Smith Dazzles On First East-West Play
Published 12:00 am Monday, August 13, 2012
By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record
Adam Smith didn’t need to work up a sweat. He didn’t need a few minutes to get comfortable in the setting.
Smith certified his all-star credentials in a couple seconds.
Smith, who was among 44 players selected to play in the East-West All-Star Football Game last week at Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro, was a Davie phenomenon as a 2011 senior. Davie fans saw him do electrifying stuff week after week.
In the East-West game, Smith introduced himself to 7,000-plus fans in dazzling style.
The score was 14-3 East in the second quarter when Smith entered the game at quarterback. His first play was a speed option to the left. Smith kept the ball, showcased his fifth gear and rambled 56 yards to the East 5. The feeling of exhilaration was tempered by a holding penalty. That was a bummer for sure, but the message was unmistakable.
“(West coach Mike Sexton) told me we were going to run option on my first play, so I was ready for it,” Smith said. “The whole defense kind of overflowed. They read it pretty well, so I kept it, made a cutback and there was a huge hole. I don’t think they really knew I could run the ball like that. It felt kind of surreal.”
“We knew what he could do running the ball,” Sexton, who coaches at Erwin High, told the Salisbury Post. “He proved that he could do it on a regular high-school field or in front of all-stars.”
“He made something happen,” Davie coach Doug Illing said. “It was pretty special. (An official) threw a holding flag back behind the play. You hate to see that. But Adam showed people what he’s capable of and how much of a threat he is.”
The West trailed 21-3 at the half and lost the 64th-annual game 34-9.
Smith attempted two passes, completing one for 7 yards.
In the second half, the West mounted its best drive of the game, marching 80 yards. Smith quarterbacked the second half of that drive, which ended at the East 1 as the West turned it over on downs. The West finally got in the end zone with 5:08 remaining.
“It was a really good drive. It just ended on a bad note,” Smith said. “Their defense had a great stand. We started to click like we had at practice all week.”
Smith will live forever in Davie lore for what he achieved in 2011, when Davie won eight games and tied Mt. Tabor for the conference championship. He completed 109 of 202 passes for 1,917 yards, averaging 17.5 yards per completion and throwing 18 touchdowns against three interceptions. That’s only half of it. He was the No. 2 rusher, running for 771 yards and averaging 6.5 per carry. He scored a team-high 11 TDs and had a hand in 29 of the team’s 48 TDs.
Smith is the 16th player in Davie’s 56-year history to play in the East-West game.
“He showed he belonged,” Illing said. “Any time he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s got the potential to score. He represented Davie County very well. Very few people have had the chance to do that. All the coaches spoke very highly of him.”
Smith joined John Grimes (1961) …