By Brian Pitts
sports@salisburypost.com
Salisbury’s second-half comeback against visiting Davie County on Friday had everything but the storybook ending.
The Hornets, trailing 10-0 at the half, got back in the game on a 23-yard touchdown run on a trap play by fullback Ike Whitaker, and they had Davie on its heels during a late fourth-quarter drive.
But after hitting a wall at the Davie 16, Paul Kollie had his 37-yard field goal blocked by Davie lineman Justin Miller with 74 seconds remaining, leaving Salisbury with a 10-7 defeat.
Davie’s third straight win squared its nonconference record at 3-3. It was a familiar feeling for the 3-3 Hornets, who pushed undefeated West Rowan to the absolute limit in a 14-7 home loss on Sept. 11.
“I can’t say enough about the effort our kids gave in the second half,” Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan said. “We’ve played probably the best 3A team in the state (West) and a quality 4A team (Davie), and we stood toe to toe with both of them. We gave them probably more than they wanted. But sometimes it gets old; you want to win some of those close ones. It makes your hair turn grayer than what mine already is.”
The War Eagles controlled the first half, outgaining Salisbury 174-20. They went ahead 7-0 on a 12-play, 75-yard drive and pushed the margin to 10-0 on Woody Parrish’s 26-yard field goal with no time left in the first half.
But Salisbury was crippled by the absence of its heart and soul. Junior quarterback John Knox (injured ankle) only took three snaps in the first half. Knox pulled a Superman act in the third, keeping the ball on the option and igniting a 9-play, 75-yard drive that cut Davie’s lead to 10-7.
The revived Hornets got their second first down on the second play of the third quarter. They converted their first third down three plays later and forced Davie to call timeout. Whitaker barreled up the middle 23 yards to cut into Davie’s lead.
“Knox gave them some energy,” Davie coach Doug Illing said. “You could tell just the way they were walking on the field. They had a lot more pep. His leadership while playing on one leg, he made them run harder. If he couldn’t give them anything, he was making people around him better. That’s a true leader over there.”
The Hornets lost fumbles late in the third and early in the fourth, but they put a scare into Davie on their final possession.
Romar Morris had six carries for 28 yards before bringing the home crowd to its feet with a 24-yard dash.
Morris’ 17-yard dash gave Salisbury first down at the Davie 16.
“Romar did a fantastic job of sticking that ball in there,” Pinyan said. “He’s a shoestring tackle from being gone. Two times I thought Romar was out of the gate.”
Two suffocated option runs left Salisbury with third-and-15.
Knox threw incomplete, bringing up fourth down.
Kollie trotted out, but Davie, which blocked a punt early in the fourth, called time. Then Kollie’s kick from 37 yards with 1:14 on the clock was blocked by Miller’s up-the-middle push.
Sometimes it’s just not meant to be. A relieved Illing bagged his 100th win against 44 losses.
“(The second half) spoke volumes about the character of our kids,” Pinyan said. “They have no quit in them. Our kids did a good job of bottling that offense up. I mean that offense scored 36 points against West Rowan, and our kids held them to 10. That’s pretty good.”