Fuquay-Varina tops Sanderson on Spartans’ turf

Fuquay-Varina’s go-to guy delivered.

Senior running back Josh Arrington lifted the Bengals to a 26-13 victory over Sanderson.

He finished with 80 yards and a 33-yard touchdown on 16 carries, second on his team only behind his quarterback.

Fuquay (2-0) pulled away from its host after halftime, when junior quarterback Brycen Braswell ran in a 61-yard touchdown to put his team up 19-6. After sluggish ball movement before the break, Sanderson came back with renewed confidence behind running back Jordan Logan (27-116). He was a key part of the scoring drive to open the final quarter that put the Sanderson behind, 19-13, sparked by a Spartans fumble recovery – one of two.

Sanderson (0-2) was successful in stopping the Bengals at its 4-yard line with 5:49 left in the game. Anthony Brown picked up a fumble that gave his team a chance before Arrington shut the door.

Turning point

Fuquay senior Austin Pluckhorn’s sack. He knocked the steam out of Sanderson’s offense in the final minutes, taking the Spartans back 10 yards when they were pursuing a third and 7 with 1 minute remaining. 　　　

Three who mattered

Pluckhorn, Fuquay-Varina: The senior’s sack stole the life from Sanderson’s offense when they were only down one possession.

Anthony Brown, Sanderson: He recovered a fumble inside the Spartans’ 10-yard line to prevent a late touchdown.

Braswell, Fuquay-Varina: The quarterback’s 61-yard touchdown run in the third created enough separation for the Bengals to pull through. He also led all rushers with 120 yards on 11 carries.

By the numbers

10. Fuquay-Varina first-half first downs.

7. Consecutive number of carries from Logan on Sanderson’s last scoring drive.

15 minutes, 56 seconds. How long Sanderson went without a first down from the first to third quarters.

155. Old Faithful Michael Kinney’s total punting yards.

This story was originally published August 30, 2015 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Fuquay-Varina tops Sanderson on Spartans’ turf."