Almost Friday- Reagan vs. Davie

Marching orders have been given, cameras recharged and research begun as Finally Friday! heads to Pfafftown for this week's game between the Reagan Raiders and Davie War Eagles.  This is technically my second trip to Reagan, the first being their week one trouncing of the Glenn Bobcats.  At the time, however, there was no blog and @FinallyFri336 was mere hours old.  I also had the privilege of seeing the Raiders on my second trip to North Davidson a couple of weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

ND vs Reagan Pregame

The Stakes

No game in the Central Piedmont conference has more of a "must-win" status than Friday's contest at Reagan High.  The winner grabs sole possession of second place in the conference as our attention moves towards the playoffs.  The loser falls to 2-2 in conference play, possibly needing help to capture third place.  Both teams are sporting identical 7-2 overall records, and have nearly identical scoring averages.  There is only one glaring statistical difference, as the Davie defense has been stingy all season, only allowing 74 points against compared to the 197 allowed by the Raiders. 

However, Reagan may have an advantage in competitive experience.  Davie's two losses were to West Rowan and West Forsyth, the latter being the most glaring hiccup in conference play.  Reagan's two losses came against undefeated state powers East Forsyth and North Davidson, respectively, which may give the Raider squad some added confidence as they prepare this week.

Key Players

For the War Eagles, success in Friday's game rests on two sets of shoulders: Freshman quarterback Cade Carney and the War Eagle defense.  Carney is a recently converted tailback who is now conducting the offense.  Any questions about his ability can be directed to the Mount Tabor Spartan players and coaches, as Carney scored three touchdowns and amassed 155 rushing yards en route to a 24-7 victory last weekend in Mocksville.  On the other side of the ball, the Davie defense is an aggressive, ill-tempered lot that flies to the ball and hits like a rapid orange hammer.  If the Raiders can't get them blocked, the Davie defenders may set up shop in the Raider backfield for the evening.

The Raiders are led by quarterback Ja'Shawn Joyner and his backfield mate Josh Brice.  Joyner is a tremendous all-purpose athlete with a who demonstrates confident command of his offense, while Brice is a speedy tailback whose most recent achievement was a 4-touchdown performance against Reynolds last week.  Joyner has a good arm and the ability to throw deep if needed, aided by receivers Caleb Anthony and Dakota Pinnix.  The onus for this game, however, will be on the Reagan defense.  They are an athletic, well-coached bunch who I enjoy watching pursue the football.  It is imperative that they bring their 'A' game to stop the Davie rushing attack.

Help Wanted!

This season, student sections across Forsyth County have been introduced to the way Finally Friday! likes to cover football.  As the blog has grown, I've enjoyed adding more and more content to my weekly coverage of the games.  Ask Davie- man, did we have a good time last Friday!

The only school that hasn't had the Finally Friday! treatment yet is Reagan, and I'm anxious to get that done. I've already arranged for my man Dana from www.DEWshots.com to come and shoot the game for us.  If you haven't already, I would check his website out and see the magic he worked for the North Davidson/Reagan game from a couple weeks back.  I also want to do a Pop Quiz! with a current Reagan student.  Interested?  Shoot me an email at finallyfriday@outlook.com. 

We LOVE video here, and we're going to go nuts these last couple of weeks.  Aside from catching the Raiders entrance to the field and the awesome Raider band, I can guarantee you I'll be over at the student section filming and doing interviews with the student leaders...and everyone else.  Here's a hint:  let a brotha know what the theme is for the week.  I love to help out!

For updates throughout the week, make sure you follow @FinallyFri336.  You never know what else I'll think up.  I get bored easy, just like you do.  Feel free to comment or drop me a line and let me know if YOU have any ideas.  Until then, see you Friday!

-John