WALTERBORO — In a match up between two teams that share the same strengths and weaknesses, it’s usually the team that makes the fewest mistakes that comes out on top.

That was certainly the case Friday night as the Dorchester Academy Raiders capitalized on four turnovers to claim a 42-21 victory over Colleton Prep in SCISA Class AA non-region action.

With both teams relying heavily on the strength of their star running backs, it was in the end the Raiders’ Trevor Davis and Thomas McAlhany who gave their team the upper hand, rushing for a combined 281 yards and three touchdowns en route to the win.

Colleton Prep star tailback Parker Headley led all rushers Friday with 170 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, but his performance wasn’t enough to make up for an overall lackluster performance by the War Hawks.

Davis took a pitch from Raiders quarterback Nick McAlhany around left end for a 66-yard touchdown run on just the fourth play of the game, and the Raiders never looked back. After Davis’s score, Dorchester stretched their lead to 20-0 after a touchdown run and a touchdown pass by Nick McAlhany.

Colleton Prep finally responded with 9:37 to play in the first half, when Headley broke two tackles on his way to a 21-yard touchdown run, making the score 20-7.

Davis then clipped the wings of the War Hawks with a 33-yard touchdown run and a 60-yard touchdown reception less than two minutes apart that gave the Raiders a 35-7 halftime lead.

Colleton Prep added two scores in the third quarter to give Dorchester a brief scare, the final one being a 90-yard touchdown romp by Headley that shrank the deficit to just 14 points.

Thomas McAlhany rumbled in from 10 yards out with 9:57 to play in the fourth quarter to put the nail in Colleton Prep’s coffin.

“I was really worried about this game,” said Dorchester head coach Stanley Gruber. “(CPA head coach) Brock Miller always has really good, well-coached teams, and this year he has a good running back in Parker Headley, who’s a cut above a lot of other players in this league.

“But, I thought we did a pretty good job of slowing them down and keeping them out of the end zone in the first half. They’re as good as I thought they were, but we played well. Overall, I’m pleased. Trevor Davis has really been playing well the last few weeks, and Michael Gruber, who can be as good as he wants to be, had a good game as well at linebacker.”

Dorchester Academy (4-1) will travel to Ridgeland to face Thomas Heyward next Friday. Colleton Prep (3-2) will host Hilton Head Prep in Region 2-AA action.

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