WS Chronicle

Bryson Canty did everything he could to push the Reagan Raiders over the hump against Davie County last week. Canty and the Raiders fell just short, losing 49-40 against a tough and rugged War Eagle squad.

Canty had an unbelievable stat line against Davie County, rushing for 347 yards and five touchdowns on just 23 carries. If not for leg cramps in the third quarter, he quite possibly would have accounted for more.

“This is how he is every week,” said Josh McGee, Reagan head coach. “He is the best player in the city, and I will back that up with everything that I have. We know what he is capable of doing and tonight he showed it. He has shown it all year long, but unfortunately, he went through that third quarter spell where he was out every other play.  He is just special.”

The War Eagles were led by the tandem of quarterback Alex Summers and running back Tate Carney. Summers threw for 343 yards and three touchdown passes. Carney, reminiscent of the running backs of old, ran for 243 yards and four touchdowns on 47 carries. Carney also added six receptions for an additional 55 yards.

“Anytime you see a running back doing that, it starts with the five guys blocking really well up front and then he is just really good,” McGee said about War Eagle running back Tate Carney. “When you play those guys, you know exactly what you’re going to get. You are going to get him (Carney) 30 to 40 times a game and he is so physical.  

“You’ll make contact at the line of scrimmage and he is going to carry you for three or four more. So, I don’t know if it was anything special they did, it was just they were a little more physical than us.”  

Reagan quarterback Kam Hill put Reagan on the scoreboard first with an early touchdown pass. A missed extra point, that would later prove important, gave the Raiders the early lead. The War Eagles quickly answered with a score of their own when Carney collected his first touchdown run of the evening. Davie County converted the extra point to take the lead.

To begin the second quarter, Hill hit Canty for a bomb down the sideline that set up the Raider offense inside the 5-yard line. Canty punched it in on the next play. Another missed extra point by Reagan gave them a 12-7 lead.

Davie County scored on back-to-back drives and looked to seize control of the game until Canty struck again late in the half. With the Raiders down 21-12 and less than 2 minutes on the clock, Canty made three big runs with the last being a 25-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half, closing the deficit to 21-19.

Canty didn’t waste any time coming out of halftime to make his presence felt. On the second play from scrimmage, he took the handoff from Hill and went right up the gut for an 80-yard touchdown run. The War Eagles quickly answered once again with back-to-back scores of their own, taking advantage of the leg cramps from Canty that contributed to the offensive woes for the Raiders in the third quarter.

“We got the ball to start the half and we went right down, and we scored,” said McGee. “And then the next drive, he (Canty) starts cramping up and that’s when we kind of went through the entire third quarter piecing it together, wondering who’s the next guy, and it kind of got us out of rhythm a little bit.

“We are at our best when we are able to run the football; that’s who we are, and we weren’t able to do that while he was over here on the sideline. Luckily, he was able to get it back in the fourth quarter and when we revved it back up, he started running the football.”

The War Eagles built the lead to 42-27 early in the fourth quarter. The Raiders didn’t hang their heads for long. On the next possession, Hill connected with Canty for another long pass inside the red zone. A few plays later, Canty scored once again. On the first play of the next possession, Canty runs for another touchdown, this time for 70 yards, making it a two-point game at 42-40. A miscue on the two-point conversion prevented a tie by the Raiders.

Davie County converted a fourth down into a touchdown that finally put the game out of reach. The Raiders showed a lot of fight throughout the game, but came up short. McGee was pleased with the effort, but knows there is room for improvement.

“We talked all week about focusing on doing the little things well and we didn’t really do that for 48 minutes,” he said.  “The two missed extra points in the first half got us behind, then you start chasing points. It’s a good football team we played, and Carney is great, but I really like the fight I saw in our guys and we never gave up. It’s just tough to bounce back when you’re giving up a lot of points.”

McGee says his team must continue to keep working to get better and his team will really have a chance to see what they are made of after coming off a tough loss like this one. The Raiders will face East Forsyth tomorrow night.

“It doesn’t get any easier, you just have to keep moving and I’m excited to get in here on Monday and get ready for the next one,” he stated.