ROANOKE RAPIDS – North Johnston quickly found out the best way to score against powerful Roanoke Rapids Friday night — return kick offs for touchdowns. The Panthers' Jacques Alston returned the opening kick off 90 yards for a TD, then went 91 yards for another score the second time he fielded a kick.

Problem was, with the Yellow Jackets scoring six touchdowns, it would have taken six returns for kicks to match a Roanoke Rapids (9-1, 5-0) squad that clinched no worse than a share of the Northern Carolina 2-A Conference championship and the league's No. 1 overall playoff seed with a 42-14 victory.