Coming off a 30-20 win against West Rowan, Davie football looked to continue the momentum this past Friday at home against Pinecrest, which was also 1-1. Although the defense was able to play stellar all night, and the offense had explosive plays, the War Eagles fell short 13-10 after a last-minute drive was stalled with a fumble that ended the game.
Davie controlled the game for most of the night as the offense scored 10 points in the first quarter and the defense was able to shut down Pinecrest’s offense and hold them to 7 points through three quarters. The defense was also able to force 3 turnovers, but junior linebacker Elijah Chaffin says, “it’s less about the turnovers, it’s more that each guy starting to trust the other 10 players, and then stepping up and being able to know the other teammates on the field are doing the same.”
On the offensive side of the ball, Davie managed big contributions early from junior running back Braxton Bowling, whose 73-yard touchdown put Davie up 10-7. On top of that, they were able to get big throws and catches down the field from senior quarterback Aiden Hall and Ethan Driver, senior wide receiver. Despite these big gains in yardage, they weren’t able to convert in the end zone.. Junior kicker Dylan Cassetta missed a pair of field goals. Driver described the offense after the game as “taking the positives with the negatives.”
“The offensive line was playing much better, and we were able to drive the ball down the field better, but as a team, we have got to finish the drives,” Driver says.
Pinecrest, on the other hand, was also held at bay with 7 points until the fourth quarter. An early 2-yard rushing touchdown put the Patriots ahead of the War Eagles 7-3, but they were held scoreless for two quarters, until they were able to convert on fourth down and later capitalize on that to score another rushing touchdown to go up 13-10 late in the fourth quarter. After this, Davie had a chance to come back after the Pinecrest touchdown, but the drive was stopped short of the endzone after a fumble stalled the potential game-winning drive.
Looking ahead to next week, Davie will look to get back in the win column as they travel to Oak Grove this Friday at 7:00.