How the top 25 fared: West Craven rolls over No. 3 D.H. Conley; Southern Nash now 5-0

No. 1 Middle Creek 46, Panther Creek 14: The Mustangs (4-0, 1-0 Southwest Wake) raced out to a 21-0 lead in just eight minutes and by halftime led 36-0 and had already intercepted three passes, recovered a fumble, blocked a field goal and blocked a punt. In the loss, Justin Smalls had 115 yards receiving with a touchdown and forced and recovered fumbles for Panther Creek (1-3, 0-1).

No. 2 Wake Forest: 4-0, idle.

West Craven 55, No. 3 D.H. Conley 14: The Vikings (3-2) couldn’t stop the Eagles (4-0) from Vanceboro as quarterback Jarred Arthur threw for 310 yards with four touchdowns. Holton Ahlers threw for 225 yards on 19-of-45 passing with one score and three interceptions.

No. 4 Pinecrest 29, No. 19 Southern Lee 3: The Patriots (5-0) scored all their points unanswered over the final three quarters. Quarterback Nik Pry ran for 92 yards and two scores in the win. Noah Terhune threw for 133 yards in a losing effort for the Cavaliers (3-1).

No. 5 Garner 25, Southeast Raleigh 6: Fullback Anthony Stephenson rushed for 102 yards and scored two touchdowns to lift the Trojans (4-1, 1-0) in the Greater Neuse River 4A opener over the Bulldogs (3-2, 0-1). Donovan Evans returned the opening kickoff for a score. Roderic Christian, Dalton Counts and Djimon Harris each had interceptions for Garner.

No. 6 Heritage: idle.

No. 7 Orange 37, Western Guilford 9: Payton Wilson had a 96-yard touchdown run while senior fullback Ryan Puckett added two touchdowns for the Panthers (5-0). Marvante Beasley added a 31-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The Hornets (1-4) got a late touchdown from Kalil Barrino. It was only the second offensive touchdown Orange has yielded this year.

No. 8 Hillside 43, Halifax County (Va.) 6: The Hornets (3-1) got 102 yards rushing from Tyhijar Greene and two rushing scores from Micheal Bizzell as Hillside held the Comets (1-3) without a point over the last three quarters to break open a 14-6 game.

No. 9 Rocky Mount 66, No. 21 J.H. Rose 41: The Gryphons (4-1) broke open a close 24-21 game at halftime with three touchdowns in the first five minutes of the second half and never looked back. Juane Daniels-Sanders scored on an 82-yard touchdown run. Three plays later Detrell Revis scooped up a short punt and returned it 55 yards for a score and then, three plays after Rose (1-3) fumbled the kickoff, Donomesion Brown recovered a teammate’s fumble in the end zone for another touchdown. Rocky Mount ran for 473 yards led by DeAngelo Collins’ 135. E.J. Harris ran for 271 yards and four TDs in the loss.

No. 10 Southern Nash 21, Tarboro 10: The Firebirds (5-0) held 1A powerhouse Tarboro (3-2) in check, giving up just 178 yards of offense.

No. 11 West Johnston 48, Rolesville 20: West Johnston scored on its first play from scrimmage – a 57-yard pass from Andre Wilson to Timare Robinson – and never looked back in the conference opener for both. Wilson finished with three touchdown passes and one rushing for West Johnston (4-0, 1-0 Greater Neuse River 4A). Rolesville (1-4, 0-1) scored on three touchdown passes from quarterback Camarji Andrews.

No. 12 Cardinal Gibbons 50, Cedar Ridge 26: The Crusaders (5-0) started the game by first recovering an onside kick, then scoring four plays later, then going for two and getting it. The big plays kept coming from there as Marcel Smith blocked his sixth kick of the year, Jack Biestek rushed for 263 yards on 18 carries for four touchdowns and Grayson Lemon caught six passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. The Red Wolves (3-2) only mustered 59 total yards in the second half.

No. 13 Sanderson 55, Jordan 15: The Spartans (4-0) defeated the visiting Falcons (0-4) thanks to Jordan Logan’s 209 yards rushing on 16 carries for four touchdowns. The Sanderson defense has only allowed 21 points in the first four games of the season.

No. 14 Fuquay-Varina 53, Athens Drive 47: Fuquay-Varina (4-1, 2-0 Southwest Wake 4A) outlasted big plays from Athens Drive (1-4, 1-1) thanks to a big day on the ground. The game even contained a 35-second stretch with three touchdowns – one score followed by back-to-back, kickoff-return touchdowns.

No. 15 Millbrook: 3-1, idle.

No. 16 Wakefield 32, No. 24 Riverside 0: The Wolverines (3-1) allowed a 46-yard kickoff return to D’Anthony Bright and a 43-yard scamper from tailback Kaligah Murrell to open the game but stuffed the Pirates (2-3) from there to get their first shutout.

Leading the Wakefield offense was quarterback Matthew McKay, who completed 10 of 20 passes for 130 yards and four touchdowns. Receivers Rico Jenkins, Najeem Wilson and Nathan Jester all caught touchdowns, while running back Chad Norfleet had the other score, rushing for 71 yards on 15 carries. Murrell had 117 yards on 24 carries for Riverside.

No. 17 Lee County: 4-0, idle.

No. 18 Bunn 54, Louisburg 7: Bunn scored a touchdown on each of its first eight possessions and added a Victor Dunston 62-yard punt return for a touchdown. Dunston later caught a 59-yard scoring strike from Quenten Wright to cap off his effective night. D.J. Jones rushed for 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Bunn (4-1), while Quamon Person (121 yards) and Tyre Davis (118 yards) combined for 239 yards on the ground for Louisburg (1-3).

South Granville 20, No. 20 Fike 15: Tucker Brown had 17 carries for 153 yards and threw two touchdown passes as the Vikings (4-1) won their fourth straight. Fike (3-2), which was without quarterback Gage West, was led by 96 rushing yards from Kenny Johnson.

No. 22 Clayton 35, East Wake 13: The Comets (4-1, 1-0 Greater Neuse River 4A) won the conference opener thanks in large part to 197 yards rushing and two TDs by running back Brock Swackhammer. In the loss, Tyshawn Milam had 94 yards rushing and 88 passing for the Warriors (2-3, 0-1).

No. 23 Green Hope 35, Apex Friendship 6: Green Hope (3-2, 2-0 Southwest Wake 4A) scored off a blocked punt as Andrew Becvar returned it for a score to break open a close game. The Patriots (1-3, 0-2) scored on a 4-yard run by Scott Sidney.

No. 25 Triton 16, Gray’s Creek 7: The Hawks (3-1) have won three in a row after winning on the road against the Bears (1-3).

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "How the top 25 fared: West Craven rolls over No. 3 D.H. Conley; Southern Nash now 5-0."