Johnson Runs For 292 Yards
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - It was the run-and-shoot against the run-and-run. It was the East Noble Knights, behind the arm of senior quarterback Ryan Ogle, against the Wawasee Warriors, carried on the back of senior running back Shawn Johnson.
Friday night, the Warrior running attack ripped through the heart of the East Noble defense on their way to a 35-13 victory in the first round of the Class 4A, Sectional 11 playoffs.
Wawasee nailed down its fourth win of the season by relying on the one thing East Noble likes to rely on - the big play. Johnson had three carries of over 60 yards, all resulting in touchdowns, that sent the Warriors headed to Goshen for a rematch of their 49-14 loss in the last game of the regular season.
"Our gameplan was to run the football," said Wawasee head coach Gene Mitz. "And get some rush blocking, some first downs, and keep them off the field. And put points on the scoreboard because they have a wide-open attack. We respect it a great deal."
Wawasee ran their gameplan to perfection. Just 24 seconds into the game, on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson broke off a 64-yard touchdown run to give Wawasee the quick 7-0 lead.
"He made a great play," said Mitz. "There was a seam in there, and he hit it full speed."
On East Noble's first possession, Johnson came up big on defense, intercepting a pass by Ogle at the Knights 40 yard line.
Eight plays later, Johnson finished what he started, running in from eight yards out to put Wawasee up 14-0 midway through the opening period.
After East Noble stuffed Wawasee on a fourth and one at midfield, the Knights turned in a 10-play, 50-yard scoring strike that ended with a one yard quarterback keeper by Ogle to cut the lead in half.
East Noble's next possession may have been the most important of the game.
Still trailing by a touching with over eight minutes to play in the second quarter, the Knights began a drive from their own 20-yard line.
Ten plays later, East Noble was staring at a fourth and two from the Wawasee six yard line. Erich Holden was given the ball, and the Warrior defense stuffed him just short of the first down marker.
"That was the big key," said Mitz. "No question; our defense rose to the occasion, and we stopped them."
On the next play, Wawasee handed the ball to Johnson, and the rest is history.
"It was a good exchange from the quarterback," said the senior tailback. "And I looked, and it was shut down inside, so I bounced outside. I had two guys coming in and I stepped outside. One guy went that way, and I stepped back in, and just slipped by the other guy and had open field the rest of the way. I looked back and there was no one there. They were all falling behind."
Wawasee scored in the last minute of the half, helped out by a roughing the kicker penalty that gave the Warriors the ball at the forty yard line. On second and six, Wawasee got a 30-yard pass to the six yard line that set up a Ryan Mikel touchdown from Jeff Beer that closed out the first half with a 28-7 lead.
On the first offensive possession for Wawasee in the second half, Johnson struck again, scoring from 72 yards out for his fourth touchdown of the game and giving the Warriors a 35-7 advantage.
East Noble put together an 82-yard drive at the end of the third quarter to close out the scoring. Keith Fender went in from two yards out, but the Knights missed the extra point.
For East Noble, Ogle broke his own school record by attempting 53 passes. He completed 28 of them for 354 yards but threw three important interceptions.
Johnson ended with 19 carries for career highs of 292 yards and four touchdowns without touching the ball in the fourth quarter. He also had the first quarter interception that helped Wawasee build its lead.
"Every play, I played with everything I had so that it wasn't my last," said Johnson. "Since I'm a senior, I want to continue on as long as I can. I'm going to remember this season for a long time."
Wawasee will head to Goshen next week, but for now the Warriors are just going to think about what they did to move on in the playoffs.
"Right now we are going to enjoy this victory," said Mitz. "We worked hard for a victory, and it's been a long time coming. It is a good team victory, and we've come together through a lot of adversity." [[In-content Ad]]
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SYRACUSE - It was the run-and-shoot against the run-and-run. It was the East Noble Knights, behind the arm of senior quarterback Ryan Ogle, against the Wawasee Warriors, carried on the back of senior running back Shawn Johnson.
Friday night, the Warrior running attack ripped through the heart of the East Noble defense on their way to a 35-13 victory in the first round of the Class 4A, Sectional 11 playoffs.
Wawasee nailed down its fourth win of the season by relying on the one thing East Noble likes to rely on - the big play. Johnson had three carries of over 60 yards, all resulting in touchdowns, that sent the Warriors headed to Goshen for a rematch of their 49-14 loss in the last game of the regular season.
"Our gameplan was to run the football," said Wawasee head coach Gene Mitz. "And get some rush blocking, some first downs, and keep them off the field. And put points on the scoreboard because they have a wide-open attack. We respect it a great deal."
Wawasee ran their gameplan to perfection. Just 24 seconds into the game, on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson broke off a 64-yard touchdown run to give Wawasee the quick 7-0 lead.
"He made a great play," said Mitz. "There was a seam in there, and he hit it full speed."
On East Noble's first possession, Johnson came up big on defense, intercepting a pass by Ogle at the Knights 40 yard line.
Eight plays later, Johnson finished what he started, running in from eight yards out to put Wawasee up 14-0 midway through the opening period.
After East Noble stuffed Wawasee on a fourth and one at midfield, the Knights turned in a 10-play, 50-yard scoring strike that ended with a one yard quarterback keeper by Ogle to cut the lead in half.
East Noble's next possession may have been the most important of the game.
Still trailing by a touching with over eight minutes to play in the second quarter, the Knights began a drive from their own 20-yard line.
Ten plays later, East Noble was staring at a fourth and two from the Wawasee six yard line. Erich Holden was given the ball, and the Warrior defense stuffed him just short of the first down marker.
"That was the big key," said Mitz. "No question; our defense rose to the occasion, and we stopped them."
On the next play, Wawasee handed the ball to Johnson, and the rest is history.
"It was a good exchange from the quarterback," said the senior tailback. "And I looked, and it was shut down inside, so I bounced outside. I had two guys coming in and I stepped outside. One guy went that way, and I stepped back in, and just slipped by the other guy and had open field the rest of the way. I looked back and there was no one there. They were all falling behind."
Wawasee scored in the last minute of the half, helped out by a roughing the kicker penalty that gave the Warriors the ball at the forty yard line. On second and six, Wawasee got a 30-yard pass to the six yard line that set up a Ryan Mikel touchdown from Jeff Beer that closed out the first half with a 28-7 lead.
On the first offensive possession for Wawasee in the second half, Johnson struck again, scoring from 72 yards out for his fourth touchdown of the game and giving the Warriors a 35-7 advantage.
East Noble put together an 82-yard drive at the end of the third quarter to close out the scoring. Keith Fender went in from two yards out, but the Knights missed the extra point.
For East Noble, Ogle broke his own school record by attempting 53 passes. He completed 28 of them for 354 yards but threw three important interceptions.
Johnson ended with 19 carries for career highs of 292 yards and four touchdowns without touching the ball in the fourth quarter. He also had the first quarter interception that helped Wawasee build its lead.
"Every play, I played with everything I had so that it wasn't my last," said Johnson. "Since I'm a senior, I want to continue on as long as I can. I'm going to remember this season for a long time."
Wawasee will head to Goshen next week, but for now the Warriors are just going to think about what they did to move on in the playoffs.
"Right now we are going to enjoy this victory," said Mitz. "We worked hard for a victory, and it's been a long time coming. It is a good team victory, and we've come together through a lot of adversity." [[In-content Ad]]