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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Mooresville’s third-quarter explosion sent the Blue Devils to a 41-22 win over Davie’s JV football team in the season opener on Aug. 17.

Mooresville outscored visiting Davie 27-0 in the third, but the night wasn’t a total loss.

“That was a good learning experience for us,” coach Tim Devericks said. “We played hard and we made plays. We had a few mistakes, but you’re going to have that in the first game.”

The War Eagles had the ball with a chance to take the lead late in the second quarter. The opportunity was thwarted by a bad snap and Mooresville took a 7-6 lead to halftime.

It was anybody’s game at that point, but the Blue Devils took the game by the throat in the third, their scoring spree creating a 34-6 gap. Davie made the margin closer by scoring 16 points in the fourth.

Despite the loss, Devericks saw good things on both sides of the ball. Defensively, freshman outside linebacker Jsiere Arnold had an incredible high school debut.

“He was taking on two or three blockers, shaking them and making the play at the line of scrimmage or making a tackle for loss,” Devericks said. “He was running it down from the backside. He’s extremely athletic and has a really bright future.”

Sophomore cornerback CJ Moore made a jaw-dropping interception.

“It was a slant that was kind of overthrown,” Devericks said. “He was covering the guy and he went up and one-handed it. I didn’t see it (live). When I watched it on film, I was like: ‘Dang.’”

Sophomore quarterback Jamarius Pelote threw three interceptions, but he compensated by rushing for 107 yards on 17 attempts.

“His ability to keep a defense honest and not crash down from the backside helps the offensive line, and it helps the running backs,” Devericks said.

Devericks gave a thumbs up to freshmen running backs Jayce Bentley (18 carries for 87 yards) and Cameron Knox (3-20).

“With both of them being freshmen, I thought they did really well,” he said.

Receiver Dallas Simms looks like a man on a mission. After playing sparingly as a freshman, he hauled in three TD catches in the scrimmage and he followed that up by making four grabs for 76 yards at Mooresville, including a 49-yard score.

“Dallas worked his butt off in the offseason,” Devericks said. “With this being his second year in the system, he’s confident in himself and confident in the routes he’s supposed to run. And that helps you play faster.”

Notes: Pelote and Bentley had TD runs. … Pelote went 8 of 16 for 81 passing yards. Sophomore Aiden Hall also saw time at QB and hit 3 of 7 for 72 yards, including the scoring strike to Simms. … Knox had 51 total yards, including two catches for 31. Making one catch each were Mack Ridenhour (19 yards), Bentley (11), James Mayfield (seven), Ian Patton (five) and Colt Miller (four).