By Brian Pitts

For the Salisbury Post

KERNERSVILLE — In a critical Central Piedmont Conference game at East Forsyth Friday night, Davie County could do nothing right — and for the second week in a row, the War Eagles suffered their worst league loss in three years.
East parlayed a trick play and Davie mistakes into a 21-0 halftime lead, and the Eagles coasted to a 35-7 blowout in a matchup that was billed a toss-up.
East improved to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in the CPC. Davie’s third straight loss dropped it to 4-6, 1-3.
Stats can deceive. Both teams had 11 first downs in the first half, but shellshocked Davie found itself behind by 21 points.
On East’s first possession, it faced fourth-and-1 from its 46-yard line. Coach Todd Willert called for a fake punt, and it worked to perfection. The up man, Ronald Jackson, took the snap as the punter feinted a high snap. Jackson went up the middle for 54 untouched yards to the end zone.
Davie seemed destined for a game-tying drive. QB Josh Hall’s 18-yard hookup with receiver Cooper Wall moved the ball to the East 15, and 5-yard runs by Mason Wilson and Peyton Hampton gave Davie first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, early in the second quarter. On first down, Josh Robinson was cut down at the line of scrimmage. On second down, Hall’s pass was picked off by Khalid Martin.
Instead of a 7-7 game, Davie’s 80-yard drive ended disastrously on the 13th play. Following the game’s only turnover, fired-up East promptly marched 90 yards in 10 plays to take a 14-0 lead.
Another game-turning play came later in the second quarter. Wilson broke up a third-and-14 pass but was called for pass interference. Instead of punting to Davie, East got new life and capitalized with Brandon Bullins’ 26-yard TD pass to Mizell Hall.
It may have been a 7-7 or 14-7 game at the break, but instead, East was in total command.
In the second half, East drove 65 and 66 yards for touchdowns that widened the gap to 35-0. Davie finally got on the board with 5:43 remaining, with Robinson running for a total of 69 yards on consecutive plays. His 15-yard score prevented Davie’s first shutout loss since the 2010 4A championship game against Hillside.
The Eagles delivered their most complete game of the season, piling up 463 yards and 23 first downs with a balanced, turnover-free attack. They converted two fourth downs, never punted and converted 6 of 10 third downs. While Jaelon Maxie and Chris Chaplin combined for 157 rushing yards, Bullins was an efficient 13 of 18 for 214 yards and two TDs.
Davie was rocked despite 19 first downs and 307 yards. Robinson (13 carries for 111 yards) produced Davie’s top rushing performance of the year, and Adrian Cranfill ran for a season-high 63 yards on seven carries. Four of Hall’s seven completions went to Wall.
This was the War Eagles’ worst CPC loss since a 59-29 decision against North Davidson in 2014. It was their fewest points in a CPC game in seven years (Mt. Tabor beat Davie 34-0 in 2010). And this was the worst loss of any kind since 56-14 at Dudley in 2015.