Cleveland is 7-1 against West Johnston since September of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Cleveland Rams will be playing in front of their home fans against the West Johnston Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Cleveland will head into Friday's match hoping to keep the good times rolling: they only won by three when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 28-point they dealt Heritage on Friday. Cleveland breezed by Heritage on the road to the tune of 34-6. Given the Rams' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Huskies are ranked 129th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jackson Byrd was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Malachi Thomas was Byrd's top target, picking up 86 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Cleveland's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jaylen King and Theron Batiste. With that strong performance, King is now averaging an impressive 5 total tackles per game. Cleveland got some further help from Daniel Lugo: he picked up two sacks and made 11 total tackles (7.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, West Johnston didn't have too much trouble with Western Harnett on the road on Friday as they won 28-14.
Josiah Wells had a dynamite game for West Johnston, rushing for 151 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries, while also throwing for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Cleveland pushed their record up to 2-0 with that victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for West Johnston, their win bumped their record up to an identical 2-0.
Everything came up roses for Cleveland against West Johnston in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 as the team secured a 46-0 victory. Does Cleveland have another victory up their sleeve, or will West Johnston turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
