Springwood beats Southern Prep an instant classic.
Published 12:23 am Saturday, September 7, 2024
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Due to the weather forcast, the Wildcats moved their game against Southern Prep to Thursday night. Oh, what a night.
It was back and forth in the first quarter, with both teams relying on big plays.
Greg Johnson started the scoring six minutes into the game to make it 6-0. Southern Prep responded in a big way with a 50-yard run to even things up.
The Rangers had a chance to capitalize on the momentum when they intercepted on their 45-yard line, but the Wildcat defense put a stop to it.
CJ Johnson was responsible for a 50-yard touchdown run on the following drive as well as the two-point conversion.
Once again Southern Prep responded with a 30-yard run down the sideline complete with a hurdle over a Springwood player. The Wildcat defense came up big again with a four-and-out.
Wes Carden had a tough night, throwing another interception in the beginning of the second, this time in Springwood’s red zone. Southern capitalized a couple of plays later with a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 14-16.
It was all CJ on the following drive, with a handful of carries and a wildcat two-point conversion Springwood was up 20-16 with less than two minutes in the half. Southern Prep moved down the field quickly but a fumble on the 30-yard line ran out the first half.
Prep did not go quietly, a couple of minutes into the 3rd a third-down pass once again gave the Rangers the lead. CJ came through on a blistering run down the sideline with a dive to get on the one-yard line, before punching it in.
Deja vu for the next Springwood drive, as CJ pushed it down the field on multiple carries, topped off with a passing TD thrown by Carden.
The Rangers showed their passing abilities on the next drive. A couple of QB scrambles put Springwood on their backfoot and allowed for downfield passes. They would add a 20-yard passing touchdown to their stat book to finish the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was much of the same; CJ rushed for a 10-yard touchdown and two-point conversion. The defense shut down the Rangers for good after a punt return was sent back for an illegal block in the back. Wildcats take their second win 44-28. They will face the defending state champions, Cornerstone Christian, next week.