But the War Eagles wanted more. Their first shutout of the season slipped away in the final minute of a 24-6 triumph over Gastonia Ashbrook on Friday night before a huge home crowd.

“We were wanting it real, real bad,”senior defensive lineman P.J. Cockerham said. “I was mad, real mad at the end when they scored. We haven’t had a goose egg all year and we wanted one right there. We’re going to try to get one before it’s done.”

The defense’s next shot comes Friday in Asheville after fourth-ranked A.C. Reynolds beat No. 13 SouthRowan 33-0 to advance. Cockerham’s crew, seeded fifth, made its statement early in the game that Davie (10-2) would be moving on past No. 12 Ashbrook (5-7).

“We had to step it up. It’s playoff time now,” Cockerham said. “We can’t come out flat any more. You come out flat in the playoffs there won’t be a tomorrow. We had to come out strong and be ready.”

Cockerham’s quarterback sack on Ashbrook’s first series led to a punt that was blocked by Mikey Arnold. Davie’s offense accepted the gift and marched 21 yards in four plays, with fullback Justin Goode earning the final 6 yards for the touchdown. David Wooldridge’s kick made it 7-0 at the 8:17 mark.

“We had a big lift with the blocked punt and put the ball in the end zone real quick. That helped us,”Davie quarterback Drew Ridenhour said. “We’ve got so many weapons that we know how to use. If the defense gives us the ball in that kind of position, it’s going in. We’re going to score.”

Ashbrook went three-and-out on its next series and punted to midfield. This time, Davie slowed the pace a bit. Two fourth-down conversions set up first-and-goal at the 7, where on third down Ridenhour threw a desperation pass into the end zone that sophomore Jason Hogue caught in traffic. The first quarter had expired on the play to give Davie a 14-0 lead after 12 minutes.

Hogue, with two catches coming into the game, wasn’t Ridenhour’s intended target. But the QB and his coach sure were glad Hogue came through.

“I told him (Ridenhour) coming off, ‘You’re lucky, boy, that was a bad choice,’ and he knew it,” Davie head coach Doug Illing said. “He’s had some bad breaks with those kind of balls this year and he finally got a break on one. We’ll take that break.”

The Greenwave still hadn’t unleashed its offense in the second quarter and punted again. Ridenhour threw a picture-perfect 31-yard strike to Thadd Johnson on the ensuing possession to reach Ashbrook territory, but the Davie offense finally stalled.

On came Wooldridge, who easily nailed a school-record 48-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead. That score stood up at halftime, with Ashbrook tallying one first down and 29 yards of total offense.

The adjustments would come, but not before the War Eagles received the third-quarter kickoff. Senior tailback Ricky White, limited to 42 yards in the first half, reeled off a 22-yarder inside Ashbrook territory but was stopped short on third-and-1 at the 25.

No problem. Davie ranWhite to the outside on fourth down and he got the corner and raced untouched — thanks to wideout Rod Tenor’s block down field — to the end zone for the 25-yard TD.

“Coach (Bill) Oakley made some adjustments at halftime and we wanted to come out that first series and make a statement and give our team a lift,”said Illing of his offensive coordinator. “They did a good job stuffing the run a little bit in the first half.”

With desperation setting in, Ashbrook finally pulled its offense out of the bag and started playing like the team Davie had seen on film. Quarterback Andre’ Bynum used the option and short passing game to perfection, taking his Greenwave on a 17-play drive after Davie’s score. Ashbrook converted six first downs, ate up more than five minutes off the play clock — and came up empty when four straight passes fell incomplete from the Davie 28.

Three more minutes ticked off the clock early in the fourth quarter on a nine-play drive that stopped 17 yards short of the War Eagle end zone.

“They’ve been a team on film that controls the ball and takes time off the clock,”Illing said. “We knew when we had the ball we were going to have to execute and put points on the board. We knew their offense would limit our offense getting on the field.”

The tiring defense tried its hardest to hold the shutout, but Ashbrook’s final five-minute drive ended with a touchdown on the 15th play.

Seconds later, the first round was history, the Greenwave flooded off the field and joyous Davie fans exulted.

“I was pretty excited about the way we played tonight. The offense played great, defense looked good, too,”Ridenhour said. “It’s the first round of the playoffs and you hold somebody to six points, that’s great.”