Davie’s Central Piedmont Conference opener at Reagan on Friday started the best way possible. The War Eagles marched 80 yards for a 7-0 lead, they turned back Reagan on a fourth-and-1 run from the Davie County 46, and Parker Correll hit Mitchell McGee for 38 yards to the Reagan 9.
But a holding penalty erased the 38-yarder and the rest of the half went terribly for Davie. And QB Jake Easter and Reagan’s offense were flawless as the Raiders roared to a 38-7 halftime lead on the way to a 58-31 win over Davie.
“We turned the ball over and we got holding penalties,” Davie coach Devore Holman said. “And then it starts to nosedive, and everything is clicking for them.”
The War Eagles (4-2, 0-1 CPC) rallied valiantly in the second half, pulling within 38-24 with 11 minutes, 11 seconds to go, but they couldn’t overcome seven penalties and three turnovers in the first half.
Easter looked like a video game in the first half, completing 14 of 15 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns. The Old Dominion commit finished 24 of 30 for 403 yards and six TDs, without a turnover.
Davie made it interesting in the second half. A Reagan fumble recovered by Austin Freidt set up a 9-yard TD run by Cade Carney, who returned after missing three games and rushed for 123 yards. Correll hit Brandon Lankford for 34 yards as Davie cut it to 38-21. After Davie forced a third straight punt, Jonn Young hit a 23-yard field goal to make it 38-24 with 11:11 remaining — and Davie reached the Reagan 35 with 7 minutes left.
But that’s where the War Eagles ran out of steam. Reagan (5-1, 1-0) broke their back with a screen pass from Easter to Isaiah Anthony that resulted in an 87-yard score with 6:33 left. At 45-24, Davie was done.
“All the momentum we built up, that let the air out of us,” Holman said.
Correll rushed for 101 yards, along with 131 passing yards and two TDs. But he uncharacteristically threw four INTs.
Reagan finished with 19 first downs and 489 yards. Easter’s favorite target was Chandler Belk, who finished with seven catches and 119 yards.
Davie finished with 19 first downs and 439 yards. Besides rushing for 123, Carney had five catches for 58 yards.
“We challenged them at halftime,” Holman said. “We don’t have a 31-point magic play, but we challenged them to play one play at a time and come back in the second half. For the most part, we started executing and doing that.”