Coaches, players call Davidson Day's 104-80 football victory unbelievable

Both Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.) and Harrells Christian Academy (Harrells) coaches said they expected a high-scoring football game Friday night. But 184 points? A national-record 837 passing yards from one player? A probable national mark of 1,641 total yards?

Preposterous. Ridiculous. Unfathomable.

But it was all true and then some in host Davidson Day's 104-80 North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association Division 2 semifinal victory on Friday night.

"It was Play Station stuff," Davidson Day coach Chad Grier said Saturday morning.



Yes, the two teams alone combined for more points than four NBA games on Friday night. It wasn't the highest scoring game in history — according to the NFHS record book, eight teams alone have scored more than 184 in a single game (all before 1930 however) — but the four-hour contest definitely kept score keepers scrambling and left stat keepers exhausted.

Not to mention the players and coaches.

"I don't really have good words to describe it," Grier said. "If I didn't see it myself, I probably would not have believed it. I just feel it's unbelievable."

Grier said that as his team reached 60, 70, 80 then 90 points, he kept asking good friend and defensive coordinator Dave Serepca if that would be enough to win the game.

"When we got to 104, I told him (tongue in cheek) if that wasn't enough he was fired," Grier said.

Harrells coach Brian Aldridge was equally amazed.



"We expected a lot of points and knew it would come down to possessions," he said. "Who would ever expect that? That's unheard of. We just didn't show up on defense. They just caught the ball and ran away from us. When they got the ball it was - boom."

Many stars emerged from all the offensive explosions.

* The biggest no doubt was Davidson Day 6-foot-3, 192-pound junior quarterback Will Grier, who completed 35 of 42 for a national record 837 yards. It was originally reported he threw for 774 but after an exhaustive review of tape Saturday morning it was revealed he went for 63 yards more.

The coach's son shattered the previous mark of 764 set in 2000 by Pacific Palisades quarterback David Koral.

"I just focused on taking care of the ball and moving down field," Will Grier told us Saturday. "My line (which included three freshmen) did an amazing job all night. We had 16 or 17 possessions. As the season progressed they have gotten better and better."

He called the record "Awesome, amazing - really a blessing. I never have worried about stats."



Chad Grier said that's true.

"Will just truly understands our scheme - the whole process - and is able to do a lot of things in a hurry," he said. "He did a fantastic job of recognizing blitzes and making adjustments."

Aldridge also paid tribute to the opposing quarterback.

"The kid is phenomenal," he said. "He runs their offense well and has got quality receivers. They took advantage of what we gave them."

More standouts and numbers:

* Davidson Day running back Jordan Brown, a quick 5-8, 165-pound junior, caught 13 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns. While Harrells was concentrating on top receiver Aaron Seward, Brown took advantage.



Seward wasn't exactly contained, with six catches for 221 yards. Glen Coates (5-105), Jordan Young (6-97) and Michael Stevens (5-92) also had big games for Davidson Day.

* Harrells brilliant 6-foot, 202-pound senior running back Russell Washington ran 45 times for 438 yards and seven touchdowns.

He wasn't alone. Kelly Nelms rushed 16 times for 170 yards and Channing Kelly (12-79).

* Davidson Day piled up 924 yards, which is second most in prep history. The record is 937 set by St. Stanislaus (Bay St. Louis, Miss.) in 2012. Davidson Day became just the third team ever to pile up more than 900 yards.

* Harrells added 717 yards, which means the two squads amassed 1,641. (The NFHS record book doesn't log most total offense in one game but considering only nine teams have surpassed 800 in a game, it's likely it is the record). The teams came into the game as the nation's leading passing and rushing squads in the nation.

See Qwixcore game log



Asked what he can for an encore, Will Grier replied, "The only thing I've got on my mind is a 'W.' Our goal from the beginning was to win the state championship."

That opportunity will materialize Friday when the Patriots (10-2) travel to Asheville to play unbeaten and top-seeded Christ School (Arden, N.C.) for the NCISAA Division 2 state title.