West Johnston took care of business in their home opener on Friday (barely). They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 37-34 win over the Harnett Central Trojans. The victory was some much needed relief for the Wildcats as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Josiah Wells had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.3 yards per attempt. He got the majority of those yards when he took off on a run and that went for an incredible89 yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, West Johnston was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 239 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August of 2023.
West Johnston's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Chrystian Cokley. West Johnston got some further help from Jamari Giles: he made 16 total tackles (6.0 for loss).
Harnett Central's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was DJ Brown, who picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Koby Howard, who threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns while completing 73.1% of his passes.
West Johnston will hit the road for the first time this season to square off against Western Harnett at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Harnett Central, they will welcome Princeton at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
