Johnson’s 10th TD the winner for Indians
QB’s 598 yards offset Williams rushing for 344
Craig Williams and the Crosby offense did everything possible to keep up with Roschon Johnson, but they couldn’t.
Johnson scored the game-winning 2-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left as Port NechesGroves outlasted Crosby 72-69 in Class 5A Division II bi-district play Friday night at Stallworth Stadium.
Johnson passed for 326 yards, rushed for 272 yards and totaled 10 touchdowns for the Indians (9-1), who will play Texas City in the area round next Friday at NRG Stadium.
Williams had 344 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the loss.
“Johnson is a oncein-a-generation player,” Crosby coach Jeff Riordan said. “He played a fantastic game for them tonight and did everything he needed to for them to win.”
The game was expected to be a high-scoring affair, but neither Riordan nor Johnson expected a combined 141 points.
The scoring was early and often, with Johnson rushing for a 12-yard touchdown on the Indians’ first drive.
Crosby (9-2) answered with a 91-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jaiden Howard to Cedric Patterson.
Howard and Patterson connected for 202 yards and four touchdowns in the game, including twice in the first half.
Johnson and his top receiver, Preston Riggs, matched the Crosby duo with 227 yards and four touchdowns of their own.
“We just took what the defense gave us,” Johnson said. “We’ve been doing that all year, and tonight was no different.”
Port Neches-Groves led 34-28 at halftime as Johnson, a Texas commit, compiled over 300 yards in the first half.
Williams did most of his damage in the second half. The Baylor commit had touchdown runs of 56, 54 and 1 yard in a 210-yard second-half performance.
The teams swapped the lead for most of the second half as Johnson and Williams continued to trade touchdowns.
Crosby took a 69-64 lead with 3:18 left.
Johnson then led the final, decisive drive. He marched the Indians 70 yards in less than three minutes before scoring on third-and-goal.
PN-G purposefully downed the ball instead of scoring a touchdown twice in an effort to leave as little time on the clock as possible for Crosby’s highpowered offense.
“I knew we could get the ball in the end zone there,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t worried.”
Crosby amassed over 700 yards of total offense but couldn’t move the ball into position to go for the tie or the win in the final seconds.
Howard finished with 307 passing yards, 133 rushing yards and six touchdowns for the Cougars.
PN-G receiver Cameron Stansbury had 80 receiving yards, a touchdown and had an important 32yard reception on its gamewinning drive.
“It’s tough for our seniors,” Riordan said. “I felt like we played well enough to win, but we just came up a little short.”