Published: 12:51 AM, Sat Oct 15, 2011
Douglas Byrd stays perfect with 56-12 win over Pine Forest
By Junious Smith III
Correspondent
With Pine Forest crowding the box defensively early on, Douglas Byrd quarterback Breon Davis was asked to step up.
He did, and now the Eagles are one step closer to a conference championship.
Davis threw for five touchdowns as Douglas Byrd defeated Pine Forest 56-12 in a nonconference crosstown duel.
The Eagles (9-0) will clinch at least a tie for the 3-A Cape Fear Valley championship with a win at Southern Lee next Friday.
Davis completed 10 of 20 passes for 175 yards, stretching out a Trojans defense geared to stop the Eagles' vaunted running attack.
"Breon Davis had a great throwing night," Douglas Byrd coach Russell Stone said. "He's as good as a quarterback as I've coached at this school."
Pine Forest (1-8) seemed geared for an upset, shutting down the run while moving the ball with success. The Trojans used a 39-yard field goal by Patrick Woods to take a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Douglas Byrd running back Lorenzo Pooler found a bit of daylight later in the quarter and ran for a 73-yard touchdown. That became the first of five unanswered six-pointers and a 35-3 lead for the Eagles early in the third quarter.
"We had to adjust to Pine Forest's defense early on," Stone said. "Pooler's touchdown run gave us a chance to breathe and see what they were doing."
From that point on Davis took over, leading the Eagles on three consecutive drives with touchdown passes of 26, 30, and 33 yards in the second quarter.
In the third, Davis threw for two more scores, including a 16-yard pass to Kevin Samuels as time expired in the quarter. That pushed the lead to 56-10 after three, and he sat out the final 12 minutes.
"We came out a little sluggish offensively, but the defense picked us up until we could get back to playing good football," Davis said.
The Eagles' defense didn't give up a first down between the time the Trojans scored their first points and their touchdown drive three minutes after halftime.
On Pine Forest's first drive in the third quarter, defensive back Jordan Hill intercepted a Jake Richards pass and took it 26 yards for a touchdown.
"We had to get ourselves together after the first drive," Hill said. "We needed to focus and get back to playing the way we had all season."
Douglas Byrd outgained Pine Forest 406-207, including a 217-60 advantage in the first half.
"When you practice hard, you play hard and we showed it on the field," Pooler said.
Pine Forest's Devonte Baker had 119 yards on the ground on 19 carries. Wide reciever E.J. Williams caught six passes for 75 yards. Pooler had a game-high 151 yards on nine carries.