By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record

THOMASVILLE – Cade Carney and Stephon Smoot ran the ball superbly. The offensive line overcame an injury to all-star Cole Blankenship. And the defense was typically immovable as Davie’s football team gave host Thomasville an old-fashioned whipping, 35-0, last Friday.
The War Eagles, who haven’t been challenged since a 14-7 loss to West Rowan in week two, have won three straight for a 4-1 mark. Reeling Thomasville slumped to 0-5.
As usual, Carney was dynamic. He came in averaging 165.5 yards and he rushed for 166 and two touchdowns. He set the tone on Davie’s first possession, running for 60 yards on a 65-yard scoring drive.
“He’s special,” Thomasville assistant coach Dickie Cline told The Dispatch. “He kind of reminds you of Madison (Hedgecock, who played at Ledford, North Carolina and earned a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII), doesn’t he?”
But what made the night all the better was the welcome return of Smoot, the senior who had missed three of four games. He ran for 75 yards on 13 carries. Now Davie has not two, not three, but a handful of talented backs.
“We’ve got a lot of fresh legs,” coach Doug Illing said. “The neat thing going into conference play is being able to keep everybody fresh. We’ve still got A.J. Blaskievich and Devon Parks that we didn’t have to use tonight. They’re ready to go at any moment.”
Smoot had carried the ball just six times because of injuries.
“We got what we wanted out of him,” Illing said. “We didn’t want to push him too much because he hasn’t been practicing. He just made it back for two days (last) week, so he’s not in shape yet. We just want to get him in shape and get him ready for the long run.”
Davie was without 2011 all-state tackle Blankenship, the N.C. State commitment who injured his right foot the previous week at Lexington. Junior R.C. Brunstetter got the nod at left tackle, and the OL didn’t miss a beat.
“R.C. did a great job of seizing the opportunity that he got,” Illing said. “We’ll see on film just exactly what happened, but I thought he held his own.”
Meanwhile, it was just another day in paradise for the defense. It hasn’t allowed a touchdown in 10 quarters, it has allowed one in 18 quarters and it has given up three all year. What’s more, Davie still hasn’t allowed a 30-yard play, with the longest run being 23 yards and the longest pass being 29.
“There’s 11 bodies around the ball, but it looks like there’s 13 on the field most of the time,” Illing said. “We’re fast.”
Davie’s prowess on the ground was summed on three third-and-long situations. On third-and-10, Carney made a slick cutback and picked up 27 yards. On third-and-11, Smoot rumbled for 11. On third-and-8, Carney lined up at quarterback, busted through tacklers and gained 16. On a third-and-3 play …