Broughton's Juston Burris, an N.C. State defensive back recruit, had a remarkable game in the Caps' 21-20 football victory against Garner on Friday night.
Burris caught two passes and turned them into touchdown receptions of 81 and 73 yards. The second came after Garner had taken a 20-14 lead in the fourth quarter and everyone in the stadium knew he was a game-breaker.
In between the two receptions, Burris hauled back a punt for 75 yards and the other Caps touchdown.
"He broke four tackles and put a move on one of our best tacklers," Garner assistant coach Eddie Gray said. "He is just an athlete."
Broughton coach Chris Martin said Burris stepped up when his team needed him.
"He made three huge plays," Martin said.
Thursday night games: A few of this week's games have been moved to Thursday night because Monday is Labor Day and schools will be closed. The thinking is that by playing on Thursday, families are free to leave immediately after school closes on Friday and have a longer weekend.
This week's Thursday night games are Apex at Leesville Road, Athens Drive at Broughton, Wilson Hunt at Holly Springs and South Johnston at Clayton.
South Johnston rivalries: South Johnston is in the midst of a three-week series against Johnston County rivals.
The Trojans beat West Johnston 23-21 on Friday, play Clayton on Thursday and face Smithfield-Selma on Sept. 10.
South Johnston coach Joe Salas said it is difficult to compare the rivalries.
"This [West Johnston] is an old, good neighborhood rivalry," Salas said. "It's a big one, probably the biggest one for the kids.
"The old folks, it's 'Triple-S' [Smithfield-Selma], but for the kids it's always West Johnston.
"All three of the in-county games we play are all so emotional. ... They're always physical. You know when those games come along you've got to buckle up -- the game with West is always one of the most physical nights of the year."
Northern intercepts: Northern Durham defenders, led by Caleb Hawkins, intercepted five passes in Saturday's 39-14 victory over Rocky Mount. The Gryphons completed five of 18 passes.
Northern led 20-14 late in the third period when Rocky Mount recovered a fumble. After a pair of losses on running plays, Hawkins returned an intercepted pass 65 yards for a touchdown.
Wake Forest defends: Wake Forest-Rolesville has seven new starters on defense, but the new crew is playing at a level nearly as good as a year ago when the Cougars finished 14-1 and were outstanding on defense.
Through two games, WF-R has given up five total rushing yards. Durham Riverside was a minus-36 in a 40-0 loss, and East Wake produced 41 rushing yards in a 38-9 loss.
Central rolls: Harnett Central trailed at the end of the first quarter but roared back to rout Erwin Triton 51-14.
Triton led the Trojans 14-7, but Central scored three touchdowns in a span of 4:22 and didn't slow down much.
The burst was led by quarterback Brian Taylor, an N.C. State commitment, who completed 13 of 14 passes for 279 yards and five touchdowns. Torrin Walker had 101 receiving yards and three TDs.
Taylor has seven incompletions in the first two games. He has accounted for eight touchdowns, six passing and two rushing.
Central coach Patrick Turner said the Trojans had a hard time getting started against Triton, which controlled the ball with its running game.
"Any time that you play a slow, methodical offense like theirs, it's hard to move the ball like we want to," Turner said. "They had a great game plan, and it worked for them in the first quarter."
Jags, Mustangs defend turf: Athens Drive's 19-6 win over Enloe last week was the Jaguars' 11th straight home victory. Athens has not lost at home since Oct. 10, 2008, and plays at Broughton on Thursday.
Tri-Nine 4-A rival Middle Creek, which is at home against Garner on Friday, has won 12 straight, stretching back to Oct. 17, 2008.
Both streaks started after losses to Fuquay-Varina.
Mustangs' defense: Middle Creek coach Sean Crocker said he was proud of his defenders in a 14-9 win over Southern Durham last week.
"The coaches prepared them well, and the players executed," Crocker said. "Even on their touchdown, we played good defense. They made a tough throw and a good catch."
The defensive star was defensive end Darius Wilkins, who scooped a Southern fumble and returned it 29 yards for the winning touchdown. He also had a sack and several tackles for losses.
Crocker also praised the work of defensive tackles Jimmy Boyd and Josh Banks, linebacker Cameron White and back Kalib Banks..
"But really it is hard to single out any of the guys," Crocker said. "Southern Durham has an explosive offense, and we did a really good job against it."
The Mustangs have given up 48 yards on 54 rushes in their first two games.
Ejections: The N.C. High School Athletic Association is investigating an incident that took place during Southern Pines Pinecrest's 69-14 victory over Cameron Union Pines.
There was an altercation between the teams, and players were ejected.
If either team had three or more players ejected for fighting, then that team is ineligible for the playoffs, according to NCHSAA rules. Leaving the bench area and stepping onto the field during a fight is participating in a fight, according to NCHSAA rules.
Carolyn Shannonhouse, an NCHSAA assistant executive commissioner, said the NCHSAA is expected to make a ruling within the next couple of days after reviewing written reports of the incident.
Millbrook's defense puts up zeros: Besides Millbrook's strong running game in Friday's 31-0 win over Knightdale, the Wildcats also showed their progress on defense.
The shutout was Millbrook's second this season. One of the main reasons Millbrook (2-0) hasn't given up a point this season is because of the speed of its defensive linemen and linebackers.
On multiple plays, the Wildcats were able to get in Knightdale's backfield before the running back was handed the football.
"It's unbelievable what we've done," Millbrook coach Clarence Inscore said of his defense. "When you have a good defense, your offense has confidence just because they know it can make a mistake or two."
Early on against the Knights, the Wildcats did rely on their defense.
After the Wildcats failed to score in the first quarter on fourth-and-goal from Knightdale's 1-yard line, the defense gave the ball right back to the offense with a 2-0 lead. Linebacker Adam Nye tackled Knightdale running back Bryan Sumner in the end zone for a safety.
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