By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Tustin Johnson ran for a 6-yard touchdown with 18 seconds to play as Southern Alamance pulled out a 21-17 victory against visiting Eastern Alamance in Mid-Carolina Conference football Friday night in Mt. Hermon.
Johnson also had a 6-yard touchdown run to cap the first possession of the second half, pulling the Patriots even. Sincere Thompson ran for 116 yards on 19 carries for Southern (4-1 overall, 0-1 Mid-Carolina Conference).
Eastern (3-2, 1-1) led 17-14 on Hudson Link’s 28-yard field goal with 6:22 left. Then Johnson, who earlier had a 70-yard kickoff return, played a prominent role in the winning drive.
“Tustin Johnson just took over,” Southern coach Jonathan Hester said.
Sammy Raphael ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries for Eastern, which was up 14-7 at halftime.
“I think (our players) knew it wasn’t going to be a game we scored every drive,” Hester said. “We kept them out of the end zone in the second half.”
The Eagles reached the Southern 5-yard line on the game’s final play.
Eastern opened the scoring on Raphael’s 7-yard touchdown run.
Southern pulled even with Triston Harrison scoring on an 11-yard run.
Eastern was back in front on Raphael’s 3-yard run before halftime.
The game’s start was pushed back an hour because of weather-related concerns.
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- Southeast Alamance 49, Cummings 12: At Burlington, the visiting Stallions reached the halfway mark of their regular season without a loss.
Southeast (5-0, 2-0) built a 35-6 halftime lead in the Mid-Carolina Conference matchup.
Cummings fell to 1-4, 0-2.
- Western Alamance 21, Roxboro Person 14: At Roxboro, Christian Payton ran for three touchdowns as the visiting Warriors remained undefeated by winning their Mid-Carolina Conference opener.
Payton racked up 129 yards on 20 carries. Chance Johnson added 62 yards on 13 carries.
Keyari Poteat’s 80-yard kickoff return helped set up a Western touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors (4-0) were boosted on defense by Mason Buzzard’s two interceptions and Kylon Richardson’s one pick-off. Western held Roxboro Person (1-4, 0-2) to 65 yards of second-half total offense.
Roxboro Person dropped to 1-4, 0-2.
- Williams 17, High Point Andrews 8: At High Point, Christian Booth and Akireon Robinson scored touchdowns as the visiting Bulldogs (3-0) won in their first road game of the season at Simeon Stadium.
Quarterback Robbie Davis had a team-best 74 rushing yards for Williams. Booth caught two passes for 47 yards.
Booth scored in the first half of the non-league game. Robertson’s 5-yard run in the third quarter helped stretch the lead. Matty Poole added a fourth-quarter field goal.
High Point Andrews (4-1) responded when R.J. Hawkins returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and the Raiders added a two-point conversion.
- Eastern Guilford 34, Orange 22: At Gibsonville, the Wildcats prevailed at home in the non-conference game. Both teams are 1-3.
