Published: September 06, 2008 12:42 am      

Antlers roll over Piedmont

PIEDMONT — Dax Dilbeck helped Deer Creek open the season with a bang Friday night at Piedmont. The senior carved up the Wildcats defense, rushing for 196 yards and four scores, as the Antlers rolled to a 35-20 win in the season opener.

“I’m really proud of the guys, they played hard all night,” Deer Creek coach Grant Gower said. “Piedmont and Deer Creek is a tough rivalry and we’re just glad to go and get a win. They have gotten a lot better, it was a good win for us to get started with.”

Gower said he was pleased with Dilbeck’s performance, and also credited the offensive line for creating plenty of room to run.

“Dax just makes plays if the balls get in his hands, he’s electrifying,” Gower said. “I was pleased with the play upfront, we were able to play a lot of guys upfront. We were still pretty fresh as the night went on. We were aggressive and attacking upfront.”

It didn’t take Dilbeck long to make his mark on Friday night. On the fourth play of the game, Dilbeck dodged several defenders and scampered for a 39-yard score.

While the Antlers held onto the momentum for much of the night, Piedmont proved they wouldn’t go down without a fight. Just two minutes after Dilbeck scored his first touchdown of the game, Travis Mustain struck back with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Keith Vick. Vick then connected with Corbin Ross on the 2-point conversion, giving the Wildcats an 8-7 lead.

The Antlers regained control when Dilbeck found the end zone on a 24-yard run late in the first quarter, making it a 14-8 Deer Creek lead.

Deer Creek blew things open in the second quarter. Colton Sander capped a seven-play drive when he scored from six-yards out. And Dilbeck then helped Deer Creek capitalize on a fumble recovery by Nick Brown, when he scored on a 29-yard run, giving Deer Creek a 28-8 halftime lead.

Piedmont made things interesting with a couple of later scores. Timmy Steeds scored on a seven-yard run with 2:13 left in the game, and Cole Alleman scooped up a Deer Creek fumble and ran 30-yards for a score, making it a 35-20 final.