KENLY - Although North Johnston's first year in the 2-A Northern Carolina Conference had not gone smoothly heading into last Friday night's meeting with Franklinton, the Panthers found themselves in a position where a win would mean a playoff berth.

Despite a gallant effort put forth in the second half, the Panthers could not overcome a 21-point halftime deficit as North Johnston fell short in the end, 42-34.

With the win, Franklinton (5-6 overall, 3-3 in conference) secured fourth place in the NCC and a spot in the state playoffs. With the loss, North Johnston's season came to a disappointing close.

After being outgained by almost 200 yards in the first two quarters, the Panthers (3-8, 1-5) rallied with a furious second half charge, cutting the Red Rams' lead to eight points on three different occasions.

Each time North clawed its way to within a touchdown and two-point conversion, however, Franklinton called on its star tailback, Reggie Williams, and he delivered two fourth-quarter daggers in the form of a 32-yard touchdown run and then a 31-yard TD run.

After Boone Langley, making his first ever start at quarterback for the Panthers, found Laquan Cox for a six-yard touchdown strike, the score stood 42-34 with 1:39 remaining.

The Red Rams recovered the onside kick and Williams then helped milk the clock never providing the suddenly potent Panther offense one last crack.

"I wish we could have gotten the ball back again," said North Johnston coach Tom Nelson. "Offensively, we didn't slow them down much. We had a few turnovers early that hurt us.

"The second half, we really came out and played hard. They could have easily laid down but they came back and fought hard."

North Johnston dug a 21-point first half hole for themselves due, in part, to two critical turnovers the Panthers were never able to overcome.

Down by seven points already, a fumbled handoff was recovered by Franklinton's Tim Waverly and he returned the gift 26 yards for a touchdown. Then, with the Panthers driving deep in Red Rams territory nearing the end of the first half, Boone Langley's pass was picked off by Matt White preserving the 21-point lead heading into halftime.

North Johnston, who hadn't been on the right side of a big play during the entire first half, received a much-needed boost from freshman running back William Floyd. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, an inspired Floyd tore off a nice cutback 43-yard run to set the Panthers up in Franklinton real estate. Six plays later, Boone Langley found Brian Williams in the end zone on a crossing route, converting on a fourth and 14.

North Johnston seized the momentum yet again with another big play recovering a Franklinton fumble with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Panthers offense followed the turnover by turning in a 15-play, 61-yard scoring drive that ended when Floyd found the end zone from five yards out. With Harrison Grady's successful extra point, the score had been cut to 28-20 in favor of the Red Rams.

But while the offense had found its stride, the defense never could figure out a way to stop Reggie Williams. The elusive sophomore answered Floyd's tally with a 32-yard run up the right side. Williams again responded after a D.J. Martin 36-yard touchdown catch with another long-gainer, this time from 31 yards out.

Williams ended the game with 279 yards and four touchdowns as the Red Rams totaled a whopping 430 rushing yards on 51 attempts.

Floyd finished with 96 leg-churning yards for the Panthers while Langley threw for 137 yards and three touchdowns.

The loss ended the high school careers of 13 North Johnston seniors, who were an integral part of the Panthers' transition from 1-A to 2-A this season.

"Kelson Crocker, Manshon Shoulars and Kody Barbour - those guys have been here every day for four years and worked so hard. I wish it could have gone better for them," said Nelson of his senior standouts.

"We're really proud of those guys. They've all fought and they've all stayed together."