No. 2 Wake Forest dominates Panther Creek in football opener

It didn’t take long for N&O No. 2 Wake Forest to show just how good it could be this season.

Wake Forest dominated Panther Creek 49-6 Friday night, in its first game .

“Week 1, proud of it. Offense and defense definitely did their jobs,” Wake Forest coach Reggie Lucas said. “There were definitely mistakes and you’re going to get mistakes from Week 1. I’ll look at the film and we’ll correct those mistakes, but more importantly move on to the next week.”

After a three-and-out by Panther Creek to start the game, the Catamounts punted the ball from inside their 10-yard line.

Wake Forest (1-0) blocked the punt, and received it at Panther Creek’s 4-yard-line.

Two plays later, Wake Forest punched it in with junior running back Devon Lawrence.

It didn’t stop there. Wake Forest scored on two of its next three possessions to put them up 21-0.

Lawrence was responsible for all three early touchdowns.

Panther Creek (0-1) struggled to get its offense going Friday night. The Catamounts forced a couple of turnovers, but couldn’t capitalize.

Panther Creek struggled to find last season’s top playmaker, senior wide receiver Justin Smalls, and rarely got into their opponent’s territory.

Smalls finished with three catches for 24 yards.

Panther Creek’s lone touchdown came early in the third quarter. Quarterback Anthony Burlingame threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Joe Broucek. But by then it was too late.

Wake Forest was already up 49-6.

Panther Creek senior running back Addison Pinkney finished with 33 yards on nine carries.

Wake Forest’s Lawrence finished with two rushing touchdowns and 100 yards rushing on seven carries. He also added a 63-yard touchdown catch.

“Obviously Lawrence has talent, and you saw that tonight,” Lucas said.

Running back Marquis Dunn also got in the action. He finished with 79 yards and one touchdown on four carries.

By the start of the second half, up 49-0, Lucas pulled his starters.

Next week Wake Forest will face Apex at home. Panther Creek will face Leesville Road at home.

Despite the performance Lucas said he wasn’t totally satisfied. He was picky about what he wanted to see going forward.

“Just less mistakes and continue to play well on defense,” Lucas said. “And special teams, I didn’t like the way we finished the game on special teams.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 10:07 PM with the headline "No. 2 Wake Forest dominates Panther Creek in football opener."