Friday’s High School Football Roundup

Apex 37, Cary 34 (OT): The Cougars erased a 17-0 first-quarter deficit, Nathan Davis kicked a game-tying 35-yard field goal with two seconds remaining and Ian Boyd caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Duke Fruehauf in overtime as Apex pulled out a wild victory.

Cary (1-4) struck first in overtime with a 29-yard field goal by Quinn Dunphy for a 34-31 lead.

The Imps’ Isaiah Gibbons ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.

Bunn 62, Louisburg 6: Bunn (3-2) never trailed after scoring on its second offensive snap from scrimmage courtesy of an 8-yard run from Davante Caldwell with 8:59 remaining in the first period.

By halftime the Wildcats were ahead 41-0, having scored on every first-half possession – the last of which came on a 90-yard Caldwell touchdown just 44 seconds ahead of intermission. The senior running back also had a 9-yard rushing TD and finished with 108 yards. All this, he did on just four carries.

East Wake 44, Clayton, 14: East Wake senior standout Tripp Harrington completed 12 of 23 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, adding 81 rushing yards on 16 carries as the Warriors blew past the Comets in their Greater Neuse River 4A opener.

This was a rebound win for East Wake (3-2, 1-0 GNRC) which had dropped from No. 8 to No. 13 in the N&O area rankings the week before, following a loss to Corinth Holders.

Clayton (1-4, 0-1) played without injured senior slotback Blake Joyner, but got a strong performance from sophomore quarterback Landen Leiser with 189 passing yards for two TDs.

Green Hope 32, Sanderson 31: A double-digit deficit with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter? Not a problem for Green Hope.

The Falcons got a Trevor Losito 23-yard TD run with 2 minutes, 25 seconds remaining to pull out a 32-31 victory over Sanderson in a nonconference game.

Sanderson (1-3) led 31-20 after Geoma Ward scored on a 12-yard TD run with 7:06 remaining, but Green Hope (3-2) immediately answered when Tucker Burkinshaw tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Dixon with 5:48 left to draw within 31-26.

After Sanderson turned the ball over on downs with 3:13 at the Green Hope 37, the Falcons needed just three plays to get the game-winner. Burkinshaw connected on a 32-yard pass to Losito, and two plays later, Losito squirted through a hole and juked a couple of defenders on his way for the winning TD.

Burkinshaw completed 17 of 23 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns.

Middle Creek 55, Panther Creek 27: The “Battle of the Creeks” brought out the best of high school football as The News & Observer No. 2 Middle Creek and No. 7 Panther Creek drew an overflow crowd of 4,500-plus Friday night at the Catamounts’ stadium.

Panther Creek threatened to upset the unbeaten Mustangs until some fourth-down gambles in the fourth quarter backfired and Middle Creek scored the game’s final 21 points to blow open a close game.

Middle Creek’s offense was nearly perfectly balanced with 40 carries for 273 yards rushing and 275 yards passing. Quarterback Dominique Shoffner completed 16 of 29 passes.

Rolesville 44, West Johnston 14: Rams junior quarterback Carnaji Andrews came out hot and helped build a 25-8 halftime lead. Rolesville (3-2, 1-0 Greater Neuse River 4A) then settled into its running game in the second half.

West Johnston (1-4, 0-1) found some success moving the ball as Andre Wilson threw for 133 yards and a score to Deandre Blevins but four turnovers proved too much to overcome.

Andrews finished with 324 yards passing and accounted for four touchdowns: three through the air and one on the ground.

Southeast Raleigh 26, Garner 20: N.C. State recruit Dylan Parham hit Malik Ford on a 15-yard corner route on the first play of the fourth quarter to complete the Bulldogs’ comeback from a 14-point deficit in the second half.

Parham threw a pair of TD passes on the night and Lee Holmes and Jeffery Onyegbule ran for TDs as the Bulldogs (2-3) opened Greater Neuse River 4A Conference play with a rare win over the Trojans (3-2).

Fayetteville Terry Sanford 34, Cleveland 27: Jacob Scott’s 65-yard, game-tying touchdown with four minutes to play was called back due to offensive pass interference away from the ball, and state-ranked Fayetteville Terry Sanford held on to defeat Cleveland.

Cleveland quarterback Caiden Norman threw for 170 yards.

Cardinal Gibbons 50, Cedar Ridge 7: Magnus Kaikai returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown and later scored on a four-yard gallop as Cardinal Gibbons (3-2) breezed by its old conference foe.

Five different Crusaders scored touchdowns. Running back Hunter Calo finished with a career high 70 yards on 12 carries. Wesley Wagner went 5-for-6 for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a 43-yard strike to Alex Kuzy that broke the game open midway through the second quarter.

Gibbons fullback Brendan Schult opened the scoring with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone after Wanger hit Sean Nalesnik with a 12-yard pass.

Cape Fear 42, South Johnston 15: The 3A Trojans’ unbeaten stretch ended with a thud against the 4A Colts (4-1) from Fayetteville. South Johnston (4-1) was ranked No. 9 in The News & Observer area rankings.

Chapel Hill 41, East Chapel Hill 12: The Tigers (3-2) won the Hodgin Cup for the 12th straight year. Chapel Hill quickly scored 21 points in the opening 6 minutes, 12 seconds to put away the Wildcats (1-4).

Ricki McDowell ran in the first two touchdowns and Connor Stough threw for four scores in the game – three in the first two quarters as Chapel Hill rolled up a 34-0 lead by halftime.

Fuquay-Varina 49, Athens Drive 7: The Bengals (5-0, 1-0) are still unbeaten after running for 300 yards and five touchdowns on homecoming night. Josh Arrington ran for a game-high 133 yards and scored one touchdown. Teammate Colten Smith had a game high four TDs (1 receiving, 3 rushing).

Jordan Johnson scored the only touchdown for Athens Drive on an 85-yard kick return in the first half.

Knightdale 27, Harnett Central 25: The Knights (4-1, 1-0 Greater Neuse River 4A) nearly blew a 24-point lead as the Trojans (1-4, 0-1) rallied with 22 points in the fourth quarter and pulled within the 2-point difference with 1:53 to play.

Knights quarterback Andre Willis had 12 carries for 169 yards and went 8-for-18 for 121 yards, having a part in three touchdowns. Harnett Central's Zaheed Stubbs finished with 22 carries for 146 yards.

Holly Springs 44, Jordan 7: Chris McKoy and Tray Staten both ran for a pair of touchdowns for Holly Springs (3-2) and Davis Ferguson threw two more to lead the Golden Hawks past Jordan (0-5).

Franklinton 32, J.F. Webb 27: With 50 seconds left in the game, and Franklinton down by one, Avery Wilder connected with Ricky Person in the corner of the end zone for a 38-yard score against double coverage to knock off the Warriors (3-2).

Lee County 14, Northwood 10: Lee (5-0) stopped the rushing attack of the Chargers (2-3) cold. The Yellow Jackets have yet to allow more than 18 points in any contest.

North Johnston 27, Smithfield-Selma 0: Quarterback Trey Whitley tossed a pair of touchdown passes and the North Johnston (4-1) defense pitched its first shutout of the season as the 2A Panthers turned back 3A Smithfield-Selma (0-5).

Matthew Griswold returned an interception 20 yards and Treshaw McPhatter scored on a 43-yard fourth quarter run for the Panthers’ other touchdowns.

Northern Vance 38, Carrboro 7: Returning home for the first time in nearly a month, Northern Vance (3-2) rolled by Carrboro (0-5). Quarterback Kristopher Haywood ran for three touchdowns for the Vikings. Carrboro’s lone score came on a 4-yard run by junior running back Tabian Sales.

Northern Vance senior James Alexander returned an interception for an 11-yard touchdown and Brooks Falkner added a 42-yard field goal.

Person 21, Enloe 17: The Eagles (0-4) led 17-7 at halftime. The Rockets (3-2) scored 14 points in the third quarter for the difference.

Pinecrest 63, Southern Lee 14: The 3A Cavaliers, ranked No. 14 in The News & Observer area, were crushed by the state-ranked 4A Patriots.

Southern Durham 36, Northern Durham 13: Southern (3-2) quarterback Jalen Green threw five touchdown passes to lead the Spartans past old rival Northern (0-5).

Wakefield 36, Riverside 7: Wakefield (3-1) capitalized on five Riverside (0-4) turnovers. Marius Cooper caught three passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Khaaliq Lewis picked off two passes.

Western Harnett 8, Union Pines 5: The night’s biggest upset was the Eagles (1-4) knocking off the Vikings (4-1).

Bonitta Best, D. Clay Best, Tim Candon, Cale Colosimo, Jeff Hamlin, Leon Hargrove, Michael Held, Justin Hill, John Holt, David Justice, Mike Mangan, Aaron Moody, Geoff Neville, Ian Pierno, Mike Potter, Tom Shanahan, Elliott Warnock and Christian Worstell contributed.

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 7:37 PM with the headline "Friday’s High School Football Roundup."