Football Recap: New Hanover Comes Up Short

The home team had won the previous five meetings between New Hanover and Laney, and Laney kept the tradition alive. The Wildcats fell 33-28 to the Buccaneers on Friday. The Wildcats were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Buccaneers apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in October of 2024.

Tanahri Johnson

Rushing Touchdowns

10/24/25 @ Laney	2
10/17/25 vs Ashley	2
10/10/25 @ West Brunswick	2
09/19/25 @ North Brunswick	1

When it comes to explaining why New Hanover lost, don't look at Tanahri Johnson. Despite the final result, he rushed for 20 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also threw for 194 yards and one TD. Johnson also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because the Wildcats are 2-1 when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 2-4 otherwise. New Hanover also got a significant boost from Tony Clark-Nelson, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 82 yards.

Jeremiah Brown was a one-man wrecking crew For Laney. as he rushed for 149 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. Those 149 rushing yards gave Brown a new career-high.

New Hanover now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Laney, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-4 record this season.

New Hanover will be playing in front of their home fans against Topsail at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Laney, they will head out to challenge North Brunswick at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Buccaneers will be up against the Scorpions' rather soft defense (which has allowed 27.44 points per contest), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.