

"Right now, we just have to keep our heads up," senior running back Caleb Day said. "With this win, we can't get cocky. We worked during the summer and it showed out here."

Darby ended four seasons of frustration against Davidson, as the Wildcats had won the previous four meetings when the teams were in the OCC-Central Division together. All four of those games were played the final week of the season.

As part of OCC realignment this summer, Darby moved to the OCC-Cardinal.

The Panthers won the first game in the series, 21-10 at Crew Stadium in opening week of the 2007 season.

"It's been some time since we've able to beat them," Santagata said. "I'm just proud of our kids, proud of their effort. It was a great win for us."

The loss snapped Davidson's 23-game regular-season winning streak. The Wildcats' previous regular-season loss came against Dublin Coffman, 10-7 in week eight of the 2009 season.

Students from both schools were boisterous throughout the game. Numerous students from Darby walked in unison from Darby to Davidson before the game.

"We had great support," Santagata said. "Our kids came out to support us. It's exciting to see how many kids were here cheering and going crazy. That's a lot of school pride. I'm proud of them."

"That was real special," Panthers senior quarterback Chase Long well said of the Darby students' unison march to Davidson. "It really shows that they care, and it's just an amazing thing."

Day, a University of Illinois recruit, rushed for 94 yards on eight carries and scored two touchdowns, including a 50-yard run early in the second half that gave the Panthers a 14-3 lead. The score was set up by a 45-yard kickoff return by Day.

"This (win) means a lot," Day said. "The Darby school and community were looking forward to this game. They were counting on us to win this game. I'd like to thank the coaches and everybody because they put in a hell of an effort."

Darby's defense contained Davidson's ground attack for most of the game. The Panthers had a 195-141 advantage in rushing yards.

"Davidson is a great football team, a great program," Santagata said. "We were able to run the football, which is what both teams want to do."

Junior running back Demetrius Clark led Davidson's offense, rushing for 57 yards on 11 carries. Junior quarterback Nick Isle completed three of seven passes for 64 yards and rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries.

The Wildcats' lone score was set up a Darby miscue in the first quarter, as the long snap on fourth down sailed over the head of punter Nate Green, giving Davidson first-and-goal at the Panthers 5-yard line. Darby's defense, however, kept the Wildcats out of the end zone, forcing Davidson to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Jack Johns.

"Darby outplayed us, they outcoached us and I'm quite certain over the past month they have out-practiced us, and it showed up (Aug. 31)," Davidson coach Brian White said.

White doesn't want his team dwelling on the loss to Darby. Nor does he want his players focusing on their home game against Beavercreek on Friday, Sept. 7, or their OCC-Central opener Sept. 14 at Dublin Coffman.

The Wildcats' primary focus should be on improving, White said.

"We can't worry about Darby, we can't worry about Coffman, we can't worry about Beavercreek," he said. "We have to worry about ourselves. If we take care of ourselves and continue to make steady improvements, then I think hopefully things will take care of themselves."