#4 was a tough decision but since there is no such thing as a morale victory the Black Knights shocking come from behind win over Davie County beat out the West Forsyth overtime game to grab the 4th spot.
The Black Knights win pushed them into the playoffs and stopped North’s arch rival Davie’s season on Palmer Field.
It doesn’t matter what is written in this article; words cannot describe the most unbelievable comeback witnessed in years at Palmer Field. North Davidson was down by two touchdowns with less than eight minutes to play. Judging by the way the game had gone for the first three quarters there was no reason to believe the Black Knights could ever come back to make this one respectible let alone win. Believe one thing; North Davidson played the best seven minutes of the entire season tonight in the fourth quarter. Oh by the way; what better time to do it than on Senior Knight!
Davie’s first drive consisted of a huge pass completion to Darius Wilson and Nick Bohannon pounding the ball on the ground. Jacob Barber capped the drive off with a touchdown run followed by a Woody Parrish extra point. The War Eagles took a 7-0 lead with 6:38 left to play in the first quarter.
Brennon Dodd ran for 16 yards on the first play of the series. Dodd then pitched the ball back to Tevin Tuttle who threw the halfback pass 49 yards to Bryce Williams. On third and goal from the fourteen yard line Dodd found Williams for a 14 yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked and the score was now 7-6.
The War Eagles went three and out on their next possession and were forced to punt. The Black Knights took over from their own 49 yard line. After a loss of three and a holding penalty North found themselves staring at third and long. Dodd went to the air once again and Tuttle made an outstanding catch for a 25 yard gain and a first down. Dodd then airs it out for another 27 yards to Charles Brunson who made a nice move to pick up the extra yardage. North was stopped in the red zone and had to settle for a Shawn Williams field goal from 27 yards out. The Black Knights were now up 9-7.
The Black Knight defense was not dominated by any one player in particular tonight. This was the most balanced defense they have played all year. Jeff Raines was coming off his best game of the year last week and did not dissapoint tonight either with several big plays on defense and a whale of a hit on an on side kick in the fourth quarter. More on that later.
Davie’s Barber was forced to run more than usual as the Black Knights secondary coverage was beefed up against the War Eagles
The entire “D” line stepped up as well as a variety of plays made by the defensive backfield. Tackles were made when tackles were needed by BJ Smith, Dodd, Nagel, Mayton, Noe, Falcon and Wilson. Ethan Wagner had a huge night as did Hinson and Berrier. Shawn Williams even had a touchdown saving tackle on a kick off return. North had to suck it up and play without Joe Farrell and Dillon Watson who were injured in last week’s game.
The War Eagles however made some impressive plays to pull away from the Black Knights early on. Joe Watson made a nice grab for a 34 yard reception that set up a 7 yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Wallace. The point after was no good, but Davie now held a 16-9 lead at the half.
Davie wasted no time in the third quarter getting on the board after Barber went 15 yards for a first down on fourth and eight. He then hit Darius Wilson with another touchdown pass. Parrish’s kick was good and the lead increased to 23-9 with 7:07 left in the third quarter.
On their next series of downs North Davidson ate up over six minutes off the clock, but turned the ball over on downs inside the War Eagle’s ten yard line. The Black Knight defense turned up the heat and Davie was forced to punt.
Josh Moser celebrates after his touchdown
North Davidson got the ball back at the 44 yard line of Davie. With the War Eagles focusing on Bryce Williams and BJ Smith, Dodd went the other way to Josh Moser for a huge 44 yard touchdown catch for the senior on his night. Shawn Williams converted the PAT and the score was now 23-16 with 10:48 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Black Knight defense had held once again and the War Eagles were facing a fourth and seven from their own 22. The punting team took the field and North was hoping to get good field position and tie the game. Not so fast sports fans! Davie called a fake punt that caught everyone in Davidson County off guard and Alex Newman went 78 yards for a War Eagle touchdown. That young man can flat fly as he went streaking down field so fast the wind chill made it ten degrees colder.
The Black Knight Nation hung their heads in fear of another conference loss that would ruin Senior Knight for many on this night. But wait a minute; the Black Knight team wasn’t hanging their heads and neither were the coaches. It was do or die time and something came over this team that no one expected.
The offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage on the run and the pass. Dodd hit Bryce Williams for a first down on fourth and three like it was nothing. He then hit Williams for 16, and then again for 18. Ryan Morgan grabbed a pass for 7 yards and appeared to be in the end zone, but the ball was placed at the one. How fitting it was for Trevor Hinson to pound it in from the one to pick up the touchdown on Senior Knight. Shawn Willaims hit the extra point to pull within a touchdown.
With 4:45 left to play everyone inside the confines of Palmer Field knew the on side kick was inevitable. Shawn Williams executed it perfectedly and Jeff Raines laid a punishing blow to the War Eagle front line reciever as he touched the ball. As the pile cleared the stands erupted as Hinson had come up with the ball at the 47 yard line of Davie.
Freshmen Andrew Mayton stuck the dagger in the heart of the War Eagles with a game ending sack.
Dodd quickly went to the big man, Bryce Williams, once again for a 27 yard gain. Dodd ran for 7 yards on two plays before hitting Brunson for 7 yards and a first down at the six yard line. It came down to fourth and goal at the three with the game on the line. Dodd hit none other than Bryce Williams for a three yard touchdown pass to pull within one.
This game had been loaded with trick plays all night. From the halfback pass by the Black Knights to the fake punt by Davie that seemed to have put the nail in the coffin of North. But no one expected what was about to happen. As the Black Knights lined up for the extra point to tie the game there was complete silence.
When North’s holder, Josh Moser, stood up and pitched the ball back to Shawn Williams the next three seconds seemed to last an eternity. The long legged lanky kicker made a little shake and bake move as he crossed the goal line for the two point conversion. The Black Knights had just taken the lead with less than two minutes to play and the crowd went nuts.
The kick off went to the speedster Alex Newman, but Chris Nagel would drop him at the 18 yard line. Davie picked up a crucial first down on fourth and 12 as Barber scrambled for 21 yards. After Berrier tipped a pass across the middle that would have given Davie good field position, freshman Andrew Mayton sacked the quarter back for a huge loss. Trevor Hinson would make the last tackle as time expired and it was pandimonium for the Black Knight Nation.
As the players, coaches and cheerleaders gathered in the center of the field to reflect on the night’s events, Coach Holcomb said it best. You guys never gave up on yourselves or your team mates. You played hard for four quarters and never lost hope.
Bryce Williams was crying tears of joy as he had just helped his senior team mates defeat Davie by catching 7 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. When I asked his twin brother Shawn how scared he was running the ball on the two point conversion he said he wasn’t. He said he was more nervous about having to kick the ball for the tie. He knew if he got one good block and was able to get outside there was no way he wasn’t crossing the goal line.
Brennon Dodd capped his regular senior season off with 104 yards rushing, 159 yards passing with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.
North Davidson has secured a spot in the play-offs and will find out tomorrow where they will play. There is a good chance that they will be playing close by with tonight’s win, so the Black Knight Faithful will be expected to show up in full force.
Congratulations to the players and coaches on an outstanding come back win that will be remembered for years to come. Good luck in the play-offs and as usual… GO BLACK KNIGHTS!!!
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