“Pray, Stretch, Lock-in”. This is the pregame routine for Ethan Driver, Davie’s sophomore starting wide receiver for the 2023-2024 season.
For many, football is an enjoyable sport to watch, whether it be at home with family or in the stands at a game. And for high school kids, going to football games is a significant part of the “high school experience,” but what is it like for the boys behind the ball?
The Davie County War Eagles ended the season 3rd in Central Piedmont 4A, with a record of 5-2 in conference games, and 7-4 overall.
These players have had a similar start to their football careers. Ty Miller, senior quarterback, and Grey Deal, senior wide receiver, both started their 3rd-grade year playing at Pinebrook Elementary.
Senior running back Markel Summers began playing football at the YMCA when he was 4. Driver started at the same place as Summers, but before that, he initially played soccer before moving to flag football. “My dad liked football better,” he said, “so he made me start playing it.”
The road to greatness hasn’t been easy for these players, but the support they receive has been a great helping hand.
Deal says “All my coaches and all my teammates just being there for me, and never doubting me for one second” is what has helped him become a good player.
These players are aware of what they miss out on when being on the field rather than socializing with friends during games. Despite that, none of it has strayed them from their focus to staying dedicated and passionate to play.
Summers has never been able to watch a Friday night game from the stands, but he loves being a player.
“The fans come out, and it gets loud. It’s a fun atmosphere when you score” he said. “You got little kids that come up to you, and they look up to you.”
On October 13th, the football team challenged rival team West Forsyth. Games like this can be high-tense, but Driver’s energy doesn’t just because the spotlight is on.
“You got to win every game,” he said. “You shouldn’t take any teams lightly or for granted.” Miller has a similar mindset as well. “Everyone’s more excited, but I really try and go to every game with the same mentality and go in there to get the win.”
Bad games are prone to happen, but it’s important for these players to move on, and that’s exactly what they do. Summers says, “As long as I got more games in the future, I just try and move on so I can do better the next game”.
Taking their career to the next level has been in the books for as long as these players can remember. Summers is willing to go the distance to attend a college with a good football program.
Summers is focused on finding a school with a good program. With North Rim in Hickory, NC not being too far from home, that might be a good fit for him. Driver said, “I don’t really have a dream school, but I wouldn’t want to go out of state.” His school of choice would be NC State because his mother went there.
They have been playing football for most of their lives, forming short and long-term goals along the way. For Summers, the main focus has been to beat his personal records. “My goal this year was to beat my last year’s record and be higher than what I was in the state last year and previous years.”
Driver wanted to make conference and regionals all three years. He also planned to beat receiving records, and records in general at Davie. Deal has always wanted to play at the next level, and now has the opportunity to do so. For this year, his goal was to win the State Championship.
Miller, on the other hand, wants to be the best leader he can be.
“That’s what everyone sees me for. It would be really cool to beat and hold records here, but that’s not really one of my top priorities,” he said. “Making sure people know that I’m someone they can come talk and look up to.”
Miller knows this is the way to be the best you can be, by “not worrying about other things outside of yourself.”
