Johnson shines in nationally televised win
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AUBURN - A matchup between two top-ten Class 6A Alabama high school football teams at Duck Samford Stadium on Friday night quickly turned into a one man show.
No. 7 Carver-Montgomery (Ala) and Auburn quarterback commit Jeremy Johnson delivered a monster first half with 32 unanswered points to start the game, as the Wolverines traveled to No. 3 Auburn (Ala.) and rolled to a 46-20 victory on ESPNU.
"This was about putting Carver High School on the map. It was a great win for our program and players," Carver head coach Billy Gresham said.
Johnson finished the game 11-for-18 for 248 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and 10 rushes for 114 yards and three touchdowns on the ground as he dominated the flow of the game and displayed precisely why he's a Rivals250 member and one of the elite signal callers in the nation.
"He was amped up playing in Auburn. He wanted to show the crowd and the fans what they are looking for. He did a great job," Gresham said. "He's been a starter for three years, he's played a lot of tough games and he's been here before. He's confident and he came out tonight and played well."
Carver-Montgomery opened up a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, led by Johnson's 100-plus passing yards in the opening frame. But the second quarter saw the Wolverines take complete control scoring 22 points on three straight offensive plays.
Johnson started the scoring barrage with a 47-yard touchdown run back up the middle giving Carver a 17-0 lead. The very next play from scrimmage for Carver-Montgomery, Harvey Harris darted up the middle for 75 yards and the touchdown, extending Carver's lead to 24-0.
Johnson stole the show, but Harris was spectacular also, rushing for 202 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries, and 83 yards receiving and one touchdown.
The next time Carver retained the ball, it was more of the same. On the first play of the drive, Johnson threw a 74-yard touchdown pass up the seam of the Auburn defense to give the Wolverines an insurmountable 32-0 lead after the successful two-point conversion.
Johnson enjoyed matching wits with his fellow Auburn commit and Auburn High linebacker Reuben Foster.
"We knew the way to beat Auburn, it was just get a hand on Reuben every run play," Johnson said. "It was great seeing him after the game, we're going to hang out tomorrow at the Auburn game. We talked during the week and last night we said 'good luck', we said we love each other and we went and played."
Auburn finally got on the board with 3.9 seconds remaining in the first half as Cameron Echols-Luper rushed from one-yard out for the score. The play was set up by a short fourth-down conversion run by Foster.
Luper finished 10-for-16 for 165 yards passing, and 87 yards rushing and a touchdown.
It was more of the same in the second half as Carver started the half with a defensive stop and subsequent 44-yard touchdown pass on a bubble screen from Johnson.
In the late third-quarter, Auburn attempted to garner some positive mojo by blocking a punt that was recovered by junior Rashaan Evans, who scooped and almost scored, racing down to the six-yard line. The Tigers' Cameron Reese punched it in one play later bringing the score to 39-13.
Auburn continued their comeback after recovering an onsides kick mid-fourth quarter, with the Tigers driving to the one-yard line before Foster punched it in to bring Auburn within 39-20.
Whatever last minute desperate hopes Auburn envisioned were to put to bed with 3:06 left in the fourth quarter, as Johnson scampered 37-yards for his third rushing touchdown on the night, ending the night's scoring.
Foster only tallied four tackles, two tackles for loss and half a sack in the loss on a night he would like to forget.
"It didn't go the way we wanted it to go, but that's O.K., we learn from our mistakes," Foster said. "I told Jeremy after the game I loved him and we'll see him on the next level. It was awesome playing my future teammate, amazing."
Auburn hosts Central next week, as Carver-Montgomery travels to Robert E. Lee.