South Johnston returned to varsity football action Friday with a 40-18 win on the road against Western Harnett.

“I’m proud of our kids,” said Western Harnett coach Blake Culbertson. “We moved the ball. We just couldn’t get points. When you can’t get points, you’re going to struggle. We’d get to the 20 or the 30 and just couldn’t finish the drive. Defensively, I thought we played pretty well.”

The game was originally scheduled to be played Sept. 14, but rescheduled to Friday because of Hurricane Florence. Western had not played since Sept. 10 and South had not played since Sept. 7.

“We were well aware and ready and kind of anticipating this being a ‘start over’ game,” said South Johnston coach Matt Riggsbee. “I told these guys yesterday at the end of practice, ‘Honestly, this is going to kind of be like the first game of the season. We’ve been out for several weeks. We’re probably going to make a few mistakes. We’re probably going to be a little more tired than normal.’ And I was right. Before this game we talked about confidence in what we’re doing and trusting the process and everything and when those mistakes happened, we were going to overcome them with confidence. And that’s what they did. I’m proud of the entire team. Everybody got on the field tonight an everybody did a great job.”

“It was a challenge,” Culbertson. “We had a week and a half off. Guys were able to practice on Saturday and couldn’t breathe after 20 minutes of practice. We had to get back in shape a little bit. We kind of struggled with it tonight a bit with cramps. A week of not doing anything hurts them.”

Josh Schindler completed 7-of-15 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 18 yards on seven carries and Keyshawn Sanders had four receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Trojans (4-1).

“One of my goals going into the game was being able to pass the ball,” Riggsbee said. “Especially with what they were doing in the defensive box and having several guys blitzing and different looks. I was glad we had success in the air and I was also glad to see Keyshawn step up and finally show his true potential.”

Tony Faison ran for 78 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Jawuan Smith had two receptions for 52 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 15 yards on two carries and returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown. Jaequan Wells ran for 28 yards on nine carries. Tony Alston had one reception for 20 yards and a 3-yard run. Jeffrey Hannah, Jr. ran for 14 yards on three carries. Brayden Barefoot ran for eight yards on three carries. Darius Lewis had a four-yard run.

Tristin Ung was 8-of-16 passing for 173 yards and a touchdown and ran for 10 yards on six carries and Kahlil McLean had six receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown to lead the Eagles (0-5).

Ky’lim Moore ran for 79 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Tamarius Davis had six receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown and ran for eight yards on two carries. Noah Thompson was 6-of-12 passing for 43 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Tyrese Jones had two receptions for 15 yards. Nathaniel McGuire ran for three yards on two carries.

All of South’s first-half touchdown came on big plays: a 65-yard run from Faison (the extra point was blocked by Chris Smith), a field goal blocked by J.J. Seas and returned by Jawuan Smith (Dylan Lambert made the extra point), a 56-yard pass from Schindler to Sanders (Lambert’s kick was good) and a 43-yard screen pass from Schindler to Jawuan Smith (the extra point missed).

Western’s lone touchdown in the first half came with South leading 13-0 early in the second quarter. On fourth and goal, Moore forced his way into the end zone to put the Eagles on the board. The extra point try missed.

Each team added another score in the third, with South scoring on a 33-yard pass from Schindler to Sanders (Lambert added the extra point) and Western scoring on a nine-yard pass from Thompson to Davis (The two-point conversion failed).

Schindler found Jawuan Smith on a nine-yard touchdown, with Lambert adding the extra point, early in the fourth.

Western scored with just under one minute remaining in the fourth on a 42-yard pass from Ung to McLean. The extra point missed.

Both teams open conference play on the road against a county rival Friday.

South Johnston travels to Johnston County rival Clayton (5-1), the defending Greater Neuse 3-A Conference champion, Friday.

“We just can’t make so many mistakes,” Riggsbee said. “I’m happy where we’re at with our speed. I’m happy where we’re at with our strength. Our depth continues to improve. We’ve just got to go out there with confidence and not let them beat us before we even get off the bus, because that’s what they tend to do to people. Our guys are hungry and they believe. That’s what matters right now.”

Western Harnett travels to Harnett County rival Triton (0-3) for the Hawks’ first game since Sept. 7. It will be homecoming for Triton.

“I told our guys, ‘It’s a new season. It’s conference,’” Culbertson said. “We’ve just got to focus on little things and just get better every day. (Triton coach) Ben (Penny) does a good job over there. They’ll be prepared and they’ll do what they do. We’ve just got to prepare, too, and go out there and play hard.”