Davie visits unbeaten West on Friday
Published 9:30 am Thursday, October 12, 2017
Davie’s football team enjoyed a relatively easy win in its Central Piedmont Conference opener, 41-13 over Reynolds, which hasn’t topped five wins since 2009.
But here’s where the rubber meets the road. Here come the big boys – Davie plays at West this Friday and at home against Glenn the following week. West and Glenn are both unbeaten.
Davie-West is a game that everyone looks forward to. This will be a classic running team (West) vs. a run defense (Davie). Running backs Mack Duke and G’mone Wilson have carried West’s offense during the Titans’ 7-0 start. Davie’s front seven is stingy against the run, allowing 1.5 yards per carry (386 rushing attempts, 581 yards for opponents).
But Davie’s biggest fear will be trying to contain senior All-American K.J. Henry, who plays outside linebacker and some offense. Henry is a likely future player in the SEC or ACC.
“K.J. is playing more in space,” Davie coach Tim Devericks said. “They’re taking advantage of his athleticism. He’s going to present a challenge in run and pass. So we’re going to have to study film and see what they’re doing with him.”
Davie (4-3 overall) is 1-0 in the CPC, but it’s going to be difficult to get to 2-0. But the defending CPC champion has playmakers on both sides of the ball. Therefore, it has a chance to do something special in Clemmons.
Last year Davie subdued West 20-3 to snap a four-game losing streak to the Titans. With the game hanging in the balance in the fourth quarter, Mason Wilson made a 26-yard TD reception to bump Davie’s lead to a comfortable 13-3. Linebacker Cody Hendrix added the exclamation mark, returning an interception 70 yards for a touchdown. Davie limited Duke to 65 yards on 17 carries.
“We’ve got to go back over there again, so it’ll be another hostile homecoming environment,” Devericks said. “They’ve got a lot of talent. But we’re going to try to get our bunch ready and give them a battle.”
Here’s a game-by-game look at West’s season.
• West 42, Lake Norman 14: Duke rushed for 109 yards, sophomore Wilson added 62 and Morgan Young and Jalyn McMillian returned INTs for TDs as the Titans built a 37-7 halftime lead and coasted.
• West 68, Carver 6: West registered eight TDs in the first half and breezed over the lowly Yellowjackets. … Gianni Smith threw a 51-yard TD to Henry. … Young had another pick-six.
• West 23, Mt. Tabor 7: Tabor, which outgained West 165-16 in the first half, had a 7-0 lead and was looking for more before it fumbled at the West 1. Despite the early dominance, Tabor’s halftime lead was only 7-3. … West had its first lead when JaQuan McMillian delivered a 41-yard pick-six in the third quarter. … West went 65 yards in nine plays to take a 17-7 lead with 11:12 to go. … West outgained Tabor 160-43 in the second half, overcoming an ankle injury to Duke. … Wilson had 14 carries for 72 yards. … JaQuan McMillian entered at QB and threw a jump pass to Henry for a 6-yard TD that capped the scoring.
• West 39, High Point Central 13: West put up 20-plus points in the first quarter for the third time, and Wilson had 23 carries for 130 yards. … Thomas Laws caught TD passes from Smith and Drew Latham in the decisive first half.
• West 28, South Iredell 13: Smith went a modest 4 of 9 passing, but three of them resulted in TDs as West handed South its second loss. … JaQuan McMillian was everywhere, rushing for a TD on a direct snap, catching a TD and making an interception. … Wilson pounded away for 94 yards on 26 rushes.
• West 43, Northwest Guilford 23: With West trailing 10-6 in the second quarter, JaQuan McMillian turned the game with a 64-yard punt return to the Northwest 13. On the next play, Wilson went 13 yards to the end zone. … Matthew Harkey nailed a 43-yard field goal as first-half time expired to give West a 15-10 lead. … West scored 21 straight points in the third to make it 36-10. … Smith tossed a 58-yard TD to C.J. Graham. … Wilson (25 carries for 197 yards) and Kenyar McPhatter (nine carries for 128 yards) killed Northwest on the ground. … West did allow 246 passing yards and three TDs through the air.
• West 21, East Forsyth 10: After missing a month with the ankle injury, Duke returned with 27 carries for 95 yards as West prevailed in its CPC opener. … But Wilson was even better, running 18 times for 160 yards. … Harkey hit two FGs to give West a 6-0 lead, and West had a 14-3 advantage at the break. … East used an eight-play, 80-yard drive to get back in it at 14-10, but the Eagles would get no closer.
West leads the series against Davie 21-14, but the series has been as close as it can get since 1996. In the last 21 meetings, West has 11 wins, Davie 10.