Faith Christian delivers conference win
By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer
Joshua Hughes made the most of his moment.
Zach Warrick was given more responsibility and found himself celebrating in the end zone.
Hughes isn’t a regular starter for the Faith Christian School football team, and Warrick isn’t used to being the first option on offense. But both juniors played like they belonged in a 52-14 Patriots win over visiting Cary Christian on Thursday in Colonial Carolina Conference play.
Hughes ran hard and turned 13 carries into a team-high 53 yards with a touchdown, his first of the season. Hughes’ 7-yard touchdown run -- his first score of the season -- came just before halftime to give the Patriots a 44-8 lead.
“I just wanted to punch it in,” Hughes said. “I tried my hardest today and had a lot of fun doing it. I don’t play all that much, so when I had my opportunity I wanted to make sure I gave it everything I had.”
FCS (5-2, 3-2) rebounded to earn a commanding win after suffering a pair of losses the past two weeks. The Patriots opened the season with four consecutive wins, before losing against conference-leader Rocky Mount Academy, then Raleigh St. David’s.
The Patriots looked sharp on Thursday, however, scoring touchdowns in a variety of ways. Quarterback Sam Mills threw for two touchdowns, while Christian Fate, Nick Clark and Hughes each added touchdown runs.
Jon Stallings returned a kick 70 yards for a touchdown to open the second half, and Warrick added an interception return for a touchdown.
“I thought we did a good job of playing smart football tonight,” FCS coach Russell Weinstein said. “We had some tough games the past two weeks where we made a lot of mistakes. Turnovers hurt us, we didn’t take care of the ball. But we regrouped tonight.”
Warrick caught the first of two touchdown passes Mills threw, highlighting the Patriots ability to take advantage of short field after turning in strong defensive series which included an interception, fumble recovery and a sack on the first three drives.
The Patriots turned that into four touchdowns on their first five offensive plays, and Warrick’s pick-six pushed the lead to 38-0 by the 10:05 mark of the second quarter. Warrick, the Patriots defensive end, ran out to the flat and jumped a pass and raced 85 yards for a score.
It was the first time the junior found the end zone this season, and he did so on both offense and defense in the win.
“My job is to take away that part of the field and the play took me toward the sideline,” Warrick said. “I went up and grabbed the ball, then started running and tried to beat everyone to the end zone.
“I think this shows all the practice we’re putting in. We didn’t get down on ourselves after those losses. We all want to keep getting better, and that showed tonight.”
Cary Christian (0-6, 0-5) finished with 213 total yards, out-gaining the Patriots’ 145. The Knights’ numbers were inflated by a pair of long touchdown runs by Henry Shriver, who ran for scores of 68 and 55 yards.
By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer
Joshua Hughes made the most of his moment.
Zach Warrick was given more responsibility and found himself celebrating in the end zone.
Hughes isn’t a regular starter for the Faith Christian School football team, and Warrick isn’t used to being the first option on offense. But both juniors played like they belonged in a 52-14 Patriots win over visiting Cary Christian on Thursday in Colonial Carolina Conference play.
Hughes ran hard and turned 13 carries into a team-high 53 yards with a touchdown, his first of the season. Hughes’ 7-yard touchdown run -- his first score of the season -- came just before halftime to give the Patriots a 44-8 lead.
“I just wanted to punch it in,” Hughes said. “I tried my hardest today and had a lot of fun doing it. I don’t play all that much, so when I had my opportunity I wanted to make sure I gave it everything I had.”
FCS (5-2, 3-2) rebounded to earn a commanding win after suffering a pair of losses the past two weeks. The Patriots opened the season with four consecutive wins, before losing against conference-leader Rocky Mount Academy, then Raleigh St. David’s.
The Patriots looked sharp on Thursday, however, scoring touchdowns in a variety of ways. Quarterback Sam Mills threw for two touchdowns, while Christian Fate, Nick Clark and Hughes each added touchdown runs.
Jon Stallings returned a kick 70 yards for a touchdown to open the second half, and Warrick added an interception return for a touchdown.
“I thought we did a good job of playing smart football tonight,” FCS coach Russell Weinstein said. “We had some tough games the past two weeks where we made a lot of mistakes. Turnovers hurt us, we didn’t take care of the ball. But we regrouped tonight.”
Warrick caught the first of two touchdown passes Mills threw, highlighting the Patriots ability to take advantage of short field after turning in strong defensive series which included an interception, fumble recovery and a sack on the first three drives.
The Patriots turned that into four touchdowns on their first five offensive plays, and Warrick’s pick-six pushed the lead to 38-0 by the 10:05 mark of the second quarter. Warrick, the Patriots defensive end, ran out to the flat and jumped a pass and raced 85 yards for a score.
It was the first time the junior found the end zone this season, and he did so on both offense and defense in the win.
“My job is to take away that part of the field and the play took me toward the sideline,” Warrick said. “I went up and grabbed the ball, then started running and tried to beat everyone to the end zone.
“I think this shows all the practice we’re putting in. We didn’t get down on ourselves after those losses. We all want to keep getting better, and that showed tonight.”
Cary Christian (0-6, 0-5) finished with 213 total yards, out-gaining the Patriots’ 145. The Knights’ numbers were inflated by a pair of long touchdown runs by Henry Shriver, who ran for scores of 68 and 55 yards.
