It’s not easy going undefeated, and the Swansea football team found that out Friday, losing its first game of the season 37-28 against Silver Bluff.

The Tigers and Bulldogs were tied going into the fourth quarter, but costly turnovers and penalties swung the momentum in Silver Bluff’s favor. The Bulldogs capitalized on those mistakes,  scoring nine unanswered points to seal the game. 

“There were a few plays we left on the field tonight,” Swansea head coach Willie Fox said after the loss. “When we needed to make a play, we didn’t make a play.”

Little separated the two teams outside the errors. Both offenses were content with hammering the ball on the ground, while the defenses did their best to stop it. There was little passing, but when there was, it led to big gains, especially for the Bulldogs. 

The key difference came down to how each offense executed its run game. 

Swansea’s mix of different formations gives the team multiple weapons to utilize and leaves opposing defenses guessing who has the ball. The Tigers had four different players run for at least 50 yards, and a fifth went for 35 on five carries. 

Dante Caldwell led the charge with over 75 yards and two touchdowns. DeAndre Caldwell also had around 75 yards and scored a touchdown. Quarterback Kendall Wright also ran for a touchdown. 

Silver Bluff’s strategy was a bit different. The team mainly fed the ball to one player all game, giving Drelyn Brown 20 carries. He bounced off bodies and churned his legs for over 130 yards and two touchdowns. 

“He ran all over us last year.  He's a really good player, and he's one of the best players in the region for a reason,” Fox said. “ When you have the chance to tackle him, you'd better get him on the ground. You'd better wrap up. We didn't do that enough times.” 

While the Bulldogs leaned on their run game, they did utilize the passing game, perhaps less than they should have. The team completed four of seven attempts for almost 100 yards and had two touchdowns off deep balls, including the game’s first score. 

Silver Bluff started the game with the ball and moved into Swansea territory before connecting on a 44-yard touchdown bomb. 

Swansea took its time responding, following the Bulldog drive with a 13-play, 65-yard scoring drive that lasted almost seven minutes. By the time Dante Caldwell forced his way into the endzone, there was only a minute left in the opening period. 

The Bulldogs fumbled on their first play of the next drive, setting Swansea up well in enemy territory. However, the Tigers immediately gifted the ball right back, fumbling on their first play. 

Silver Bluff’s defender scooped the ball off the ground and ran to the Swansea 38-yard line. Fortunately for the Tigers, the Bulldogs made nothing of the possession, moved backwards and punted. 

The Tigers scored the game’s next touchdown thirty seconds into the second quarter. This time, it was DeAndre Caldwell who got his number called as he ran in a 35-yard score. 

Silver Bluff saw Swansea’s long scoring run and did one better, scoring from 51 yards away to even the score. 

This was a continuing trend until the fourth quarter. One team would score, and the other would respond before taking the lead and starting the cycle again. 

Entering the final period, the game was tied at 28. Swansea had the ball and was driving in Silver Bluff territory when the first of a chain of costly mistakes struck. 

The Tigers drew up a play for their backup quarterback. It was a designed throw but broke down, leading to panic. Instead of sliding down or throwing the ball out of bounds, the quarterback threw a wobbler that sailed right into the hands of a Silver Bluff defender. 

“We had success with that package in the first half, and we went away from it,” Fox said. “I thought it was a good package to go with right there. …  It's just one of those plays, like I said, we left a few plays on the field, and that was one of them.”

The Bulldogs took that extra possession and scored the go-ahead touchdown after connecting on a 32-yard pass. 

Swansea got the ball back and went nowhere. The team was forced to go for it in their own territory, down seven with under four minutes to go. Swansea opted to run for the first down but fell three yards shy of the marker after only gaining one. 

The team was given one more opportunity following a Silver Bluff punt. The Tigers were pinned deep in their own territory with under a minute to go, and a safety was the dagger Silver Bluff needed. 

With the loss, Swansea’s record dropped to (7-1) overall and (1-1) in region games. The team has two contests left before the playoffs, a home game next week against Fox Creek (5-3, 0-2) and a road match after that versus Newberry (8-0, 2-0). 

Fox said he is making sure his team keeps its head up in defeat and remembers what is still on the board. 

“We’re (7-1), not (1-7),” Fox said. “ We have an opportunity to host a home playoff game, so there's a lot in front of us. We've got two big games coming up. We’ve got Fox Creek at home next week. We're going to turn our attention to them. We're going to flush this, and we're going to move on.”

Week 8 scoreboard 

Dutch Fork: 49, Lexington: 0

Irmo: 14, White Knoll: 3

River Bluff: 33, Chapin: 7

North Augusta: 56, Airport: 7

Gilbert: 30, Brookland-Cayce: 19

Gray Collegiate: 44, South Aiken: 7

Silver Bluff: 37, Swansea: 28

Batesburg-Leesville: 63, American Leadership: 0

Strom Thurmond: 61, Pelion: 0