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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Even when Davie’s wrestling team is facing another powerhouse program, it can make it look easy.
The Foard Tigers have quite a tradition – they went 479-47 under Mike Carey from 2008-09 through 2022-23 with nine state championships – but Davie had considerably more firepower in a 51-15 decision.
The War Eagles overwhelmed all five opponents last week.
Davie 74, Ashbrook 6
Davie wrestled three times at Foard on Dec. 4, and it got things started with a wipeout of the Greenwave.
Davis Jones (165), Max McCall (190), Ryder Strickland (285), Graylan Anderson (106), Cayden Glass (132), Tiaj Thao (138), Carter Hoots (144) and Elliott Gould (150) had the eight pins. Jamarius Pelote (175) and Javon Carter (157) won by tech fall and decision, respectively.
Davie 67, Lincolnton 12
Davie’s next prey endured nine pins from the War Eagles: Pelote, Maddox Creason (190), Strickland, Anderson, Stephen Jacobs (113), Aidan Szewczyk (126), Glass, Thao and Carter.
Jack Bost (120) and Hoots rung up tech falls and Gould took a decision.
Davie 51, Foard 15
Although the most anticipated match was last, the Tigers were swallowed up by a spectacular effort that saw pins from Jacobs, Glass, Hoots, Gould, Carter and Pelote.
“They have a good history,” coach Josh Stanley said of Foard. “They graduated a lot and they’re been in a rebuild last year and this year. Mike Carey was an unbelievable coach. They’re just in a transition.
“(Hoots is) getting better every day. He’s got a mindset like one of the seniors. Anything we’re adding to his toolbox, he’s applying and you can see he’s buying in. He’s an animal. He’s going to win 90 percent of them.
“I don’t know that there’s many matches that (Gould) should lose. He’s believing it now, too. He’s a perfect captain for our guys because he does two sports and does it the right way. He’s fully committed to football and he’s fully committed to wrestling. It’s a lot of work for him, but he just eats it up. He’s very similar to Andy (Davis) with his mindset.
“Javon and Davis (Jones) are battling in wrestle-offs. They haven’t cemented who’s going to be the guy at 157. Brett Foster is in the mix, too.”
Strickland, Bost and Szewczyk won decisions. The most compelling match was Bost’s 6-3 triumph in overtime.
“It was grueling; it was 0-0 halfway through the match,” Stanley said. “They were scrambling like crazy. It’s always fun to wrestle Foard because they’re similar to Davie – they roll deep and the crowd supports them. So there was a lot of intensity and Jack got to feel that.”
Davie 64, Reynolds 11
One day later at home, CPC action got underway with Davie crushing the Demons.
Gould, Pelote, McCall, Creason, Strickland, Anderson, Glass and Thao registered pins; Szewczyk had a tech fall; Jacobs and Bost posted major decisions; and Hoots claimed a decision.
Davie 81, S. Stokes 0
Later in the evening, Davie blanked South Stokes in a nonconference match. Pelote, McCall and Creason hammered their way to pins, while Szewczyk, Thao and Gould put up tech falls. The Sauras gifted Davie 48 points with eight forfeits.
Notes
• Three War Eagles are still undefeated: Glass (16-0), Strickland (15-0) and Szewczyk (11-0).
• Jacobs and Gould are 14-1. Hoots is 14-2, Pelote 13-2, Bost 12-3, Thao 12-4, Creason 10-3, Anderson 9-4 and Jones 7-6.
• The War Eagles are 11-1 with a seven-match winning streak, and they’re about to get stronger. Davis, who became a star last year as a sophomore, will make his season debut soon after nursing an injury. He will likely hit the mat at 144.
“His gas tank at 70 or 80 percent is better than 90 percent of everybody else,” Stanley said. “He keeps me busy trying to find exercises and workouts for him to do without his arms. All practice he’s training and then he’ll go to the gym after practice – plus all his physical therapy, plus all his singing stuff and church stuff. He’s such a driven individual.”