By George Bremer
The Herald Bulletin
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.”
