Defense stellar in JV football win
Published 1:32 pm Tuesday, September 12, 2023
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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record
The Davie JV football team only completed three passes in 11 attempts against visiting West Rowan, but the offense made up for that with a powerful ground game.
The defense also looked stellar, resulting in a 13-6 victory for the 2-1 War Eagles.
This was a makeup game that was played on Sept. 6.
Davie never trailed, but three turnovers allowed the Falcons to hang around. Davie’s defense was put in tough spots all game, but it picked up the slack time and time again.
“Their average starting field position was our 45, but the defense never batted an eye,” defensive coordinator Blaine Nicholson said. “They really fought hard because we were one score from it being a loss.”
Davie led 7-6 after the first quarter. The lead was 13-6 at halftime, and that was it as far as points go.
Jamarius Pelote (13 carries, 137 yards) and Cameron Knox (12 carries, 122 yards) dominated on the ground. Pelote scored both touchdowns, including one score on a 54-yard run, and Knox was a big weapon for the second game in a row – after putting up 134 yards in the win over North Davidson.
“There were some big-time runs between the two of those guys,” Nicholson said. “They were making great cuts. Jamarius has great vision. I wish we would have held onto the ball a little better and finished some of those drives and not made the game that tight. But for the most part, they did a great job of reading the blocks.”
The defense has flourished the past two games. The d-line epitomized the effort against West.
“Our defensive line is very talented,” Nicholson said of Gio Alcacio, Braylon Arnold, Eli Waddell, Ean Click, Jathan Redmond, Jsiere Arnold and Connor Dixson. “We have a lot of guys who in two years are going to be like the defensive line we have on varsity this year.”
The next two levels of the defense also deserve considerable credit. The inside linebackers are Bubby Byington, Luke Wayne, Luke Foster and Jackson Meadwell. The secondary includes Josh Jones, CJ Moore, Colson Sink and Jakob Cable.
“The linebacker play has gotten better each week,” Nicholson said. “In the secondary, we got a starter back (Jones) that had been out all season. That was a big pick-up for us. Now we have four sophomores on the back end. CJ has been playing lights out the whole season. He’s going to help us a lot next year on varsity.”
Notes: Doing the blocking for Pelote and Knox were left tackle Ryan Williams, left guards Ahmad McGee and Walker Matthews, center Maddox Creason, right guard Colt Ratliff and right tackle Sammy Angell. … Aiden Hall completed two passes, both to Pelote, who rotated between quarterback and running back. Pelote’s one completion went to Hall, who also played two positions. … The Falcons tumbled to 0-3. They were blown out by Kannapolis (28-0) and Mooresville (35-8).