It was very much a mixed bag for Johnston County programs in Week 5. We had triumph, we had heartbreak and we had a power failure.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
The night that the light went out in McGe’s
Early in the second quarter of a 0-0 game with Fike, the lights went out at West Johnston.
They were out long enough to delay the game and push its completion back to Monday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. Talk about a weird way to get your conference slate underway.
Lord Montague and company
The Clayton Comets blew past Fuquay-Varina, 39-14, to move to 3-1 on the season, and Johnathan Montague continued putting up strong numbers.
He had plenty of help, too.
Not too shabby.
Rams roll on
Remember those first two Cleveland games when it won, but didn’t exactly set the world on fire? We’ve apparently arrived at the high octane part of the season for the Rams.
Cleveland posted its second straight shutout in a 51-0 win against Corinth Holders, and it marks the third week in a row in which the offense scored at least 42 points.
However, the “donut” on the scoreboard was probably a bit more popular in the locker room.
Antwan Brown was the bright spot for the Pirates, recording a pair of interceptions on the night.
Getting defensive
I remember doing show prep for the South Johnston/Smithfield-Selma game and being struck by the tackles for loss and sacks recorded for the Trojans in MaxPreps. Honestly, I wondered if they might be cooking the books a little.
After watching the South Johnston defense in a 31-12 win at Smithfield-Selma, I am no longer skeptical.
In fact, after saying Jaekob Robinson’s name about 15 times on the air, I was surprised to see that he had only six tackles and two tackles for loss. I would have bet on double on both of those numbers.
That defense is fast and aggressive, and if the offense can limit its mistakes a little more effectively, the Trojans might be the team to beat in the Quad County 3A.
The Spartans, on the other hand, continue to be a work in progress. The effort is there, but the knowledge base and execution of a new offense is not.
More time and patience are required.
Road woes
Both Princeton and North Johnston were on the wrong end of narrow road losses last week.
Princeton was stopped near the goal line late in its 27-20 loss at Richlands Friday night, as the Bulldogs tendency to play in close games finally caught up with them.
It’s not going to get much easier for Princeton this week, as it heads to Clinton to take on the undefeated Dark Horses.
Meanwhile in Newton Grove adjacent, Hobbton stormed back from a 10-point, second-half deficit to edge North Johnston, 34-32.
Cooper Gibson had 144 rushing yards, two scores and six tackles for the Panthers in the loss.
Lakewood (4-1) comes calling this week as North tries to snap a two-game skid.