Wake Forest High cruises against new rival Rolesville football
Wake Forest took the suspense out of this rivalry game early, thanks in part to host Rolesville’s mistakes, pulling away for a 48-0 win over the Rams.
The undefeated and No. 2 state-ranked Cougars (4-0) jumped ahead 7-0 on safety Ki’mon Small’s 40-yard interception return and raced to a 20-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Rams (2-2) also fumbled away the ball on their second possession.
“We’ve come a long way, but still have a ways to go,” Rolesville coach Jermaine Evans said. “You just can’t come out and have turnovers against a team like that. We literally gave them the first 20 points. And that’s a good team.”
Turning point
On the third play of the game, Small, a senior, jumped in front of Rolesville quarterback Carnaji Andrews’ pass and put the first score on the board just 24 seconds in.
“That play by Small got us going,” Wake Forest coach Reggie Lucas said. “And then later John Jiles got another big one as well for a score. Those plays by the defense showed we were ready to play.”
They said it
“We have to make sure our guys are ready,” Lucas said about all the nearby schools who consider Wake Forest a big rival. “We look to be solid on offense, solid on defense and solid on special teams. Right now special teams can still improve.”
3 who mattered
Marquis Dunn, Wake Forest: A sophomore running back, Dunn got the Cougars’ second and third scores on runs of 1 and 60 yards. “Before the season we didn’t know that Marquis was going to get that much playing time,” Lucas said. “But Tyri Beard got hurt and Dunn stepped in.”
Tyri Beard, Wake Forest: The senior running back got back into the action with 3 carries for 58 yards, including touchdown runs of 36 and 4 yards.
John Jiles, Wake Forest: The sophomore returned his interception 91 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 27-0.
By the numbers
0: Points given up in the four first quarters the Cougars have played this year, also points given up to the Rams.
20: Plays run for positive yardage by the Rams in the second half, against just 2 that lost yards to the Cougars’ defense.
This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Wake Forest High cruises against new rival Rolesville football."