The North Johnston Panthers are taking a road trip to face off against the SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. North Johnston will be strutting in after a win while SouthWest Edgecombe will be coming in after a defeat.
North Johnston took a loss when they played away from home on October 10th, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Everything went their way against North Lenoir as they made off with a 48-25 victory. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 23 points or more this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead North Johnston to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tyrece Hicks, who rushed for 130 yards and one touchdown on only eight carries. Another player making a difference was Kaleb Pone, who rushed for 66 yards and a pair of scores on only eight carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: North Johnston was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 308 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 208 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
North Johnston didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Seth Scott.
Meanwhile, SouthWest Edgecombe was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They came up short against West Craven, falling 44-19.
North Johnston will need to focus on slowing down Devion Mayo Jr, one of several SouthWest Edgecombe players who made an impact when they last played. He rushed for 33 yards and one TD, and also threw for 138 yards and one touchdown. Keanaji Hopkins helped out on the ground, rushing for 82 yards.
North Johnston now has a winning record of 5-4. As for SouthWest Edgecombe, they now have a losing record of 4-5.
Thursday's contest might be decided on the ground. North Johnston has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 242.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like SouthWest Edgecombe struggles in that department as they've been averaging 175.9 rushing yards. There's a good chance Thursday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
North Johnston was taken down by SouthWest Edgecombe 48-0 when the teams last played back in April of 2021. Thankfully for the Panthers, Tayshaun Pittman (who rushed for 93 yards and a pair of scores on only six carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
