And that’s exactly what puts a big smile on Zeke Earle’s face.

“I love to hit,” says the War Eagle senior free safety. “I’m a guy who likes to go after the football.”

He’ll have his chance tonight. The Rockets (11-1), the champions of the Mountain Athletic Conference, make a living at running the football, not throwing it. In fact, last week in a 33-0 victory over South Rowan, they threw a grand total of two times.

“I think that’s good for us,” said Davie coach Doug Illing. “Anytime a team just lines up and runs the ball at us, I like our chances.”

Speaking of chances, no one is giving Concord much of one tonight when it faces Kannapolis in the Towel City. An expected crowd of 12,000 is expected to watch the 12-0 Wonders go after their arch-rival in the second round of the 3A playoffs.

Despite an ACL injury early in the season, Ridenhour is throwing as well as he has all season. Thadd Johnson and Rod Tenor have combined for 65 receptions.

But whether Ridenhour can get the passes off is the key. The Rockets have a ferocious defense that has shut out six of its last seven opponents and harassed South Rowan quarterback Tim Cook into six of the team’s seven turnovers.

Which simply motivates Earle even more. He feels his team has a pretty good defense too.

“We practice against our offense every day and it’s a war,” Earle said. “So it’s great to see them score, especially when we give them good field position.”

Illing likes that attitude from the kid named Zeke.

“He’s the one you want on your side,” Illing said. “He’s not only fast, he has a nose for the ball. He’s got instincts you can’t coach.”

That’s why Earle, a former fullback, is now a free safety.

“You put your best athlete at free safety and that’s what Zeke is.”

Earle will have his hands full of Rocket runners. Coach Bobby Poss uses four backs, led by Andrew Oak and Josh Meadows. Quarterback Chris Mott, a senior who missed last week’s game, should be back.

“It’s one of the best-coached teams we’ll see all year, from all 11 positions on both sides of the football,” Illing said. “Size-wise, we’ll match up with them and strength-wise, we feel we match up.”

It’s a big game for Earle, who is now leading a 10-2 team, which was a far cry from when he was playing little league for the Pinebrook Trojans. He’d go to the games and dream of being a War Eagle, even though Davie was nowhere near winning a Central Piedmont Conference championship.

“I looked up to all the players, even though they weren’t having great seasons,” he said.

Maybe that’s why this senior class is so special, according to Illing. When he took over from Benjie Brown during the summer last year, he didn’t have time to put in much of a system.

“When he came here, it was a big mess,” Earle said. “But he did a good job in that situation.”

Illing worked especially hard with Earle’s class.

“They saw how things operate and what my expectations were,” Illing said. “They’ve worked hard in trying to develop a work ethic that can be passed down year after year.”

That kind of talk fires Earle up. In a one-school county, you’ve gotta believe.

“Coach Illing has really dedicated himself to Davie,” Earle said.

That dedication will show up tonight from the players. Earle said the War Eagles aren’t ready to hang up the pads.

“I’ll be nervous because we know they’re such a good team,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it. They’re going to be the best team we’ve faced and we’re going to play our hardest. We’ll just play like we always do.”

Which means Asheville Reynolds is in for a little head-hunting, Davie County style.

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Kannapolis has reached the second round of the 3A playoffs for the ninth time in coach Bruce Hardin’s 11 years at the school and seeks to extend its remarkable record against the Spiders in recent years.

Hardin is 10-3 against Concord coach E.Z. Smith and 2-0 against Smith in playoff games. The Wonders have beaten the Spiders nearly as often as the rest of the world combined in the ‘90s.

Kannapolis, the top-ranked 3A team in the state, averages 40 ppg, while giving up 10 ppg.

The Wonder defense, led by Shrine Bowl lineman Des Williams, has posted some remarkable numbers of late.