Football Recap: Jacob Smith and John Evans Jr. Secure Win for Reagan + How To Watch

It was close, but on Friday the Reagan Raiders sidestepped the Lake Norman Wildcats for a 24-21 win.

Leading Reagan to victory were John Evans Jr. and Jacob Smith. Evans Jr. gained 224 total yards and a touchdown, while Smith rushed for 39 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Those 39 rushing yards gave Smith a new career-high.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Reagan was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 237 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lake Norman only rushed for 132.

King Kalama

Sacks

09/19/25 @ Lake Norman	3
09/12/25 vs Northern Guilford	0.50
09/05/25 vs Reidsville	1
08/29/25 @ Oak Grove	1

On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Reagan's defense and their four sacks. Lake Norman's QB won't forget King Kalama anytime soon given he sacked him three times. Thanks to that big game, Kalama is now up to 5.5 sacks on the season.

Despite the loss, Lake Norman saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kaden Craft threw for 197 yards and two TDs while completing 76% of his passes, and also punched in one score on the ground. The Wildcats also got a significant boost from Allen Jones, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 88 yards.

Reagan's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Lake Norman, their defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 3-2.

Reagan and Lake Norman will both get a bit of extra prep time before their next matchups. The next time the Raiders see the field they'll take on Northwest Guilford at 7:00 p.m. on October 3. As for Lake Norman, their break will end when they face Statesville at 7:00 p.m. on October 3.