CLEMMONS
When Kersey Anthony powered into the end zone from a yard out in overtime last night, and players threw their helmets and hopped and hugged, and students charged onto the field to do the same, the rest of it didn't matter anymore to West Forsyth's Titans.
It didn't matter that they had five turnovers. It didn't matter that they had exactly as many penalty yards against them as they did total offensive yards for them. It didn't matter that they didn't really look much like the sixth-ranked team in the state.
All that mattered was that they'd beaten their cross-river rival Davie County 13-7 and pushed their unblemished record to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference.
"It wasn't pretty," said Coach Adrian Snow of West Forsyth. "But like I told (the team), a W's a W. They can call it what they want to. But it goes into the column on the left."
It was the second straight overtime win for the Titans. But unlike in their 37-31 heart-stopper against North Davidson last week, they won this one solely with defense and special teams. They forced four turnovers, including a fumble in overtime, and held Davie to 108 total yards.
Offensively, four of West's five turnovers came on interceptions of quarterback Patrick Midkiff, who was the star in the North Davidson win. The Titans had 105 total yards, including the 10 in overtime, matching their 105 penalty yards.
West Forsyth's only score in regulation came when defensive tackle Andrew Kibler blocked a punt and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
After forcing Davie County (3-5, 0-2 Piedmont Triad 4-A) into a punt, Midkiff threw an interception to War Eagles standout linebacker Jared Barber. Barber returned the ball 63 yards to the West Forsyth 2.
On the next play, Davie's Alex Montgomery plunged into the end zone to tie the game with 7:30 to play.
The teams then had a turnover and punt apiece, setting up overtime.
West won the toss and chose to defend.
In the dual-possession format from the 10-yard line, Davie's Montgomery took the first play and ran it 9 yards to the West 1. But then Davie quarterback Carson Herndon, starting in place of Jacob Barber, who suffered a concussion in the War Eagles' loss to Reynolds last week, fumbled an exchange with Montgomery.
West's David Boyd wrestled the fumble away from everyone to set up the winning score.
"The quarterback and the running back collided and it knocked the ball loose," said Coach Doug Illing of Davie. "How many times do we run that play in practice for the last two years? What a time for us to collide."
Davie was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, setting West up at the 5-yard line. Anthony took the first two handoffs for two yards each, then plunged in from the 1, making everyone forget everything else.
"I talk to our kids about being a family," said Snow. "People have got to pick people up. When your brother, something bad happens to him, you've got to pick people up."
Davie 0 0 0 7 0 -- 7
West 0 0 0 7 6 -- 13
W – Kibler 10 blocked punt return (Price kick)
D – Montgomery 2 run (Cusack kick)
W – Anthony 1 run (no kick)
Records – Davie 3-5, 0-2 Central Piedmont 4-A; West Forsyth 8-0, 2-0 Piedmont Triad 4-A.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement