BNI Newswire

Darion Parker thought it was going to be a special game this week on homecoming, and it was for the Chilton County High School senior running back.

He scored all five touchdowns in the Tigers’ 32-20 win over Wilcox-Central.

“It was just his night tonight,” said CCHS coach Steve McCord. “Every time we called his number, he took it and scored.”

Parker said his offensive line did a great job opening holes for him to run through.

“We have a great offensive line. They did a great job blocking and giving me the chance to score,” Parker said.

The Tigers (5-1, 3-1 in region play) kept the ball on the ground for the opening drive of the ball game.

Jeremy Anderson broke a 35-yard run to move the ball to the 18-yard line, and Parker did the rest taking it in for the score on the next play. The extra point failed and the Tigers were up 6-0.

Anderson recovered a fumble just after Wilcox Central (1-5) started its first drive. That set up Parker’s second touchdown, an 8-yard score. The pass on the two-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 12-0 at the 5:20 mark of the first quarter.

Once play resumed, CCHS faced a fourth down. James Mays was unable to catch the pass from Joe Prokop, but he was held by a Jaguar player to draw a pass interference penalty.

The infraction gave the Tigers a first down, and Parker scored his third touchdown on a 9-yard run. CCHS led 18-0 at halftime.

Wilcox came back in the second half and ran the ball down the Tigers’ throats to get on the board.

Bryan Portis scored on a 14-yard run, cutting the advantage to 18-6 at the 9:18 mark of the third quarter.

Then, Cleveland Coles picked up a CCHS fumble and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown, drawing Wilcox within a touchdown at 18-12 a minute later.

Late in the period, Channon Talley returned a Jaguar punt to the 4-yard line of Wilcox. Parker added his fourth score on the next play. Thad Samples’ extra point made it 25-12 with 17 second remaining in the third quarter.

Parker’s final scored came on a 9-yard run on a fourth down play. Samples tacked on the extra point to give CCHS a 32-12 advantage.

Wilcox made it interesting when Coles ripped off a 20-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion cut the advantage to 32-20 with 2:52 left in the game.

Portis recovered the onside kick for the Jaguars to give them one last chance.

However, Mays ended their final chance with an interception on the 4-yard line.

Parker finished the game with 88 yards on 12 carries. Anderson rushed for 85 yards and Michael Kine had 44 yards.

Coles was the Jaguars’ leading rusher with 132 yards, 105 of which came in the second half.

Wilcox committed eight fumbles in the game but only lost one.