MECHANICSBURG, PA — Brett Johnson was being pulled every different direction by every voice around him. The Bonner Prendergast senior defensive back was beyond the cold of the frigid Friday night wind blowing through Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley High School. The only thing he could feel was the warm feeling of victory.
It was Brett Johnson’s two interceptions, along with Mick Johnson’s four touchdowns, that led Bonner to a 40-14 victory over District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg for the PIAA Class 4A state championship.
It marks the first state championship in Bonner history.
It has been a rewarding road for Friars’ coach Jack Muldoon, who rebuilt and remade the program into a statewide power.
“We knew we had an opportunity to do this, if we stayed healthy this year,” said the newly minted state champion head coach. “We talked about winning a state championship all year. All year was to win every game in the Catholic League. I think after we beat Roman Catholic, that is what convinced us. Beating Roman, showing we can compete against a team like that, that legitimized us. That told us we could compete.”
Mick Johnson led the Friars with four touchdowns, scoring two in the first half and two in the second, while rushing for a game-high 111 yards on 24 carries. He received space to run behind left tackle Caleb Tesema, left guard Chaz Ingram, center CJ Chisholm, right guard Kevin Hunter and right tackle Julius Johnson.
Entering the game, the very reliable Lampeter-Strasburg senior quarterback Caileb Howse had completed 101 of 169 for 17 TDs without an interception. That changed Friday night. Three of his first four passes were intercepted, two by Brett Johnson, one he took for a game-changing 61-yard touchdown return on the final play of the first half.
Brett Johnson never had two interceptions in a game before. He never had a pick-six, though came close before being tackled at the one earlier this year against Haverford School.
A belief permeated this team since August when they began training camp. This was a team that could be playing in December.
“The DBs spoke about this all year, but this is my first pick-six, my first time I ever had two picks in a game,” Brett Johnson said. “On the second pick, I knew I had to go for it and try to score. It was not a bad way to get my first pick-six.”
Bonner went into halftime with a 27-14 lead, after blowing a 14-0 lead. The Friars scored on their opening two drives, the first rolling 56 yards over 12 plays that took 4:05 off the clock. That series ended with a Mick Johnson one-yard run with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
Bonner then led 14-0, thanks to Brett Johnson’s first interception, a deflection in which he made a great diving catch for that came off the hands of Lampeter-Strasburg’s Mason Hostetter at the Pioneers’ 47.
From there, the Friars used seven plays, and one fortunate bounce, when Mick Johnson was stopped at the one by Caileb Howse, but the ball popped free and Bonner’s Saleem Frink was right there to grab it in mid air and fall into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
At that moment, the Pioneers had not had a first down and were outgained, 108-6.
Just when it seemed Lampeter-Strasburg was in a dire situation, the Pioneers’ Peter Fiorello booted a 73-yard punt, pinning the Friars at their one. Lampeter-Strasburg played the field position game, and the Pioneers took advantage.
They got moving in the second quarter scoring on consecutive drives, when Howse hit a wide-open Dominic Brown for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
Lampeter-Strasburg then followed that when Brown scored from six yards out tying the game at 14-14 with 5:12 left in the half.
In 31 seconds, all the Pioneers’ comeback work was scrubbed. On the ensuing possession, the Friars answered. Mick Johnson scored his second touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half, made possible by Noel Campbell’s 40-yard completion to Jalil Hall on a third-and-five at the Pioneers’ 44.
Then, instead of taking a knee and running the final 11 seconds off of the half, Lampeter-Strasburg opted to pass. Howse never saw Brett Johnson, who rose up and snared the ball at the Bonner 39 and weaved his way down the field for a 61-yard TD return and a 27-14 halftime lead.
The play completely lifted the Friars. It demoralized Lampeter-Strasburg.
This was Lampeter-Strasburg’s first time reaching the state finals, as it was Bonner’s. Pioneers’ coach Victor Ridenour guided his team to an historic season.
Four turnovers led to Lampeter-Strasburg’s undoing.
“To me, we had a great group of kids, and to me, and the most unselfish group of kids that I have ever been around,” Ridenour said. “They never cared who got the credit. This was their time to shine and they did. I think we adjusted fairly well to their speed, we just shot ourselves with mistakes. We did a good job all year not turning the ball over.
“This was a bad game for all of those things to come out.”
Scoring Summary
(District 12) Bonner Prendergast (12-2) 14 13 7 6-40
(District 3) Lampeter-Strasburg (14-1) 0 14 0 0-14
1st Quarter
BP – Mick Johnson 1 run (Isaiah Smith kick), 6:08
BP – Saleem Frink 1 fumble recovery (Smith kick), 2:37
2nd Quarter
LS – Dominic Brown 28 pass from Caileb Howse (Peter Fiorello kick), 9:26
LS – Brown 6 run (Fiorello kick), 5:12
BP – Mick Johnson 4 run (Smith kick), :31
BP – Brett Johnson 61 INT return (pass failed), :00
3rd Quarter
BP – Mick Johnson 3 run (Smith kick), 4:01
4th Quarter
BP – Mick Johnson 5 run (pass failed), 11:01
FULL GAME STATS
BP/LS
FIRST DOWNS 18/15
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 43-201/46-168
PASSING YDS (NET) 162/28
Passes Cmp-Att-Int 13-21-0/1-6-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 64-363/52-196
Fumble Returns-Yards 1-14/0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 1-6/0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 2-20/6-80
Interception Returns-Yards 3-60/0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 3-33.0/4-42.8
Fumbles-Lost 4-2/1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-65/3-44
Possession Time 27:55/20:05
Third-Down Conversions 6 of 13/3 of 9
Fourth-Down Conversions 2 of 3/0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 5-5/1-2
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall-of-fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball [twitter.com].
