It’s 21-21 entering the fourth quarter at Frank Hill Stadium. The Ninety Six Wildcats are in Emerald Viking territory, attempting to take the lead and win the game. It would be the first time in five years that the Wildcats took down the Vikings.
In an instant, the whole stadium went silent. Star quarterback Braden Mitchell hit the turf, screaming in agony with an apparent lower leg injury. Fans and teammates alike joined in prayer for the senior, including his backup Carver Davis.
Davis, however, is much more than just a backup quarterback.
“(Davis) is too good of an athlete to only have him as a backup quarterback,” said Wildcat head coach Matthew Bennett. “He’s been playing wingback, safety, and corner, but he’s been getting ready at quarterback since we got here.”
In only the week 0 matchup against Emerald, Davis took the field at five different positions: receiver, safety, corner, punter, and most importantly, quarterback.
Davis took over the reigns of Coach Bennett’s offense just a few plays into the fourth quarter with the game tied.
“I was pretty nervous, I can’t lie,” said Davis. “I messed the first play up, but after that I started to get in my groove.”
In his groove indeed, Davis led the Wildcats to the goal line where he handed it off to Zay King for a touchdown, and the lead.
“I didn’t doubt Carver at all once he went in,” said Mitchell. “I see how hard he works. He wants to win just as bad as I do.”
Now, it’s back to defense for Davis. The Vikings would march their way down the field for a touchdown, but would miss the game-tying extra point attempt.
With about four minutes left, the Vikings defied the odds by recovering an onside kick. It would be up to Davis and the Wildcat defense to hold strong and preserve the victory.
And they did just that.
“Honestly, it felt like a dream,” said Davis. “When I saw (Mitchell) go down, I just started praying, and the Lord gave me the strength to pull it out for my team.”
Davis also pulled out a victory for Coach Bennett in his first ever game at the helm of the Wildcats. According to Bennett, there’s no one more deserving of success.
“He’s the most high character kid in our program,” said Bennett. “If we can’t trust him with the ball in a big moment, then we aren’t going to be very good.”