PFAFFTOWN – Davie’s football team scored three touchdowns in the final 12:22, but the War Eagles were underwhelming when it mattered, falling behind 42-7 and losing 45-29 Thursday at Reagan on a rainy, dreary night.

Rainstorms in the forecast pushed the game up a day. The teams played in a steady mist. Everyone knew Davie was a sizeable underdog from looking at the common opponent. Page beat Reagan 56-50; Page blew out Davie 53-22. Davie’s three-game winning streak ended with a thud as the War Eagles fell to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the Central Piedmont Conference. The high-octane Raiders (5-2, 2-0) put up 35-plus points for the seventh time.

Reagan’s Isaiah Anthony – the son of a former NFL player, Tyrone Anthony – put on a show. On the game’s second snap, he caught a slant pass and took it 80 yards to the end zone. Then he kicked the first of six extra points.

Five plays later, a Chris Reynolds pass for Davie went off a receiver’s hands and Anthony intercepted at the Reagan 27. It was Reynolds’ first interception in four games, and the first pick he’d thrown in 80 pass attempts.

Spencer Wilson’s sack and Anthony Hunckler’s interception in the back of the end zone turned back the Raiders, but Reagan’s Patrick Stanfield came up with a remarkable interception on the 11th play of a Davie drive, tipping the ball to himself and securing it at the Reagan 9.

After Reagan went three-and-out, Davie tied the game as Reynolds completed a short pass to Ben Ellis, who somehow slipped past two defenders and went 65 yards. Jared Griggs’ extra point tied it at 7.

Davie’s enthusiasm was short-lived. The Anthony Show resumed as Ben Skradski found Anthony on a post route for a 48-yard touchdown, triggering a run of 35 unanswered points for the Raiders.

Anthony, who is as versatile as a Swiss Army knife, plays receiver, safety and special teams. He had three catches for 142 yards. For good measure, he hit a 47-yard field goal with 1:21 to go.

“Isaiah is so versatile and so valuable to our team,” Reagan coach Josh McGee told the Winston-Salem Journal. “Besides being a great player, he is an unbelievable person. He is a great leader for our team, and we rely on him a lot.”

“The hardest part is making sure I keep my composure and focus,” Anthony told the Journal. “I know I have to calm down and catch my breath so I can make sure I make the extra point and then go play defense.”

Anthony was not nearly a lone star for the Raiders, who amassed 394 of their 532 yards in a first half that ended with Reagan ahead 28-7.

Skradski went 12 of 18 for 277 yards and five TD passes, averaging 23 yards per completion. Jayni Glenn rushed 12 times for 159 yards, including a 93-yarder that marked the longest run Davie’s allowed this century.

Skradski’s 31-yard pass to Rathel Carter gave Reagan a 21-7 lead. On its next possession, Glenn went 93 yards for the 28-7 halftime bulge.

“They are very explosive,” Davie coach Devore Holman said. “When you don’t execute defensively, they take advantage of it. Kudos to their staff for having them prepared.”

To compound matters, the third quarter began with Reagan recovering a high and short pooch kick at the Davie 46. Reagan would go three-and-out, but it was deflating for Davie to watch Reagan steal a possession.

“I felt like our guy had to have the opportunity to catch it,” Holman said. “But it didn’t go our way. I’m not going to argue with that. It’s our job to come up with the ball in that situation. Therefore, our defense was back on the field.”

After Davie went three-and-out, Skradski tucked the ball on third-and-20 and went around right end for 24 yards to the Davie 1. Reagan scored on the next play for a 35-7 cushion.

Reagan kept the pressure on, trying the pooch kick again. And it worked again as the Raiders recovered the ball at the Davie 35. It scored seven plays later on Skradski’s fifth TD toss. The margin was 42-7 with 1:29 remaining in the third.

“The two pooch kicks were killers,” Holman said. “They were pretty much identical.”

•

Although it was too little too late, the War Eagles got rolling late in the third, did cosmetic work and scored 22 of the final 25 points.

Reynolds found Cooper Wall (95 yards on seven catches) for a 38-yard touchdown, then completed a two-point pass to Ellis.

On its next possession, Davie went 80 yards in 14 plays. On fourth-and-5, Wall made a 12-yard reception. On the next play, Reynolds hit Ellis for a touchdown.

After Anthony hit the 47-yard field goal, Ellis made three catches on a three-play, 43-second scoring drive – the first one for 22 yards, the second for 30 and the third for 10. Reynolds’ two-point pass to Wall capped the scoring.

“We did not quit. That’s not in our vocabulary,” Holman said. “We’re going to keep going at it and going at it and going at it.”

Reynolds and Ellis put up numbers that dented the record book.

Reynolds, who completed 21 of 30 passes, matched a single-game record with four TD passes for the second time this year. The only others to do that multiple times were Garrett Benge, who did it three times in ‘06, and Brad Corriher, who did it twice in ‘05.

Reynolds threw for 305 yards, topping his previous high of 280 against Page. It was just the sixth 300-yard passing game in Davie’s 60-year history. Benge (384 vs. West Rowan in ‘06), Zach Illing (377 vs. Page in ‘08), Adam Smith (371 vs. West Rowan in ‘11) and Illing (315 vs. West Forsyth in ‘08) are the only ones that rank ahead of Reynolds’ 305. The other 300-yard game came from Parker Correll, who had 300 against West Rowan in ‘14.

It’s uncanny how Ellis, the sure-handed and fearless receiver who had 11 receptions for 187 yards and three TDs, can beat coverage without blazing speed. He broke the season record for TD catches at 13; Joe Watson had 12 in ‘10. Setting a career record, it was Ellis’ ninth 100-yard game. Watson had eight from 2008-10.

Ellis matched the record for catches in a game. Chris Kinard had 11 against Independence in ‘06.

Ellis’ 187 yards are the sixth-most in a game. Ellis had 253 vs. West Rowan in ‘14 and 200 vs. Page earlier this year. Thadd Johnson had 197 vs. South Rowan in ‘99, Kenny Rivers 194 vs. West Rowan in ‘06 and Raeshon McNeil 191 vs. North Davidson in ‘05.

With 101 career receptions, Ellis is No. 2 in that category.

Notes: In three straight losses to Reagan, the War Eagles have allowed 45, 58 and 45 points. … Davie had 16 first downs (to Reagan’s 17) and 406 yards. … Hunckler had his second interception in as many weeks.

Davie        7    0    8    14 – 29

Reagan       7    21  14  3   – 45

First Quarter

R – Anthony 80 pass from Skradski (Anthony kick), 11:10.

D – Ellis 65 pass from Reynolds (Griggs kick), :49.

Second Quarter

R – Anthony 48 pass from Skradski (Anthony kick), 10:53.

R – Carter 31 pass from Skradski (Anthony kick), 7:01.

R – Glenn 93 run (Anthony kick), 4:25.

Third Quarter

R – Carter 1 pass from Skradski (Anthony kick), 4:30.

R – Sullivan 1 pass from Skradski (Anthony kick), 1:29.

D – Wall 38 pass from Reynolds (Ellis pass from Reynolds), :22.

Fourth Quarter

D – Ellis 8 pass from Reynolds (pass fail), 5:31.

R – Anthony 47 FG, 1:21.

D – Ellis 10 pass from Reynolds (Wall pass from Reynolds), :31.

TEAM STATISTICS

D R

FD1617

Rushing 29-101 38-243

Passing305289

C-A-I 21-30-2 13-19-1

Punts 5-35 4-41

F-L 0-0 0-0

Penalties 5-45 11-88

3rd conv. 7/13 3/9

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Davie

RUSHING – G. Dalton 9-47, Gray 7-27, Reynolds 9-17, S. Dalton 4-10

PASSING – Reynolds 21-30-2-305

RECEIVING – Ellis 11-187, Wall 7-95, McGee 1-11, S. Dalton 1-9, Byerly 1-3

Reagan

RUSHING – Glenn 12-159, Payne 9-41, Skradski 7-37, Sullivan 5-12, Powell 3-5, Easter 2-(-9)

PASSING – Skradski 12-18-1-277, Sullivan 1-1-0-12

RECEIVING – Carter 5-82, Anthony 3-142, Rhoades 3-57, Sullivan 1-7, Payne 1-1