Staff report
AUSTIN – The only thing colder than Johnson High’s icy all white road uniforms Thursday was a defense that was equally frigid.
Tenacious defense, mixed with explosive offense and special teams, carried the Jaguars to a 69-6 season opening demolition of the Crockett Cougars at Burger Stadium.
Johnson wasted little time flexing that defensive muscle at the start. A 15-yard scoop-and-score from senior defensive tackle Elvis Garza off a Crockett fumble pushed the Jaguars to a 7-0 lead roughly three minutes into the game. The Jags maintained a 14-6 lead after a quarter thanks to a 75 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jesse Medina to wide receiver Ethan McAlister.
The Jag offense turned up the heat in the second quarter and scored 28 unanswered points to take a 42-6 halftime lead. That scoring barrage was led by a pair of winding, highlight reel, against-the-grain touchdowns scored by senior wide receiver Noah Vasquez.
Success was immediate for Johnson at the start of the second half when junior kick returner Caden Winzer returned the opening third quarter kickoff for a score, further expanding the Jaguar lead to 48-6.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s defense smothered Crockett, limiting the Cougars to 47 total yards on offense and four turnovers.
The cherry on top came in the third frame when the Jags capitalized on an interception by linebacker Josh Gentry, which led to a three-yard touchdown pass from Medina to sophomore wide receiver Josh Compton.
Medina went 5 of 8 for 144 passing yards and four touchdowns. As a team, the Jaguars racked up 327 total yards on offense.
Johnson opens its home schedule Sept. 2 when they host the Lockhart Lions. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
