It didn’t take long for Kevin Fogg to take control of Apex’s home opener against Holly Springs Friday night. After a quick three-and-out stand by Apex’s defense, the senior running back returned a Holly Springs punt 80 yards into the end zone for the game’s first score.

By the game’s end, Fogg tallied three rushing touchdowns and 117 yards on the ground to accompany his punt return for a score, ultimately leading the Cougars to a 35-24 win over the Golden Hawks.

“Kevin has just got a great talent,” Apex coach Bob Wolfe said. “We’ve just got to find the ways that are most effective in each game to get him the ball. But we’ve got some other people who can do things too, and we were trying tonight to get the ball to those other people, other than Kevin. I’m hoping over the long haul that’s going to help, because you can’t just give it to him all the time.”

Though Fogg appeared unstoppable in the game, Holly Springs did not go down quietly in the contest. After Fogg’s punt return for a touchdown, the Golden Hawks kept their composure and drove 62 yards to tie the score on a two-yard quarterback keeper from senior quarterback Mark Collins.

Fogg would return the favor at the end of the first quarter with a 17-yard touchdown run and help Apex build a 14-10 lead at the half, hardly enough of a cushion for comfort.

“We started out with a bang with the punt return and then we had a good drive for a score,” Wolfe said. “And then we just kind of fizzled in the second quarter and we didn’t do a good job of execution.”

Perhaps the greatest game changer, however, was a third-quarter Holly Springs punt that Apex blocked and recovered for a score to give the Cougars a 21-10 edge on the Hawks. Though Holly Springs made its runs, the special team’s mistakes were too much to overcome.

“Special teams killed us,” said Holly Springs coach James Hynus, a former Apex assistant. “We gave up 21 points off of special teams and at any phase of the game you can’t do that and win against a well-coached team like Apex.”

The second half was more of the same for Fogg, who rushed for two more scores on runs of 12 and 16 yards respectively. According to Hynus, Fogg’s speed was simply too much for his team’s defense.

“[If] Kevin gets in your secondary, we’re not going to catch him,” Hynus said. “We just don’t have that kind of speed. I mean, we had a couple blown assignments, and once he gets out in the open, there ain’t nobody in this area that is going to catch him. I don’t really think we were sloppy, it’s just when he’s got the ball you can’t make any mistakes.”

Though Apex held off Holly Springs for the 11-point victory, the score was much closer than Apex may have anticipated, Hynus said. And though his team lost the game, the improvements from a season ago encouraged the outspoken coach.

“We came out, we didn’t lay down, we did some good things. We scared the piss out of them,” Hynus said. “We’re not out here just to survive; we did that last year. We’re out for wins. We can hold our heads up high, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, because we could have taken this one with a few more plays.”

According to Wolfe, the Cougars will have to adjust to playing as the favorite and not the underdog. Predicted to top the Tri-Eight conference this season, Wolfe said his team will get the best of every opponent, even in nonconference play.

“We talked about that, if we were going to be picked to be the conference champion, then we were going to get people’s best shot and they were going to come after us,” Wolfe said. “We’ve got to be able to handle that, and we did tonight. Every time they came, we answered, and it wasn’t always the prettiest, but we answered. It’s not getting any easier.”