HSFB: Dolphins get QB back, hold off JPII

Hilton Head Prep tried to keep quiet about its starting quarterback this week, hoping to keep John Paul II guessing about which of the three players who have spent time taking snaps for the Dolphins would suit up Friday.

By the end of the first series, the Dolphins were ready to scream from the mountaintops that Stone McDonald is back.

The senior quarterback returned after missing the first four games with a broken nose suffered in a preseason scrimmage, and he passed for 185 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 79 yards and a score in a 34-26 victory at John Paul II. 

McDonald made his presence known from the outset, connecting on three big pass plays on the opening series to set up the first of Tommy Stauffer’s three touchdown runs. After JPII answered with a touchdown pass from Jeremiah Young to Mark Knight, McDonald rolled to his right, pulled up at the line of scrimmage, and threw a dime to Tyrone Calloway, who glided into the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown.

Reco Anderson ran a crossing pattern and took a Young pass 77 yards for a score, breaking several tackles along the way, to pull the Golden Warriors within 14-12, but McDonald answered with his longest run of the night, bouncing around the right side and breaking tackles before tip-toeing past the pylon for a 56-yard touchdown. 

JPII did not go quietly, though, as Anderson capped an authoritative drive to open the half with his second touchdown of the night, pulling the Golden Warriors within 21-19. 

Stauffer, who has been the focal point of opposing defenses with McDonald sidelined, was freed up Friday, and he took full advantage, rushing seven times for 109 yards and three touchdowns and catching five passes for 96 yards. He seemingly put it away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs, breaking away for a 19-yard score and zig-zagging across the field for a wild 59-yard romp to the end zone to make it 34-19. 

But JPII kept coming. Young hit Knight for a 26-yard TD pass to get the Golden Warriors within eight, and JPII recovered an onside kick and drove past midfield before a fumble sealed the win for the Dolphins.

Anderson finished with 119 yards and a TD on 21 carries and 89 yards and a TD on three receptions, and Young was 7-of-18 for 139 yards and three touchdowns to go with 57 rushing yards.

HHP (2-3) travels to Carolina Academy next Friday, while John Paul II (0-5) travels to Orangeburg Prep for a region matchup.