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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Receiver Jayce Bentley put on a show and Davie’s JV football team gave visiting East Forsyth a fight before falling short 21-18 on Sept. 25.

The War Eagles (3-2 overall, 0-2 CPC) held a 12-0 lead before East came storming back in the second half. When you consider how many guys were unavailable for different reasons, it was a gutsy effort. Running back Brandon Forrest missed his second game with an injury, but there were several others either out with an injury or pulled up to varsity.

“We’re missing a lot of people that ended up getting pulled up to varsity,” coach Spencer Pasciolla said. “We missed having (defensive lineman) Ean Click as well, and he’ll be back (this) week. We missed Sammy Angell; he was pulled up to varsity (last) week because we were a little thin on the o-line. We were missing a lot of key pieces, but they’re still fighting really hard. It’s just a super young team right now.”

Davie got the ball first and promptly marched 80 yards, scoring on a 27-yard pass from Colin Harrison to Bentley, who was just getting started with his monster game.

The defense delivered a goal-line stand to preserve the 6-0 lead. On second-and-goal from the Davie 9, freshman d-lineman DJ McCaskill had a tackle at the line of scrimmage. Freshman defensive back Carter Cornett was the first War Eagle to meet the running back at the 5, a stop that brought up fourth-and-goal. The next play only gained a yard as d-lineman Jathan Redmond secured the turnover on downs.

“I think Jathan does a really good job as a defensive end,” Pasciolla said. “He works so hard out there. He’s usually matched up against someone that’s much larger than him, and he’ll fight them to get through and make a play.”

The defense got another turnover on downs the next time East had the ball. From the Davie 15, an East ball carrier was met by linebackers Finley Sink and Jackson Meadwell, resulting in a gain of 2. A screen pass to a receiver lost 6 yards as Meadwell came roaring up to make the hit. The next two plays were incomplete passes.

“Jackson’s taken to the defense really well,” Pasciolla said. “He does a lot of great things. I think he does a good job reading the offense and going where he’s supposed to go. He’s a really smart kid.

“I’m shocked Finley’s a freshman when you look at him. He almost looks like a grown man. He’s a physical specimen and I think he’s going to keep learning and become a really special player.”

Davie’s second TD was set up by the defense as Cornett picked off a pass near midfield and returned it 37 yards to the East 10. On fourth-and-goal from the 11, Harrison rolled right and unloaded the ball just before a defender caught him from behind. He fired a bullet to the end zone and Bentley snatched it to give Davie the 12-0 lead with 12 seconds left in the first half.

The momentum, though, slipped away in the second half. East used a 13-play, 75-yard drive to chop the margin in half, 12-6. Davie botched a punt and gave East the ball on a short field (the Davie 26). The quarterback got around the left end for a 15-yard score. The kick was good as Davie fell behind 13-12.

Davie answered to regain the lead. East was flagged for pass interference on back-to-back plays before the drive appeared to stall. But on fourth-and-9, Harrison went deep and connected with Bentley for a 35-yard TD that vaulted Davie ahead 18-13.

The unquestioned star of the night was Bentley, who added to his highlight reel while scoring all three TDs in a seven-catch, 125-yard performance.

“Jayce definitely is extremely gifted,” Pasciolla said. “I mean, it’s a pretty good bet to send the ball his way. He works through a lot. East Forsyth was playing aggressive press coverage, and they had their hands all over our guys, and all of our receivers did a really good job of fighting them off. Jayce certainly didn’t make it easy on them.”

A substantial kickoff return set up East’s offense at the Davie 35, but on second-and-goal from the Davie 4, the quarterback and running back fumbled the exchange and defensive back Ayden Chilton recovered for Davie.

Davie, though, couldn’t take advantage, turning it over three plays later. East took over at the Davie 33 and scored in seven plays to take a 19-18 lead with 7:20 to go.

East recovered a fumble at the Davie 11, but East coughed it up a few seconds later and Meadwell jumped on it to keep Davie alive. But Davie’s offense was pinned back and a penalty in the end zone resulted in a safety that extended East’s lead to 21-18 with 5:42 remaining.

Davie’s defense did force a punt, but the offense could not mount a serious drive in the dying moments.

Notes: Davie’s two CPC losses have been by a total of four points. … Davie had little success on the ground, with Javon Carter running for 27 yards and Cam Knox 26. … Harrison completed 10 of 22 passes for 168 yards, including two completions to Ian Patton and one to Blake French. … East gained 215 rushing yards on 49 attempts, and it completed 7 of 16 passes for 80 yards. … Another standout defensive player was freshman safety Max Cornatzer. “One thing about Max is he loves to hit,” Pasciolla said. “There’s at least once a game where all the coaches go: ‘Oh gosh, who hit that guy?’ And it’s Max usually.”