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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

The Davie boys lacrosse team had struggled mightily in the Central Piedmont Conference before a thrilling win over West Forsyth.

The Davie boys lost 18-8 at Reagan on March 8 and 20-13 at Mt. Tabor on March 11, falling to 0-3 in the CPC.

Ryan Walton had half of Davie’s goals at Reagan. Kole Bilyeu, Sam Warner, Daniel Reichard and Camden Beck had one each, and Reichard had both of Davie’s assists.

At Tabor, Walton had six goals, Beck three and Bryce Harnsberger two. Reichard and Nick Ruff had one apiece. Alex Speckin was responsible for four of Davie’s nine assists. Walton had three, while Bilyeu and Reichard had one.

Walton, a senior who was averaging a shade over five goals per game at this point, is everything you could ask for in a scorer.

“Ryan is a very skilled player,” assistant coach Corey Tilley said. “He has the ability to create offense from any part of the field. He is one of the best shooters I’ve coached and has great offensive awareness. He’s a true offensive threat who is always open no matter where he is. He moves just as well off ball as he does when he has it.”

Despite having never played Davie lacrosse before this year, Beck, a 224-pound senior, has contributed in a big way. In fact, he was now second on the team with 11 goals, trailing Walton’s 26.

“He’s a huge addition,” Tilley said. “He hit the ground running and is a great athlete. He’s a true gamer and a massive help to our young team.”

•••

The slide continued with a 20-6 loss at Reynolds on March 14. Walton had three goals, Beck two and Ty Carter one. Speckin and Walton had the assists.

Davie 8, WF 7

Things were grim in the early going. Not only had the War Eagles dropped four in a row, they were facing a 3-0 deficit to visiting West Forsyth on March 15.

Then Davie caught fire, ripped off an 8-3 run and beat its biggest rival.

“These guys showed up tonight,” Tilley said. “(Goalie) Wesley Brooks played really well. He made timely saves. Our defense (led by Chase Atkinson, Davin Kauserud, Landon Dingler, Nick Ruff and Camren Godbey) played their best game. I’m proud of all the guys.”

It was a true team effort. Walton was held to one goal, but Beck picked up the slack with four, including the War Eagles’ final goal, which put them in front 8-6.

“(Walton) got locked up and doubled and he struggled at first,” Tilley said. “But he was very mature in realizing they had his number and he used it to open up some other guys.”

Carter, Speckin and Reichard had the other goals. Bilyeu, Sebastian Bellomo, Warner, Harnsberger and Speckin had the assists.

“Bryce won a big faceoff late that he turned into the typing goal by Daniel,” Tilley said.

Notes: West fell to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the CPC. Davie is 3-4, 1-4. … Davie and West split last season. Davie’s 9-4 triumph marked its first ever win in the series. West responded with a 14-4 romp in the rematch. … Davie’s top three scorers for the season are Walton (30 goals), Beck (17) and Reichard (10). Speckin is dominating in assists with 17. Reichard and Walton are next with seven each. … The Davie girls tumbled to 0-5 in the CPC with losses of 21-3 at Reynolds and 15-4 at home to West. Nicole Korczyk, Reese Tutterow and Grace Butler scored against Reynolds, and Kinnah Chamberlain (two), Ava Rajacich and Butler scored against West.