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Is there a better high school football story than the team that went 2-9 on the field in 2018 – with a season-ending six-game losing streak to make matters worse – defying the odds with a 3-0 start in 2019?
Davie County wrote another impassioned chapter in its best start in 13 years Friday night at War Eagle Stadium. After giving up a touchdown at the beginning of overtime, the War Eagles answered with a TD, then converted a two-point play to capture a dramatic 31-30 win over visiting Mooresville.

In the two previous games, Davie beat Page, 28-27, by stopping a two-point conversion with five seconds remaining and it beat North Davidson, 42-31, by erasing an eight-point deficit in the second half.
“It hasn’t been easy by any stretch of the imagination,” coach Tim Devericks said. “But we’ve had the belief in each other and the willingness to keep battling when the chips are against you.”

Down by seven in the fourth quarter, Davie responded by driving 71 yards in 10 plays. The big play came on fourth-and-9 from Mooresville 44. Hampton’s pass was intended for Carney, but Jack Reynolds secured it in traffic for 13 yards. Then Za’Haree Maddox took over, making a 15-yard reception and hauling in an 18-yard TD on back-to-back plays. Guillermo Moure’s kick was good to knot things at 23 with 6:39 remaining.

Riffle tried a 55-yard field goal with 1:12 left for Mooresville, but it was short. For Davie, Hampton found Reynolds for 38 yards to the Mooresville 26, but Moure’s 48-yard FG try was blocked with 13 seconds left. The clock stopped at :02 after Black’s 30-yard reception on a bubble screen. Riffle attempted a 57-yard FG as time expired, but it was well short.

Davie won the toss and elected to play defense in overtime. On second down, Black took an end-around handoff and scored from 10 yards out with ease. Riffle’s PAT gave Mooresville a 30-23 lead.
Davie’s first offensive play in OT resulted in a six-yard loss. On second down, Hampton fired a slant pass to Maddox, who scored to pull Davie within one.
“We were running low on gas – on both sides of the ball,” Devericks said. “So we decided to go for it. It’s something we haven’t done a whole lot, but Za’Haree was singled up on the back side and he made a great play. Confidence is not a problem for Za’Haree.”
Then Devericks had a decision to make: kick for the tie or go for the win. He sent the offense back on the field. Hampton faked a pitch right to Carney, cut behind left guard Tanner Batten and converted the two-point play to set off a wild celebration.
“It was supposed to be a pitch, but both of them saw them bring an overload pressure to the side we were going to option on,” Devericks said. “Nate made a great play. He did the exact same thing against Page.”

The War Eagles won by the skin of their teeth behind Hampton (27 of 48 for 411 yards), Reynolds (eight catches for 157 yards), Carney (six catches for 112 yards) and Maddox (seven catches for 73 yards). Hampton set the school record for pass attempts in a game and tied the record for completions. One week after throwing for the sixth-most yards ever, he delivered the second-most, falling two yards short of Chris Reynolds’ record (413 in a 45-42 win over North Davidson in 2016). The 6-5, 225-pound junior threw four TDs for the second week in a row. His numbers across two games: 45 of 75 for 751 yards and eight TDs.
Reynolds, who has 14 catches for 265 yards in two weeks, reeled in the most catches in 14 games (Cooper Wall had nine in a playoff loss to Porter Ridge in 2017) and the most receiving yards in 39 games (Wall had 235 in a 39-29 win over Page in 2016).
Carney, who rotates between running back and receiver, produced 100-plus receiving yards for the second straight game.
Maddox, who missed his entire freshman year with an injury, played a major role after totalling four receiving yards against Page and N. Davidson.