Conway rebounds from loss to Myrtle Beach in big way against West Florence
Coming off a disappointing loss to rival Myrtle Beach, Conway looked to turn its attention to the “second season” of region play on Friday night and rolled to a Region 6-5A victory over West Florence 35-7.
The Tigers (5-1) started slowly on offense, sputtering in its first three drives of the game. The passing game struck gold in the closing seconds of the first quarter, when quarterback Darren Grainger hit Rakim Bellamy for a 95 yard touchdown to take the lead in the game. Near the end of the second quarter, the Tiger aerial attack struck paydirt again, this time from 66 yards out on a strike from Grainger to Juwon Moody.
“We want to be a balanced offense and we were able to do both pretty well tonight,” said Conway interim coach Carlton Terry. “We started out slow, but we ended up gaining more and more confidence as the game went on. (As a coaching staff) we put the ball in our players’ hands and gave them the trust to make plays for us.”
While the offense provided plenty of firepower, the Conway defense did its best to slow down a strong rushing attack in West Florence (1-5). Alvim Ford carried the ball well, piling up 129 yards and the lone Knight score on the ground, but his teammates were stifled by the Tigers.
“I thought our defense played average in the first half and came out in the second half, besides that first drive, and did a good job of stopping West Florence’s offense,” Terry said. “That tailback (Ford) he’s a special player and their quarterback (Cooper Wallace) did a good job running their offense tonight.”
Conway is right where it wants to be, Terry said, following the first region game.
“We’re 1-0 (in region),” he said. “You can’t get to 2-0 without being 1-0 first.”
Turning point
After being pinned inside their own 20 on a punt, the Conway offense was then backed up to its own 5-yard line by a penalty and losses on two downs. With the first quarter winding down, Darren Grainger rifled a pass down the left sideline into the waiting hands of Rakim Bellamy, who made a West Florence defender miss on his way to the game’s first touchdown.
Key performers
Daiquawn Clark: Clark took over the rushing game for Conway in the second half, compiling all 14 of his carries and 129 yards in the game’s final two quarters. His 35 yard touchdown helped Conway cement its lead and ice the game.
Darren Grainger: Using the deep ball to his advantage, Grainger put on a show in the first half with two long touchdowns to run the Knights out of the game.
Alvim Ford: His fingerprints were all over the offensive attack for West Florence, running hard late into the game. His 38 yard touchdown run gave the Knights hope coming out of the halftime break, but the passing game was unable to gain any momentum.
By the numbers
182
Conway’s three-headed monster in the rushing game – Darren Grainger, Daiquawn Clark and Antonio Long – kept the West Florence defense on its heels with the rushing attack. The three players combined for three scores, with each player scoring one.
9.2
Alvim Ford averaged 9.2 yards per rush on the night, carrying the West Florence offense to its only score in the third quarter.
161
Darren Grainger rolled up 161 yards on two passes in the first half, each going for touchdowns. His big-play threat helped open running lanes for the Tigers down the stretch in the 35-7 victory.
They said it
“We threw when we wanted to, rather than when we had to. Our quarterback regained some confidence by throwing some good balls. The last ball that he threw, I asked him for a play and he called a great play on 4th and 7 – he did that.” – Conway coach Carlton Terry
“After last week our guys came together and said ‘Hey, we know we have to focus on practice and film study in order to win. We know we can’t just show up and win.’ I think that’s what we did last week (against Myrtle Beach). – Terry
Up next
West Florence: vs. Sumter
Conway: at Socastee
WF | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 7 |
Conway | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | 35 |
First quarter
CON – Darren Grainger 95 yard pass to Rakim Bellamy (Will Smith kick) 0:00
Second quarter
CON – Grainger 66 yard pass to Juwan Moody (Smith kick) 1:19
Third quarter
WF – Alvim Ford 38 yard run (Rich Gainey kick) 10:15
CON – Grainger 4 yard run (Smith kick) 2:01
Fourth quarter
CON – Daiquawn Clark 35 yard run (Smith kick) 11:21
CON – Antonio Long 11 yard run (Smith kick) 8:28
Individual leaders
Rushing: WF – Ailym Floyd 14-129 TD. CON – Daiquawn Clark 15-137 TD.
Passing: WF – Cooper Wallace 14-22-124-0-2. CON - Darren Grainger 6-13-199-2-0.
Receiving: WF – Vick Johnson 4-57. CON – Rakim Bellamy 2-98 TD.
This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Conway rebounds from loss to Myrtle Beach in big way against West Florence."