Cary compiled just 90 yards of total offense Saturday against Sanderson and had a handful of drive-killing penalties on their way to a 16-0 loss.

“We were off. We gave it 100 percent, but things just didn’t work out for us,” said Cary defensive lineman Eloheim Palma. “We tried our best, but it was an off day. We’re going to prove what we have when we come back next week.”

Thunderstorms rained almost every game throughout eastern North Carolina Friday. While some teams elected to play their games Monday, others opted for Saturday. Cary and Sanderson decided to play Saturday afternoon so each would have a normal week of preparation for their upcoming game this Friday.

“It’s fun to play on Saturday afternoon,” said Sanderson coach Jason Tindal.

Easy for him to say.

The Spartans got field goals of 18, 31 and 39 yards from kicker Ben Martin, and a touchdown from Brewer Brunson early in the third quarter.

Cary rushed for just 17 rushing yards on 36 carries. Tailback Denny Feracho, who ran for two touchdowns and more than 100 yards in each of the Imps’ first four games, was held to 33 yards on 15 carries.

“They were a good team,” said Cary center Scott Brodd. “They rushed as hard as they could. We did the best we could, but I know we could’ve done better.”

After falling behind 10-0, five of Cary’s final seven possessions started at its own 21 or worse.

“Field position, I thought, was the biggest factor,” Kolstad said. “We were always pinned deep, and they always had pretty good field position. That limited what we could do, and we just weren’t very good today.”

Early in the second quarter, Cary thought it had taken a 6-0 lead when Kendall Smith and Cameron Castor hooked up for a 26-yard touchdown pass. But the score was called back because of holding.

“Mistakes are going to kill you like that,” Kolstad said. “It’s demoralizing. You think you’ve got something good, and then it comes back because of penalties.”

The Imps wound up having to punt on that drive and never got close to the end zone again.

“What I was so proud of was our defense after that came back, stood their ground and did a great job stopping them,” Tindal said.

With 51 seconds to play in the first half, Sanderson took over at the Cary 40-yard line. The Spartans marched to the Cary 15. On third and 10, Cary’s Tyler Everett sacked Sanderson quarterback Jeff Massey for a 7-yard loss.

Martin trotted onto the field and split the uprights from 39 yards for a 3-0 Sanderson lead.

The Spartans got the ball coming out of the locker room and promptly marched 62 yards on six plays. The key to that drive was when Massey dropped back to throw a short pass to the flank but pulled the ball down and took off for a 49-yard run. Brunson scored from 3 yards out on the next play.

“He was supposed to pass,” Tindal said. “He drops back to pass and I start yelling, ‘Oh my god!’ And then he takes off. It was one of those plays. He made a play. To get something like that, there are some breakdowns on their side and some luck on our side.”

Cary played reasonably well defensively, limiting Sanderson to 238 total yards. But in a game that was so close, a few breakdowns proved most damaging.

Now the Imps turn their attention to the Tri-Eight Conference. They play their first league game Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Lee County.

“We’ve got to rally,” Kolstad said. “We’re going to see what we’re made of now. Conference play starts next week, and we’ve got to be ready to go.”