‘One of the best feelings ever:’ Springfield beats Saint Ignatius on late interception return

In the fourth quarter of the 2021 season opener, Johnson picked off a pass by Saint Ignatius quarterback Joey Pfaff along the sideline in front of the Saint Ignatius bench and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 24-20 lead with 2 minutes, 57 seconds to play.

That score stood up as the Wildcats rallied from a 20-10 deficit in the final minutes and celebrated perhaps their most impressive non-conference regular-season victory in the history of the new high school.

“It motivates us and keeps us pushing,” Johnson said.

No Clark County team has won a state football championship in the playoff era. After two straight state semifinal appearances, the Wildcats hope to become the first in 2021. They have all the pieces to make another run, and beating an 11-time state champion to start the season takes the expectations to another level.

“It’s just one week,” said eighth-year Springfield coach Maurice Douglass. “We’ve just got to continue to battle.”

Springfield trailed 17-10 at halftime and fell behind 20-10 early in the fourth quarter. The game turned on a fumble recovery by Springfield defensive lineman Jokell Brown with under six minutes to play.

Springfield faced 4th-and-6 deep in its own territory after the turnover, but Springfield quarterback Te’Sean Smoot found Daylen Bradley over the middle, and he turned the catch into a long gain, though he suffered an injury at the end of the play. Smoot then threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Thigpen with 3:34 remaining, cutting the Saint Ignatius lead to 20-17.

Less than a minute later, Pfaff threw off his back foot as two Springfield defenders, linebacker Fate Smith and defensive lineman Tywan January, chased him. Johnson was ready.

“We were in cover three,” he said. “I saw the route coming, so I just played the ball and ran it to the house. We needed it. It felt great. One of the best feelings ever.”

Springfield needed Johnson. That’s why his teammates tried to convince him to play football.

“You’ve got to play football,” Thigpen told him. “Yeah, you’re good at basketball, but you’re physical. Go ahead and try to be a DB. You can guard anybody.”

Johnson listened to them and his family and decided he would be all in this season.

“They just told me they’ll work with me and they believe in me,” he said, “so I put my trust in them.”

Johnson’s play helped Springfield win on a night of inconsistency for the offense. Smoot, who completed 11 of 22 passes for 240 yards, threw an interception on a deep pass on the first play of the game and also lost a fumble in the first half. He threw another interception in the second half.

The turnovers were a big reason Saint Ignatius dominated time of possession. It had the ball for more than 39 minutes. Pfaff completed 12 of 30 passes for 163 yards. Marty Lenehan led the Ignatius running game with 20 carries for 84 yards and two first-half touchdowns.

Prior to the touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the offense had reached the end zone only once on a 74-yard pass from Smoot to Anthony Brown.

“(Smoot) didn’t have his best game,” Douglass said, “but when it mattered, he made plays.”

Springfield plays at Fairfield in Week 2. Fairfield opened the season Friday with a 38-24 loss at Centerville.

“Hopefully, we come back this week and have a great week of practice,” Douglass said. “We battled through the adversity. We had some guys who got nicked up a little bit tonight. Hopefully, we’ll bounce back.”