By Brian Pitts

For the Salisbury Post

MOCKSVILLE – Davie County junior quarterback Chris Reynolds threw a 25-yard touchdown to Ben Ellis, just two minutes into last night’s home game against Hopewell.
That was a warm up.
Reynolds tossed three more TDs — two more to Ellis and one to Cooper Wall — to match a single-game record for the War Eagles, who were vastly superior in a 48-24 romp over the Titans. Only five other Davie quarterbacks have thrown four touchdown passes in a game, and Reynolds turned the trick for the first time in four years.
While the Titans tumbled to 1-4 with their fourth straight loss, Davie improved to 2-3 with its second decisive win in a row. It was the first-ever meeting between the teams, and it was Davie’s final tune-up for conference play.
Reynolds put up gaudy numbers as Davie jumped ahead, 21-0, in the first quarter and led, 41-10, at the end of the third period. Not only did Reynolds complete nine of 16 passes for 167 yards, he ran 12 times for a game-high 138 yards.
On the game’s first possession, Reynolds went 3-for-3 in the air for 58 yards, ending with the 25-yard strike to a wide-open Ellis, giving Davie a 7-0 lead. On Davie’s second series — a 12-play, 79-yard march — the War Eagles had 11 running plays on the way to a 13-0 advantage. You could see the wipeout coming when the first quarter ended with Davie at 165 yards of offense to Hopewell’s 37.
Davie led 28-10 at halftime.
“That’s what you get with Chris,” Davie coach Devore Holman said. “He’s a smart, heady guy that can spin the ball real well and also can run the ball. So we’re fortunate in that aspect.
“I think (offensive coordinator Todd Bumgarner) did a great job of play-calling and putting us in a position to be successful.”
The second half was uneventful, defined mostly by a steady stream of penalty flags. Hopewell scored twice on long pass plays in the final 10 minutes for some window dressing.
The War Eagles racked up 24 first downs, put up 453 total yards, punted just once and won the turnover battle, 3-0. Although Davie’s defense yielded 299 passing yards, it was outstanding against the run. Hopewell only managed four first downs after halftime, and it was held to 34 rushing yards for the game. Hopewell quarterback Justin Morrell had a nice game (15 of 33 for 299 yards and three TDs), but he was picked off by safety Caleb Wallace in the opening minutes when Davie was setting the tone.
The defenders making the most plays in the decisive first half were linebackers Cody Hendrix and lineman Jarrell Farmer.
“Hendrix is smart and does what he’s coached to do,” Holman said. “Our future is bright with (Hendrix, James Boyle and Broc Barnette at linebacker).
“Little is kamikaze. I’m going to tell you, he plays with reckless abandon. He doesn’t mind getting you on the ground.
“As for Farmer, the play that stuck out in my mind: The guy hit the sideline and Jarrell ran from down here, took a great angle and made a tackle about 35 yards down the field. So that’s what I’m most proud of — his hustle on plays like that.”
Davie’s first Central Piedmont Conference game is next week against a Reynolds team that is enjoying a rebirth under a new coach. Davie has won the past five meetings.
“Every week is a dogfight in the CPC,” Holman said.