Vance running back has a game for the ages

Saturday night in Kannapolis, Donnavan Spencer kept a promise to his schoolmates. He also did something no Mecklenburg County football player had done before.

Spencer, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior at Vance High, ran 30 times for 405 yards and four touchdowns. Vance beat A.L. Brown 48-35.

Ten quarterbacks in Mecklenburg County history have thrown for 400 or more yards in a game. Spencer was the first player to run for more than 400 yards in a game. He broke the four-year-old Mecklenburg County rushing record of 378 yards, set by Providence Day’s Josh Covington.

“I was talking to some of my friends on the team before the game,” Spencer said Monday morning. “Last year, I did something special against Brown. I scored four touchdowns, but I didn’t have that many yards. I promised my friends I’d have a big game.”

Vance lost star receiver Jonathan Ifedi for at least the Brown game after he injured his ankle Sept. 26 in a victory against Concord Robinson. All week during practice, first-year coach Aaron Brand kept telling his troops he needed someone to step up. Often when he said it, he would look Spencer right in the eye.

“He kept saying, ‘Donnavan, I need you this week,’ ” Spencer said.

Not that Spencer needed much more motivation. He was angry that A.L. Brown had ruined his four-touchdown night in 2013 with a 55-40 win on Vance’s homecoming. And his grandfather Alexander Wright had graduated from the Kannapolis school. Wright passed away last October from lung cancer.

Spencer, 16, said he decided to dedicate his game to his grandfather when he woke up Saturday morning. He turned off his cell phone, which is rare. He watched some game film and spent the day in quiet focus, something his grandfather also used to talk about.

“He always said, ‘Believe in yourself because anything can happen,’ ” Spencer said. “He would come to all my football games, and even if we had to play A.L. Brown, he said to play hard against them. I never forgot that.”

Spencer chewed up the Wonders from the start Saturday. He had 215 yards in the first quarter. He had with touchdown runs of 56, 58 and 75 yards. Another 70-yard run ended at the A.L. Brown 1.

Spencer had 143 yards rushing in the fourth quarter.

“It was his chance with Ifedi being out,” Brand said. “He made the most of his opportunities. If (Ifedi) is healthy, I wouldn’t have given it to Donnavan 25 or 30 times. We’re trying to keep him fresh for the playoffs. But when you’ve got something that’s working and the other team hasn’t quite adjusted to it yet, you may as well keep doing it.”

So after Spencer’s first quarter – where he had a game’s worth of production – Brand kept calling his number. And Spencer kept piling up the yards.

“I thank God for everything He gave me,” Spencer said. “I knew this was a big game for our coach and our team. It’s that hostile environment at Kannapolis, and we wanted to play like champions.

“I want to thank my team for everything they did, with the defense getting the 3-and-outs and the offensive line for blocking like they did.

“I had this emotional feeling thinking about my grandfather and I stepped on that field and saw (Brown’s) green and white and I got mad. I thought about them beating us on homecoming last year. I got that first TD, and it went on from there.”

At school Monday morning, Spencer got a heroes’ welcome with classmates patting him on the back and telling him, “Great game.”

Spencer shrugged it all off, politely thanking his offensive line and his teammates over and over again.

“People are happy and looking at me and saying, ‘Donnavan, you’re the man,’ ” he said. “But I’m not a superstar or anything. I’m just a man trying to make it like everyone else. I’m getting more attention right now, and my chest was a little puffed up coming to school. But the first thing I did was tell the offensive line I appreciated them. I said, ‘Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you.’ It was a magical night.”

This story was originally published October 6, 2014 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Vance running back has a game for the ages."