How the N&O top 25 fared: No major upsets in week 7 action

No. 1 Middle Creek 65, Cary 0: The Mustangs (6-0, 3-0 Southwest Wake 4A) defeated the Imps (0-6, 0-3) handily as Middle Creek’s defense scored twice in the first quarter and set up four short scoring drives for the offense. The Mustangs were up 41-0 and had its second team on the field to start the second quarter.

In the first five minutes alone, Middle Creek got a fumble recovery in the end zone by George Maya, an interception return from John Singleton and a 35-yard pass from Dominique Shoffner to Shammond Hicks to lead 21-0. Backup quarterback Andrew Ihle completed 7 of his 8 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. Cary never made it inside the Mustangs’ 30-yard line.

No. 2 Wake Forest 37, No. 13 Millbrook 0: The Cougars (6-0 overall, 2-0 Cap-8 4A) held the Wildcats to just 89 yards of offense on the night. Millbrook, which was putting up 39 points a contest coming into the game, averaged just 1.78 yards gained per play.

The Wildcats (4-2, 1-1) ran just one play on the Wake Forest side of the field. When that play came, with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, the Cougars led 17-0 and the multi-pronged Wing-T running attack was starting to click.

Junior Devon Lawrence scored three second-half touchdowns and finished with a game-high 138 yards rushing on just 14 carries. He added scoring runs of 11 and 2 yards in the fourth quarter. Marquis Dunn had a big night as well, going for 133 yards on the ground on 16 carries.

No. 3 Pinecrest: 6-0, idle.

No. 4 Garner at Harnett Central: Postponed to Monday, 6 p.m.

No. 5 Heritage 17, No. 15 Sanderson 3: The Huskies (6-0, 2-0 Cap-8 4A) scored all their points in the first half: Parker George’s 25-yard field goal, quarterback Gunnar Holmberg’s 10-yard TD run and running back Ricky Person’s 4-yard score. Thayer Thomas had 102 yards receiving on eight catches, and lineman Joe Kane recorded his 13th sack of the year. Sanderson (4-2, 0-2) was without leading rushers Jordan Logan and Sam Vines.

Northwood at No. 6 Orange: Postponed to Monday, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Hillside 21, Northern Durham 6: The return of running back Jamal Currie-Elliott was a good one for Hillside (5-1, 2-0 PAC-6 4A) who rushed for 129 yards on 22 carries. Before the season began, he had transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. but moved back late last month.

The Hornets scored the only points in the first half: a 70-yard fumble return by linebacker Aaron McCullough and a 2-yard run by running back Jeaven Curry for a 14-0 halftime lead. Hillside’s defense was the star of the show. The unit caused four Knights (2-5, 1-1) turnovers, including three interceptions and a fumble return for a touchdown.

No. 8 Rocky Mount: 5-1, idle.

No. 9 Southern Nash: 6-0, idle.

No. 10 West Johnston 43, East Wake 7: Senior running back Tony Mack accounted for all of the Wildcats’ scoring on six first-half touchdown runs as West Johnston (6-0, 3-0 Greater Neuse River 4A) spoiled homecoming for East Wake (2-5, 0-3).

Mack scored on a 47-yard scoot down the right side on the second play of the game. He added touchdown runs of 2, 4, 8, 23 and 70 yards that set West up 43-0 at halftime. East Wake’s score came in the final minute of the game on a 3-yard pass from Bishop Hill to Justin Harrington.

No. 11 Cardinal Gibbons 29, Riverside 6: The Crusaders (6-0, 1-0 PAC-6 4A) held the Pirates (2-5, 0-2) to 34 yards passing and 68 rushing to stay unbeaten heading into next week’s showdown with Hillside.

Holly Springs 23, No. 12 Fuquay-Varina 14: The Golden Hawks (3-3, 2-1 Southwest Wake 4A) rallied from down 14-0 at the end of the first quarter to blank the Bengals (5-2, 3-1) the rest of the way. Broderick Taylor had 93 yards rushing and a score and caught four of his team’s five completed passes for another TD. Fuquay-Varina’s Michael Roberson caught all six completed passes by Chris Canada, who was filling in for injured starter Brycen Braswell.

No. 14 Wakefield 42, Enloe 10: Wakefield’s Andrew Bennett starred on both sides of the ball in leading the Wolverines (5-1, 2-0 Cap-8 4A). Bennett got the start with Matt McKay sitting out the first quarter and scored twice, once in the air and once on the ground. McKay took over in the second quarter but did most of his damage on the ground, finishing with 76 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Late in the fourth quarter, Bennett scored a third time on a 68-yard fumble recovery.

Enloe (2-4, 0-2) was led by running back Hamilton Moore. Moore broke off a 67-yard run on the first play of the second half and finished the game with 150 yards on 13 carries. The Eagles also got a boost before halftime with a 27-yard Hail Mary from Carleon Merritt to Larry Parker.

Douglas Byrd at No. 16 Lee County: Postponed to Monday, 7 p.m.

No. 17 Bunn: 5-1, idle.

No. 18 Clayton 37, Knightdale 7: Macaleb Robertson ran for one score and caught a pass for another to help Clayton (6-1, 3-0 Greater Neuse 4A) win its sixth straight game. Devin Carter caught 10 passes for 161 yards and a TD for the Comets and broke the state record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch (eight).

Austin Cagle completed 16 of 32 passes for 245 yards and a TD for the winners, while John Ross Parrish passed for one TD and ran for another. Brock Swackhammer scored the other Clayton touchdown. D.J. Conner scored for Knightdale (1-6, 1-2).

No. 20 Southern Lee at No. 19 Triton: Late Saturday.

No. 21 Person: 5-1, idle.

No. 22 C.B. Aycock 30, Southern Wayne 28: In a game where the lead changed hands five times during the second half, Aycock got the clinching touchdown with 1:48 to go as quarterback Jake Flowers found Chandler Matthews open for a 27-yard score to provide the winning points for the Golden Falcons (5-1, 1-0 Eastern Carolina 4A/3A).

The Saints (1-5, 0-2) converted two first-half interceptions into touchdowns to take a 14-10 lead at intermission. Manny Walker had 175 yards rushing and a touchdown on 13 rushing attempts for Southern Wayne.

Aycock’s Caleb Gough had 185 yards and a rushing score on 33 attempts. Flowers finished 10-for-16 passing for 172 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Falcons, who beat the Saints for the fifth consecutive season.

No. 23 Northern Nash: 4-2, idle.

No. 24 Cleveland: 3-3, idle.

No. 25 J.H. Rose 20, South Central 19: The Rampants (3-3, 2-0 Eastern Carolina 4A/3A) didn’t come close to the 77 points they scored the week before but survived a scare from the upset-minded Falcons (3-4, 0-2) from Winterville. It was the second week in a row the Falcons have lost by a point.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "How the N&O top 25 fared: No major upsets in week 7 action."