By Brian Pitts
For the Salisbury Post

MOCKSVILLE — Davie County got off to a good start against favored Dudley last night at War Eagle Stadium, with two Jared Griggs field goals providing a 6-0 lead and Davie’s defense forcing punts on the Panthers’ first two possessions.
But after getting outplayed for a quarter and a half, the Panthers took the lead with one big play. On the next play, Davie’s star receiver, junior Cooper Wall, was injured and carried off the field. And it went downhill from there as Dudley, which led 14-6 at halftime, pulled away for a 32-6 decision.
Dudley, ranked No. 3 in 4-A by maxpreps, remained unbeaten at 3-0. Davie, ranked sixth, suffered its first loss.
From the 6:31 mark of the second quarter on, all War Eagle minds were on Wall, who had 15 catches for 271 yards in the first two games. Fans’ hearts were in their throats as Wall lay on the field without any movement. In the second half, word spread that he received encouraging news at the hospital and it doesn’t appear to be a season-ending injury.
“It was very emotional for our guys,” Davie coach DeVore Holman said. “I love him like he’s my own. Obviously, they are concerned about their teammate and all that stuff. The good news is, he’s going to be alright.”
Cody Hendrix and the combination of James Boyle and Spencer Wilson had tackles for losses on Dudley’s first series. Davie had control of field position and drove 35 yards for a first-and-goal at the 2. It missed a golden opportunity for six, but Griggs’ 19-yard field goal put Davie up 3-0.
Hendrix’s relentless play on defense and Angel Perez-Hunt’s pass breakup on third down forced a second Dudley punt. Dudley roughed punter Griggs before the Panthers were called for two pass interferences in a span of seven plays against Wall. The 12-play drive ended with Griggs’ 32-yard field goal, and Davie had the 6-0 lead with 9:03 left in the half.
Davie’s defense was swarming, Peyton Hampton was running the ball productively and Wall was drawing PIs. But things began to turn when Dudley returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the Davie 43. After Broc Barnette demolished a jet sweep for minus-9 yards to bring up third-and-19, Dudley’s Virginia Tech-bound quarterback, Hendon Hooker, went deep to D.J. Crossen, a junior who has committed to UNC as a defensive back. The result was a 42-yard touchdown. Just like that, Dudley had a 7-6 lead.
Davie hearts were broken on the next play from scrimmage. Chris Reynolds threw high and over to middle to Wall, who climbed the ladder and had control of the ball before a clean but vicious hit to the back had him down on the ground for several minutes.
“I understand he’s got movement and his feeling back,” Holman said. “That’s something positive right there. He was talking, but he was scared. He was scared because initially he couldn’t feel anything. But he got through it.”
A few minutes later, Hooker was ejected from the game after drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct flag. But while Hooker was taking off his equipment on the sideline, his replacement gave Dudley an immediate lift. On his first play, Richard Monroe went up top and connected with Thomas Young for a 22-yard TD to put Davie in a 14-6 halftime deficit.
“He’s the brother of the starting quarterback,” Holman said. “They got us on two long balls. I thought we were in perfect position and had a chance. When something like that happens, we have to talk to our kids about going to the next play. We can’t think about what just happened.”
Hite Merrifield’s tackle for loss and Wilson’s sack got Davie off to a good start in the third quarter, but Reynolds’ pass to Beau Byerly was intercepted on Davie’s first play of the third. Reynolds, who was questionable during the week, played on a sore ankle and went 13 of 25 for 74 yards. The team’s leading rusher a year ago, he couldn’t give his team anything as a runner. With the outcome decided, Holman let backup Josh Hall take snaps down the stretch.
“He wasn’t 100 percent; everybody could see that,” Holman said. “He was able to stand in the pocket and throw, but he’s not mobile. I debated on whether to play him tonight. He wanted to give it a shot.”
Davie’s defense delivered again to force a punt, but the War Eagles fumbled on first down and things unraveled from there. Dudley’s Zareik Rush, the game’s leading rusher with 73 yards, barrelled 25 yards to make it 20-6. One possession later, after blocking a Davie punt, Monroe completed a wheel route to running back Ezra Perkins for 8 yards and a 26-6 bulge.
Monroe completed 2 of 4 passes, both for TDs.
“A couple turnovers gave them a short field and they capitalized on it,” Holman said. “One of my messages to them is that we’ve got to protect the football at all costs.”
The War Eagles couldn’t hang with the high-profile opponent after such a promising start, but they should benefit from the experience. Dudley had an unspectacular 232 yards. Tyler Roberts had team highs in catches (four) and receiving yards (50). Junior Mason Wilson was a bright spot with three catches in his varsity debut after being sidelined by a knee injury. Another bright spot was senior Cameron Thomas, who had two catches in his season debut.
“We’re going to learn from this,” Holman said. “That’s why we play the competition we play. We’ll be fine.”