Fuquay-Varina 29, Cary 21

The Bengals ran 38 times for 196 yards and had no turnovers. They were also able to protect the ball with the running game and minimize mistakes, committing just four penalties for a loss of 28 yards in the game compared to Cary’s 12 for 116 yards.

The reason why Cary lost: The Imps lost because of missed opportunities and penalties. On several occasions the Imps began drives near midfield and could not capitalize. Throughout most of the first half Cary dominated the field position game and yet only managed a 14-14 halftime tie.

And penalties killed Cary drives on offense and extended Fuquay-Varina drives. Repeatedly, the Imps had long runs called back because of holding penalties. And two pass interference penalties against the Imps facilitated the Bengals’ game-tying drive at the end of the second quarter.

Records: Fuquay-Varina (7-2 overall, 4-0 conference), Cary (6-4 overall, 2-3 conference).

Game changers: The game-changing play of the night came with 1:34 remaining and Fuquay-Varina at Cary’s 24-yard line. The Bengals faced fourth down and 7 with the score tied at 21. Bengals’ quarterback Chris Baker threw left to receiver Greg Byrd short of the first down line. Instead of turning to run, Byrd lateralled the ball back to receiver Tom Minor, who ran for 23 yards down to the one.

The hook-and-ladder play set up the go-ahead touchdown run by Baker that sealed the victory.

Momentum swing: Fuquay-Varina’s final drive, which came after a poor Cary punt gave Fuquay-Varina good field position.

Tipping point: Down 29-21 with the Imps on the Bengals’ 38 and 20 seconds remaining, Cary quarterback Kendall Smith threw an interception that ended any Cary threat. Fuquay-Varina was then able to kneel and kill the clock.

By the numbers: Fuquay-Varina running Zack Powell rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries, including a 53-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. ... Bengals running back Josh Quinn rushed for 71 yards on just five carries, including a 65-yard touchdown run. ... Cary running back Alex Hellard led the Imps in rushing with 96 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. ... Imps running back Denny Feracho scored on a 45-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. ... Cary quarterback Kendall Smith completed 14 of 26 passes for 152 yards.

Quotables:

Fuquay-Varina coach David Riggs on the hook-and-ladder play — “The [hook-and-ladder] play goes back to our July practices and August practices. And under pressure [Baker] has delivered the football exactly where it needed to be, and the receiver took it and gave it right to [Minor]. Execution’s the key. But it came at a good time and the right time. It wouldn’t have been any good if the pass was too high or too low. Nobody would be talking about it or they’d be saying it was a bad call.”

Fuquay-Varina quarterback Chris Baker on the difference — “We came out in the second half and executed. We moved the ball when we needed to.”

Cary coach Ben Kolstad on the loss — “[The penalties] were tough. We made some mistakes, but I don’t know if that was the deciding factor in the game. We gave up some really big plays, but [the penalties] were definitely lopsided. And that’s tough because it was such a hard fought high school football game. You hate to have things decided by that.”

Up next: Fuquay-Varina next plays Apex (5-4 overall, 2-2 conference) at home on Friday, while Cary enjoys a bye week before closing out at Apex on Nov. 3.