Dragons’ offense hitting on all cylinders
A week ago, there was a noticeable uniform change on Junction City's roster.
Jamal Johnson, the Dragons' standout junior running back, was wearing No. 3.
This is a number that carries great significance given that many of Junction City's standout running backs have either worn it or been given the chance to wear it by the coaching staff.
“It's a given number,” Junction City coach Brad Smith said. “You don't ask for it. They ask for it all the time, but it has to be given. Three is the number. I'm pretty sure it started with (Marcus) Godfrey and almost all of the really great backs that have come through here have been given that number or the opportunity to wear that number. It was placed on (Jaqwis) Dancy as a 10th-grader. We placed it on Justin Easter. We tried to put it on (Jakiron) Cook. That's just something we choose. That means that guy has to be willing to tote it 30 times and he's also got to go play defense. He's got to be in outstanding shape. Jamal hadn't gotten there until about two weeks ago. After his performance at McCrory, we all agreed as a coaching staff that he's now worthy of No. 3.”
Johnson has been superb in the postseason for the Dragons.
In three games, Johnson has piled up 601 yards and seven touchdowns on 60 carries, which is good for an average of just over 10 yards per carry.
He has 473 yards and six scores alone over the last two weeks.
In Junction City's quarterfinal win over Poyen last week, Johnson delivered a resounding blow to the Indians' comeback hopes by scoring on a 76-yard run on the Dragons' first play from scrimmage after Poyen had pulled within 40-30.
“You don't want to say that's what he's supposed to do, but that's what he's supposed to do,” Smith said.
Smith said a major reason for Johnson and the offense's explosiveness over the last several weeks stems from the offensive line getting continuity after having to miss a month of play due to bye weeks and cancellations of games from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We blocked pretty well,” Smith said. “Since we've pretty much gotten continuity, we've still been banged around there, but a quarter of the offensive line has been together pretty much for the last five or six weeks, and you can see it.
“You could see the progression start at Bearden. Our tight end got hurt at McCrory and we had to take our right tackle and put him at tight end. We had to take a guy off the bench and then he got banged up and we had bring in a kid off the bench, but the kid we brought in had a been a three-year starter. He got dinged up a couple of times, and all of a sudden, he's back in there.
“We're a pretty experienced group up there. You've got a two-year starter at tight end (Wizdom Brown), Tanner Barnett is a three-year starter defensively and has played anywhere, A'Donnis (Jones) is a three-year starter, Jakyrion (Barnett) is a three-year starter, Peyton (Robinson) is a two-year starter. Now the middle guys, Austin (Mendoza) and (Rylan) Sawyer, they're first-year guys, but they have really, really played well.
“Rylan was one of those kids we identified in junior high. He was skinny and he just wouldn't grow. He worked his tail off, but he wasn't making a lot of progress. We just knew we had to maintain our patience with him, and he went from probably 6-0, 200 pounds when we started the year last year and he was a backup to when COVID shut us down in March, he was about 6-1/2, 6-2, 240 pounds.
“I won't put the genius tag on him, but he's real close. You don't have to dial one in the area code to get the genius of how smart the kid is. He does a lot of mental things correct to gets us in the right stuff in the right place.”
Now Johnson and Junction City's offense will have to find a way to produce against a Des Arc team that has yielded the third fewest points in 2A this season.
“How good of technicians they are,” Smith said when asked what stood out about the Eagles' defense. “The same as they were last year, 4-3, 4-4 look. They line up and do things correctly. You don't have to wonder about where they're going to be because you know where they're going to be. They're going to be right where they're supposed to be. You just have to be ready to play them.”
Des Arc first-year coach B.J. Paschal said he has been happy with the play of his defense.
“They've played well,” Paschal said. “We try to pride ourselves with swarming to the ball. Sometimes we do that better than others. Again, it goes back to that most of the time we're going to be smaller and a little bit slower than everybody we play, so we have to start in the right spot and we have to get help to the ball.
“Just aligning in the right spot and busting your butt to get to the football are two things that we preach and harp on all the time and our guys respond. They do a good job of doing those things.”
If there is one area that concerns Paschal, it's the Dragons' speed, but the Eagles were able to keep Clarendon's explosive offense under wraps in a 16-7 win that clinched the 6-2A crown.
“Defensively, we played really well,” Paschal said. “We were able to contain. They have a really fast team. Our kids are tough, but if there's one area we're lacking in, it's speed, so anytime we play a team with a lot of speed, it's really, really tough. But that night, our kids played really well with containing the edges. The (Quincey) McAdoo kid, who is a four-star athlete and deserves to be. He's a great athlete, we were just able to contain him that night.”
Paschal said the Clarendon game will help his defense prepare for the Dragons.
“It does. It helps us,” Paschal said. “Junction City has got speed everywhere just like Clarendon did, even Bigelow, their quarterback was very fast, so we have played some teams that have some speed,” Paschal said.
“Now Junction is a different animal. In the last two seasons I've been here, we've had to go down to Junction, so we have seen their speed in the past. They have speed again this year like they typically do, so for us, it's going to be making sure we play well up front, but at the same time, balancing that with containing and trying our best to keep those guys boxed in.”
In addition to Junction City's speed, the Eagles will also have to contend with the Dragons' physicality in the trenches.
“Up front, they're big, much bigger than us,” Paschal said. “They've got two or three backs that can go. It's going to be a challenge. They're coached very, very well on defense. The tradition is rich, and they're where they're at for a reason. That's because they're very well-coached. They play hard and they're fast. They're just a good team.”