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Friday’s nonconference football game
was a foregone conclusion before Davie
hit the field at Starmount. The question
was not if, but how bad would Davie
beat the 2-A Rams? The War Eagles
settled for a 55-18 victory, lifting their
record to 4-0 and their regular-season
winning streak to eight.
The Davie coaches are good at not
looking more than an hour ahead, and
that’s how the War Eagles played, moving
the ball at will even with backups
on the field.
“We knew we were going to come
out and score a bunch on them, but
(coaches) kept telling us that they’re
going to beat us, that we’re not as good
as we think we are,” running back Kenneth
Brown said. “They make us go
harder. If they feel like we’re slacking
off (in practice), they make us go harder
and run more.”
How do you keep the team focussed
on playing one week at a time when
Davie knows it’s supposed to name the
score?
“I challenge the team every week to
play the game the way it’s supposed to
be played no matter who we play,”
coach Doug Illing said. “We have to stay
on top of them. We’re nowhere near
where we need to be yet to compete with
the Mount Tabors, West Forsyths and
Independences. We’re too inexperienced
to attack it any other way. That’s
our coaches doing a good job and keeping
them intense. Starmount is well
coached and has athletes that could have
hurt us if we didn’t play hard. I felt like
we did.”
Quarterback Garrett Benge and receiver
Kenny Rivers staged another explosive
performance. Benge completed
14 of 20 passes for 236 yards and two
TDs, and Rivers made five receptions
for 92 yards. Benge could have threatened
or broken records, but he only attempted
two passes in the second half.
Same for Rivers, who didn’t play in the
second half.
Brown didn’t go in after halftime,
either, but he still had a game he will
tell his grandchildren about, scoring an
absurd five TDs in the first half. He was
on pace for 100 rushing yards and 100
receiving yards before calling it a night.
“That’s a dream come true,” he said
of five first-half TDs.
Defensive tackle Chantz Grannaman,
who has created all kinds of problems
for every opponent, gave the 1-3 Rams
nightmares with eight solo tackles, six
tackles for loss and two sacks. The 6-2,
230-pounder inspired oohs and aahs
with a handful of head-rattling hits on
Starmount kickoff returns.
“That’s why he’s out there (on kickoffs),”
Illing said. “It’s usually a defensive
back or linebacker (down the field
first), but he’s a good athlete and fast.
Films are going to start being sent out.
After these first four games, we’ll put
some film together and start sending it
out, so they’ll be some interest starting
to come through. James Madison came
through today looking at him, and there
will be more.”
Sophomore Perry James is terrifically
talented as a cornerback and kick
returner, and that talent is starting to
bloom. His skills showed up at crucial
times in a 47-37 win over West Rowan,
and he finished the Starmount game
with five solo tackles, two stops behind
the line and an interception for the second
game in a row ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.