Kansas Pregame, Volume 12Livingston, (Photo by Derek
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DALYN JOHNSON
Page 68
Maize
By Alan Dale For Kansas Pregame When he wraps his football career this fall, Dalyn Johnson may go down as one of the best players in the Maize history. Johnson was a Kpreps.com, Class 5A All-State running back in 2016, after the 5-7, now senior, rushed for 1,539 yards while scoring 27 touchdowns. He also recorded 220 receiving yards and three touchdowns via the air route for a 7-3 team that finished its season in the round of 16 with a loss to Valley Center. Johnson’s numbers came against a solid schedule that featured regular season losses to 6A powers Derby and Hutchinson, who finished the campaign at 22-2 combined. Not bad numbers for head coach Gary Guzman’s top returning offensive weapon this fall. “He’s been starting since he was a freshman…we plugged him in there and he’s been running for us ever since,” Guzman said. “He’s a really good running back. He has the ability to outrun people, the ability to make you miss and he’s powerful and can take people on. He’s got great vision and sees the field really well. “He’s worked pretty hard for us. He can also catch the ball really well for us out of the backfield and with us running the spread offense, that’s a key for us. We feel very comfortable throwing the ball to him out of the backfield. I’ve had some good running backs (over two decades of coaching) and he’s right there with them.” Johnson’s focus is to better himself in a game he has grown to love. A game that allows him to escape. “Friday night lights allow you to just get away from everything and allows you to just get away from all the negative,” Johnson said. “No matter how frustrated you are with your girl for cheating on you last night, you put them pads on and lace up them cleats, you forget about all of that on the turf.” Johnson’s big numbers were certainly impacted by having a strong offensive line in front of him. This year, Guzman’s squad will be looking for new hogs up front to help pave the way for the offensive attack. “Our passing game can be pretty good,” Guzman said. “It’s whether the guys up front get the job done. We graduated all five offensive linemen. If they can get it done, we could be pretty good offensively and overall.” If the line comes together, Johnson’s goals for the fall are definitely doable. “My personal goals for this season are to repeat being first team All-State and break 1,000 rushing yards so I can break the (Maize) career rushing record,” Johnson said. “Team goals are to do the little things right and be dedicated to the weight room and everything else will take care of itself.” Johnson didn’t want to speak too much on the process of getting to the next step of playing college football, but he did say he was very interested in taking his game to the next level. “I want to become a personal trainer and when I find something I’m good at, hopefully become an offensive coordinator,” Johnson said of his college and post-education plans. A double-digit per-game scorer for the Tigers’ basketball team, Johnson is a strong athlete – deadlifting 510 pounds – while benching 245 pounds and squatting 385 pounds. A 4.65 40 time and a 30 inch vertical jump won’t hurt his chances of gaining interest from college programs. Right now, he is just trying to build more memories as an Eagle, but he already has some doozies locked away in his brain. “My most memorable moment was my freshman year when our starting running back got injured just before halftime, Coach Guzman called number nine and that just showed me that he had faith in me as his guy from day one,” Johnson said. “I now consider myself a veteran of the (Arkansas Valley-Chisholm Trail League) and that is a huge confidence booster.” It doesn’t hurt that his family has also provided a big boost of positive thinking over the years.
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THE JOHNSON FILE
Hobbies: Xbox Favorite subject: History Favorite food: “Mama’s enchiladas or GranGran’s fried chicken.” Favorite musician: Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole Favorite pregame song: “I’m the Man” by 50 Cent Most memorable high school football moment: “Freshman year when I was called in for the injured starter.”
Brought to you by the Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more about all there is to see and do in Crawford County go to visitcrawfordcounty.com.
Miners Hall Museum The Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, Kansas is dedicated to preserving the rich mining history of Southeast Kansas. The museum offers monthly exhibits and programs as well as a mining library and research area. They have hundreds of mining artifacts on display and admission is free. www.minershallmuseum.com