WAKE FOREST — The scoreboard didn’t illustrate the battle that was Franklin Academy and Raleigh Charter’s N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1A boys’ soccer tournament matchup Saturday before the Patriots opened things up in the second half and cruised to a 6-0 victory to advance to the regional round.

Both teams stood scoreless at halftime, with a combined 22 first-half shots on goal missing the mark or stopped by the goalkeepers.

“I felt pretty good about our play,” Franklin Academy coach Michael Hunt said. “I knew if we continued the course and upped the intensity a little bit, we’d get going.”

Junior Cory Voorhis skirted past Raleigh Charter defenders to put the Patriots on the board in the 55th minute, and Christopher Hughes put a rebound shot past Raleigh Charter keeper Griffin Miller two minutes later.

Down two goals, Raleigh Charter (13-6) pushed up to try to get on the board, but Franklin Charter (13-6) took advantage.

Junior Jack Adams netted a hat trick, scoring back-to-back goals in the 73rd and 74th minutes, and a third with 1:33 remaining. Senior captain Ian Hunt added another by beating two Raleigh Charter defenders with 3:16 remaining.

“We started picking up the pace a lot and bringing the ball out wide, which was opening up their defense,” Adams said. “Then the goals kept on coming.”

Raleigh Charter beat previously undefeated No. 1 seed School of Math and Science Wednesday to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals.

“The way we showed up on Wednesday, I thought it really showed that we were the team to beat,” Phoenix coach Steven Grosso said. “(Franklin Charter was) pressing us and pressing the issue all day, and in the end, they finished and we didn’t.”

Still, Grosso was proud of Raleigh Charter’s season. The Phoenix made it back to tournament’s fourth round after losing half of its roster from 2011.

The Patriots win pushes Franklin Academy to Tuesday’s state tournament semifinals, a first for any athletic program at the school, Hunt said.

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