RALEIGH — Broughton struck first in its season opener against Cary on Friday, but the Imps ruled the second half, streaking to a 21-7 win at Broughton Stadium.

Broughton came out firing to begin the game, with quarterback Maclin Batchelor moving the ball down to their 22 yard-line, but Cary linebacker Matt Rush intercepted Batchelor’s pass on the 3-yard line, giving the Imps their first possession of the game.

Cary’s offense couldn’t get it going early on, with Broughton forcing a three-and-out on the Imps’ first possession.

Broughton took advantage, jumping to a 7-0 lead when Batchelor found Aaron Roberts on a 14-yard pass with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.

Roberts finished with six receptions for 49 yards while Batchelor completed 16 of 32 passes for 189 yards.

“We didn’t play very well, I don’t think,” said Cary coach Ben Kolstad. “We prepared well for this week, but we didn’t come out very strong. We kind of felt our way into the game.”

The Imps gained some momentum back, tying the game with just under five minutes to play in the first half after Cary quarterback Jordan Dawson completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Justin Murphy.

“At first we came out flat,” Dawson said. “But I really appreciate my guys because they looked at me and believed in me. … The defense saved us early on.”

Both teams relied on the run to move the ball in the second half as steady rain started coming down.

Dawson handed off to Imps running back Marquise Sherrod-Ponds to move the chains in the third and fourth. Sherrod-Ponds finished with a team-high 133 yards on 27 carries.

The running game’s effectiveness would eventually open a gap for Dawson to run in a score of his own with slightly more than eight minutes to play. With less than five minutes to play, Dawson found receiver Jamaine Dabney on a 26-yard touchdown pass to go up 21-7.

The Caps wouldn’t recover from that blow, making a late charge down field that ended with Cary defensive back Paul Taylor intercepting Batchelor’s pass in the end zone.

“I said before the game that the team who would come out and execute their playbook would come out on top,” Martin said. “Cary executed their playbook.”

Broughton had some promising moments, ending the third with Aaron Roberts blocking a Cary punt attempt and Trey Peace recovering, but the Caps fumbled on a punt attempt shortly after.

“I thought we moved the ball well, but penalties and execution hurt us,” said Martin. “We have 41 seniors, but they didn’t play a lot last year, so we’re still a young team. We have to grow with every week.”

Batchelo completed 16 of 32 passes for 189 yards. Broughton running back Darryl Webster led the Caps with 96 yards on 22 carries.

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