Johnson Runs 'Wild' In Season-Ending Win

If everything goes according to plan for Evanston’s football program in 2026, Justin Johnson’s short-lived career as a quarterback is probably over.

So call it one last hurrah for the Wildkit junior as a “Wildcat” quarterback. He went out with a bang Friday night at Lazier Field, with touchdown runs of 36 and 33 yards, and lifted Evanston to a 21-7 Central Suburban League South division victory over Glenbrook North in the season finale.

Evanston’s defense registered 7 quarterback sacks and held the visiting Spartans (2-7 overall, 0-5 CSL South) to minus 37 yards rushing. The Wildkits finished 3-6 for the third year in a row but ended on a positive note by whipping the two worst teams in the division, Deerfield and GBN, in consecutive weeks.

Head coach Miles Osei’s use of the Wildcat formation --- with direct snaps to either Johnson or Mike Pryor --- increased over the last month of the season because none of Evanston’s actual quarterbacks could even handle simple snaps from center without fumbling. So with the passing game almost non-existent, Osei turned to one of his best athletes to get touches and stick to the ground instead.

Friday, Johnson had more than a dozen snaps at quarterback and finished with 7 carries for 85 yards. But he’ll likely return to his regular duties as a wide receiver and defensive back if returning quarterbacks Amare Jones (who missed the last two games with an injury) and T.J. Gant make even a smidgen of progress between now and next season.

Team player that he is, Johnson admitted Friday that he’d miss taking snaps if that’s what develops.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said the junior regarding his expanded role. “I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do. That fact that we were struggling at quarterback meant I just had to step up and that I could have more of an impact on offense. It felt good tonight, and if they need me to do it again next year, I would definitely do it.

“At the end of the summer we really didn’t have problems (at quarterback) but once the season got going, it got worse. It felt great to get those two touchdowns tonight, especially after my injury (ankle sprain that kept him sidelined for two games). I needed this tonight to get my spark back.

“Next year we just need to follow Coach Osei’s plan. He’s going to change the culture here and I’m just going to follow his lead. We’ll see what happens.”

“I would hope NOT to have to install the Wildcat next season,” said the Evanston head coach. “Football programs are built in the off-season and when we commit to that --- when we understand that --- we can develop and build a way more polished program.

“Tonight it was great for the seniors to experience a win at the end of the year, their last time together as a team. It was good to see them get a win. But if I gave us a grade it would be D plus because we had fumbles (two lost fumbles) and more penalties than we’ve had all year (12 for 117 yards), and that comes down to discipline. Imagine if we had played like a B or an A tonight.”

That would have been a near-Halloween nightmare for the visitors. North mustered only 9 first downs --- including four via ETHS penalties --- and their only score came when backup quarterback Asher Panfil found a wide open James Mathew for a 23-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down play with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the game.

Starting quarterback Noah Terrien misfired on 14 of his 15 passing attempts and was intercepted twice, by Owen Maman and Cash Nelson.

“Our defense got some key stops. They played with passion just like they typically do, and we did a good job of getting to the quarterback tonight,” Osei praised.

ETHS counted sacks from Raphael St. Eloi (2), Ian Sims, Pryor, Towan Jackson, Micah Nelson and Cash Nelson in another dominant defensive performance by the senior-led unit. Cash Nelson also recovered a fumble for the winners.

The hosts scored on their second offensive snap of the game when Johnson raced 36-yards to paydirt following a 26-yard scamper on his first attempt. But that was the only score of the first half after placekicker Jasper Barney missed a 41-yard field goal try, Johnson lost a fumble, and quarterback Gant tossed an interception to GBN’s Oliver Rush in the final seconds of the half.

Evanston marched 85 yards in 8 plays with the second half kickoff and this time Johnson raced untouched over right tackle for a 33-yard score. Later in the period, after the Kits’ defense set up the offense on the GBN 46, senior Tyree Inniss added a 15-yard TD run. Inniss actually finished as the team’s leading rusher Friday with a season-best 101 yards on 9 attempts.

Osei has already thought about next year. The Wildkits will graduate most of their starters on both sides of the ball, but the junior varsity squad (built around defense and a stable of good running backs) posted a 6-3 won-loss record under head coach Alex Brown and showed significant progress over the second half of the season.

“Coach Brown and his staff have done a tremendous job. Those kids play hard and they believe,” said Osei. “They lift (weights) together every day after school and they’re in there helping the freshmen, too. There’s a core group there that wants to be challenged and enjoys hard work.

“We want to certainly foster that in the program. But I can’t over-stress the importance of the off-season. They can’t be complacent because they had a good season. It takes a tremendous amount of work outside the season. This is a unique sport because you can’t play at a high level with just 5 or 6 studs. You need an entire team. It’s all about the buy-in, because at the end of the day, that’s the change we need.”