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| Justin Thompson (20) and the defense swarmed the Titan offense all night. - Photo by Jim Barringer |
It’s one thing to register blowouts over struggling opponents. It’s quite another to bust a behemoth square in the chops, repeatedly for four quarters, with your backs against the wall. Davie laid an egg in a 24-21 overtime loss to Mount Tabor on Sept. 29, while the Titans clobbered Tabor the following week 39-15. West came into its final regular-season game Monday at 8-2 overall, 5-0 in the Central Piedmont Conference and riding a seven-game winning streak. Davie was 3-1 in the CPC and facing make-or-break pressure.
It looked more like Hollywood than real life as Davie forced a three-way tie for first place in the loss column with West (5-1) and Tabor (4-1). Davie (8-1, 4-1) visits East Rowan (2-7, 1-4) Friday with a clear shot at securing a share of the CPC title.
Beating West in a season-defining game made it sweet. Ripping West apart on Senior Night made it that much sweeter. And a 20-0 rampage in the first 12 minutes, two seconds - coupled with a phenomenal defensive performance against a team that was averaging just under 40 points a game - made the lone loss look like a huge aberration.
“Our kids really showed guts and desire to play at a high level,” Davie coach Doug Illing said. “I was worried about losing focus over the weekend (Friday’s rain postponed the date), but I was wrong on that. You’d like to think we could (dominate), but I really thought they were the best team we’ve seen. Our kids just rose to the occasion.”
When Davie’s third straight win in the series was over, the War Eagles howled in delight. Everything they had done paled in comparison to this.
“I’ve been waiting for this game since the beginning of the year,” safety Matt Oswell said. “We got motivated off that (West winning streak). They were cheering while they were calling out our seniors’ names, and that ticked us off. We don’t do that. We got motivated off that, and we came out and showed them what’s up.”
“This is what I came to Davie County for,” said left tackle Marcus Untz, who moved from Mecklenburg County last summer. “It’s awesome winning like that. It’s the most exciting football I’ve ever played.”
“Senior Night and West Forsyth,” receiver Josh Eder said. “There ain’t nothing better ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.