In its season opener at Cooper Field on Friday night, Cary had five more first downs than Broughton and held the ball for almost five more minutes than the Caps.

But all it took was two back-breaking plays and a few costly mistakes to shift momentum in Broughton’s favor in the Caps’ 42-21 win over the Imps.

The first came at the end of the first half. Trailing 21-7, Cary couldn’t melt enough time off the clock and gave the Caps one last shot with 1:26 left.

Two plays later, Broughton quarterback Chandler Browning found wide receiver Rob Foster streaking across the middle of the field in mid-stride, who scampered 56 yards for a touchdown.

Then midway through the third quarter, the Imps fumbled on their own 36.

Broughton capitalized on Cary’s mistake as tailback Emery Young made a shifty, tackle-breaking touchdown run four plays later.

Suddenly, Broughton was up 35-7 and had total control of the game.

“Any time you can take a mistake off the board and be able to punch it in, that’s big time,” said Broughton coach Chris Martin.

It’s not as if the Imps couldn’t move the ball. But losing three fumbles certainly didn’t help Cary.

“It’s a total team effort and once things started rolling and when we turned it over, it kind of took the wind out of us,” said Cary tight end and defensive lineman Chris Barfield.

And Broughton simply had the Imps’ Wing-T offense figured out, as Cary couldn’t put together scoring drives until the fourth quarter. By that time, the Caps already had control.

“It’s kind of hit-or-miss, really. They did a great job of defending Wake Forest-Rolesville at the end of last year,” said Cary coach Ben Kolstad, referring to the offense scheme the Imps and Cougars share.

We turned the ball over more than I wanted to, but that happens. We’re going to get better, I can promise that,” he added.

There were some bright spots for the Imps, though. After Browning’s 1-yard quarterback sneak put Broughton up 7-0 early in the first quarter, Cary’s Bryan Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a score.

Though he was sacked four times, Cary quarterback Daniel Steed went 11-for-21 with 136 yards. Andrew Hill led the Imps on the ground with 116 yards on 19 carries.

The Imps also put together a five-minute, 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.

“I was proud of the way our guys played in the second half. We made a couple adjustments and played better in the second half,” Kolstad said. “Broughton is a good team, but we made a lot of mistakes.

“Defensively, we didn’t help ourselves out well.”

The Imps didn’t have an answer for Young, who ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Through the air, Browning passed for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-20 passing.

“We wanted to come out and set the tempo and we did that very well on the ground,” Browning said. “Take advantage of anything they give you and we did a good job of that.”

Now Cary will turn its attention to Leesville Road, which it faces Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“We just need to bounce back. When someone’s feeling down, pick them up,” Barfield said. “It’s a learning experience right now.