D.J. McCain brought up the rear of the postgame handshake line last night, stopping to clasp the hand of every one of his opponents.
"Thank you," said Mccain, a Mount Tabor running back, smiling away. "Congratulations. Y'all showed good sportsmanship. Y'all are good."
It wasn't sarcasm. It was genuine. On nearly three dozen carries, McCain fought and scrapped for everything against a stiff Davie County defense. But in the end he prevailed, running for two touchdowns as Mount Tabor got a much-needed 14-11 victory on homecoming.
McCain, who finished with 129 yards on 35 carries, didn't let the praise stop there.
"I've got to congratulate the other team, congratulate my line, congratulate the fans," McCain said. "I'll congratulate everybody. I'm just happy."
Riding McCain's legs and positive vibes, Mount Tabor kept alive its bid for an eighth straight conference title and bounced back from a tough loss to first-place Reynolds last week.
The Spartans are 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference with two games to play.
Despite knowing his team will need help to win the conference again, McCain is, well, optimistic.
"Hopefully make it to the playoffs and make it to the (state) championship game," he said.
Davie County suffered yet another close loss, falling to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
The War Eagles lost 13-7 in overtime to West Forsyth last week.
"I'm getting tired of giving the same speech: ‘We're so close. We're so close,' " said Coach Doug Illing of Davie County. "We've just got to do the little things."
Mount Tabor controlled most of the game, running 65 offensive plays and piling up 18 first downs. McCain scored a touchdown in each half. The defense, led by linemen Mat Turner and Chris Manns, held Davie County to 2 yards rushing on 25 carries.
If not for 75 yards in penalties and three turnovers (two in Davie County territory), the Spartans could have secured the win earlier. But after McCain's second touchdown -- a 7-yard run -- made it 14-3 early in the fourth quarter, Mount Tabor missed a 39-yard field goal.
Then, with 1:34 remaining, Davie County scored on a hook and lateral. Quarterback Carson Herndon threw a 12-yard pass to James Wallace, who tossed a lateral to the forward-moving Nick Bohammon, who ran the remaining 25 yards for the score. Herndon then connected with Darius Wilson on the 2-point conversion to pull the War Eagles within a field goal.
But Mount Tabor locked down the onside kick attempt. Two plays later, McCain had what appeared to be a 52-yard touchdown called back because of holding. That didn't temper his enthusiasm, though. After the Spartans ran out the clock, McCain held up both hands, hugged a few teammates, smiled at the crowd, and hugged anyone on the Davie County roster he could find.
"When those lights are on, 7:30 on Friday is his favorite time of the week," Mount Tabor coach Laymarr Marshall said of his senior running back.
Davie 0 3 0 8 -- 11
Mount Tabor 7 0 0 7 -- 14
MT – McCain 2 run (Furr kick)
D – FG Parrish 22
MT – McCain 7 run (Furr kick)
D – Bohannon 25 run (Wilson pass from Herndon)
Records – Davie 3-6, 0-3 Central Piedmont 4-A; Mount Tabor 6-3, 2-1 Piedmont Triad 4-A.
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