Johnson had impressed Midland Legacy head coach Clint Hartman with his explosiveness in the limited carries he had during the Rebels’ first four games.
Johnson spent the entirety of his junior campaign as a first-team all-district cornerback for the Rebels.
Hartman made the decision to give Johnson a full workload at running back and the senior rewarded his coach by carrying the ball 19 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns in Legacy’s 39-31 win over Converse Judson.
Johnson also scored a touchdown on a 79-yard kickoff return that pushed Legacy ahead 29-25 in the third quarter. Johnson had two kickoff returns for 116 yards.
His fourth TD of the game, a 5-yard run, was the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
Johnson also helped the Rebel defense at corner on second half passing downs and red-zone situations.
Hartman says Johnson is the ultimate team player, as he moved from running back to defensive back as a sophomore to accommodate what was best for the team.
“I knew he was explosive. I didn’t know how good he would be. Judson hadn’t given up a lot of rushing yards all year to anybody. We thought it would be hard to move them and look what happened, 19 carries for 201 yards. Simple math that’s above 10 yards a carry. I’m most proud of a guy that works as hard as he does, he always has been a team player. He gets an accolade and an award like that, it’s well deserved. It made my day when (I learned that he won).”
- LEGACY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH CLINT HARTMAN