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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

We knew this run of games – East Forsyth on Sept. 26, Reagan last Friday, Mt. Tabor this Friday and West Forsyth on Oct. 18 – would be rough.

The gauntlet started with a 55-0 loss to East. Davie was outmanned again on homecoming, losing 31-14 to Reagan and failing to score until less than six minutes remained. It was what you might have expected due to the common opponent Mooresville, which destroyed Davie 66-20 before losing 34-28 to Reagan (4-2, 2-1 CPC).

But after a woeful first half, Davie (2-4, 1-2) did play much better in the second half. It held the Raiders to seven points and scored two touchdowns in the final 5:35.

“Our fight as a team is tremendous,” coach Tim Devericks said. “We could’ve easily come out (in the second half) and gone through the motions, but they didn’t. They played hard and they competed hard. I’m super proud of them for that, and that will pay off. That will pay off when you have some grit to do that and fight and keep playing when the chips are down against you.”

Reagan scored on its first possession, thanks in part to Davie’s self-inflicted wounds. The defense had a chance to get off the field when it was fourth-and-5 from the Reagan 40, but Davie jumped offsides. When it was third-and-4, Davie shot itself in the foot again, jumping early for another five-yard penalty that kept the chains moving for the Raiders, who would finish a 14-play, 70-yard drive that chewed 6:39 off the clock and gave the visitors a 7-0 lead.

“We gave them an extra series right there at the beginning of the game, and that got the momentum rolling for them,” Devericks said. “But our guys came back and fought an uphill battle.”

Reagan utterly dominated the first half, scoring three touchdowns and hitting a field goal on its four possessions. All four of Davie’s possessions ended with punts as the War Eagles faced a 24-0 deficit at the break. Reagan converted seven of its first nine third downs. By contrast, Davie went 0 for 8 on third down.

Give Davie credit for playing hard after the grim performance in the first half. Dylan Miller blocked a punt early in the third quarter.

“He came through the middle and jumped over the wall that they had,” Devericks said.

Gavin Reese took a kickoff, used a stutter step to fake out a couple of Raiders and cut across the field before finally going down at the Reagan 12.

“He can be dynamic,” Devericks said of the junior’s 74-yard return.

It was 31-0 late in the third, but Davie played til the last whistle. From the Reagan 7, quarterback Draeton Nance fired a bullet into the end zone. Even though two defenders were around the play, Ethan Driver came down with it to put Davie on the board.

“I don’t know how it got through there, but they have trust in each other,” Devericks said. “Draeton fired that ball in there and Ethan made a great catch in traffic.”

Less than a minute later, junior Colson Sink intercepted a Reagan pass and returned it 30 yards to the Reagan 20.

“He found a guy coming out the backside,” Devericks said. “He covered him and then read the quarterback’s eyes and picked off the crossing route.”

In the last two minutes, Davie found the end zone for the second time. Again it was Driver, who caught six of Nance’s 13 completions and added to his amazing career numbers. The junior is tied for third with nine 100-yard receiving games, he’s fifth with 18 TD catches, he’s seventh with 1,596 receiving yards and he’s eighth with 99 receptions.

Notes: In the second half, Davie’s defense turned back five of Reagan’s six possessions. Davie, though, came away empty-handed on its first seven possessions. … Reagan’s defensive line was vicious while holding Davie to minus-13 rushing yards. … Nance has been efficient and smart with the ball, completing .657 of his attempts and throwing nine TDs against one INT. … A freshman running back, John Evans of Reagan, finished with 106 yards on 18 carries. Sophomore Brenner Pridgen is now the Reagan starting QB after junior Jacob Smith was lost to a season-ending injury. Pridgen went 13 of 20 for 114 yards. … Davie will be home again this Friday night at 7 against Mt. Tabor (4-2, 2-1).