South Columbus senior back Dakota Piver scored four first-half touchdowns Friday on a pass reception, two punt returns and a fumble return in the Stallions’ 52-0 non-conference football romp over the visiting West Columbus Vikings.

South Columbus’ Derrick Clay runs the ball for the Stallions in Friday night’s 52-0 win over West Columbus.

Staff photos by Mark Gilchrist

VINEGAR HILL – If there is something Dakota Piver can’t do on a football field, opposing coaches would sure like to know what it is.

Piver, South Columbus High School’s 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior back, showed why he is one of the area’s most versatile players Friday night as he caught a long touchdown pass and returned two punts for touchdowns in the first quarter. For good measure, he added a 21-yard return of a West Columbus fumble in the second quarter for another score as the Stallions bolted to a 52-0 victory over the Vikings.

All of the scoring came in the first half as South Columbus improved its season record to 4-0 while collecting its third shutout win of the season.

The time on the third and fourth quarter clock was trimmed from 12 to 10 minutes each, and the clock ran for virtually all the second half.

West Columbus, coming off a 7-0 loss to Whiteville a week earlier, closed its non-conference schedule with an 0-5 record.

Piver scored first on a 59-yard pass from quarterback Justin Duncan with just over a minute gone in the game. Four minutes later, Piver returned a Viking punt 59 yards for another touchdown.

Buster James got the Stallions’ third TD on an eight-yard run before Piver ran back another punt 40 yards for his third score of the night and a 26-0 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

With less than two minutes gone in the second quarter, Dominique Betts scored a 12-yard run and Donovan Watts’ third extra-point kick of the night made the score 33-0. With less than five minutes gone in the quarter, Kevin Clay blocked a Viking punt and returned it 14 yards for the sixth Stallion TD of the evening. Moments later, Piver picked up a WCHS fumble at the 21 and rambled into the end zone for the his fourth TD of the night.

The final Stallion TD came on a one-yard run by Antron Bowman.

Justin Smith was the Stallions’ leading rusher with 58 yards on nine carries.

The SCHS defense held West Columbus to 42 yards of total offense.

South Columbus has won its last 14 meetings with West Columbus and has yielded only one touchdown this season.

South Columbus will open Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference play this Friday when it plays host to the once-beaten North Brunswick Scorpions.

West Columbus will take on Fairmont this Friday in its Southeastern 1A-2A Conference opener.

SC – Dakota Piver 59 pass from Justin Duncan (Donovan Watts kick).
SC – Piver 59 punt return (kick failed).
SC – Buster James 8 run (pass failed).
SC – Piver 40 punt return (Watts kick).
SC - Betts 12 run (Watts kick)
SC - Kevin Clay 14 blocked punt return (kick failed).
SC - Piver 21 fumble return (kick failed).
SC - Antron Bowman 1 run (Watts kick).