DANVILLE – The conditions were better suited for mudskippers and fiddler crabs.
But the Danville Blue Devils had business to take complete. They had a conference title to win. They had a perfect record to preserve. And they had a trophy to keep.
It took overtime, but they managed to do all three.
With rain pouring on a saturated field at Tough Street Stadium, Walker Weckesser put the Blue Devils on his shoulders and steered his team to a 14-12 victory over arch-rival East Knox on Friday.
The win not only assured that Danville was the outright Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference champion and would host playoff games through Week 12, but it also meant the Devil-Dog Trophy stays in Danville for another year – the school’s first repeat victory in the rivalry since 2017.
“This is what I’ve been looking forward to all season. Being with these guys in our last game out here,” Weckesser said while wiping mud from his eyes. “It’s what everybody’s been looking forward to.”
In a game where offenses had to struggle against the elements as well as defenses, Weckesser managed 102 yards on the ground — 20 of them came in overtime.
The senior gained everything Danville needed on two plays. Weckesser swept left for a 14-yard gain, then repeated the play to fight his way into the end zone.
He then scored on the conversion to give the Devils an eight-point lead.
East Knox responded with a pass to Bracen Davis, who snagged the ball with one hand in the back of the endzone. However, the two-point conversion attempt fell just one yard short.
“We were able to convert in overtime. We made it look kind of easy there,” Danville coach Matt Blum said. “I wish we could have had more of that in the third or fourth quarter.
“But, you have to play games like this. This adversity is what’s going to define your team.”
The game was expected to be high-scoring.
Danville averaged more than 50 points per game heading into Friday’s showdown, while East Knox averaged nearly 30 in conference games. But, as the Danville band played the school’s alma mater, the rain began.
And it kept raining.
And raining.
It let up only briefly in the second quarter – just long enough to allow Weckesser to throw a 40-yard pass with the receiver tackled at the 1. Weckesser then scored to give Danville a 6-0 lead.
Although the rain returned, East Knox quarterback Jax Lester was not afraid to take to the air.
He found Davis for a 45-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the half. The extra point hit the crossbar, and the game was tied at 6 at halftime.
Both teams struggled on offense in the second half. With the field a literal quagmire of mud with very little grass left. No one could keep their footing.
Danville’s biggest gain in the second half was a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter by Weckesser, who shook six tacklers in the process.
“We asked a lot of him tonight,” Blum said. “With the field conditions, it was hard to get our running game going.
“When times get tough, he’s the one you want to lead your offense.”
Even though the weather forced a half-dozen bad snaps and a few fumbles, there were just two turnovers – both came in the fourth quarter on errant Danville throws. The Bulldogs (6-4) could not capitalize on either one.
“Hats off to [East Knox],” Blum said. “That was an amazing game. They kept swinging. They kept punching. It was a game that was really fun to be a part of.”
In the 73-year history of the Devil-Dog game, Friday was only the second time it ever went to overtime. The only other time was in 2006, when Danville eked out a 3-0 win in similar conditions.
As of press time, Danville’s and East Knox’s first-round opponents had not been determined.
The Blue Devils have clinched at least a No. 2 seed in their region, according to Joe Eitel’s website. The site also contends the Bulldogs are locked out of hosting a first round game.
But, that’s next week. Blum is giving his players all day Saturday to savor the win.
“It took a lot of hard work to get here,” Blum said. “And I’m just so glad the community gets to celebrate this with these guys. Because, they deserve it.”
