Walker’s 4 touchdowns help Mallard Creek crush Hough

Mallard Creek wasn’t exactly perfect in Thursday night’s game against MECKA 4A rival Hough.

But what the Mavericks did was more than enough to put away the Huskies, taking a 42-21 victory to remain undefeated in conference play.

Darnell Walker ran for 135 yards and four touchdowns, and Chauncey Caldwell threw for 246 yards and two more scores for Mallard Creek, ranked No. 2 in the Sweet 16.

Walker, who came out of the game after the third quarter, scored on runs of 3 and 23 yards in the first quarter in staking the Mavericks to a 21-0 lead, and added a 44-yard breakaway in the second quarter.

He capped Mallard Creek’s scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge in the third quarter.

Both of Caldwell’s touchdown passes went to senior wideout Ryan Jones: a 45-yarder on Mallard Creek’s first possession, and a 31-yarder in the second quarter en route to a 35-7 halftime lead.

Jackson Gibbs threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns for 13th-ranked Hough. He hit Jamond Hill on a 13-yarder with no time remaining in the first half to break the Mavericks’ shutout, then found Cameron Evans on a 4-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter.

Tyus Fields accounted for the Huskies’ final score, breaking loose and lunging in for a 22-yard touchdown run with 2 minutes remaining.

Records: Mallard Creek 6-1, 3-0 MECKA 4A; Hough 4-3, 1-1.

Worth mentioning: Jones finished the game with five receptions for 125 yards, all coming in the first half. … One down side for the Mavericks came in penalties – 17 in all, for 156 yards. … Just like the offense, Mallard Creek’s defense also came up big. It held Hough to just 55 rushing yards, and sacked Gibbs six times (five coming in the first half). … Evans had eight catches for 90 yards for the Huskies. … Hough running back Jarrett Nagy, who had 722 rushing yards and six TDs entering the game, was held to 9 yards on five carries.

What’s next: Mallard Creek will host one of its biggest rivals, former Sweet 16 No. 1 (now No. 6) Vance in a big MECKA 4A matchup next Friday; that same night, Hough will host conference rival Kannapolis A.L. Brown.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Walker’s 4 touchdowns help Mallard Creek crush Hough."