By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record

The transition from JV to varsity is sometimes substantial, and a juggernaut opponent can make the adjustment even more difficult.
Thus it was a bad time for inexperienced Davie to face well-oiled Page in Friday’s season opener at War Eagle Stadium. Page, returning 16 starters and looking like a team from its glory years of the ‘80s, destroyed Davie 41-7.
“This is a young bunch,” Davie coach Doug Illing said. “We need to play a lot of football, and we need to learn how to play it. It’s a very good team we played. We saw real quick the level that we’ve got to play at to be good.”
The first quarter was brutal for the War Eagles, who fell behind 27-0 in less than 10 minutes.
After a 48-yard punt return, Page only needed to cover 18 yards to take a 7-0 lead. Quarterback James Summers faked a handoff and went 46 untouched yards for a 14-0 lead. Two plays later, William Henry picked off Davie’s Adam Smith and went 37 yards for a 21-0 bulge.
“He’s just one of those program guys,” Page coach Kevin Gillespie said of Henry.  “He’s always there. He’s always working. He’s a little undersized. He’s a little this and a little that, but he’s got savvy, he makes plays and he hustles.”
Page’s third possession resulted in a third TD as Summers flipped a 10-yard pass to running back Drew Rogers.
Davie, meanwhile, couldn’t sustain a drive without turning it over. The second of four turnovers came at the end of an 11-yard run by Stephon Smoot. Summers did return the favor by fumbling the ball into the Davie end zone for a touchback.
Davie finally gained traction on its sixth series. Russell Anthony took over at running back and immediately provided about the only fun part of the game for Davie. He gained 11 yards on his first varsity touch. He gained 52 yards on eight carries during a 10-play drive. He had run for 12 yards when he fumbled into the end zone. The touchback gave Page the ball and kept the score 27-0.
“We can’t turn it over (four) times and expect to win,” Illing said. “We feel like we’re pretty good offensively. But again, you turn it over …