Fuquay-Varina upsets Millbrook 35-21
Fuquay-Varina coach Jeb Hall thought his team had a “terrible” week of practice heading into Friday’s visit from Millbrook.
The Bengals should continue to be so “terrible” if it yields results like their 35-21 win over the Wildcats. Fuquay was nearly flawless en route to the decisive victory.
Fuquay scored touchdowns on all four of their first-half possessions and monopolized the clock all night, dictating the game’s tempo and keeping Millbrook’s potent offense on the sideline.
“A game like that, it’s real easy to smile,” said Fuquay quarterback Brycen Braswell. “We put a lot of work and countless hours into this. To practice four days a week, and come out on Friday night and win like that, that’s huge.”
Turning point
After trading touchdowns on each of the game’s first three series, Millbrook faced a fourth and 1 at their own 46 late in the first quarter. Rountree, to that point, had rushed for 52 yards on his first five carries. The Wildcats went to him for the conversion, but the Bengals stuffed him for a 1-yard loss, setting the tone for their defense.
“That was huge,” Hall said. “Our defense stepped up tonight. That’s a high powered offense. Twenty-one points to that offense is pretty remarkable.”
They said it
“Running it every play makes it easy for the clock to go down. But we’re so consistent with it.” Fuquay quarterback Brycen Braswell said. The Bengals ran on 59 of their 62 offensive plays, but their control of the ball allowed them to melt the clock and give their defense time to rest between series.
3 who mattered
Brycen Braswell, Fuquay-Varina: The Fuquay QB was exceptional running the Bengals’ ground-and-pound offense. He rushed for 124 yards, and was 3 for 3 passing for 69 yards.
Josh Arrington, Fuquay-Varina: The Fuquay fullback gashed his way to 139 yards on 27 carries, vital to keeping drives alive and chewing the clock in the second half.
Rodney Hawkins & Jake Slater, Fuquay-Varina: The Bengals ran most of their plays to the right side of the line, and guard Hawkins and tackle Slater paved the way for Braswell, Arrington and Colten Smith to do their damage.
By the numbers
18:31: Fuquay’s time of possession in the second half, where they did not attempt a single pass.
356: Rushing yards for the Bengals on 59 carries, leading to 5.16 yards per carry.
20: Fuquay first downs. Millbrook had only nine.
152: Rushing yards by Millbrook running back Larry Rountree III in the first half on 12 carries. In the second half, he had just one carry for one yard.
This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Fuquay-Varina upsets Millbrook 35-21."