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Johnson gets leg up on D-II competition
FLC receiver a bright spot in dark year
Herald Sports Writer
I'd trade all my catches for a couple of wins. I just want to win.
- Justin Johnson, FLC wide receiver
That's exactly what he'll attempt Saturday against Western State.
The Fort Lewis College junior transfer hobbled around the practice field with the gait of an old man Wednesday, wincing as his bulbous knee throbbed with each step.
But that's business as usual for Johnson, who has for weeks been held back in practice only to haul in double-digit receptions on the weekends.
"It's my job to care enough about him to protect him," FLC head coach Ed Rifilato said. "To get him enough rest to enjoy this game that he loves." The game brought Johnson to Durango from the beaches of San Diego, where he played small forward for St. Augustine High School until deciding to try his wares on the gridiron his senior year.
With little fanfare, Johnson stayed in the local area to pursue an associate degree at Grossmont Junior College and gave up basketball completely to focus on a future in football. After he led the nation in punt returns his second year, his phone finally rang. It was Rifilato.
"I'm not sure why, but he just gave me a call and said 'Come out,'" Johnson said.
Rifilato said others "missed" Johnson because he still was finishing his Associate of Arts degree, but junior college coaching friends convinced "Rif" to give the tireless receiver a chance.
"He's a great young man, raised by his mother," Rifilato said. "He's worked. She's kicked him in the butt and made him work." The plan was for Johnson to step in as a key player for the 2008 Skyhawks, but a torn ACL put those hopes on hold while Johnson received surgery and treatment at a professional facility in San Diego where his mother is employed.
Johnson worked hard at his rehab, but he still wasn't at 100 percent when the 2009 season began.
"Even when he came in during two-a-days, he just didn't seem right," Rifilato said. "He really pushed through it and got stronger." Strong enough to grab 105 receptions in 10 games - one short of Jamal Allen's school record - as a lone silver lining in a lackluster season for FLC (1-9 overall), which has failed to secure a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory in eight tries.
When freshman quarterback Tim Jenkins took over the job in Week 2, Rifilato said, he immediately started favoring Johnson on short, interior routes.
The threat of Johnson opened up the field for senior receivers Brandon Schneider (39 catches, 398 yards) and Phillip Dodd (37 catches, 484 yards), and Jenkins now finds himself second in the RMAC with 2,153 yards.
"He's growing up before our eyes," Johnson said of Jenkins. "We're gonna turn around next year, definitely." "Next year" is Johnson's favorite subject, while talk of this season elicits a grimace to match his walking face.
"I'd trade all my catches for a couple of wins," Johnson said. "I just want to win." Rifilato said that's not a word of lip service.
"When he doesn't get it, when he drops it or somebody knocks it out of his hands, you can just see him rage inside," he said. "He's a very intelligent young man, and he understands the game very well, probably way better than me." Johnson returned kickoffs and punts in addition to getting a number of carries at tailback earlier this season before Rifilato started conserving him for more conventional use.
"He's a great blocker, and he has a great arm, too," Rifilato. "Any double passes we've thrown, he's thrown them." Johnson said he hasn't caught the attention of any professional scouts yet - "hopefully soon" - but works hard in the weight room trying to improve his size and speed.
"Only time will tell," Rifilato said of Johnson's football future. "That's between him and his maker. I'd love for him to be a great pro player so he could send money back." Although he leads Division II in receptions, many of Johnson's passes come on short routes, and he trails Colorado Mines receiver Adam Saur by 10 yards - 1003-993 - for the RMAC lead.
And while Johnson loves the Fort Lewis football program, he'd rather be on the Pacific shore than high in the San Juans.
"I miss home a little bit," he said. "But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." His grandparents and mother visit weekly from San Diego, and Johnson's particularly excited that his girlfriend, Lailani Clamore-Smith, will be on hand Saturday when the Skyhawks try to bounce back from a heartbreaking, fourth-quarter loss at New Mexico Highlands.
Western New Mexico's lone conference win came at home against Highlands, 50-30, but the Mustangs (2-7 overall, 1-7 RMAC) set up nicely for a big day from Johnson, featuring the second-worst defense in the RMAC (FLC is No. 3).
"We go into every game thinking we're going to win," Johnson said. "We always stay up." mpiper@durangoherald.com
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