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LANETT — The Springwood Wildcats won a home game on Friday by a score of 85-54 and they weren’t playing basketball.

It was eight-man football, a game where you had better be really good on offense to compete. No doubt about it, the Wildcats are more than good on offense. They were sensational on Friday, especially a junior running back named C.J. Johnson, who ran over, around and through the Macon-East Knights on his way to a 400-yard game. That’s right. He had 400 yards on 24 carries, scoring numerous touchdowns and two-point conversions. The boys from Cecil, Alabama were hard-pressed to slow him down, much less stop him.

The win improves Springwood’s record to 7-2 on year. Very few teams who are undefeated past midseason give up 85 points in a game, but Macon-East has that distinction. They would have given up over 100 had not the officials ran a fast clock in the fourth quarter and Springwood cleared their bench to let everyone in a uniform play.

The visitors made it a game in the first half. Neither team could stop the other, and the Wildcats were up only 46-40 at halftime.

It was back and forth, back and forth for the entire first half.

Macon-East attempted an onside kick on the opening kickoff. It didn’t go far enough, and Springwood’s offense set up shop on the Knight 48 on their first possession. It didn’t take them long to score. Quarterback Wes Carden led them downfield to the end zone. He connected with C.J. Johnson on a pass play down the sideline for the game’s first TD. Johnson ran it in on the conversion play to give Springwood an 8-0 lead with 8:53 showing in the opening period.

Springwood succeeded with their onside attempt. Cooper King recovered it on the Macon East 41 to keep the home team in control of the ball. From there they drove it steadily down the field with Greg Johnson getting the touchdown on an 11-yard run. The try for two points failed, leaving the Wildcat lead at 14-o with 5:50 left in the first quarter.

Down by two scores, it didn’t take the Knights long to respond. They went 67 yards in just two plays to get their first score on a long pass play. Their try for two was good, cutting Springwood’s lead to 14-8 with 4:52 left in the period.

Another failed onside kick by Macon-East had Springwood in possession at midfield. They then marched it in for another score, scoring on a fourth-and-four run by backup quarterback Jax Cheeney with 1:46 still to go in the quarter. C.J. Johnson powered in off the right side to extend the lead to 22-8.

Undaunted, the Knights scored again on their next possession. In just 18 seconds, they had cut the margin to 22-16.

Things were starting to look bleak for Springwood when Macon-East intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown on Springwood’s next possession. A successful two-point try had the Knights in the lead 24-22 on the first play of the second period.

It wouldn’t last long.

On the first play after the kickoff, C.J. Johnson took a handoff from Carden, exploded off the left side of the line and then cut to the sideline, going 58 yards for a score. A pass play on the conversion had the Wildcats back in the lead 30-24.

Next is was Macon-East’s turn. They went 55 yards, getting a touchdown on a short run by the quarterback and a pass for two points to retake the lead at 32-30.

Macon-East again gave Springwood good field position with a short kickoff. The Wildcats went 55 yards this time, scoring on another run by Jax Cheeney. C.J. Johnson made the two-point play to extend the lead to 38-32 with 6:05 left in the half.

The Knights went back ahead 40-38 on their next possession. With a little over four minutes left in the half, Springwood milked the clock, retaking the lead at 46-40 with 17.4 seconds left in the half.

Terrence Moore made one of the biggest plays of the game on the ensuing kickoff. The Macon-East kick returner was just about to break it down the sideline for a score when Moore tackled him deep on the Wildcat end of the field. Fortunately for Springwood it was the final play of the half.

The second half was all Springwood. They blew the game open with some big plays on defense. Rangy defensive end Giovanni Rowe recovered a fumble near midfield to put the offense in great shape. It took them only one play to score from the Springwood 44. C.J. Johnson took it in from 56 yards out. He followed it up to score again on the conversion, upping the lead to 54-40 with 10:09 remaining in the third quarter.

Jax Cheeney made the next big play on defense, intercepting a pass and running it back to the Macon-East 36. C.J. Johnson ran 36 yards on the next play and then added the two-point play to make the score 62-40.

Macon-East then drove the ball deep in Springwood territory before the Wildcat defense held them out of the end zone. The ball went over on the 10.

Johnson’s big run of the night came on the next play. With first and ten on the ten, he took a handoff around the left end. A Macon-East defender was in position to make the tackle, but Johnson lowered his shoulder, brushed him aside and was free along the sideline. He ran 90 yards on the home side of the field to build the lead to 68-40. For good measure, he ran in the two-point play to give the Wildcats a 30-point lead with 4:33 left in the period.

Another big play by Giovanni Rowe had Springwood in position to score again. He sacked the quarterback on a fourth down play, giving the Wildcats the ball on the Macon-East 42. On the next play, Johnson ran up the middle, going all the way for yet another Wildcat touchdown. Greg Johnson ran in the two-point play to make it 78-40 with 2:39 left in the third period.

The Knights scored on their next drive to make it 78-46 heading into the fourth quarter.

Springwood’s hot offense kept scoring on their next possession. Terrence Moore ran 43 yards to make it 84-46 with 10:32 left in the game. Cooper Key’s extra point kick made it 85-46.

Macon-East got one final score very late in the game to make the final 85-54.

That score sounded like a basketball game, but it was football.

Eight-man football is very different from the 11-man kind. It’s exciting to watch because there’s so much scoring. To win, though, you have to be very, very good on offense.

Springwood does have the weapons to compete at the level they are playing at.

Next week, the Wildcats have a home game versus North River. It will be a chance to have an eight-win regular season and a chance to have some momentum heading into the playoffs.