Pride runs deep for Porcher as Iron Horse star begins college career

The state track and field championships are the end of the road for most student-athletes who are completing their senior year. But for Philip Simmons High School standout Darriel Porcher, the state meet was just the exclamation point.

 

Porcher, who helped the Iron Horse boys finish runners-up at the Class AA state track and field championship, recently signed to play football at the next level with Clarke University, a small Catholic university in Dubuque, Iowa.

 

Clarke University, founded in 1843, competes in the NAIA and is a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, which includes teams from Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.

 

School officials approved adding football in 2015 and hired its first coach in 2017. Clarke University, nicknamed The Pride, played its first game in 2019.

 

The hard work paid off for Porcher, who had a big senior season on the gridiron and on the track.

 

“Darriel has been a member of our program for six years, ever since the seventh grade,” Philip Simmons football coach Eric Bendig said. “He has worked hard on and off the field to earn this opportunity. (I) and all his coaches could not be more proud. Darriel has earned this opportunity.”

 

Porcher’s big school year started in the fall and carried over into the spring.

 

The 5-10, 170-pound Porcher shone on both sides of the ball for the Iron Horse football team in 2024, collecting 999 all-purpose yards while being a force on defense. He was selected to play in the 77th annual Touchstone Energy Bowl, which used to be known as the North-South All-Star Football Game.

 

Porcher rushed for 610 yards and scored six touchdowns on the ground in 2024 to help the Iron Horses to a 10-3 record and the Region 6-AA title. The team reached the third round of the playoffs.

 

He also caught nine passes for 177 yards and a score and tallied 211 kickoff return yards.

 

He collected 35 tackles from his position in the secondary, including 20 solo stops. He also recovered two fumbles and picked off two passes.

 

Porcher then concluded his senior year by helping the Iron Horse track and field team earn a second-place finish, after winning the state title last spring.

 

He finished 10th in the triple jump and earned all-state honors by being a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that captured a silver medal.

 

Porcher also earned a silver medal in 2024 as a member of the 400 relay team. The Iron Horses won the state title in 2024, their second championship in the school’s brief history.