South Johnston’s varsity football team went to Wilson Hunt for seven-on-seven competition Wednesday morning.

“We got to go against two pretty good teams, Hunt and C.B. Aycock,” said South coach Matt Riggsbee.

The Trojans have a nonconference contract with Hunt starting in 2019.

“Against C.B. Aycock, we scored three times in our first 10 plays,” Riggsbee said. “In our first 10 plays on defense, we intercepted and held them to about 20 yards.

“Against Hunt, we started out a little slow offensively. We threw a couple of incomplete passes at first. We made some adjustments and fixed some things. Then we were able to move the ball.”

Riggsbee was working from an offensive script against Hunt and spotted the ball short on some lengthy gains in order to run his playlist.

“I only moved it up 10 yards on a touchdown,” Riggsbee said. “They were calling plays based on situations where I had my stuff scripted. There were certain things I wanted to see.

“We were able to find some mismatches with our skill players on offense and find ways to get them the ball. Several receivers had outstanding days. (Josh) Schindler had a great day throwing the ball. He threw some great deep balls. We really stretched the field for the first time since I’ve been at South.”

Jawuan Smith, Keyshawn Sanders and Jaquain Smith led the Trojans in receptions.

“Defensively was just lights out,” Riggsbee said. “I was so proud of the defense. We only gave uo two big plays the whole day. Everything else had to be earned. We made a lot of good breaks on the ball. We intercepted the ball. Guys flew around. What I was proudest about, we had a lot of our second-team guys get in and have a lot of success on defense. That made me feel good that the depth is being developed there.

“Two freshmen got to play a little bit and they also did great. Brayden Barefoot (Four Oaks) came and he competed at quarterback. He’s six days on the job now. Six days on a high school field. Six days touching a high school-sized football. He’s gone out there and he’s shown tremendous leadership. He’s catching on very quick.

“C.J. Redmond (Benson) played corner. He absolutely did not back down from anybody. He wasn’t scared of those varsity senior wide receivers. He’s definitely grasped our defensive coverages. He’s doing a great job making his checks and communicating. He made several great plays on the ball.

“Defensively, everybody communicated. This is our third year in this same defensive system. If they made a mistake, they knew what they did. They were able to correct that on the field. That’s a great feeling, knowing that our kids can do that on their own.”

The Trojans will compete in a seven-on-seven at Campbell in the evening on July 11.