MOCKSVILLE — Davie County scored to tie visiting Mt. Tabor at 7 early in the second quarter last night, but the Davie wheels quickly fell off and Tabor pulled away en route to a 42-21 win that ended Davie’s season.
While West Forsyth captured the Central Piedmont Conference with a 6-0 league run, Tabor, North Davidson and Reagan finished in a second-place tie at 4-2. Davie (4-7 overall), which had to win to earn a playoff berth, finished fifth out of seven at 2-4.
Both teams blocked field-goal tries early, with Davie’s Alex Gobble foiling a 31-yard attempt.
Tabor struck first when Trae Brown returned a punt 47 yards to the end zone, a special-teams breakdown that was reminiscent of so many during Davie’s trying season. The coverage had Brown bottled up, but let him get away.
Davie had the answer, at least at this point in the game. Linebacker James Boyle intercepted Rae Brown to give Davie possession at the Tabor 38. Parker Correll completed three straight passes, including a 5-yard slant to Ben Ellis to tie the game at 7.
On the next play from scrimmage, Boyle, Corvonn Peebles and Gobble stuffed the Tabor ball carrier for no gain.
Davie’s good vibes lasted ended right there, however.
On second down, Rae Brown hit Devine Deablo down the seam, he made one guy miss and he was gone, an 88-yard touchdown that represented the snowball that soon became an avalanche.
“They’re full of athletes,” coach Devore Holman said. “You have to corral people to the ball. When they get one-on-one with you, it’s tough.”
James Antoine’s 5-yard run – untouched – capped a 66-yard scoring drive as Tabor moved ahead 21-7. On third-and-10 on Tabor’s next possession, Rae Brown threw a screen to Antoine, who eased his way 32 yards to the end zone with 28 seconds left in the half.
At 28-7, Davie’s fate was pretty much inevitable. In the first half, Tabor racked up 11 first downs to Davie’s 3 and outgained Davie 278-99.
“We didn’t have an answer at that point in time,” Holman said. “We seemed to be in the game at that point, and then one thing led to another, and the next thing you know we’re down 21-7.”
Rae Brown passed for 245 yards and three TDs as Tabor piled up 542 yards for the game. Facing a ferocious defensive front, Davie managed just 57 rushing yards. All its success came through the air as Correll passed for 200 yards and two TDs.
“We were trying our best to replace people on defense,” Holman said. “We got several kids injured tonight, so we had to makeshift some stuff. We were very young in the secondary due to injuries. We lost Tre Redmond, Boyle, Brandon Armstrong and other people here and there. That was very tough on us.”
Davie sophomore running back Cade Carney, who had missed two games with an injury, found running room late to surpass 1,000 yards for the second time. He came in needing 45, and he broke off an 18-yarder early in the fourth to reach the mark. He finished with a hard-earned 77 on 23 attempts.
Correll did his part, hitting 12 of 19 passes to throw for a career high.
“That’s good,” Holman said of Carney. “I’m sure Cade is the type of person that he’d much rather have the win than the 1,000 yards.”
The War Eagles limped home with their first losing record since 2009, also the last time they missed the postseason.
“We’re going to roll our sleeves up pretty soon, and we’re going to get bigger, stronger and faster,” Holman said. “I promise you that.”