BENSON - West Johnston had already passed the transition test. The Wildcats had also passed the rivalry test, beating South Johnston. Then West passed the perennial power test, downing defending Greater Neuse River 4-A champ Garner three weeks ago.

Friday night, the Wildcats passed the heavy favorite meets nearby conference rival test.

West downed Clayton 34-14 in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate.

The Wildcats found their quick-hitting offensive attack in the fourth quarter and pulled away after leading just 14-7 entering the final period.

Junior back C.J. Frederick ran for four touchdowns, including two in West's 20-point fourth quarter. He finished with 175 yards rushing on 17 carries.

"We had to battle and battle because Clayton was handing it to us for most of the game," said Wildcats coach Bennett Jones, who left the Clayton coaching staff just 10 days before the start of fall practice to become West's head coach. "We were finally able to find our rhythm on offense and had our big-play guys like C.J. come up with some plays."

West Johnston moved to 8-0 (4-0 in the Greater Neuse River 4-A) for the first time in school history and broke its single-season mark for wins that was set just last season. Clayton fell to 2-6 and 1-3 in the league.

Clayton relied heavily on its power-I running game to control the clock in the first half, limiting the Wildcats to three first-half possessions.

Clayton milked six-plus minutes off the clock in the second quarter and pulled even at 7-7 on a 6-yard run by Juwan Williams.

"That's the thing about that team and those guys," Jones said of the Comets. "They're so good and so drilled in what they do well, it's hard to match up against. Juwan just had a heck of a game for them."

Williams finished with 126 rushing on 13 carries.

West led 14-7 at halftime, and Frederick came within a yard of adding to the West lead in the third quarter, but was stripped of the ball while stretching to try to reach the end zone.

On Clayton's ensuing possession, Drew Boyd forced a Comets fumble at the Clayton 25-yard line that teammate Christian Ohiaeri recovered. On the ensuing drive, Morton found DeeAnthony Greene open on a slant pass for a 12-yard TD connection and a 20-7 West with 10:48 to play.

Frederick had TD runs of 55 and 65 yards in the final six minutes.

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