FUQUAY-VARINA – It didn’t take long at all for the 2008 Tri-8 Conference player of the year to add to his resume on Friday night as Fuquay-Varina (1-0) hosted Knightdale High (0-1) in the season opener. Junior fullback, Cory Hunter blew through the Knight’s defense on Fuquay’s first play from scrimmage for a 59-yard touchdown run. He didn’t slow down the rest of the night on the way to 201 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 26 carries in a 38-14 Fuquay win. And when Hunter wasn’t racking up yardage and bulling his way into the end zone, he was setting a good example for the younger players. After taking on a prominent varsity role as an underclassman last year, Hunter had a few words of wisdom for sophomore running back and kick returner, Ricky Ferguson before the game. “I just told him to treat it as any other game, not to be nervous, just settle down and do his thing and good things are going to happen,” Hunter said.

Ferguson must have been listening, because great things happened when he touched the football. He scored the game’s second touchdown on a five yard run in the first quarter, then scorched the Knights for an 85-yard kickoff return in the third. “I was just thinking, 'try to score for my team,'” Ferguson said of his thoughts when he saw green grass open in front of him on the return. “It’s like if you ever ran from a dog, it’s a scary feeling. You know, you get that extra boost of adrenaline and turn it on.”

Hunter scored twice in the second half on runs of three yards and 14 yards. Sophomore kicker, Kirk Stephenson handled the extra points and added a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Knightdale got on the board in the third quarter, as junior quarterback Ben Bolling scored on a 12-yard run.

In the fourth, Bolling found Aaron Smith in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Bolling completed 16 of 27 passes for 142 yards, but was intercepted twice. “They beat us physically on both sides of the ball,” Knightdale coach, Kamelio Johnson said. “Sometimes it’s hard to find a silver lining when you get beat up physically, but we did have a couple of guys that did well at times and collectively we did well at times. We just didn’t have enough to put plays together. And sometimes when you start off in the hole it’s hard to dig your way out.” With so much success on the ground (316 rushing yards) Fuquay and senior quarterback, Nate Budde attempted only three passes. But Budde impressed with his legs, rushing for 76 yards including one 55-yard run. Fuquay coach, Ryan Habich said he was very pleased with how Budde managed the game and triggered the offense with no give-aways. “That’s one thing we preach offensively – no turnovers,” Habich said. “Defensively, we want to create turnovers. Anytime you can play a game where you have no turnovers and no penalties, you’ve got a good chance of winning a football game, and we did that tonight.”