By Brian Pitts

For the Salisbury Post

MOCKSVILLE — Dudley’s unbelievable tear from the middle of the third quarter on drew the curtain on one heck of a ride for Davie County’s football team.

In the 4A quarterfinals last night at War Eagle Stadium, in a match-up of top seeds in the West bracket, the No. 2 Panthers (13-1) pulled away for a 54-30 victory — scoring 32 unanswered points.

It was a shootout filled with drama and thrills until Dudley took a two-score lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. No. 1 seed Davie finished 12-2 with its first loss in 11 games. Both losses were to Dudley.

“They’re a good team,” Davie coach Tim Devericks said. “They’re not going to fold. They’ve been in big games, in the pressure-cooker, and they’re going to battle back. We tried to keep battling as well.”

Having a quarterback like Chris Reynolds afforded Davie a puncher’s chance against anybody, even Dudley, and the early moments, were electrifying for the War Eagles.

On the second play of the game, a Dudley ball carrier got crushed at the line of scrimmage and the ball pinballed back to the Dudley 3-yard line, where a Panther recovered for a 21-yard loss.

After a Dudley punt, Reynolds spun out of pressure and floated a pass to Cooper Wall, who gained 26 yards, back to the Dudley 3. Reynolds ran up the middle, leaped over the pile to score and Davie had a 7-0 lead.

Dudley’s second possession ended with Davie’s Jack Little blocking a punt. On third down from the Dudley 12-yard line, Reynolds saw no one open, took off for green grass and leaped over the goal line as he was met by multiple Panthers, a tenacious TD that gave Davie a breathtaking 14-0 lead.

“It definitely felt good coming off the bat,” Davie left tackle Luke Pratapas said.

The Panthers drove 55 and 52 yards to tie the game at 14. Davie fumbled at midfield and Dudley quarterback Hendon Hooker took advantage of broken coverage to complete a 37-yard TD pass to Nigel Fitzgerald. Dudley, which went 6-for-6 on two-point tries, went ahead 22-14.

Davie was not fazed and drove 71 yards. Tyler Roberts, who became a dynamic playmaker as a senior, caught a 23-yard pass before drawing a pass-interference penalty. Roberts wasn’t done, hauling in a 24-yard TD on a post route. Then he made a two-point catch that sent the game to halftime tied at 22-22. During the drive, Beau Byerly made a fearless, over-the-middle catch for 11 yards on third-and-9 play.

The War Eagles regained the lead on the first series of the second half. Mason Wilson and Roberts made first-down receptions before Reynolds found Byerly on a corner route for a 17-yard score. Roberts caught the two-point pass, and Davie was in front 30-22.

“I felt the momentum going our way,” Reynolds said.

Then Davie’s defense came up big. On fourth-and-1 from the Davie 43, Dudley went for it and Hooker swept right. He was swallowed up for a one-yard loss. Davie had even more momentum when Dudley’s punt returner fumbled and Broc Barnette jumped on the ball at the Dudley 25.

Davie was at the Dudley 17 on second-and-2 with the eight-point lead. The game then turned the wrong way for the War Eagles. Reynolds, who wasn’t sacked in the first half, was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Davie turned it over on downs, and four more sacks would follow as the half continued.

The Panthers did virtually everything right from that point on while punching in TDs on their final four possessions. Davie blitzed one way, Hooker went the other and raced 49 yards to the end zone. Fitzgerald made a falling-down catch for two points to tie it at 30-all.

Reynolds was intercepted over the middle, linebacker Patrick Connor returned it to the Davie 18 and Fitzgerald made a 24-yard TD catch on second-and-16. A two-point pass gave Dudley a 38-30 lead with 1:30 left in the third.

A 15-yard run by Peyton Hampton, followed by a penalty on Dudley, put Davie at the Dudley 23-yard line, but the War Eagles were beginning to run on empty. A holding penalty on Davie and two sacks forced the War Eagles to punt.

Dudley had a right hook to go with all those left jabs from Virginia Tech recruit Hooker (140 rushing yards, 261 passing yards), Jon Zellous (seven catches for 106 yards) and Fitzgerald (six catches for 112 yards). Zareik Rush delivered the knockout punch with 6:13 to go, taking a handoff on a jet sweep and zooming 44 yards to the end zone. After the two-point conversion, it was 46-30.

For good measure, the Panthers moved 69 yards in seven plays to close the scoring.

“They got the best of us at the end of it,” Pratapas said. “We really fought hard and we earned everything we got.”

Dudley outgained Davie, 524 yards to 205, but the War Eagles led at the start of both halves and demonstrated staying power with guts and heart against an opponent stacked with future Division I talent.

“I’m super proud of them,” Devericks said. “Only one team gets the ending they want. For the journey these guys have been on, don’t let it take away from all the success they’ve had. Nothing can take away from what this group accomplished.”

“We gave it everything we had,” Reynolds said. “We fought until the final minute. I’m proud of all my teammates.”