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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Had Jack Reynolds been a quarterback, he would have had to follow an impossible legacy. Older brother Chris Reynolds, Davie’s QB in 2015-16 and now the starter at UNC Charlotte, is one of the most revered players in Davie history.

But Jack played receiver for the War Eagles from 2017-21 and never had to deal with the pressure of following in his brother’s footsteps.

When Jack arrived at Davie as a freshman, he was the smallest guy on the field. When he walked off the field for the last time as a high school player Thursday, following a riveting 36-35 overtime win over West Forsyth, he left as an all-time talent. (He also has an awesome nickname: “Jackie Moon.”)

He made so many stunning plays that you always found yourself slapping the fan next to you on the shoulder and yelling, “You see that!”

“He does things on a daily basis that will leave you speechless,” coach Tim Devericks said. “There were two catches this week in practice that no one should make, and he makes them over and over and over again.”

“It’s hard to put it into words,” receiver coach Chris Callison said. “He amazes me every time. There was a ball thrown in the East Forsyth game that looked like a pick, and all of a sudden he comes out of nowhere and makes the catch. He’s just done it over and over and over.”

In an auspicious arrival in 2017, in the first game at the new stadium at 180 War Eagle Drive, Reynolds hauled in a 25-yard TD from Joshua Hall less than five minutes into his Davie debut. He quickly became known for his endless pursuit of perfection.

“There’s a lot of people that might be taller than him, but they can never underestimate how much he wants that ball,” Callison said. “He’s able to win so many balls that are up in the air, it’s just unreal. Unreal.”

Reynolds set the single-game record for receptions with 15 against West Forsyth in 2019. He had nine career 100-yard receiving games, two behind co-leaders Ben Ellis and Cooper Wall. He had 2,411 career receiving yards to rank fourth behind Wall (2,940), Joe Watson (2,608) and Ellis (2,522). He had 162 career catches, second only to Wall (187). He had 25 career TD catches, ranking fourth behind Wall (33), Ellis (31) and Watson (30).

And remember, if it weren’t for COVID and the modified, shortened schedule and fewer playoff qualifiers, Davie would have surely made the playoffs and played at least five more games.

Reynolds could beat you deep, and when he went across the middle, he was afraid of nobody. He did impossible things all time. How many drops did he have across four seasons? You can probably count them on one hand.

It didn’t matter that he was 5-10. Add up his glue-like hands, his competitive fire and his attention to detail and you’ve got a guy who will live forever in Davie football lore.

“If anybody would know (how many drops he had), he would,” Callison said. “In the Glenn game, the (defender) grabbed him and didn’t allow him to get to the ball. He said if he would have caught that ball – he said he should have still caught it – that it would have changed the outcome. I mean, he remembers that kind of stuff. He is such a competitor it is unreal.

“What people don’t realize is that effort that he gives on Friday nights is the same every Monday through Thursday. He tries to win every ball in practice. When we’re throwing routes on air, if any ball hits the ground he gets mad. I mean, he wants to catch every ball. He’s special.”

This summer, Jack will join Chris, who has two years of eligibility remaining, at Charlotte as a preferred walk-on. It will shock no one in Davie County if Jack eventually does big things for the 49ers.

“He’s going to surprise a lot of people when he gets to Charlotte next year,” Callison said. “People are going to think he’s too small, and when he gets on that field and he starts competing like he does, he’ll surprise a lot of people.”

•••

Tate Carney’s junior season was absolutely extraordinary. He broke Cooter Arnold’s single-game rushing record with 327 yards against Reynolds, the same night he tied the state record for TDs in a game with eight.

He’s everywhere in the record book with a season to go. He scored 24 TDs in seven games in 2021, good for fourth place behind Arnold’s 30 in 2004, Arnold’s 26 in 2003 and his own 26 in 2019. He ran for 1,383 yards in 2021, ranking eighth on the single-season list. Seven times a War Eagle has rushed for 253-plus yards in a game, and Carney has authored three of them. He has 56 career TDs, ranking second and just 11 behind Arnold’s record. As if all that isn’t enough, he’s fifth in career receiving yards with 1,422.

Junior quarterback Alex Summers did a commendable job replacing the irreplaceable Nate Hampton. He ranks 12th in three single-season categories in Davie’s 65-year history with 115 completions, 1538 passing yards and 15 TDs passes.

In his final game, senior kicker Willy Moure passed the great David Wooldridge in career extra points. He finished with 95 to Wooldridge’s 92. The top two spots belong to Michael Rowe (124) and Woody Parrish (118).