Johnstown easily defeats Northridge 58-6

JOHNSTOWN - Johnstown easily defeated Northridge 58-6 on its home turf on Friday, moving to 6-0 on the season ahead of an important Licking County League contest at Newark Catholic next week.

The Johnnies came out running, as senior quarterback Cody Workman sprinted 39 yards for a touchdown to put Johnstown up 7-0 with 9:10 left in the first quarter. Senior running back Justin Franklin scored from 9 yards out with 2:55 left in the quarter to raise the lead to 14-0, and the rout was on.

Franklin finished with 222 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He scored twice in the second quarter, from 13 and 34 yards out, and his 62-yarder in the third quarter put the Johnnies up 49-0. Johnstown added touchdown runs from Kyle Rehl (three yards), Jared Orders (one yard), and Jason Walters (six yards) in dominating its longtime rivals and neighbors to the east.

Johnstown coach Mike Carter said the Johnnies owed their success to the offensive line.

“The linemen were able to make some big holes for our backs,” he said. “I’m very proud of their efforts.”

Workman also credited the offensive line, adding, “Every single person pushed hard and our backs ran hard.”

Johnstown’s defense held the Vikings scoreless until Jeremy Butt found Drew Mace with a 7-yard scoring pass with just 34.7 seconds left in the game. The Johnnies’ defense even scored on its own, as Kyle Carpenter and Jonah Armentrout appeared to tackle Northridge running back Gage Linkous in the end zone for a third-quarter safety that made the score 51-0.

“I’m very happy with how our defense played,” Carter said. “As a unit, they were very cohesive out there. So I loved the way they were communicating with one another.

“This was a backyard brawl for us,” he said. “These kids know each other, they grew up with each other. There’s no looking past any games, especially this one.”

Northridge hasn’t won the rivalry game since 2005, and first-year coach Shawn Hinkle said the Vikings have some work to do to close the gap between the programs.

“We need to be a little more disciplined. We need to get stronger. We just need to get better,” Hinkle said. “It’s going to be a process.”

Johnstown turns its attention to Newark Catholic, a 41-7 loser at Heath Friday night. The Johnnies then host Licking Valley and Utica before a season-ending showdown with fellow unbeaten, Heath. Carter had little interest in looking ahead.

“One day at a time,” he said. “We make sure we focus in the next day at practice.”

Northridge fell to 2-4 on the season with the loss and hosts Minford Friday.