Dillon High School - Wildcat Yearbook (Dillon, SC)

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fe at ix 0 times right on the goal line. Steve Cox was the key man in stopping Conway inside the two-yard line twice. The game shattered Con- way's winning streak and put Dillon back in the standings. The 6 to 6 tie represented one of the most hard-fought ballgames in the entire conference. Unfortunately, the following week the Cats were once again put in the loser's column when they were beaten by the Knights of West Flor- ence with the score 28 to 16. Bad breaks hampered the boys throughout the game, but two quick scores by the Knights were what really hurt. Goings' excellent run- ning seemed fruitless as it gained him only one touchdown. Meekins went over from short yardage to provide the other score. Both con- versions were passed from Nleek- ins. The downed but by no means out Dillon team made a tremendous comeback with a commanding vic- tory over the Camden Bulldogs. Goings astonished the opponent's defense and ran for three touch- downs. Buddy Bethea had the longest TD run of the year, and quarterback Meekins slipped into the end zone for the last Wildcat score. The outstanding defense led by Tommy Wallace and lvlingo Grant never once let the Bulldogs even near the goal line. The 34 to 0 victory was just what Dillon needed to get out of the losing slump, which had been plaguing them. The following week, the Wildcats were once again forced to bite the dust, however. Mullins worked hard to gain a 12 to O conference win in an important game. lt was after this game that the players decided they were tired of losing. The team was more deter- mined than ever to beat the arch- rival Latta, who was next on the Dillon Schedule. Under the leader- ship of Coach Chapman, the Cats once again made a big comeback and defeated the Green Vikings 27 to 0. The two ends Wilson and Per- nell, who led the team in recep- tions, each caught scoring passes from Meekins. Crawford's fine run- ning earned another in the third quarter. Goings scored the final TD and crossed the 1000 yard mark in rushing.

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ff, Crawford snagged the other scor- ing pass and Buddy Bethea's ex- cellent running attack wrapped it up with a TD in the fourth quarter. The defense led by big Bill Lighty allowed only one Gator score, and the Wildcats came out on top 27 to 6. For their first conference game, the Wildcats were bused to Dalzel in Sumter County to play Hillcrest. Earl Goings and Willie Crawford each scored a long pass thrown by Meekins. Defensively, George Russ intercepted a Hillcrest pass and went in for the tally, while lineback- er Tommy Wallace led the game in tackles. Dillon's first home game came against the much favored McClenaghan Yellow Jackets. lvleekins' arm once again proved to be the backbone of the offense with the completion of a long bomb to Sophomore Bubba Strickland who went in for the score. Earl Goings rushed for over two hundred yards and was hit with a Meekins' TD throw. Robert Locklear's defense held the strong offense of lVlcClen- aghan to limited yardage, and the entire team played one of its best games of the season. The contest ended with the Wildcats outplaying the Jackets 14 to 0. Dillon's next game was with Coach Chapman's old Alma Mater, Hartsville. The Wildcats were still riding high over their past victories, and their overconfidence cost them their first loss of the season. Earl Goings' running was just as terrific as always, but the rest of the of- fense just could not seem to get rolling. The Cats' defense played a good ball game with the exception of a few plays, but the Bed Foxes took a big advantage of these mis- takes. The final whistle sounded with Dillon getting dropped 10 to O by the Bed Foxes of Hartsville. Rained out the following Friday, a determined Dillon team traveled to Conway on Saturday night. The faithful fans, still enthused about the team, filled up the stands and gave the Wildcats the inspiration they needed. The game proved to be the most exciting with Goings leading the explosive offense with the only Dillon score. The entire Wildcat defense played a superb game and stopped the Tigers many 123

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The Sumter game was next, and it proved to be as hard-fought as the Conway clash. Buddy Bethea led the offense with an early score and the defense stopped the Game- cocks in the last ten minutes, and Bethea did it again with a long run all the way to the goal line. lt was a 12 to 7 victory, and the Wildcats received a well-deserved steak af- terwards. The final game of the year was with Cheraw, which was the Home- coming game. Goings was at peak performance for his last game, and his two touchdowns insured a Wild- cat victory. Jerry Caulder, Robert Locklear, Earl Goings, James Vanderhall, and Bill Lighty were all chosen to the all-conference team. Also to be commended are Vick Traywick, Tommy Arnette, and Larry Pittman. Traywick did a fine job of kicking extra points and kickoffs, while Arnette handled the punting duties in addition to playing end. Pittman, a defensive lineman, seemed to always make the big play tackling the opposing quarterback. mmf'