Johnson pounds Vikings on the ground for third win

OAKWOOD -- On a rainy senior night at Billy Ellis Memorial Stadium, both The Johnson Knights (2-6, 1-2 Region 7B-AAA) and East Hall Vikings (0-7, 0-3 Region 7B-AAA) had something to prove coming off losses last week. But the night definitely belonged to the Knights, as they capped a 42-6 win with 440 yards of total offense.

The Knights took control of the game in the first half with a 28-0 lead, totaling 271 yards -- including 23 rushes for 201 yards. The Knight’s defense also held the Viking offense to only 11 yards total offense in the half.

Johnson’s first two scores of the night came on short drives. At the end of the first quarter, Johnson’s Mantevius Rucker plowed his way through the East Hall defense on runs of 11 and 9 yards, setting up a 29-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Anthony Prophet for the Johnson lead, 7-0. On its next possession, the Knights scored again in only four plays, covering 69 yards. Prophet hit Seth Spivey on a 25 yard pass and then capped the drive with a 32 yard touchdown run, extending Johnson’s lead, 14-0.

On its next possession, the Knights took just six plays to cover 70 yards. Joey Brooks rushed for 38 yards and Mantevius Rucker contributed 23 yards, setting up a 6 yard touchdown run by Spivey and a Johnson lead, 21-0.

On East Hall’s second play from scrimmage, Johnson’s Cam Evans intercepted a pass from Zach Groover near mid-field. Three plays later, Prophet connected with Tevin Arthur for a 45 yard pass to the Viking 13 yard line. Two plays later, Rucker plunged in from 6 yard line, ending the first half scoring with at 28-0.

On its first possession of the second half, Johnson scored again in only five plays on a touchdown from the 2 yard line from Spivey, bringing the Johnson lead to 35. On Johnson’s final possession of the night, backup quarterback Trae Wilson lead the Knights on a 58 yard drive primarily featuring the running of Rucker. Wilson dove into the end zone from the 2 yard line for a final Johnson score, 42-0.

Unwilling to leave the night scoreless, with the clock winding down, East Hall moved the ball 80 yards in two plays. On the final play of the game, with time expiring, Freshman QB Zach Groover connected with TD Teasley for a short pass near mid-field. After a missed tackle, Teasley sprinted 69 yards for an East Hall touchdown and avoided the shutout. Final score Johnson 42, East Hall 6.

Johnson Head Coach, Paul Friel, spoke directly to his seniors in the huddle immediately following the game. “Seniors, you stuck it out. You persevered. You deserved this win tonight on your home field.” Friel further commented that all of his players had a great week of practice and that he was able to get a lot of his players in the game tonight. “We talked about this game all week. We knew we needed to put it together for the seniors. I’m proud of the game we played tonight,” stated Friel.

All but 87 of Johnson’s 440 yards of total offense came on the ground. Mantevius Rucker rushed 22 times for 143 yards and 1 touchdown. Prophet rushed 7 times for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. Spivey rushed for 21 yards and 2 touchdowns.

East Hall managed only 125 yards of total offense, with 80 yards of that coming in the final two plays of the game.

Johnson travels to Gainesville for their final game of the season.

East Hall will play host to West Hall.

-- By Robin Parr