Cleveland, Clayton, ALA-Johnston & More: WJG Week 2 High School Football Scores & Standouts (Aug. 28–29, 2025)
7 min read
Week two of the 2025 high school football season is in the books. Did not get a chance to log my predictions, but let’s check out the results of this week’s contests in the WJG.
WJG SPORTS GAME OF THE WEEK
Eastern Wayne 18, C.B. Aycock 3
Eastern Wayne beat Aycock for the first time since 2021 behind a three touchdown performance by senior quarterback Izeiah Oates. Oates put up over 200 yards between the air and ground. Aycock put up just 38 yards of offense as senior quarterback Sidney Lancaster got hurt in the second series of the game and did not return for the Golden Falcons. The Warriors now sit at 2-0 for the first since 2021 and will face Middle Creek on the road September 12th. The Falcons suffer their first non-conference regular season loss since September 3rd, 2021, and sit at 1-1 for the season. Aycock will be back on the gridiron on September 12th vs Goldsboro at home.
WJG VS WJG
Cleveland 52, Corinth Holders 13
Cleveland keeps reminding people about history as they took down in-county opponent Corinth Holders for the 11th straight season. The Rams have dropped 112 points in their first two games, but have also only allowed 32 points in the first two games as well. The Rams got a big game from Ivy League committed Jaylen King, who had 11 tackles, six for loss and three sacks. The defense also added two touchdowns as senior Porter Bennett housed a interception from 39 yards out and junior Markus Medley took a fumble recovery back from 22 yards out. Medley also had a sack. Rams now sit at 2-0, but have their biggest test of the year coming up as they welcome in 2-0 Northern Nash. Corinth Holders did not provide stats at the time of publication, but they fall to 1-1. The Pirates will be looking for retribution on Friday as they welcome in 2-0 South Garner.
Greene Central 60, Goldsboro 0
Greene Central continued to run hot on Friday as head coach Jay Wilson got a win against his former employer, Goldsboro High. Wilson’s Rams have now pitched two shutouts to open the year, but they have also put up over 55 in back-to-back games for the first time in over 10 years. Dejuan Cobb is off to a hot start as the senior runner followed up last week’s 130 yards, with 154 yards and 3 house calls. Cobb is averaging 18.9 yards a carry currently. Junior signal caller Josh Cetnar called another good game as he threw for 154 yards and four touchdowns, to go along with his 54 rushing yards. On defense, junior Travion Melton led the way with 10 tackles, 3 sacks, a fumble caused and recovered. Senior Kam Vandiford also made a stir on both sides of the ball with 2 catches for 130 yards, two receiving touchdowns, 2 tackles and a pick. For Goldsboro, no stats were provided as they fell to 0-2 while being shutout in both games and giving up an average of 57 points. Greene Central will have a big test on Friday as they welcome in 0-2 Wilson Prep. Despite being winless, Wilson Prep has played a tough schedule that includes 2-0 West Craven and 2-0 Clayton, both teams ranked ahead of Greene Central in the state’s MaxPreps rankings. The Cougars will attempt to break their 4-year losing streak to county-rival Southern Wayne at home Friday.
West Johnston 26, Smithfield-Selma 0
West Johnston reversed their fortunes on Friday as they blanked county-rival Smithfield-Selma. The Wildcats bounced back from being shutout last week versus South Garner, by shutting out the 0-2 Spartans. West got a big performance by senior Kaden Trotter, who had 11 tackles, a sack, forced a fumble and had a pass deflection. Sophomore standout Gavin Bullock followed up last week’s 18 tackles, with seven this week plus two interceptions. Senior Chase Grace joined him with two interceptions, plus 3 tackles and a pass deflection. The 1-1 Wildcats have a bye this week, but will welcome in Clayton on September 12th at 7pm. Smithfield-Selma did not provide any stats at time of publication, and the team will be back in action Friday against Harnett Central at home.
Southern Wayne 48, Spring Creek 8
Southern Wayne got in the win column versus Spring Creek. Neither team provided stats at time of publication. The 1-1 Saints will be playing at Goldsboro on Friday. The 0-2 Gators will be on the road at North Duplin Friday.
WJG VS NON-WJG
Clayton 49, Southern Nash 14
Clayton ran all over Southern Nash as they posted 309 rushing yards. Quarterback Aiden Smalls had 160 rushing yards on 10 carries and three touchdowns. Senior running back Noah Smith had 10 carries for 110 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman running back Khalin Rodgers scored his first touchdown of his varsity career. Juniors Akedran Crumel and Jordan Hamm tied for the lead in tackles with 10. Clemson commit Keshawn Stancil had 8 tackles including one for a loss. Junior linebacker Mason Bucklad had four tackles and an interception. Clayton will go on the road to see Hoggard this week for one of the best matchups in the state as both teams rank in MaxPrep’s Top 30 for the state.
East Duplin 42, Princeton 20
Princeton didn’t have much success on their first road test of the season. The 1-1 Bulldogs got 201 total yards and 2 touchdowns from sophomore Teo McPhatter. Sophomore Gerell Bogle added 139 rushing yards and a touchdown plus a fumble caused on defense. Princeton will be back at home on Friday versus Seaforth.
North Johnston 35, John A. Holmes 34
North Johnston survived without Kaleb Pone on the road to remain 2-0. It took 226 yards and two touchdowns from senior Charlie Barnes who filled in for Pone. Senior Eli Williard also had a big night on both sides of the ball. Williard had 11 tackles, a sack, a pass deflection and a fumble caused and recovered; on offense, Williard had 72 total yards and two touchdowns. Senior Tyrece Hicks also had a nice night on both sides with 59 total yards, 3 tackles and a interception. The undefeated Panthers will continue their road trip as they travel to 0-2 Rosewood.
Harrells Christian Academy 34, Wayne Christian 14
Wayne Christian dropped their second straight on the road. The Eagles are 1-2 despite a big game from Jamari Hill. The junior runningback had 11 carries, 123 yards, and a touchdown plus 13 tackles on defense. The Eagles will get a bye week before having their home opener versus North Raleigh Christian on the 12th of September.
American Leadership Academy–Johnston 54, Bartlett Yancey 46 (3OT)
Senior runningback Anthony Jimenez’s 14 carries, 218 yards and five touchdowns helped American Leadership Academy-Johnston to survive in three overtimes on the road against Bartlett Yanceh. Junior quarterback Ian Wands dropped in two touchdowns with 171 passing yards. The Patriots are 2-0 and will travel to Fairmont on Friday.
Fike 20, South Johnston 17
Senior runningback Holt Langston’s 192 rushing yards and two touchdowns was not enough to lift South Johnston past Fike on Thursday night. The 1-1 Trojans have a bye this week and will then play at Midway on September 12th.
Rosewood dropped to 0-2 versus North Duplin. Senior wideout Timothy Jeffries had two touchdowns, including one from freshman quarterback Connor Smith — the son of head coach Josh Smith. Senior runningback Bryson Hobbs also had a rushing touchdown. The Eagles will attempt to win their first game versus North Johnston at home on Friday.
Here is the full schedule for next week’s games:
Friday, Sep 5, 2025
American Leadership Academy–Johnston vs Fairmont — 7:00 PM
Cleveland vs Northern Nash — 7:30 PM
Clayton at Hoggard — 7:00 PM
Corinth Holders vs South Garner — 7:00 PM
Greene Central at Wilson Prep — 7:00 PM
Goldsboro vs Southern Wayne — 7:00 PM
North Johnston at Rosewood — 7:00 PM
Princeton vs Seaforth — 7:00 PM
Smithfield–Selma vs Harnett Central — 7:00 PM
Spring Creek at North Duplin — 7:00 PM
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