SMCC tops Danbury in N8 showdown

LAKESIDE — Be ready when your number is called. Cullen Dillard is a 6-foot sophomore quarterback for St. Mary Central Catholic. When starting QB Grant Swain got hurt late in the second quarter, Dillard took the reins and things were as smooth as butter. Dillard accounted for two touchdowns the rest of the way as SMCC toppled Danbury 33-8 in a key Northern 8 Conference showdown Saturday. "It's the next-play mentality," Dillard said. "There are nights where I might not play, but when Grant got hurt sadly, I came in and did my job. No matter what, each week I'm prepared to do what I need to do to help the team win." Swain suffered an ankle injury on the first play of SMCC's last drive of the first half. After a Josh Will run, Dillard hit Will for a seven-yard pickup. Later, Dillard connected with Bryan Gibson on a swing pass for a six-yard score. The extra point from Gabe Burch gave the Panthers (5-0, 4-0 N8) a 21-0 lead at halftime. SMCC was scoreless in the first quarter, a change of pace from its first four games. The Panthers led 23-0, 34-0, 31-0 and 30-0 after one quarter in the first four games this season. "I'm a little (upset) because I didn't think we played very well," SMCC coach Toby Hammond said. "We probably needed a game like this because the first four games, mostly of those guys only had to play a quarter. We really needed a game like this." The Panthers had chances in the first quarter. SMCC picked up three first downs including a fourth-down conversion to get inside the Danbury 10. But, a sack to Swain put the Panthers behind the sticks and they turned the ball over on downs. They got a second chance when Danbury opted for a fake punt at its own 20 and didn't convert. Again, SMCC was stuffed when it got near the end zone. This time, they were at the Danbury 2 when Swain was stopped for a short gain. The Panthers finally got on the board early in the second quarter. Swain exploded through the line for a 25-yard pickup to the Danbury 5. He covered that distance on the next play for the touchdown. Burch made the extra point for a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter. After the Lakers (4-1, 1-1) went three-and-out, SMCC guzzled more than five minutes off the clock. The Panthers got Danbury to jump offsides on fourth down for a free first down at the 9. Three false start penalties hampered SMCC, but on fourth-and-goal at the 23, Swain hit Cayden Wikel over the middle for a touchdown. Burch made it 14-0 with 4:08 to go in the first half. "We'll go back and look at film and see exactly what we didn't do right," Hammond said. "We shot in ourselves in the foot most of the time." Danbury played with tempo early in the second half as quarterback Tommy Dean heated up. The Lakers got into SMCC territory for the first time, but Gabe Burch read a screen pass from Dean and picked an interception. The Panthers cashed in, again taking five minutes off the clock. This time, Gibson rumbled in from seven yards out for the touchdown. "They're a very good football team with a bunch of seniors," Danbury coach Brett Sykes said. "I thought we stuck with them in the first quarter a little bit. Throughout the game, they used their size to move the ball. They're pretty solid." After Danbury turned the ball over on downs, Dillard showed his electric playmaking abilities. On first down, Dillard went up the middle and bounced to the outside and was off to the races. The 86-yard touchdown run put the game in a running clock as SMCC went up 33-0 with 11:35 to play. "He gets reps during the week at practice and we know he's a pretty good athlete," Hammond said. "He's a pretty good runner. He made a nice move to get into the end zone on that run. He is a good player and is going to be a really good player before he graduates." Danbury did get on the scoreboard for a bit of positivity. The Lakers went 56 yards in 11 plays, using almost eight minutes of the clock before Dean scored on a three-yard run. Dean added the two-point conversion. The points were the first allowed by SMCC this season. Dean completed 9 of 12 passes for 31 yards while running 11 times for 23 yards. Drake Turinsky tallied 19 carries for 110 yards for the Lakers. "The thing is we couldn't get anything going offensively, so our defense was out there the whole time," Sykes said. "It seemed like they were out there the whole first quarter or even the first half." Danbury is back in action Friday at home against Cardinal Stritch (0-5, 0-4). "I think we're in pretty good shape right now," Sykes said. "4-1 now and we knew this would be our toughest test of the year. We're through the toughest part of our schedule right now. We have Homecoming next week and we're healthy. "Hopefully we can get back on another roll." Hammond said he thought Swain just sprained his ankle and that they didn't want things to get any worse with a lot of season left to play. SMCC hosts Fremont St. Joseph (3-2, 2-1) next Saturday. "Give Danbury a lot of credit," Hammond said. "They're well-coached and disciplined. We knew going into the game we were going to have our hands full." SMCC 0 21 6 6 — 33Danbury 0 0 0 8 — 8 SMCC — Grant Swain 5 run (Adam Burch kick)SMCC — Cayden Wikel 23 pass from Swain (Burch kick)SMCC — Bryan Gibson 6 pass from Cullen Dillard (Burch kick)SMCC — Gibson 7 run (kick failed)SMCC — Dillard 86 run (kick failed)D — Tommy Dean 3 run (Dean run)