By Brian Pitts
sports@salisburypost.com
GREENSBORO ó Davie County’s comeback and clinching point in a 50-49 overtime victory at Page on Friday night will be remembered by anyone who saw it for the next 50 years.
The War Eagles (5-1) went into halftime down 34-8, scored 28 unanswered points in the first 13 minutes of the second half and squandered a 36-34 lead because of a safety following a bad snap.
There’s much more.
The Pirates (3-3) scored on second down in overtime, but Chase Sampson blocked the extra point. On Davie’s second play of OT, Zach Illing threw a 14-yard TD pass to Joe Watson. Then Michael Rowe drilled the extra point to trigger a wild celebration.
Davie trailed 27-0 with 10:06 left in the second quarter. It pulled within 27-8, but Page struck again with 66 seconds left in the first half.
Facing a seemingly hopeless situation, Davie went crazy in the second half. Illing, who finished 20 of 32 for 377 yards with four touchdown passes and no interceptions, hit Watson for 6 yards in the end zone, and James Mayfield’s two-point run cut the deficit to 34-16.
His 2-yard TD run capped a four-play, 89-yard drive for a 34-22 score. Mayfield turned a screen pass into a 47-yard score, and the deficit was 34-29 late in the third.
Justin Miller popped Page’s Will Newman, who went 21 of 37 for 303 yards, and Santana Arnold scooped the fumble and sped 45 yards for a 36-34 lead with 11:35 left. A bad snap over the head of Rowe, Davie’s punter, resulted in a safety and 36-all tie.
The drama kept building. Mayfield thundered 20 yards for a 43-36 Davie lead. Newman threw a 21-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left, and the PAT tied it.
Page scored quickly in OT, but Sampson busted through the middle and blocked this kick. Davie fumbled on the first play of its series, but Mayfield recovered the ball 4 yards back. That’s when Illing found Watson, who had eight catches for 141 yards.