Well, normally this would have come out on a Monday. But things at the good ship JNOW have been anything but normal lately.
I won’t bore you with the details of my slackness. Instead, let’s look back at Week 2:
Learning while winning
Princeton’s Kadyn Haire carried the ball one time in the Bulldogs’ win against Harnett Central before leaving with what hockey parlance would call a “lower body injury.”
LaDanian Strayhorn and Austin Lewallen picked up the slack in a big way, helping Princeton rally in the fourth quarter for a thrilling win.
Haire’s health is an obvious concern, but getting game reps for those other guys might prove beneficial in the long run.
Clash of titans?
We sort of figured that West Johnston would roll over Western Harnett, and it did just that with a 45-0 victory.
The defense was stellar again, not allowing a completion and giving up just 111 yards on the ground on 37 carries.
The offense got untracked, too, as Dane Trum threw for 183 yards and two scores while Lucas Fountain piled up 182 yards and two more scores on his 19 carries.
We’ll get to see where Jermaine Harper’s squad is this week when it hosts equally 2-0 Cleveland. The Rams knocked off Heritage, 42-26, last week. Jackson Byrd threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns and added two more scores on the ground. Tyson Stokes also topped 100 yards on the ground, finishing with 135 yards and a score.
A punch in the gut
When Johnathan Montague scored on a third-quarter run to put Clayton up, 28-10, it certainly looked like the Comets would get off to a 2-0 start with a win over Holly Springs.
The Golden Hawks had other ideas, however, reeling off the next 22 points to claim a 32-28 win.
It’s a bitter pill for the Comets, who will look to bounce back this week at home against 0-2 Wakefield.
A Captial time
Corinth Holders used a pair of 100-yard rushers in Jaylon Holder and Christian Neal to power past Broughton, 21-7, on Friday.
It’s the first win for Pirates head coach Martin Samek, who will look to make it two in a row at home against South Johnston on Thursday night (weather permitting).
Road warriors
Speaking of South, the Trojans made the short trip to Erwin to claim a 28-14 win over Triton.
Aiden Williams had a couple of touchdowns in support of an opportunistic defense that forced two fumbles, recorded six sacks and had an interception.
Kaleb Williams (11), Mason Weaver (8) and Jaekob Robinson (7) led the way in tackles. Fun fact: Weaver and his family were on the cover of the first issue of what would later become Johnston Now.
I feel old.
Kings of the North
I thought that 28.5-point spread for Rosewood was wildly inaccurate, and the Panthers proved it so by claiming a 14-6 win. The victory means a 2-0 start for North Johnston, and a heaping dose of momentum to take with it to Midway for a Thursday night clash (weather permitting).
The Raiders were on the wrong end of an 80-58 shootout with James Kenan last week, and scored 46 points in a Week 1 win against Hobbton.
So a pretty stout Panther defense is about to get a true test in Week 3.
Taking a week off
Normally, a Week 3 bye wouldn’t be ideal. But for Smithfield-Selma, on the heels of back-to-back losses on the road to start the season, a rethink is probably in order.
Coach Hancel Phipps’ Spartans will spend the week ironing out a few wrinkles before returning home on Sept. 8 for a date with Jordan.