SYRACUSE - You might think someone who carries the ball as much or takes the punishment as often as Shawn Johnson does would be slowing down toward the end of the season. But it is quite the contrary with the Wawasee High School tailback

After rushing for over 500 yards in over 160 carries (20 per game) in his first eight games of the season, Johnson saved his best performance (so far) for game No. 9 and went for a career-high 292 yards, including three touchdown runs over 60-plus yards.

He now has 844 yards rushing on 180 carries this year.

Johnson has been the focal point of the Warriors' I-formation offense for the past two years and despite most teams keying on him, he takes the ball play after play and has taken a lot of hits this year. Most of the year, he has played with two sprained ankles as well as a hyperextended knee, but it hasn't slow him down yet.

"As the year has gone by, my physical condition has progressed," Johnson said. "I take a lot of wear and tear, but on a Friday night, you don't feel anything. There are aches and pains, but that is all part of football. When it comes down to Friday night, you put that all behind you. I feel like I am in the best condition I have ever been in my entire life."

Johnson isn't a very big back (5-foot-9, 175 pounds), but still seems to be able to stand up to the pounding.

"Shawn Johnson is an I-formation tailback," Wawasee coach Gene Mitz said. "And the tailback is the offense in that formation. He has been an excellent tailback. He has done everything you expect from an I tailback. It is a tough position to play. It is a physical, demanding position. You take a lot of hits."

Johnson's physical condition was able to allow him to be able to take advantage of the opportunity against East Noble, but it was the increased improvement from a young Warriors' offensive line that put Johnson in that position.

"It is important that the line opens the seams for the tailback, and a good tailback can make an average line look good," Mitz said. "That is what has happened because we are not a good line yet, but we are getting better. We have had some inconsistencies there, but we are getting better at the right time."

As any good running back does, Johnson said he owes a lot to his offensive line.

"They have come a long way since the beginning of the season," he said. "It is a young line, for the most part. They are stepping it up. It couldn't have happened at a better time. Once they got me through that first level, then I got to the second level, and it was open field for me."

As the East Noble game showed, big plays seem to be Johnson's specialty. Johnson went for touchdown runs of 64, 72 and 96 yards in that game. Also a gifted kick returner, Johnson has broken a couple for scores that way this year.

"As a kickoff return specialist, I don't think there is anybody better that I have seen in quite a long time," Mitz said. "He has a real uncanny ability to find the seams at the right time. He is a hard runner inside and has the ability to take it outside and score also."

As improvised as it seems, Johnson said the big play is almost a matter of design.

"We have practiced that a lot," he said. "They teach you to keep that second gear. Another thing is we do speed conditioning in the preseason and before practices. All year long our speed keeps increasing."

Johnson's performance against East Noble was perfect timing for the Warriors, who were able to live to fight another week.

"I like taking the ball and doing what I have to for the team," Johnson said. "I feel like I can get the job done. If I need to get the first down, I know I can put my head down and get it."

Now Johnson gets to go up against two outstanding running backs in Goshen's Mason Ogle and Brett Sloop on Friday. But Johnson doesn't see this as a head-to-head challenge as much as a team challenge.

"I have always been real competitive," Johnson said. "But it doesn't really concern me. As long as we win and we do what we have to do to come off that field a winner, I don't care. If that means throw the ball 30 times and I run 5 times, then that is what we have to do. When it comes to that, I am pretty unselfish." [[In-content Ad]]