WINSTON-SALEM By the end of the first quarter, new Butler quarterback Riley Ferguson had half as many interceptions as old Butler quarterback Christian LeMay had the entire 2009 season.

By the end of the first half, Ferguson had one interception (LeMay had only two all of last year) and had also had seen a shotgun snap hit him in the facemask. Ferguson ultimately lost that fumble for another turnover.

But by the end of his first game, Ferguson was celebrating with his teammates as he directed Butler to a 27-14 road win over Winston-Salem Mount Tabor before about 2,000 fans.

Ferguson's debut was a mixed bag but ultimately should be considered a success since Butler won its 16^th game in a row. Ferguson made his share of sophomore mistakes Friday night, but he also showcased the fantastic arm that has already attracted scholarship offers from LSU and Michigan. He calmed down considerably after some early errors to lead Butler to the final 20 points of the game.

"It was amazing," Ferguson said of his first start.

"He's going to be a phenomenal quarterback," Butler coach Mike Newsome said of Ferguson after his defending N.C. 4AA state champion Bulldogs fought through an early 14-7 deficit against a traditional 4A powerhouse to win.

Ferguson ended up 10-of-20 for 230 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His older brother Zach, a junior, was his primary target, catching 116 yards worth of Riley's passes.

"When I'm in trouble, I just look for my brother," Riley Ferguson said.

Ferguson is quarterbacking this team because LeMay - considered one of the top two high-school quarterbacks in America - cannot. The LeMay family announced this week that Christian LeMay, a senior with a scholarship offer to Georgia, isn't playing football at all this fall and plans to enroll at Georgia in January. He was suspended 40 days by Charlotte-Mecklenburg school officials for violating a code of conduct rule and the family lost its appeal of that ruling.

Another LeMay was on the field for Butler Friday. Christian's younger brother Uriah, a sophomore, had a relatively quiet game while playing wide receiver and defensive back.

Ferguson's lone touchdown pass provided some evidence of how good he's going to be. He had to fake two handoffs on the same play, then roll to his right and throw a tight spiral at Deion Walker 20 yards downfield. Ferguson hit Walker in stride and Walker - who had three touchdowns - did the rest to finish off a 64-yard TD.

Walker gets some credit for some of Ferguson's effort, too. Walker, a senior, kept seeking out Ferguson on the sideline early and pumping him up.

"He was trying to keep up my confidence," Ferguson said. "I was getting kind of frustrated after I threw that pick."

Mount Tabor blitzed Ferguson constantly, trying to rattle him and his inexperienced offensive line. But it didn't work much.

In the second half, Butler won going away, and Ferguson had the team thoroughly under control.

Said Newsome: "To tell you the truth, our kids miss Christian being a part of our football team. But like I've told our kids, we're going forward.... It's unfortunate Christian can't be out here with us, but Riley is our quarterback. And we're going to win a lot of football games."