After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Middle Creek, Eastern Wayne was happy to have turned things around on Friday. They came out on top against the North Johnston Panthers by a score of 32-20. The win continues a trend for the Warriors in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won five in a row.
Leading Eastern Wayne to victory were Tykel Battle and Izeiah Oates. Battle rushed for 116 yards and a pair of TDs on only 12 carries, while Oates rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Oates also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making four total tackles and defending one pass.
Eastern Wayne's run defense was locked in: North Johnston could only muster 2.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Caleb Jordan for the heroic effort on defense: he. Eastern Wayne didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged seven.
Caleb Jordan
| 08/22/25 vs Goldsboro | 6 |
| 09/12/25 @ Middle Creek | 6 |
| 08/29/25 vs C.B. Aycock | 10 |
| 09/19/25 @ North Johnston | 11 |
Eastern Wayne's defense also made the game a nightmare for Kaleb Pone., racking up seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jordan and Cincere Battle, who racked up five sacks between them. Jordan also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 11.
Loss or not, North Johnston got some senior leadership from Pone and Tyrece Hicks. Pone threw for 197 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 71.4% of his passes, while Hicks picked up 102 receiving yards and one score. Hicks didn't just play on offense: he also made four total tackles and defended one pass.
Eastern Wayne's record is now 3-1. As for North Johnston, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-2.
We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Eastern Wayne is set to take on their familiar foe North Lenoir at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, North Johnston will face off against rival North Pitt at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
