A focused Fuqua School football team sewed everything up by halftime in its 41-20 victory over Tidewater Academy in Wakefield on Friday night.

By the intermission, the Falcons had scored all of their 41 points on the evening, which gave them ample opportunity to work on some things before they begin a tough stretch of October games.

“We did what we needed to do,” said FS head coach Skeeter Fore of a game that will not go down in the history books as one of the great victories of the historic program. “We built a manageable lead, and were able to try some different things in the second half.”

Fuqua took little time to score, as Michael Marquez put the Falcons on the board first, and a two-point conversion by Larry Haskins gave them an 8-0 lead.

Tidewater countered with a score of its own to cut the FS lead to 8-6, but the Falcons quickly shut the door on any designs the Warriors had on pulling off an upset.

Marquez put the Falcons ahead 14-6 on an 11-yard run and moments later jarred a ball loose from a TA receiver. Charles Williams then picked up the football and sprinted 36-yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Fuqua capitalized on a number of short-field situations, as the Warriors were forced to go for fourth down conversions on their own end of the field.

“They passed the ball a lot, which gives them the best chance at getting a victory. You do what you have to do, and if a few of those passes can find open receivers, you can become a very dangerous team.”

Fuqua (5-0), which, in truth, needed to work against a pass-heavy offense, avoided enough big plays and made enough on its own to force a running clock in the second half.

Williams scored early in the second quarter on a 10-yard run and then hit Jai Jamerson for a 20-yard touchdown pass, before capping Fuqua's scoring late in the first half on a broken play that resulted in a 52-yard touchdown run.

“He's done that all season,” said Fore of his quarterback's ability to turn broken plays into scores. “If you're a defense, I'm not sure you want to give him the opportunity of a broken play. He has an agility and a toughness to make things happen when he has to reverse field.”

Tidewater scored twice late in the game to bring the game to a closer outcome.

Williams led the Falcons on defense, getting 80 yards on six carries and rushing for two touchdowns, while Haskins carried the ball eight times for 76 yards and had one reception for 30 yards. Marquez had five rushes for 22 yards and two touchdowns.

Williams was 3-8 passing for 57 yards and a touchdown to Jamerson, who had one grab for the 20-yard touchdown.

Defensively, Cody Bailey had 13 tackles, while Clayton Worrell had 11 stops on the night. Marquez had five tackles, an interception and a forced fumble, while LeVon Harper had four stops and a pass deflection.

The schedule gets tougher this week, as Fuqua travels to Isle of Wight Academy at 7 p.m.

The Chargers were upset by Tidewater Academy 10-7 last week.