Football: Group of talented wide receivers paving way for Westerville North Warriors

The first half of the Westerville North football team’s 42-7 win over Delaware on Sept. 17 couldn’t have been scripted better as far as Warriors coach Bryan Johnson was concerned.

North averaged 11.5 yards on 10 rushing plays and amassed 219 passing yards on 18 attempts from quarterback Wyatt Buxton, who spread his 13 completions among four wide receivers.

The Warriors had only nine second-half plays, all runs, as the final two quarters of their third consecutive victory were played with a running clock.

For Johnson and his players, perhaps the best thing about all that is that such balance has become the norm.

Four receivers had between 145 and 474 yards and two to four touchdowns through five games, and North was 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the OCC-Capital Division before visiting defending champion Westerville South on Sept. 24.

“You really can’t double up one guy because all four of them are threats. Wyatt throws the ball all over to them,” Johnson said. “We saw when they were freshmen that they had the potential to be crazy good, just because they play for one another and have been the epitome of what the program stands for. They’re seeing it come to fruition.”

James McCreery led the Warriors in catches (23) and receiving yards (474) through five games, and his four touchdown catches tied Daniel Johnson for the team lead. Johnson had 13 catches for 223 yards, ahead of Chris Campbell (12 catches, 146 yards, 2 TDs) and Donovan Varney (13 catches, 145 yards, three TDs).

They accounted for almost all of Buxton’s 1,042 yards and 14 touchdowns before Sept. 24. The senior, a third-year starter, completed 65 of his first 115 passes with only three interceptions.

“Our run game opens up our deep game, and the deep game makes (defenders) go back,” McCreery said. “We have routes where I go under or when Daniel goes long. It’s been working,” “(I’m) very proud. A lot of our guys are young. They’ll be great football players. They’ve been amazing.”

Campbell also anchored the ground game, with 49 carries for 361 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the regular season. He took the lead among running backs against Delaware, because Stanley Jackson Jr. (66 carries, 225 yards, 5 TDs) had to help at linebacker because of injuries.

“We would run the ball and (the opponent would) clamp down on the line, so we’d pass the ball right over them. It’s kind of hard to defend,” Campbell said. “We’ve been able to do those both lately and capitalize.”

North – which was going for its fourth consecutive game scoring at least 40 points against South – continues OCC-Capital play against Canal Winchester on Oct. 1 at home 

“Our coaches tell us every week that once Saturday hits, it’s a new week (and a) different game,” Daniel Johnson said. “You have to forget about the last week. There’s a new team to play next week.”

dpurpura@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekDave