APEX — Lee County bounced back from a lopsided defeat last week to beat Apex 38-7 in the Tri-Nine conference opener for both teams.

The Yellow Jackets lost 55-28 to Richmond County last week.

“Our offensive line is all seniors and they played very well tonight,” Lee County coach Burton Cates said. “I’m pleased with the way we responded after the Richmond County game when were (tied) 21-21 at the half and then we didn’t do anything. We helped them in the second half, but they’re pretty good.”

Lee County improved to 2-1and Apex dropped to 1-1. This was the first home game for Apex coach Joe Kilby.

“There was a lot of emotion and excitement – this a great venue for high school football,” Kilby said. “The first quarter, they punched one in on us and we punched right back at them. We were ready for a ballgame and then we made some critical mistakes. We spotted them a couple of touchdowns, and didn’t play well from there.”

The Jackets scored first on a 6-yard run by Ray McCauley after starting their drive from the Apex 43-yard line following a 16-yard punt.

The Cougars struck back with a 78-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Jordan Betts to wide receiver Gavin Locklear.

McCauley scored again on a 19-yard interception return for a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets 10 second-quarter points came on a 39-yard field goal by Ben Grossfuss and a 48-yard touchdown pass from Chase Arrington to T.J. Lett.

After taking a 24-7 lead into halftime, Lee County put the game away with two more touchdowns in the third quarter. James Foushee scored on a 15-yard run. The Yellow Jackets scored again when Hampton Thomas picked up a fumble and ran to the end zone.

Foushee finished the night with 20 carries for 151 yards.