By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
MOCKSVILLE ó Davie County endured an uncharacteristically rough start, but it welcomed a familiar finish.
With the streak still intact, the War Eagles enter another season with high aspirations.
Running back James Mayfield and cornerback Perry James, who was out with an injury last year, are among the key players who will attempt to lead Davie to its sixth straight CPC title.
The War Eagles shared the honor with Mount Tabor last season even though they struggled in the early going. Three consecutive non-conference setbacks dropped them to 1-3, and they officially lost only one of their last seven contests. East Mecklenburg had to forfeit its first-round playoff victory.
“We don’t want to get any kind of false identity,” Davie coach Doug Illing said. “We want to know who we are and know what we have to work on to be able to compete against the best competition in the state. If we’re going to say we want to be state champions and conference champions, then we have to play some tough teams early.”
Davie opened last season with a win at Watauga. The War Eagles then fell by a combined 11 points to West Rowan, Thomasville and Gretna (Va.). Those three schools finished with a cumulative record of 36-3.
Watauga, West Rowan, Thomasville, Berry Academy and Page are on Davie’s schedule for the second straight year. Providence Day, a member of the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association, has replaced Gretna.
Providence Day beat public schools Newton-Conover and East Rutherford during a 5-0 start to last season, and it ended up 6-4.
“We set these up for toughness,” Illing said. “We want our kids preparing hard, want them preparing at a high level.”
Mayfield, James and the rest of the War Eagles are accustomed to competing at that level.
Mayfield, a 215-pound bruiser in the backfield, has already received a scholarship offer from Akron. He rushed for 1,476 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2007.
“He’s had a great offseason as far as working out, conditioning and getting himself physically fit to compete at a high level,” Illing said. “I think we’ll see a lot of special things happen with him.”
Mayfield’s presence should enable new starters at the other skill positions to enjoy smooth transitions.
Zach Illing, the coach’s son, takes over at quarterback. Garrett Benge threw for 6,338 yards and 87 touchdowns in three varsity seasons, and Illing showed flashes of potential when Benge was injured against Gretna and East Meck last year.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Illing went 16 of 29 for 220 yards and two touchdowns in limited action.
“We feel like Zach got enough reps underneath his belt last year playing with Benge,” Doug Illing said. “He’s going to bring his game experience already to this team. We feel like we have an experienced quarterback. He’s been with us two years already on the varsity level, practicing every day.”
Sophomore Jacob Barber could contribute at quarterback or running back, and Davie’s signal callers will have some new targets.
Jarrell Marshall is the leader among Davie’s returning receivers. Last year, he ranked third on the team with 19 catches and fourth with 165 yards.
The team has three sophomores ó P.J. Neeley, Darius Wilson and Joe Watson ó who have impressed the coaches. Forbush transfer Nick Bohannon and Skeeter Montgomery are also in the mix.
“We’ve got some good, talented, fast receivers,” Illing said. “They’re young and inexperienced, but we think they possess a lot of talent if we just slowly, gradually get them into Friday night speed and playing under the lights.”
Left tackle Josh Burcham is the most notable returner on the offensive line. Like Mayfield, Burcham was a member of the all-CPC team a year ago.
Devaron Scott is the right tackle. He’ll play alongside right guard Lewis Favre, a distant cousin to NFL legend Brett Favre.
Vince Cioce and Kyle Randall provide help at center, while Aaron Peoples and Cody Clark are left guards.
“Right now we’re not where we need to be, but we’ve got kids we feel like can fit into the right pieces of the puzzle and be able to mold as a solid group,” Illing said.
Experienced kicker Michael Rowe is back, and the defense will have only a handful of new faces.
Some of the familiar ones will be in new spots.
Chris Sponaugle has moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, and speedy Santana Arnold has switched to the outside.
“We think we’ll really get a lot of mileage out of that,” Illing said.
Justin Miller, who was a linebacker last year, is now a defensive tackle.
“He’s been one of the bright surprises,” Illing said.
Tanis Jefferies, an all-conference selection last season, and sophomore Christian Peebles will play alongside Miller on the line.
Jared Barber, Chase Sampson and Michael Marrs are the other linebackers of note.
Barber, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore, made 148 tackles last season.
“He had a great freshman year to be able to play on Friday night and play at that speed and be able to compete,” Illing said. “That’s not to say he’s where he needs to be, but he was able to hold his own. We’ll utilize that experience to start this season.”
James and fellow senior Shyteek Brown are talented cornerbacks, and Zach Long is well-suited to play safety. Brandon Walls and sophomore Alex Newman should contribute.
James, an all-conference pick as a sophomore, missed his junior season with a shoulder injury. He has received a scholarship offer from East Carolina.
“We’re anxious to get him back,” Illing said. “We’re knocking a lot of rust and cobwebs off of him, and he’s been slowly getting back into the groove of things.”
A quick transformation helped Davie salvage its 2007 season and keep its CPC streak alive.
Winning another conference title is a major objective.
“It’s one of the kids’ main goals,” Illing said. “The second goal is to win a state championship. That’s what our coaches have prioritized as far as offseason conditioning and weight training. It’s pushing for perfection, to compete on that kind of level.”