Cedric Johnson scored four touchdowns, including a 62-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, to lead Lakeland to a 35-7 victory Friday night at Hickory and a 3-0 start to its season.

In a battle of two 2-0 Southeastern District teams, the Cavs and Hawks largely traded blows for three quarters in a hard-hitting, physical game. In the final 12 minutes, Lakeland scored three touchdowns to turn the final score into a rout.

Johnson was the individual star of the night for the Cavaliers, totaling 211 rushing yards and intercepting a pass on the first play of the fourth quarter that halted a Hickory drive into Cavalier territory that could’ve tied the game.

Hickory opened the game with the first punch. The Hawks’ steadily marched down the field on their opening drive. With eight of the nine plays going on the ground, Hickory moved 65 yards and quarterback George Godfrey scored on a 16-yard run, a quarterback draw, to give Hickory the lead.

Lakeland’s offense matched Hickory’s execution with a methodical march down the field.

Lakeland had to convert a 4th-and-3 play at the Hickory 45, with Walter Boykins finding Deonta Neal on an out route for a five-yard gain.

Most of the rest of the drive was in Johnson’s hands. Facing 3rd-and-2 at the Hawk 6, Johnson gained three yards on a direct snap and rush up the middle. On the next play, Johnson again got the direct snap and powered through the line and into the endzone. Johnson carried nine times for 32 yards on the 15-play, 68-yard drive.

While Johnson was the standout, Lakeland’s defense worked hard the rest of the way to hold Hickory until the Cavalier offense finished the game late.

After Hickory’s first drive, the Hawks didn’t get another first down until late in the third quarter.

In the second period, Lakeland got a sack by Craig Woodus and a tackle in the backfield by Kavis Shepherd to force a Hickory punt and get good field position at the Hawk 44.

A 15-yard completion from Boykins to Jaquan Demiel moved Lakeland to the Hawk 3 and Johnson carried in from there to give Lakeland a 14-7 lead with 2:58 in the first half.

The teams traded punts to start the second half and Hickory had its chance to tie the game. The Hawks moved from their own 38 to the Lakeland 29, mainly on a couple good runs by Godfrey.

On the first play of the fourth period, Godfrey threw toward the left sideline and Johnson, on one of only a few defensive plays he played all night, was on the spot for the interception.

A couple minutes later, Johnson took a handoff out of the shotgun by Boykins, broke through the line for what looked to be a gain of about 15 yards, but Johnson made spin move and shoved off a Hawk linebacker, then raced down the right sideline to the endzone.

Through the first three periods, while Johnson was moving the chains for the Cavs, his longest run was nine yards.

“It was a physical game all the way. All the time I was thinking, ‘if we keep pounding the ball, sooner or later we were going to break one,’” said Johnson.

“I kept telling myself to be patient, and man, if it didn’t come at the right time,” said Johnson.

Lakeland’s defense continued its strong play, forcing another three-and-out on Hickory’s next possession.

Denzel Brown intercepted a Godfrey pass with just under five minutes to go to effectively decide the outcome.

Johnson scored on a 43-yard run a couple plays after Brown’s pick. After Hickory fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Cavaliers recovered, Rackwon Johnson scored on a five-yard run. Evan Worley was 5-for-5 kicking extra points on the night.

“The (offensive) line played awesome tonight. I take my hat off to them. They made the blocks and I just ran hard,” said Cedric Johnson.

Lakeland held the Hawks to 135 total yards. Offensively, other than Johnson’s rushing, Boykins was 14-for-24 passing for 109 yards and no interceptions. Donavan Wright caught six passes for 48 yards and Demiel caught five passes for 42 yards.

Lakeland (3-0, 2-0) is averaging 32.7 points per game through their three victories. The Cavaliers host Great Bridge next Friday at 7 p.m.