Davis shakes off pregame jitters to shine

Published 12:47 am Saturday, November 18, 2006

Along the trip north from Atlanta to Dalton on Friday afternoon, not all was well with St. Pius X sophomore tailback Jonathan Davis.

“I was so nervous about the game I threw up — right on the bus,” he said. “Right then, I had a feeling I’d have a pretty good game.”

Davis was a one-man wrecking ball for the Golden Lions in the first half, throwing a 34-yard touchdown pass and rushing for another to lead Pius past the No. 10 Catamounts at Harmon Field.

The shifty sophomore tallied 104 yards rushing on 13 carries and had several tackles from his linebacker spot on defense.

“He had a championship caliber game,” said Lions head coach Paul Standard. “He gave us momentum with his runs and made plenty of plays on defense, as well. We’re very proud of him.”

Davis scooted for 19 yards on Pius’ second play from scrimmage and maintained a steady rhythm. On the second play of the second quarter, Lions quarterback Dylan Knight pitched right to Davis, who pulled up and lofted a touchdown pass to wideout Evan Ferrell for the first points fof the game.

“We practiced that play for five weeks,” Standard said. “I just never had the gumption to run it. Jonathan did a great job on the play.”

Davis is now 1-for-1 in passes thrown in a varsity football game.

“I just read the play, saw my guy open and tried to make a good throw,” he said. “By then, I really wasn’t that nervous anymore.”

Davis continued to give Pius forward momentum when he took a toss sweep into the end zone with 2:21 left in the first half, putting Evan Ferrell for the first points of the game.

“We practiced that play for five weeks,” Standard said. “I just never had the gumption to run it. Jonathan did a great job on the play.”

Davis is now 1-for-1 in passes thrown in a varsity football game.

“I just read the play, saw my guy open and tried to make a good throw,” he said. “By then, I really wasn’t that nervous anymore.”

Davis continued to make things happen for the Lions when he took a toss sweep into the end zone with 2:21 left in the first half, putting the Lions (9-2) up by two touchdowns.

“He played football like you’re supposed to play it on both sides of the ball,” said Dalton coach Ronnie McClurg. “He was the real deal, a complete football player and I knew that coming in.”

Davis was helped off the field with a rolled ankle with 11:01 to play in the third quarter, but soon came back to burn Dalton on a 39-yard kickoff return.

“I felt a pop in the ankle and they worked on me on the sideline,” he said. “I feel OK and I’ll start treatment for it tomorrow.

“I’m just glad we’re moving on to the next round. I feel like we got something going right now.”