APEX — After a hard-fought 2-1 win over Enloe in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A soccer tournament, Apex was hoping it could get out to a quick start and avoid a similarly grueling evening in Saturday’s second-round matchup with Hoke County.

Done and done.

The Cougars scored three minutes into the contest and built a 3-0 lead in the first 12 minutes on their way to a 7-0 thrashing of the visiting Bucks (16-8-1).

“We finished really well,” said Apex defender Will Manning, one of six different goal scorers for the Cougars. “That’s one of the first times and that was definitely the good part. Everyone was playing well. We came out with good intensity and we put them away.”

The Cougars (18-0-2) took 31 shots, including 13 on goal, while Hoke mustered only five. The Bucks didn’t take their first shot until the 25th minute, and that one was a free kick from 45 yards out that went over the goal. Apex goalkeeper Ryan Hanson made his only save of the night in the 28th minute.

Apex kept the pressure off Hanson by controlling the midfield and preventing Hoke from getting anywhere near the Cougars’ defensive third for most of the first half. Most of Apex’s goals came about because its midfield distributed the ball so well.

“Coach [Kevin] Todd talked about opening space so our forwards could get in, and we did that really well tonight,” said Apex midfielder Zac Tigner.

In the third minute, after a Will Stewart throw-in to the box, Jeff Palmer fired a shot on goal that was saved before Michael Smith slipped the rebound in.

Six minutes later, Parker McNeely sent a free kick into the box from midfield. Matt Thompson ran onto it and blasted it into the goal.

Three minutes after that, Manning stole a pass in the box and easily popped it in for a 3-0 lead.

Apex struck again in the 17th minute when Ryan Duffy played a perfect ball over the Hoke defense to Tigner, who then crushed his shot to the far post.

Just as Apex jumped on Hoke to start the game, they did the same at the start of the second half.

In the 45th minute, Kyle Bacon played a ball to Tigner in the far corner. As Tigner attracted the defense to him, he played the ball to the center of the box and Smith easily finished it for a 5-0 lead.

A minute later, Duffy struck a free kick from 30 yards out that was saved, but Stewart crashed the goal and put the rebound in for a 6-0 advantage.

Jason Galatioto finished the Bucks off with a goal in the 77th minute.

Next up, Apex will play Wilmington Hoggard (18-1-1) tonight, Wednesday, in the third round of the state tournament.

“We can build on this,” Todd said. “We had the goal of we wanted to be improving every game that we were in, no matter how long or short we were in [the playoffs]. Could this next game be better than the last?”