ANDERSON, Ind. —
Isaiah Johnson’s high school football career has been an extended tease.
But the Anderson senior might finally be ready to deliver on his potential.
Despite missing the Southport game with a nagging groin injury, Johnson already has rushed for 230 yards this season. And Indians head coach Randy Albano said he’s just getting started.
“He’s started out kind of slow for us,” Albano said. “He’s not fully 100 percent. When he gets healthy, I think he’s going to be even better.”
Johnson has been on a roller coaster the past two years.
He began his junior season by flashing signs of greatness as part of powerful Highland backfield alongside then-seniors Jordan Segner, Lawrence Cotton and Derrick Hill. But he was declared ineligible after Week 1 and missed the vast majority of the regular season.
The time off ate at Johnson, watching from the sidelines as his teammates played on without him.
“It was really tough watching it and trying to be a part of it,” he said. “I just waited, and when my chance came I had to do my part.”
Johnson’s chance came in the postseason. He gained more than 300 combined yards in three games as the Scots advanced to the Class 4A sectional final.
The first- and second-round victories were played at Anderson University’s Macholtz Stadium in front of energetic crowds. The atmosphere gave Johnson a taste of big-time high school football, and he’s hungry for more.
“Those games were fun,” he said. “Everybody played like that was the last game they were ever going to play.”
Like many Highland athletes, Johnson weighed his options after the former Scots were freed to attend any school of their choice.
In the end, however, he could find no reason to leave home.
“We’re in Anderson, and I wanted to play for Anderson,” he said. “I thought we had a chance to be a pretty good team this year.”
But this is no fairy tale, and a happy ending isn’t guaranteed.
Johnson struggled with a groin injury throughout the summer, but he gutted out 101 yards anyway in the season opener against Fort Wayne Northrop.
The next week the pain became too powerful and he was forced back to the sideline for a game against Southport at Lucas Oil Stadium.
He returned last week and rushed for 129 yards and four touchdowns as the Indians won their first game of the season, 32-7, at Richmond.
“It felt really good to get that first win under our belt,” Johnson said. “It gives us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the conference schedule.”
The Indians (1-2 overall, 1-0 North Central Conference) face conference rivals Logansport and Huntington North in the next two weeks. Both schools are among the favorites for the conference title so Anderson is expecting a pair of slugfests.
Johnson’s game is based on his ability to make quick cuts and leave defenders grasping at air. As his injury improves, so does his elusiveness.
“He really never got in the flow of things, yet,” Albano said. “But when he gets the ball, people on the other team know they’re going to have their hands full trying to stop him.”
If Johnson continues to provide a consistent threat on the ground, it will open up more opportunities in the passing game for quarterbacks Curtis Wilson and Shannon Swain.
For his part, Johnson only cares about winning.
He got a taste of postseason success a year ago, and he can’t wait for a second helping.
“I’m really hungry,” he said. “I want us to play well. I know we’ve got the talent, and we can do it.”
High School Sports
Related Photos
-
Anderson senior Isaiah Johnson cuts through a hole in the Fort Wayne Northrop defense on Aug. 20. THB Photo/Aaron Piper
Discussion
Anderson RB ready to emerge as star
Isaiah Johnson had 129 yards and four TDs last week
- High School Sports
-
-
Tribe triumphs
The Anderson Lady Tribe brought their best defense in Friday night’s semifinal battle against New Castle and rolled to a 56-31 victory to advance to the final of Class 4A Sectional 9 against Pendleton Heights.
-
Wertz rallies Arabians to final
Pendleton Heights junior guard Tiffany Wertz sparked a fourth-quarter rally in girls sectional basketball play Friday and lifted the Arabians into tonight’s title game. PH scored 29 points in the fourth quarter and erased a six-point deficit with five minutes to play in a 63-51 win over Richmond.
-
Broncos advance to finals
Daleville’s girls basketball team pounded Wes-Del for a third time this season, defeating the Warriors 39-11 to earn a berth in the sectional championship tonight against Southern Wells.
-
Winchester's final run fells Frankton
Girls basketball season came to an end Friday for the Frankton Eagles, but it didn’t end quietly. Frankton fell to the Winchester Golden Falcons 60-51 in the Class 2A Sectional 40 semifinals at Shenandoah High School.
-
Elwood better but can't best Tipton
While the final score of 80-46 may not indicate it, there were some improvements for the Elwood girls basketball team in its rematch against the Tipton Blue Devils on Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 2A Sectional 39 at Madison-Grant.
-
Argylls' season runs out of gas in semis
It would not be too hard to pinpoint exactly when things went wrong for the Madison-Grant girls basketball team Friday night in its sectional semifinal game against Eastern. However, identifying the cause of the team’s struggles would be more difficult. The Argylls’ hung tough for three quarters of the game, but fell apart in the fourth with a perfect storm of problems, resulting to a 56-38 loss to end their season.
-
Indians advance to finals
Photos from the sectional semifinal at Greenfield-Central on Friday.
-
Arabians come from behind to beat Red Devils
Photos from the sectional semifinal at Greenfield-Central on Friday.
-
Bearcats upend AHS
Often basketball is a simple game, and it was certainly true for the Anderson boys basketball team here Thursday night. “We had too many turnovers — that’s the game,” said AHS coach Joe Nadaline after the Indians lost to Muncie Central 54-46 for their eighth straight defeat.
-
Bulldogs topple Raiders, win 9th in a row
The Bulldogs keep on rolling. Lapel (16-3) led from start to finish as it beat visiting Shenandoah 69-47 Thursday night to push its winning streak to nine games.
- More High School Sports Headlines
-
