Darlington scores shutout on the road
By Greg Oshust - Marietta Daily Sports Journal
KENNESAW — Mount Paran Christian remained scoreless in 2026 after a 27-0 loss to Darlington School at Catherine Steele Sewell Stadium Friday.
Darlington improved to 1-1 following a 37-28 loss at Christian Heritage on opening weekend.
While the Mount Paran offense struggled to put points on the board, the Eagle defense had trouble containing Darlington’s running attack with Bo Powers rushing for 101 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown and Matias Selle gaining 99 yards on nine attempts and two scores.
Darlington immediately asserted control on the first offensive series of the game, scoring on a 12-yard run by Trey Moore to cap off a six-play, 80-yard drive with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Powers gained 55 of his 101 yards on the opening drive alone, including runs of 18, 18 and 12.
Mount Paran appeared to even things up after Harris Meers ran back the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown with 9:28 left, but a holding penalty negated the score and the Eagles were eventually forced to punt.
Darlington would add to its lead before the end of the first half when Selle stormed down the field 60 yards for a touchdown at the 5:18 mark of the second quarter to make it 14-0.
The Tigers got their third score of the game in the third quarter when they took advantage of back-to-back Mount Paran penalties on their scoring drive and eventually entered the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown run by Powers to increase their lead to 21-0.
Darlington put the finishing touches to its win after taking control of the ball at the Mount Paran 17-yard line with 6:34 remaining in the game and needed only two plays to score, with Selle following up a 12-yard run with a 5-yard touchdown scamper with 6:12 to go to give the Tigers their final margin of victory.
Up next for Darlington and coach Wayne Groves is a bye week. That leads into the home opener Sept. 11 against Sonoraville.
This article was originally published in the Rome News-Tribune on Sept. 1, 2026. Marietta Daily Journal sports correspondent Greg Oshust contributed to this report.
