By Brian Pitts

For the Salisbury Post

CLEMMONS —Davie County’s football team was inches — literally — from pulling a huge shocker here last night.
Davie and West Forsyth played an all-time thriller in the storied rivalry, but the War Eagles walked off with an excruciating, 20-17 loss after the Titans stuffed a fourth-and-inches run from the West 4-yard line with 36 seconds remaining.
West stayed perfect at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the Central Piedmont Conference. Davie slipped to 4-4 and 1-1.
The defenses ruled the first half. JaQuan McMillian’s 55-yard catch-and-run set up Mack Duke’s 4-yard touchdown run, and the extra point gave West a 7-0 halftime lead.
Davie took control in the third quarter. West was called for pass interference on a deep ball to receiver Cooper Wall, and Skyler Schoppe nailed a 37-yard field goal to put Davie on the board with 5:05 left in the third period.
West went three-and-out and Davie’s momentum grew. Josh Robinson picked up 20 yards on an option pitch from quarterback Josh Hall, and Davie had first down at the West 5-yard line. Peyton Hampton would punch it in as Davie grabbed a 10-7 lead in the final minute of the third.
On the next play from scrimmage, West’s All-America defensive end, K.J. Henry, made a cameo appearance at receiver and had his hands on a long pass. He lost the handle and cornerback Samuel Hendrix came down with the deflection, the interception putting Davie at the West 39.
The War Eagles had the Titans on the ropes, but they committed a 14-yard holding penalty on a second-and-2 pass play and Davie eventually had to punt.
The Titans took advantage, driving 86 yards — all on the ground — in seven plays to regain a 13-10 lead. (They botched the PAT.)
Davie answered in the blink of an eye. Wall returned the kickoff to midfield, a 15-yard late hit was tacked on and Robinson scored on first down, using a beautiful spin move to motor 35 yards to the end zone. Davie had a 17-13 lead with 8:09 to go.
West had the answer, covering 78 yards in nine plays, taking a 20-17 lead with 4:05 left.
Davie came right back. After Mason Wilson delivered a nice return on the kickoff, Hall connected with Wall and Wilson to move the chains to the West 33. On third-and-9, Wilson reeled in an incredible catch for 19 yards to the West 13. Robinson ran for 5 and 4 yards to the West 4. On third-and-1, Hall faked a handoff and ran a keeper that Henry foiled for little gain.
Now it was fourth-and-inches at the West 4. Davie called timeout with 36 seconds on the clock. When Davie showed it was not attempting a tying field goal and was going for the dagger, West called timeout.  Robinson got the handoff over left tackle. He was stuffed for no gain.
Davie played its tail off and came up just short.
“You look in your kids’ eyes,” Davie coach Tim Devericks said of the decision to kick or go for it. “They said: ‘Coach, don’t kick this field goal.’ I thought about it again and two other people said: ‘Coach, don’t kick the field goal.’ Give credit to their guys for making a play.”