On the strength of its rushing game, Anson High School's football team defeated Hoke County High School, 49-35 on Friday.

After jumping out to an early 6-0 lead from a 60-yard run, Anson missed the extra point.

"We came out early and jumped on Hoke [County]," head coach Luke Hyatt said in an e-mail.

Within minutes, Anson scored again, completing the two-point conversion with a fake pass/handoff by quarterback Jordan Hildreth. The Bearcats were up 14-0.

Anson blocked a kick and recovered it at Hoke's 30-yard line. The Bearcats rushed within striking distance and Hildreth passed to Jonathan Hough for a touchdown with 4:50 left in the first quarter. The Bearcats had leapt to a 21-0 lead.

Three minutes later, Jeremy Buchanon intercepted a pass by the Bucks, which began a long drive by Anson. The Bearcats ground through penalties to attempt a field goal in the opening seconds of the second quarter. The 30-yard kick was no good.

Anson made up for it seconds later when a tipped pass led to a touchdown. The Bearcats were up 28-0.

Vernon Brandon and Vander Willis used their combined might to score Hoke's first touchdown of the evening with 10:21 left in the second quarter. The pair would carry the team throughout the night.

With 1:22 remaining in the second quarter, Stephone Anthony rushed for Anson's fifth touchdown. The score was 35-7, Anson's favor.

"Everything was clicking for us in that first half," Hyatt said.

The second half would be rough and tumble, with lots of scoring and lots of penalties.

Three minutes into the third quarter, the Bucks would drive for a touchdown on the rushing strength of Brandon and Willis. The second half would be theirs in an admirable but futile effort.

Brandon Ellerbe answered with a rushing touchdown for the Bearcats four minutes later to put the score at 42-14. Ellerbe finished the night with 122 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Two minutes later Hoke returned fire with a long bomb into the end zone.

Dondre Crawford scored the final touchdown for Anson with 9:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bearcats had widened their lead to 49-21.

In the final six minutes, Hoke would score twice more to narrow the lead.

"Hoke was a very explosive football team," Hyatt wrote. "We knew they would score some points."

"All in all, [I'm] real proud of the kids and we are extremely happy to get another check mark in the win column," he added.

The Bearcats finished with 373 yards rushing. Maurice Copeland had seven carries for 129 yards.

Hildreth completed seven of 11 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown.

Hyatt urged everyone to wear orange for the Homecoming game Oct. 9. The Bearcats will play Sun Valley High School at 7:30 p.m.