Football Game Preview: West Johnston Wildcats vs. Harnett Central Trojans

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Previous Games

08/23/24 - Home	37-34 W
08/18/23 - Away	24-16 W
08/19/22 - Home	28-13 W
02/25/21 - Home	21-15 W
08/24/19 - Away	0-7 L
+ 4 more games

West Johnston has gone 8-1 against Harnett Central recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Wildcats will head out to face off against the Trojans at 7:00 p.m. West Johnston will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.

West Johnston will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Triton, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Wildcats walked away with a 16-7 victory over the Hawks on Friday. The win was some much needed relief for the Wildcats as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 47 points the game before, Harnett Central was a bit more limited in their game on Friday. They took a 28-12 bruising from Union Pines. The defeat continues a trend for the Trojans in their meetings with the Vikings: they've now lost five in a row.

West Johnston will have to keep a close watch on Koby Howard and Dj Brown, a pair of players who had a big impact on Harnett Central's prior game. Howard threw for 327 yards and two TDs while completing 72.1% of his passes, while Brown picked up 138 receiving yards and one score.

Even if they lost, Harnett Central's defense still kept up the pressure with four sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as four different players picked up one apiece. William Jones was another major factor on D, forcing one fumble and making nine total tackles (1.0 for loss).

Harnett Central's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 4-2. As for West Johnston, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-4.

West Johnston skirted past Harnett Central 37-34 when the teams last played back in August of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.