Wednesday, Sep. 01, 2010

Bengals run over Comets

Ricky Fergerson has a new No. 1 fan - longtime Clayton head coach Gary Fowler.

Fergerson and his Fuquay-Varina backfield mates ran past the Comets 28-9 Friday night, using a balanced running attack that consistently produced. The junior wingback ran for 162 yards on just 12 carries.

"You can't control a guy like Fergerson," Fowler said. "He runs so hard and has such speed. When you run like that, you're going to be special.

"He's even better on grass than he was on film."

The Bengals (2-0) totaled 313 yards rushing on the night, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. Cory Hunter, a 2,000-yard back last season, added 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

"We just feed off of each other," Fergerson said of his backfield mates. "We've been together all summer working to get better. We push each other to get better.

"And our offensive line did an outstanding job."

But it was the Fuquay-Varina defense that turned the game.

Clayton (1-1) pulled even at 7 with 3:01 to play in the first quarter after a Bengals fumble. Gary Richardson scored on a 32-yard run two plays after the Comets' Matt Bunn forced the fumble.

It was the last time the Comets would threaten to score on the night. The Bengals defense, which got a boost from the return from injury of UNC recruit Shawn Underwood on the defensive line, held Clayton to four first downs the rest of the night.

"We've got a lot of young kids on defense, and you wonder how a group like that will react to a sudden-change play like the turnover was," Fuquay-Varina coach Ryan Habich said. "They did a great job with Justin Vaughn, at linebacker, showing a lot of leadership on the field."

Tied at 7, the Bengals and Fergerson flipped the field with a 56-yard run from their own 16-yard-line. Two plays later, Hunter scored on a 20-yard run for a 14-7 lead with 9:48 to play in the first half.

The Bengals kept the momentum with a nine-play TD drive capped by Hunter's 3-yard run on their first drive of the second half.

Fergerson went in from 7 yards out to take the lead to 28-7 on the final play of the third quarter.

Clayton's final points came when the Bengals elected to take a safety rather than punt out of their own end zone with 7:50 to play.

The Bengals' first TD came on a 35-yard pass from Evan McNeil to Malcolm Thaxton in the first quarter. Richardson led Clayton with 72 yards rushing on the night.