Football Preview: Fike Demons vs. South Johnston Trojans
The Fike Demons will square off against the South Johnston Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Fike took a loss when they played away from home on September 6th, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They came out on top against West Johnston by a score of 39-32. The Demons' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Cameron Pittman was his usual excellent self, rushing for 98 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, while also throwing for 208 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes. His longest rush was for an incredible 84 yards. Josiah Artis was Pittman's top target, picking up 91 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Fike's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Braylen Loftin, Zy'Quan Hines, William Monk, and Monk picked up one apiece. Fike got some further help from Jahre Richardson: he picked up a sack and made 14 total tackles.
Meanwhile, South Johnston was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Smithfield-Selma 35-7 at home. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Spartans are ranked 329th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Holt Langston, who rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Tyler Williams was another key player, rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to South Johnston's defense and their four sacks. Isaac Barefoot was especially locked on to Smithfield-Selma's QB and sacked him twice. Mason Weaver was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making nine total tackles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, South Johnston was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 326 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
The victory got Fike back to even at 2-2. As for South Johnston, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Thursday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Fike has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 179.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like South Johnston struggles in that department as they've been averaging 209.2. It's looking like Thursday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Fike came out on top in a nail-biter against South Johnston when the teams last played back in September of 2023, sneaking past 15-13. Does Fike have another victory up their sleeve, or will South Johnston turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
