C.A. Johnson’s Caleb Pearson scored five touchdowns to lead the Green Hornets to a 35-12 win over the Ridge Spring-Monetta Trojans Friday, November 4 in the first round of the Class A playoffs.
Ridge Spring-Monetta got the scoring started in the first quarter with a drive that began at its 30. Two runs by Deante Hopkins moved the ball to the 40. Then James Bosket found Tykeen Martin for a 60-yard touchdown pass to give the Trojans a 6-0 lead with 11 minutes left in the quarter.
The score held until the second quarter. C.A. Johnson began a drive at its 41. Dawan Rice had two runs for ten yards, and Pearson had two carries for 23 yards to get the ball to the Ridge Spring-Monetta 26. Then Pearson connected with Rice for 11 yards. Pearson finished the drive with two runs for 15 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run. Rice made the two-point conversion, and the Green Hornets led 8-6 with 7:37 left in the quarter.
C.A. Johnson’s next drive began at its 40. After a penalty set the Green Hornets back to the 35, DeJayline Jacobs rushed for 11 yards to the 46. Rice then carried the ball to the 50. Pearson rushed twice for 14 yards, and Rice moved the ball to the 29 before a penalty set it back to the 44. Pearson gained five yards back on the next play before finding Rice for an 11-yard gain to the 28. On the next play, Pearson ran 28 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Green Hornets led 14-6 at halftime.
C.A. Johnson added to its lead in the third quarter with a drive that started at the Trojans’ 48 following a fumble recovery by Jaylen Miller. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the C.A. Johnson 39. Rice had two rushes for ten yards, and Pearson rushed once for seven yards. As the Green Hornets lined up to punt, Rice took a direct snap and ran to the 27 for a first down. Jacobs carried the ball to the 23. Rice got two carries to move the ball to the 10, and then Pearson found the end zone on the next play. The two-point conversion was no good, and the Green Hornets led 20-6 with 3:55 left in the third quarter.
Pearson’s fourth touchdown of the game came on a 54-yard run to the end zone. He then found Terrill Hopkins for the two-point conversion to push the C.A. Johnson lead to 28-6 with 10:03 left in the fourth quarter.
Pearson closed out the C.A. Johnson scoring for with a 3-yard touchdown run. The extra point gave the Green Hornets a 35-6 lead with 4:11 left in the game.
Ridge Spring-Monetta added a late score when Bosket found Martin again, this time from 30 yards to set the final score at 35-12.
Pearson rushed for 147 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries. He also complete 2-of-4 passes for 22 yards. Rice rushed for 135 yards on 20 carries. He also had two catches for 22 yards.
With the win, C.A. Johnson improves to 7-4, its most wins in a season since 2009. The Green Hornets will face the Wagener Salley Eagles Thursday, November 10. C.A. Johnson defeated Wagener-Salley 32-0 last season in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs.
“I don’t pretend to not pay attention to this stuff. Do you know the last time this school won seven games?” C.A. Johnson head coach Scotty Dean said. “Seven wins and we make it to the second round of the playoffs. We played Wagener Salley last year. I’m pretty sure they are going to be chomping at the bit a little bit. They have a good football team, always do. We’re just looking forward to going over there and seeing how the kids compete.”
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