Avery Johnson leads Maize football to last-minute playoff win over Bishop Carroll
Chants of “over-rated” from the opposing student section rang out on Friday night after Maize quarterback Avery Johnson fumbled on the first play of the game.
He’s used to the scrutiny any time he makes a mistake. He’s also used to proving his naysayers wrong and showing why he’s arguably the best dual-threat quarterback in the country for the class of 2023.
Johnson scored four rushing touchdowns, including the game-winner with 30 seconds remaining, to lead Maize to a 14-point comeback and secure a 28-21 home victory over Bishop Carroll to win his third straight Class 5A regional championship. The Eagles (8-2) will host Hays (8-2) next Friday in the quarterfinals.
“I’ve seen the tears with the seniors who go out and how heartbreaking it is,” said Johnson, who threw for 143 yards and rushed for 163 yards. “I don’t take losing lightly and I didn’t want to have that feeling again. Hopefully whenever our seniors play for the last time, it will be tears of joy.”
In a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game, which Carroll won 49-35 to end Maize’s season, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of Chase Smarsh passing touchdowns to Luke Holthusen and Tim Helten.
But when your quarterback can throw and run like Johnson, falling behind 14-0 in a playoff game is no time to panic.
“We had full confidence the whole time,” Maize senior offensive lineman Brandon Kerr said. “Because at the end of the day, Avery is a beast.”
Sure enough, Johnson delivered just before halftime on an improbable 25-yard rushing touchdown where he slipped out of two tackles, weaved his way to make another two would-be tacklers miss and then out-ran another three to score.
Johnson added another touchdown in the third quarter to erase the 14-point deficit, then struck again early in the fourth quarter right after Carroll had a potential, go-ahead 31-yard field goal plunk off the up-rights.
On the very next snap, Johnson duped Carroll’s defense by pulling the ball out late in a read option, then darting up-field untouched for an 80-yard touchdown run to give Maize its first lead, 21-14, with 10:25 remaining.
“My offensive line told me it was going to be there,” Johnson said. “I made the read and just hit the seam and made a cutback and saw another seam and just hit it. It was just like on the blocking sheet, perfect blocking, so all I had to do was use my speed and get to the end zone.”
Johnson’s name will be the one repeated on the highlight tapes, but it was the push of Maize’s offensive line — Mason Thrush, Cole Chalashtari, Zach Wertz, Brandon Kerr, Nick Reyes and Jack Kerr — that helped him run that far untouched.
“We really do take a lot of pride in that,” Thrush said. “Whenever we see highlights like that on the news, it makes us feel good. Even though we know it’s his highlight, we know that we did our jobs.”
“Avery is the one scoring the touchdown, but it takes an entire team,” Maize coach Gary Guzman said. “The defense had to get stops for him. The offensive line had to create some openings for him. It’s not just a one-man show. It takes 11 guys doing their job every single play.”
Down to its backup quarterback and trailing by a touchdown on the road in the fourth quarter, Carroll proved its resiliency with a game-tying drive capped by a pump-and-go perfectly executed by sophomore quarterback Jackson King to find Matt Holthusen for a 14-yard touchdown with 6:11 left.
On the sidelines, Johnson was already talking to the Maize offense.
“We’re going to win this game,” Johnson barked. “Stay confident, stay in the moment. We’re going to win this.”
It was the moment every big-time quarterback dreams about: taking the field with the ball in the fourth quarter of a tied game with the season on the line.
It didn’t take long for Carroll’s defense to force a favorable third-and-6 play from near midfield. A stop would give Carroll the ball back with enough time to potentially drive for the win.
But whenever Maize absolutely needed a play to be made, Johnson would make it with his legs — this time scrambling from the pocket, weaving through the defense and stretching out for a seven-yard first down.
“He’s just such a special player,” Carroll coach Dusty Trail said of Johnson. “His legs are what make him special. Now he’s got a strong arm and he can throw the ball and put it where he wants to, but it’s his athletic ability and his legs that really make him special.”
It was Johnson’s legs that ultimately won the game, as it was another read-option play where Johnson pulled the ball, made a linebacker miss in the backfield, ran through an arm tackle, split two more defenders and dove into the end zone for what would become the game-winning 18-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds remaining.
“That’s what he does every day,” Kerr said. “He does the same things in practice. He’s just a baller. Best in the nation.”
“That’s what big-time quarterbacks do, they step up in big games,” Guzman said. “He’s done it for us for three years and he’ll continue to do it. That’s what we expect from him and what he expects from himself. We know we can count on him.”
The game-winning drive was just the latest chapter in the growing legend of Johnson, but it was a moment that almost never happened.
Just plays before Johnson’s final heroics, one of his passes was deflected by the Carroll defense and the ball bounced off the helmet of another defender trying for the interception and instead into the hands of Maize receiver Justin Stephens for a first down.
If Carroll intercepted that pass, it had enough time to drive for the potential game-winning score. Instead, Maize caught the bounce in a demonstration of the razor-thin margin that sometimes stands between winning and losing.
“They got the break and we didn’t,” Trail said. “And that’s sports for you. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”
Maize 28, Bishop Carroll 21
Carroll 7 7 0 7 — 21
Maize 0 7 7 14 — 28
C—L. Holthusen 9 pass from Smarsh (Polley kick)
C—Helten 26 pass from Smarsh (Polley kick)
M—Johnson 25 run (Segraves kick)
M—Johnson 1 run (Segraves kick)
M—Johnson 80 run (Segraves kick)
C—M. Holthusen 14 pass from King (Polley kick)
M—Johnson 18 run (Segraves kick)
Rushing—Carroll, Williams 13-62, King 12-26, Fernandez Nyafouna 4-18 Smarsh 5-11, L. Holthusen 1-5; Maize, Johnson 14-163, Carter 12-55, Williams 4-20.
Passing—Carroll, King 7-11-0-204, Smarsh 8-8-0-91,; Maize, Johnson 12-19-0-143.
Receiving—Carroll, Helten 4-106, L. Holthusen 2-87, M. Holthusen 5-70, Williams 2-11, Blasi 1-11, Maul 1-10; Maize, Cohoon 7-96, Martin 2-20, Stephens 2-12, Doty 1-15.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 1:32 PM.
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