Published: 12:15 AM, Sat Aug 29, 2009
Johnson sets school record with 6 TDs in 69-19 Jack Britt win
By Sammy Batten
Staff writer
Jack Britt 69, Hoke County 19 (click to watch)
The Jack Britt cheerleaders normally do push-ups after the football team scores, executing one for every point.
But by the end of the third period in Friday's nonconference game against Hoke County, the cheerleaders had to switch to jumping jacks because their arms were so tired.
Spearheaded by a record-breaking six-touchdown effort from senior running back Eric Johnson, the Buccaneers scored on nine of their first 10 possessions in routing the Bucks 69-19.
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Johnson, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, racked up 271 on 23 carries on a rain-slicked turf at Jack Britt's home field. His six scores broke the school single-season record of five previously held by George Bell.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder had 227 of those yards and five touchdowns in the first half to spark the Bucs to a 48-13 lead.
"We planned to do good tonight because we worked had this week,'' Johnson said. "But we never planned to have a game like this. Tonight, everything we tried worked.''
Johnson might not have gotten enough carries to have such a big night if the Buccaneers had been at full strength.
Junior Julius Ingram, with whom Johnson split time in the season opener, sat out Friday's game with a shoulder injury.
"Usually, he's a 12- to 14-carry-a-game guy,'' Jack Britt coach Richard Bailey said of Johnson. "But tonight I knew he'd get at least 20 carries. He has a chance to go 50 (yards) anytime he touches it. He's just got that explosive ability and he showed that tonight.''
Johnson had 10 carries of more than 10 yards, the longest of which was a 52-yard burst up the middle for Jack Britt's third score with 2:59 left in the first period.
Senior quarterback Greg Bryant Jr. didn't let Johnson shoulder the entire offensive load for the Bucs. Bryant contributed 127 yards passing (5-for-8) and 92 yards rushing on six carries. He also passed for a score and ran for another against the team he quarterbacked in 2007 when his father, Greg Bryant Sr., was Hoke's head coach.
"It sort of felt like I should have been on their team,'' Bryant said. "I played with a lot of those guys coming up. But now I'm here, and I'm trying to help us win here at Jack Britt.''
Despite the large early deficit, Hoke (0-2) kept battling behind the passing of senior quarterback Vernon Brandon. He completed 18 of 41 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns.
But the night belonged to Johnson, who scored his sixth and final touchdown on a 5-yard run with 6:58 left in the third period.
Bailey then turned the game over to his reserves, who added another score in the fourth period on a 16-yard Russell Collins run.
"I felt a little bad putting him (Johnson) back in, but how many chances do you get to set a school record?'' Bailey said. "Our offensive line did a great job tonight opening up the holes for Eric.''
Behind Johnson, the Bucs rolled up 500 yards rushing and 627 total yards of offense.
Jack Britt will try to improve its record to 3-0 next week when it plays at Wilmington Hoggard.
Staff writer Sammy Batten can be reached at battens@fayobserver.com or 486-3534.
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Check out photos from the game | --
Check out the Fan Cam from the game