SEVEN SPRINGS — Spring Creek had the opportunity to seize a conference-opening victory for the first time since 2010 slip away early Friday evening.
The Gators just couldn’t finish the job.
They came up empty on two first-quarter, red-zone possessions and never recovered in a 43-0 loss to North Johnston in “The Swamp.”
It was the Neuse Six 2A opener for both teams.
“I believe we would have had the momentum swing and things would have possibly went a little bit different,” SC head coach Ron Wise said. “When the momentum swung their way, we let it get out of hand. They were a good team, but we were literally calling their plays … knew every play they were doing.
“We should have won this game tonight.”
Scoreless after one quarter, dynamic quarterback Kaleb Pone helped the Panthers develop an offensive rhythm. A long fourth-down completion set up the visitors’ first score — a 4-yard burst by Maleek Farris-Teachey.
After a Gator punt, Pone and Tyler Danielson hooked up for a 30-yard touchdown strike. Pone later added a 41-yard jaunt, which boosted North Johnston’s advantage to 22-0 with 96 seconds left before halftime.
Pone dodged tacklers and scored twice in the second half, while Traquin Watson broke off a 43-yard run.
“Freshmen and sophomores [on the field],” Wise said of Pone’s ability to find the seams and break past the second level. “Their team is compiled mainly of seniors and juniors, so you know it’s a little bit different.”
Spring Creek turned the ball over downs on six occasions, punted twice and had a pass picked off.
Quarterback Darius “DJ” Deal connected on short passes and established the running game with Malachi Moore. But the Panthers also bothered the signal caller with blitzes that forced either short or long throws.
Moore churned out tough yardage against a gang-tackling Panther defense.
“It boiled down to offensively we as coaches didn’t get that first series, which changed that momentum,” Wise said. “We started to get a hold of things, then it kind of stacked up on us and got away from us.”
North Johnston remained unbeaten in eight meetings against Spring Creek since 2004. Four of those conquests occurred in the Neuse Six opener for both teams.
The Gators (1-4 overall) play three of their final four contests on the road starting next week at Eastern Wayne, which earned a share of the Neuse Six title a year ago.
“We’ll put it together, come back [Monday] and go to the drawing board,” a confident Wise said. “This is a tough one.”
You may reach Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
North Johnston 43, Spring Creek 0
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
NJ — Farris-Teachey 4 run (Pone run), 10:08
NJ — Danielson 30 pass from Pone (Pone run), 5:46
NJ — Pone 41 run (pass failed), 1:36
Third Quarter
NJ — Pone 16 run (run good), 8:43
NJ — Watson 43 run (run failed), 4:10
Fourth Quarter
NJ — Pone 8 run (Rabil kick), 9:36