North Johnston wears down Smithfield-Selma football
North Johnston won its second consecutive game against a Johnston County opponent as the Panthers wore down Smithfield-Selma 42-7 Friday night behind a strong performance from junior quarterback Trey Whitley.
Whitley accounted for five touchdowns, four on the ground and one in the air, as North Johnston improved to 4-1 on the season.
“He is making the right reads and he understands the offense better,” said North Johnston coach John Riba of his signal caller. “He’s just a great athlete and he’s doing a great job for us.”
Whitley scored on runs of 3, 7, 16 and 38 yards as the North Johnston offensive line was outstanding in front of him.
After the Panthers put together an impressive eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive to open up the game, Smithfield-Selma miscues helped North Johnston pull away.
The Spartans (0-5) lost four fumbles on the night, allowing North Johnston to get a huge edge in the field position battle which was further compromised due to enough penalties to total up to over 100 yards against Smithfield-Selma for the game.
TURNING POINT
After forcing the Panthers to punt in the second quarter and down just one touchdown, Smithfield-Selma moved the ball into Panthers territory before two penalties and a bad snap moved them back 37 yards. Diego Santiago then came through with a huge punt block that gave North Johnston great field position itself.
Five plays later, Panthers quarterback Trey Whitley capitalized when he found Jordan Aycock down the middle for a 15-yard touchdown toss that gave North Johnston the 21-7 lead.
THREE TO KNOW
Trey Whitley, North Johnston: The junior quarterback used both his arm and his feet to lead the Panthers attack, scoring four times on keepers and tossing the lone touchdown pass in the second quarter. Whitley ended with 138 total yards of offense.
Ziggy Durogene, Smithfield-Selma: The speedster gave the Spartans an added dimension on offense as evidenced by his 53-yard scamper on his first touch of the game that set up Tyquan Dublin’s touchdown three plays later. Durogene ended his night with 84 yards on 12 attempts.
Gavin Suttles, North Johnston: When the game was still in doubt, the North Johnston free safety twice was asked to make open-field tackles against Smithfield-Selma’s Ziggy Durogene and, on both occasions, came up with stops that prevented big gains or possibly touchdowns.
BY THE NUMBERS
7: Rushing attempts for North Johnston’s Trey Whitley of which four ended with touchdowns.
8: North Johnston first downs.
10: Smithfield-Selma first downs.
44: Yards the Panthers’ Holden Hales rumbled in for a touchdown after picking up a fumble in the fourth quarter.
62: Hardnosed yards rushing for Smithfield-Selma’s Tyquan Dublin.
142: Yards rushing for North Johnston.
THEY SAID IT
“I know the scoreboard doesn’t show it but these boys are unbelievable,” Smithfield-Selma football coach Wes Hill said. “I couldn’t ask for better kids. Their effort on Friday night is not a reflection of who they are.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 11:37 PM with the headline "North Johnston wears down Smithfield-Selma football."