Dominant second half propels Johnstown back to top in Northridge rivalry

JOHNSTOWN — The Northridge football team threw the first punch Friday in its rivalry with Johnstown, but the visiting Johnnies had been stewing about the Vikings' 2021 victory for a year.

Johnstown roared back with a vengeance. Senior tailback Nathan Sheets ran for five touchdowns, fueling the Johnnies in a 41-10 victory against the rival Vikings in the Licking County League-Cardinal Division opener.

"For the last 365 days, we remember that game from last year, so that's the game that's been looming over us," Sheets said.

What happened 365 days was Northridge's stunning 24-21 victory at Johnstown, which ended the Johnnies' 15-year winning streak in the rivalry, but the Johnnies got right back on top Friday.

"We carried that with us into the offseason, and that pushed us through," Sheets added. "We knew we haven't been playing too hot, but this was the one game that we had to put it together."

Northridge (0-6, 0-1) scored on the fourth play of scrimmage when senior Peyton Wheeler caught a pass in the flat from classmate Lane Hess and broke two tackles before taking off down the right sideline for a 51-yard touchdown pass. After a Johnstown score, the Vikings extended their lead to 10-6 on freshman Charlie Kinkead's 33-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

Sheets then began his night to remember. He broke away for a 47-yard touchdown and added the two-point run to lift the Johnnies to a 14-10 halftime lead before he scored on runs of 52, 4, 3 and 4 yards in the second half.

"The line was awesome tonight and (Graham Grinstead) at fullback," said Sheets, who totaled 211 yards on 25 carries.

Sheets was running behind senior Cooper Criner, junior Brody Thompson and sophomores Landon Smith, Ben Rader and Grady Balog.

"Everyone was running hard, and they were making blocks," Sheets added. "They made things easy."

Northridge was left shell-shocked. The Vikings' defense had held up well through the first three weeks before playing LCL crossover games against Watkins Memorial and Granville.

The Vikings trailed 21-10 midway through the third quarter when the Johnstown defense stuffed Wheeler on fourth-and-1 at midfield. Johnstown senior quarterback Caleb Schneider raced 45 yards on the next play, setting up Sheets' third score.

"They had some big plays, and we were out of position," Northridge coach Tod King said. "It falls back on the coach, and that's me."

Schneider added 179 yards on 22 carries. The Johnnies started the game in a spread look and went three-and-out before spending most of the rest of their game in their traditional unbalanced-I formation, playing power football.

"It was a fun night," Johnstown coach Mike Carter said. "The offensive linemen blocked really well, and the backs ran really hard. With that kind of combination going, we were able to control the clock and move the ball."

Hess finished 8-for-21 with 109 yards passing, and Wheeler totaled 86 yards from scrimmage. Johnstown senior Garrett Grinstead and junior McKaden Thomas combined for five tackles for loss.

"The guys are responding, and we are trying to get some different looks," King said. "We had some guys running free, and we just couldn't hit them. That's frustrating because we worked really hard this week on getting some open reads, and we had them."

Wheeler also made a team-high 11 tackles for the Vikings, who visit Lakewood next week. Senior Brody Booher added six.

A dropped punt snap after the Johnnies' first drive gave the Vikings the ball inside the Johnstown 40-yard line, but the Johnnies immediately held them on downs. The Johnnies kept their composure, eventually got the lead in the second quarter and left the Vikings behind in the second half.

"It goes back to fighting through adversity," Criner said. "We came in at halftime and knew we would have to step on the gas to get the score we wanted."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Dominant second half propels Johnstown back to top against Northridge