Alston steals show, leads Wando to win over Conway

OrTre Smith makes himself rather hard to miss.

His size and stature standing out among his Wando teammates, the 6-foot-3 receiver is coveted by more than a few schools – among them South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina and Georgia.

While Smith proved to be the main attraction Friday night in Conway, it was one of his more overlooked teammates who stole the show, much to the chagrin of Tiger faithful in attendance at “The Backyard.”

Wando running back Dakariee Alston rushed for 229 yards on 38 carries and four touchdowns, helping lead the visitors from Mount Pleasant to a 36-29 victory over Conway.

Five fumbles in the first half – four of which were lost – helped stake Conway to a 22-8 halftime lead. But the second 24 minutes were a totally different story, in large part due to Wando’s ability to take care of the football.

“I’m proud as heck of them, they were tested in a lot of areas,” said Wando head football coach Jimmy Noonan. “I told them at halftime, we did a lot of good things in the first half.Unfortunately, ball security is a big part of it, and we did not (take care of the football). Conway is a solid program and they don’t need us making plays for them … we held on to the football in the second half and proved we were capable of running the ball right at them.

“Folks have to remove some folks to account for (Smith), and when that happens it opens the door for us to run the football like that.”

The Tigers did themselves no favors in this one, either.

After seeing a promising drive stall, a bad snap was mishandled by the Conway punter, tackled by a hoard of Wando tacklers at the Tigers’ 31-yard line. Alston would make them pay in short order, taking only two plays to get into the end zone. Though the extra point was no good, it did bring the Warriors to within a possession at 22-14.

Conway’s special teams once again let it down on the ensuing drive, this time with punt that netted 10 yards, giving Wando another gift in terms of field position. While it took one more play than the previous drive, the result was the same nevertheless, with quarterback Cale Lewis finding wideout John Vardzel for a 17-yard touchdown.

The Warriors would tie the game on the following play, with Alston barreling through the Tigers defense for the two-point conversion.

After a Conway three-and-out, Wando would go on a 12-play drive that ended with an Alston touchdown, his third of the game. The Tigers would tie the game at 29 on the ensuing drive, as running back Daiquawn Clark found pay dirt for the third time on the night.

But this night was about Alston and Wando’s offensive line, which Conway had no answer for.

“This win means a lot, we work hard all the time,” Alston said. “We push it every week. I feel like we deserved this win, it was a team effort. … It’s just a good feeling being able to do your job and do it well.”

Alston had 51 yards on what proved to be the decisive drive of the night, punctuating it with a 6-yard touchdown with a little less than three minutes remaining.

Any comeback attempt for Conway ended moments later, as a heave by quarterback Peyton Derrick fell into the arms of Wando defensive back Jerel Brown.

For Conway head coach Chuck Jordan, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow.

“This loss was a team effort. Offensively we did not get first downs, defensively we did not stop the run, and our special teams let us down. When you lose all three phases, you’re going to get beat,” he said. “It’s inexcusable (Alston surpassing 200 yards in the game). I don’t know (what caused it), but we’re going to find out, because something has to get fixed.”

Both teams are 1-1. Conway hopes to get back on the right track next week against Wilson, while the Wando heads to Hanahan.

This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 12:59 AM with the headline "Alston steals show, leads Wando to win over Conway."