Bunn quarterback Andre' Davis (12) looks to cut back against the North Johnston defense. MICHAEL MCLOON - newsobserver.com
KENLY -- Andre' Davis lines up at quarterback now for Bunn, but that's not his real position, Wildcat coach Chris Miller says.
Davis proved his coach right Friday night in Bunn's 27-13 victory over previously unbeaten North Johnston.
Davis scored the Wildcats' first three touchdowns, intercepted three North passes and recovered a fumble in a Northern Carolina 2-A Conference early-season showdown.
"Andre' is a great athlete, first and foremost," Miller said. "He has great leadership off of the field and shows great leadership on the field with the way he plays, like he showed tonight."
The Panthers (6-1 overall, 1-1 conference) turned the ball over seven times on the night and couldn't take advantage of most of the 21 penalties enforced on Bunn (5-1, 1-0) on the night.
Davis' first touchdown run came on a 47-yard run with 6:26 to play in the first quarter. The run capped a drive that had been kept alive by a North Johnston personal foul call on fourth-and-6 from inside of the Wildcats' 20-yard-line.
Davis picked off a pass on North's next drive but fumbled it back to the Panthers. No worries, though, as his Wildcat defensive backfield mate Tyler Brandenburg picked off another North pass three plays later.
"These cats are all sophomores and juniors and they're still learning," said North coach Tom Nelson of his team. "The mistakes we made tonight were costly. But we'll learn and come back stronger for it."
On the next play, Davis broke free on a 27-yard TD run. Freeman Jones' extra-point put Bunn up 14-0 with 28.8 seconds to play in the first quarter.
North Johnston started to move the ball on the ground on the Wildcats' defense in the second quarter, driving inside of the 20 twice but a missed connection on a pitch out in the backfield bounced away from North's Joe Price.
Davis finished the night with 133 yards rushing on 14 carries.
After two Bunn players missed out on chances to scoop the ball up, Davis picked up the ball at the 33 and sprinted away on a 67-yard return for a touchdown.
The Panthers quickly moved the ball inside of the 10-yard-line in the final 30 seconds of the half and the Wildcats' defense held for a field goal attempt. But the Panthers' couldn't get the kick off.
North Johnston started to find its offensive scoring touch in the second half, cutting the lead to 20-7 on a in the third quarter on a 26-yard TD pass from Boone Langley to Lawerence Daniels. But Bunn was able to answer on its ensuing drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Quinton Cannady for a 27-7 lead.
The Panthers' Joe Price had a 5-yard TD run with 2:22 to play to get North within 27-13.
Malik Adams ran for 102 yards for North.
Wildcats' senior defensive back Tyler Brandenburg intercepted two North Johnston passes as well.
