By Brian Pitts

For the Salisbury Post

MOCKSVILLE — That East Forsyth’s football team trampled Davie County, 49-14, at War Eagle Stadium on Thursday shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

The Eagles are ranked in the top 10 in 4A, they’re a cut above everyone else in the Central Piedmont Conference, while Davie experienced its biggest slump in decades.

East, unbeaten and undisputed champion of the CPC, racked up its fourth straight win by 29-plus points. Davie, with its sixth straight loss, limped to season’s end at 3-8, 0-5.   

“They’re a good ballclub,” Davie coach Tim Devericks said. “They can hit you many ways. They’re speedy on the outside or they can out-physical you. They’ve got a stable of backs, and you can’t overrun the backs because the quarterback can hurt you.”

The War Eagles extended two oddities for a last-place team, scoring the game’s first points for the ninth time this year and holding a lead for the 10th time. After defensive linemen Ronald Wilson and Andy Flores keyed a three-and-out for Davie’s defense, Tate Carney, who split time at quarterback and running back, churned for 51 yards during a 57-yard drive and scored from the 1 as Davie jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead.

But the Eagles had an overwhelming — and immediate — answer. They covered 80 yards with nine runs and two passes to tie the game at 7.

Davie’s defense was completely outmanned from that point on as East went 60 yards in 10 plays for a 14-7 lead and 93 yards in eight plays for a 21-7 halftime advantage.

Before East’s third score, Davie had a nice drive with a chance to cut into the 14-7 deficit. Carney carried six times in a span of nine plays and picked up 36 yards as Davie reached the East 14.

But Carney tweaked his ankle and limped off the field. That crippled Davie’s surge because East was able to focus solely on the other running threat, Josh Robinson. After moving from the Davie 40 to the East 7, the 14th play of the series was an incomplete pass on fourth down and Davie got nothing out of it.

“Tate and Josh both might have half an ankle,” Devericks said. “They’ve been battling, they’ve been warriors and working through nicks that you get when you run the ball that hard and that much.”

To make matters worse, East roared 93 yards in 1:42 and scored with :25 remaining in the half.   The Eagles landed the knockout blow early in the third quarter, marching 63 yards in nine plays to bump the margin to 28-7. The rest of the contest was a formality.

East scored 35 unanswered points in a span of 20:24 and reached paydirt on four straight possessions and six of seven.

For the second week in a row, Davie had to go with freshman Alex Summers at QB with Nate Hampton sidelined by a broken hand. East’s defense knew Davie was going to run virtually every play, and the offensive line still managed a push as Davie picked up 15 first downs and converted six of 12 third downs.

Carney, who looks utterly big-time as a freshman,  plowed through the teeth of a loaded box 24 times for 149 yards.

After Carney and Robinson carried the ball six straight times in a series late in the third, Carney attempted his first pass of the season, fooling the defense with a play fake and hitting a wide-open Adrian Cranfill for a 22-yard TD that made it 35-14.

With 171 rushing/passing yards, Carney accounted for 87 percent of Davie’s output (196 yards). Robinson added 35 rushing yards, finishing the year at 962.   

Senior linebacker Matthew King, who entered as the CPC’s No. 1 tackler with 108 stops, added quite a bit to his season total.

Despite a skid to finish the season, Davie is set to return a ton of guys in 2019.. A climb from cellar to CPC contender looks very manageable.

“It’s like a bank account,” Devericks said. “What you deposit is what you can withdraw. If you cheat the process, there’s not much to withdraw. You can’t just bank on the potential. You’ve got to put the work in and put some savings away.”

Briefs

HS basketball

Salisbury girls basketball standout Bryanna Troutman announced a commitment to Wingate and plans to sign with the Bulldogs on Nov. 19.

Troutman, a 6-foot-1  player with perimeter skills, is a 1,000-point scorer and a perennial member of the All-Rowan County and All-CCC  teams.

Jayvee football

Carson won against East Rowan, 35-16,  on Thursday.

Brandon Haas had two rushing TDs. Alex London ran for a TD and threw a 43-yard pass to Jake Harris  for a score.  Aaron Bradshaw scored on a pick-six.

Defensive leaders for the Cougars (6-4) included Brodie Johnson, Michael Altman, Caden Hudson and Weston Lee.

Local golf

Toby Kennerly scored a hole-in-one on Wednesday, at the par-3 eighth hole at the Revival at the Crescent. Kennerly used a 9-iron on the shot, witnessed by Joel Miller.