Long TDs from Johnathan Spencer lead Middle Creek football past Cary
“Big Play Johnny” would have sufficed as an acceptable nickname for Middle Creek senior Johnathan Spencer on Thursday night.
Spencer had a 95-yard touchdown reception and a game-sealing 100-yard interception return for a score as the unbeaten Mustangs withstood a game effort by visiting Cary for a 21-0 victory in a Southwest Wake Athletic 4A Conference football game.
Quarterback Dominique Shoffner withstood a pair of interceptions, passing for 203 yards for Middle Creek (7-0, 3-0), which had entered Thursday’s contest averaging 44.5 points a game but was kept in check by both inclement weather and Cary’s bend-but-don’t-break defense.
Shoffner’s long touchdown pass to Spencer gave Middle Creek a 7-0 lead with 6 minutes, 31 seconds to go in the first quarter, and Shoffner later added a 7-yard TD run with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter to make it 14-0.
Cary (1-5, 0-3) drove to the Mustangs’ 5-yard line early in the fourth, and the Imps were poised to make it a one-possession game until Spencer picked off quarterback Keeyon Hicks’ short pass near the goal line and sprinted the length of the field for a TD to push the lead to 21-0 with 8:37 remaining.
“The interception was huge, they were getting ready to score and cut it to 14-7, and who knows at that point,” Middle Creek coach Randy Ragland said. “That was a big play.”
Turning point
A botched snap on a Middle Creek punt attempt gave Cary the ball at the Mustangs 24 with 8:30 to go in the first quarter, providing the Imps the chance to take an early lead. However, Cary fumbled on a second-and-goal at the 5, and one play later Shoffner connected on his 95-yard touchdown pass to Spencer to put Middle Creek ahead to stay.
They said it
“You have to give Cary a lot of credit, they came out with a great game plan,” Ragland said. “I was impressed with them, they’re better than 1-5, I’ll tell you that.”
Three who mattered
Dominique Shoffner, Middle Creek: The junior quarterback completed 13 of 26 passes for 206 yards – numbers that would have been better if not for rain-induced drops – and also had a couple of key runs on a third-quarter scoring drive that gave the Mustangs some breathing room.
Johnathan Spencer, Middle Creek: His two long TDs were huge, particularly his interception return.
“I just broke on the play and their quarterback telegraphed the pass,” Spencer said of Hicks’ pass toward the outside. “I just went straight towards the ball and took off.”
Isaiah Gibbons, Cary: The shifty back rushed 12 times for 54 yards, part of a 168-yard effort on the ground for the Imps.
By the numbers
2: Number of interceptions in an 11-second span late in the third quarter. Hicks’ pass was intercepted by Daniel Jackson, and on the next play Shoffner threw an interception to give Cary the ball back at its 36.
4: Turnovers committed by Cary.
266: Total yards of offense by Middle Creek, only 66 of those in the second half as Cary’s defense stiffened.
This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Long TDs from Johnathan Spencer lead Middle Creek football past Cary."