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In a battle between two unbeaten and high-scoring DII-AA rivals, many likely expected Friday night’s game between Davidson Academy and FRA to produce a ton of points. That wasn’t the case for half of the night though.
Following a first half that only produced nine total points, both offenses finally started to click in the third quarter. FRA’s attack had just a little more juice thanks to the play of Bobby Council and Ty Clark III. Between four total touchdowns between those two, the Panthers pulled away in the second half to secure the pivotal 34-19 win.
“This sort of win brings a lot of confidence to the team going forward for sure,” Counsil said. “All week we knew it was going to be a tough game and we knew it was going to be great competition. It was a great team win that brought us together.
…this was one of our toughest games especially being a region game. We came out on top and it gives us confidence going into the next few weeks.”
Council was a weapon in nearly every phase of the game for the Panthers Friday night.
While he handled the punting duties and only had to do that a few times, he did most of his damage on the defensive side of the ball. FRA racked up 10 sacks as a team keeping Davidson Academy quarterback Knox Roberts uncomfortable all night.
Council recorded three of those sacks and was involved in some way on most of the Panthers’ tackles. Offensively he hauled in a long reception that set up one of Clark’s three rushing touchdowns. He also hauled in a 77-yard touchdown reception.
“Bobby’s a dawg no matter where you put him on the field,” Clark said. “We’ve got him at running back, defensive end, punter, he does everything. We need him as a key factor for us.”
Clark’s efforts weren’t to be outdone. While Davidson Academy did a good enough job bottling him up in the first half, he was able to find the end zone once after two quarters.
The second half is where Clark began to put things together. After Davidson Academy reclaimed the lead early in the quarter, FRA marched down the field and capped off a quick drive with another short touchdown run from Clark. He scored his final touchdown of the night on a 25-yard scamper in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
“He’s just phenomenal,” FRA coach Justin Geisinger said of Clark. “He’s probably our top ambassador of the school. How he handles his business on and off the field is what makes him an elite football player.
…When you can hand him the football at the end of a game and break someone’s back with your four-minute offense, I’m an offensive lineman by trade, that’s an offensive lineman’s dream. He’s a special kid.”
