The Lakewood Leopards will challenge the North Johnston Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lakewood gave up the first points last Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. In a tight matchup that could have gone either way, they made off with a 27-26 victory over Red Springs. The 27-point effort marked the Leopards' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Nakai Owens was the offensive standout of the match as he rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
Lakewood wouldn't let Red Springs keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Lakewood can thank Reed Ammons and Dashaun Carr for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Johnston). They blew past Hobbton 56-34 on Friday. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 36-13.
Kaleb Pone continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 286 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 11.4 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 185 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.7 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 110.8 rushing yards per game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, North Johnston was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 281 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Lakewood pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. As for North Johnston, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Monday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Lakewood has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 249 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like North Johnston struggles in that department as they've been averaging 205. It's looking like Monday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Lakewood's way against North Johnston in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as Lakewood made off with a 28-8 win. Does Lakewood have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Johnston turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
