MOCKSVILLE —There’s little doubt Davie County will enjoy a decided advantage in the all-important kicking game this season.
That War Eagle edge is the result of one special person: senior David Wooldridge, who is being courted by most of the schools in the ACC.
Area football fans are well aware that the tall. lean, rocket-hoofed Wooldridge is one of the state’s top placekickers — he boasts 24 career field goals and 55 extra points — but this year folks can expect to see some powerful punting from him as well.
Last year, Wooldridge averaged 35 yards per boot, certainly adequate, but an effort that paled in comparison to his princely placekicking.
“Last year was his first time punting, so we considered it a successful play if David just got the kick off with 11 guys coming at him,” said Davie head coach Doug Illing. “But this time around, he’s gotten stronger and he’s a lot more comfortable. We think he can average 40 (yards) this year.”
Wooldridge’s new comfort level translated into some mind-boggling punts that traveled 60 yards or so on Wednesday afternoon, as he toiled with his predecessor as Davie punter, Zeke Earle.
“David’s punting is giving him even more opportunities,” said Illing. “Colleges need good punters.”
And now some lucky college is going to use a single scholarship to land a guy who can double up on its kicking chores.
Wooldridge already owns the Davie record for longest field goal with a 50-yarder last year, but explains that when big-time kickers get together at camps, that number doesn’t impress his peers.
“They ask me what my longest is and I tell them 50,” said Wooldridge. “And they just say, ‘Oh, okay.’ I’d like to add at least five yards to that record this year.”
A 55-yarder isn’t out of the question for Wooldridge and it also isn’t out of the question that Illing, an ex-kicker who appreciates the value of long-distance points, will grant him the opportunity to deliver.
“I’ve kicked ’em 61 yards, almost 62 in practice,” said Wooldridge, who was 10-for-13 on field goals in 2000 and was the team’s leading scorer with 52 points. “If I get the chance in a game, I can do it. I’m better in pads than I am in practice.”
While his teammates work out on an adjacent practice field, Wooldridge spends roughly 45 minutes a day booting away, with his tees, two crossbars and Earle as his only companions.
“That’s enough time kicking,” Wooldridge says. “I’m like a baseball pitcher who has only so many innings a week in him, No sense in getting hurt.”
Wooldridge has already had one experience this summer that sets him apart from the competition.
With the help of his future brother-in-law’s connections, he spent four days at the Dallas Cowboys training facility where he worked with former NFL kicker Jeff Gossett.
“It surprised me,” said Wooldridge. “A guy who’s made millions of dollars working with a high school kid like me. I’d really like to thank him for that. He said he’d put in a word for me if I ever need it.”
Most likely, Wooldridge won’t need it. The word’s already spread far and wide that Davie’s got quite a kicker.
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AND DON’T FORGET:Besides a world-class leg, Wooldridge also has a world-class sense of humor.
“I was the team’s leading rusher last year,” he reminds.
Well, he was.
Sort of.
While Mike Clement outrushed him 900 yards to 16, the kicker did have the edge in yards per carry.
Wooldridge got all 16 of his yards on one run against West Forsyth.
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NO HOOPS:Wooldridge, a basketball reserve for coach Jim Young last season, says he’s retired from hoops.
“Can’t take a chance of a sprained ankle,” he said. “That might cost me a scholarship.”
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SEE YA:Earle, who was an All-State safety at Davie, red-shirted at Mars Hill last season and expects to be a second-team outside linebacker this season. That may not translate into immediate playing time, though.
“I’m behind an All-American, who’s got a brother with the Cleveland Browns,” said Earle, who once had a 24-tackle game for the War Eagles.
At least Earle will be on the team. Many of last year’s Lions won’t be.
“We started spring drills with 141 guys,” said Earle. “It was so tough, we finished with 61. Guess the coaches wanted to see who really wanted to play. Guys got up and left and the coaches wouldn’t say a word. At the end, they told us they were proud of the ones who were left.”
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UNDEFEATED:While Illing said he expects to keep just two sophomores and no freshmen on a varsity well-stocked with upperclassmen, there’s no question Davie is welcoming a very special freshman class.
At least a half-dozen of those freshmen haven’t lost a game in six years of organized football.
That group started in the third grade at Cooleemee, went unbeaten, and then kept that spotless string going at South Davie Middle School.
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ONE MORE RICE:The most recognizable name among those freshmen belongs to D.J. Rice, a future linebacking star who will follow in the footsteps of all-conference brothers, J.J. and Neil.
“D.J. will be the best of all of us if he works,” said Neil. “He’s gonna be the tallest and the biggest.”
Neil said he’s already offered some advice to baby brother.
“I told him to watch everything (senior linebacker) Patrick Lowery does,” he said.
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BIG TIME:Speaking of Lowery, he’s one of the most heavily recruited players in Davie history.
All-State in both wrestling and football last year, Lowery, who is 220 pounds of muscle and runs a 4.6 40, is being sought by every school that has a program. Lowery attended camps at N.C. State, Tennessee and Michigan this summer and Illing says he’s heard from as far away as Stanford and UCLA about his tackling machine.
“Michigan’s after Patrick hard and so are East Carolina, Clemson, State — a lot of people,” said Illing. “(N.C. State coach) Chuck Amato wants him and he said, ‘We’re not trying to recruit the best linebackers in the state, we’re trying to recruit the best in the nation.’ ”
Lowery says the Wolfpack is his first choice at the moment, but every time the phone rings someone else seems to get involved and each day’s mail delivery at the Lowery household seems to bring pleasant surprises.
“I’ve gotten some hand-written letters from Florida State’s linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator lately,” said Lowery. “When you see Florida State on the envelope, you open those first to see what they have to say. How can you not give them a serious look?”
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MAN AMONG BOYS: Lowery accounted for 163 tackles as a junior, but defensive coordinator Devore Holman can still remember a time when Lowery was overmatched.
“As a freshman on the jayvees, he was about 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds,” said Holman. “I remember these big twins from West Forsyth worked him over pretty good one night. He didn’t even have a fighting chance.”
But Holman no longer has any reason to feel sorry for Lowery. Now he just feels badly for Lowery’s opponents.
“He busted his butt and I mean that joker just blossomed,” said Holman. “Patrick’s become a man in the hallway, the classroom, on the mat and on the field. No bones about it, he’s the one that makes our defense tick. He’s one of the best. He’s awesome.”
Holman says the single thing that makes Lowery a big-time prospect is his ability to stop on a dime and change direction.
“The ability to redirect, that’s more important than bench press or a time in the 40,” said the coach. “College coaches look at that.”
Holman added that the work Lowery did with the track team last spring has paid off.
“We had Patrick running 200 meters and he was coming back and saying, ‘Coach, they’re blowing me away,’ said Holman. “But I told him it wasn’t about winning, it was about getting better. And he did. His time dropped from 26.5 seconds to 25.1. And now he’s getting to plays quicker than ever before.”
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HOW GOOD? Loaded with experience, Davie, ranked in the state in some preseason polls, could be as good as it’s been in a long, long time.
“To be honest with ya, we’re blessed,” admitted Holman, a 13-year man who’s the dean of the Davie coaching staff. “We’ve had good individuals in the past, but as a whole I don’t know that we’ve ever had this kind of team speed on defense. Practice was wonderful today with all those people flying around and using great technique.”
“We should be good and we expect to be good,” added Illing. “But our league is gonna be tough.”
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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