It was a fine victory. Over the years, I had grown weary of the many times Davie High has lost to Mt. Tabor. That made Friday night’s win all the sweeter. With the clock ticking down to the final minute, it looked like the Davie boys would be denied again. Mt. Tabor had marched down the field to score earlier. They were on the hunt again until they found themselves with fourth-and-long yardage.

Everybody in the stands knew what play was coming next: A long pass to Divine Deablo, the outstanding receiver who will be playing at Virginia Tech next year. He looked like a man playing among boys.

Deablo raced to the end zone and the pass was lofted in his direction as expected.

Three Davie defenders interrupted the certain touchdown to preserve Davie’s win.

Davie QB Chris Reynolds had a night worthy of Peyton Manning.

Heavily favored Mt. Tabor went back to Winston-Salem with sadness. The Davie boys worked off some frustration from earlier games that hadn’t gone their way.

It was an exciting game, but I wished I had worn a heavier coat. The concession folks missed an opportunity to cash in when they didn’t stock enough hot chocolate to last through the game. The temperature had fallen to 48 degrees by the fourth quarter.

• • • • •

I spent Saturday raking and blowing leaves and expect to do the same every weekend for the next six weeks.

No longer do I dread fall. A miracle invention — a monster leaf blower — has put joy back into the season. On Saturday I blew leaves with the fury of a tornado. It’s loud enough to wake the dead, but the results can’t be denied.

• • • • •

You’ve heard people grumble about how early stores put out their Christmas displays. Last week, before Halloween, our Santa Claus was seen making the rounds in Davie County as part of our annual “Santa Shops Davie” advertising campaign.

The fellow stuffed in the Santa suit got some peculiar looks.

“A little early aren’t you?”

— Dwight Sparks