Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010

Bengals crush Knightdale

The Fuquay-Varina football team knew it was off to a good start to the season when senior running back Cory Hunter scored on a 44-yard rush three plays into Friday's season opener against Knightdale.

On the other end of the field, the Knights never made it on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter, and the result was a 40-7 win for the Bengals.

"It looked pretty good but there's still some mistakes that we're making," Fuquay-Varina head coach Ryan Habich said. "We're still young up front and play a lot of new guys."

The young Bengal line seems to have its role figured out. Fuquay scored five times on the ground between running backs Cory Hunter, Ricky Fergerson and Eric Powell. Quarterback Evan McNeill threw a strike to an in-stride Fergerson for the Bengals' other touchdown.

After leading 34-0 at the half, the visiting team's six-point second half wasn't the most impressive to Habich.

"We're big on finishing here. Whether you're up by 30 or down by 40, we want to play four quarters," he said.

Knightdale's lone touchdown came in the opening seconds of the final quarter. Brannon Strayhorn broke free and put his speed on display for 43 yards along the Fuquay-Varina sideline before erasing Bengal hopes of a shutout.

McNeill finished the game 2-4 with 64 yards and the touchdown pass to Fergerson. Knightdale quarterback Ben Bolling finished 5-13 with 125 yards.

Hunter led the Bengals' rushing attack with 175 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. He was followed by Fergerson, who rushed 10 times for 115 yards and his two trips to the end zone. Strayhorn led the Knights with 62 yards on five carries.