With the football season kicking off on August 23rd with an away game at Mooresville, Davie County was ready to cheer on the War Eagles at home. Eager fans lined up waiting for the home opener against West Rowan High School when the unfortunate news was spread that, due to inclement weather, the game was being postponed. The game was rescheduled for September 2nd, Labor Day. This was a rare occurrence, Monday Night Lights. There was a fight to come out victorious, though ultimately the War Eagles came up short, with a final score of 25-8.
The game kicked off with the War Eagles receiving the ball in a stadium full of eager fans. Last season, the War Eagles pulled out a 60-28 win against the West Rowan Falcons, so the team was ready to fight to remain victorious. The War Eagles ended the first quarter with an 8-7 lead over the Falcons.
The team was buzzing with excitement over this early lead. Connor Dixon, a junior defensive end, credits this energy with helping the team be successful on the field.
“If the team is playing really well and is full of energy, then I feel like I play better than when we’re down and nobody is really happy,” Dixon says. “But when we’re full of energy, I feel like I play a lot better.”
A huge part of the energetic environment of a high school football game is the student section. Despite the scheduling change, the Davie Crazies still showed up on a Monday to cheer on their team, sporting red, white, and blue to match the game’s USA theme. The Crazies’ leaders, seniors John Holcomb and Kate Sakai, led War Eagle students of all grades in chants and cheers to encourage the team. Students view the Crazies as a way to support their school and have fun with their classmates. Junior Alex Hernandez views supporting the school through the Crazies as an excellent way to hype the team up and show War Eagle pride.
“It’s important to support the team because the cheers and calling out people’s names gives them the energy to try harder to win the game, give us a dub,” Hernandez says. “And I just try to fit the theme and going on, just being as loud as I can.”
By the fourth quarter, the War Eagles were down 22-8, and though the possibility of victory was growing increasingly remote, key moments in these final minutes spurred enthusiasm from fans. The Falcons were looking to make a pass into the endzone when junior Josh Jones jumped in to intercept the pass. When the ball landed in his hands, the fans erupted. The Crazies started chanting his name while the cheerleaders exclaimed with excitement, with this looking like a promising start for the War Eagles to come back.
“Well, it just all kind of happened all of a sudden,” Jones said. “So I wasn’t even supposed to be on my man, and then I saw him go blow right past me, and I was like, ‘Oh shoot, he’s wide open.’ So I kind of chased after him, and the ball just came to me. So I just reeled it in and just went from there. The whole team is celebrating, the sideline going crazy.”
The season has just started for the War Eagles, and like with all teams they have goals for the rest of the season. The team is willing and ready to push themselves to achieve these goals. Josh Jones spoke on his view on how the team will stay motivated.
“I think we have to overcome adversity and push ourselves beyond that limit that we’ve been limiting ourselves to,” Jones said. “And I think we just have to get better, work harder, and then grow from that and get ready for Friday.”
Even as the final whistle sealed the team’s fate, the stadium still cheered as War Eagle fans were happy to have football back. The team is ready and working hard to face the North Davidson Black Knights this Friday at North Davidson.
