Johns carries Olney to win over Future

WHEN SULTAN JOHNS was younger, he wanted to play football so badly that he consistently peppered his mother with requests.

However, Denise Johns wouldn't hear of it. Johns, now a 5-7, 165-pound senior running back for Olney Charter wasn't very big growing up, so his mother was worried about serious injuries, he said.

Repeatedly rebuffed, the Logan resident remained resolute, not knowing that one day he would become a 1,000-yard rusher.

"I just kept asking her and kept asking her and kept asking her," Johns said yesterday after host Olney thumped High School of the Future, 39-14.

"Then, when I turned 13, she finally let me go out there and play, and I've just been out here every summer since."

And the rest is history, right? Well, not exactly.

Johns was 13 when he first started playing youth football for the Northwest Raiders. He said rules prohibited Pop Warner guys from also playing for their high school squads, so he stuck with the nationally successful Raiders through sophomore year.

"When I finally got to high school," he said, "I didn't get a lot of time because they thought I was too little. I had to work my way up."

Last season, Johns was buried behind seniors in the Trojans' backfield.

"Last year," he said, "it was real rough, knowing that I was capable of doing a lot of things. But sometimes you just have to wait for your time. There's a right time for everything and it just wasn't my time."

Entering yesterday, Johns had rushed for over 100 yards five times and needed just 68 yards to reach 1,000, a goal he set in the offseason.

His 21-carry, 158-yard performance did the trick. He also added two touchdowns, including a 50-yard burst that extended Olney's lead to 19-0 on the first play of the third quarter.

"I feel good because I know that I rushed well against a lot of teams," he said. "And my team, we're not the best, but we managed to put up the stats we did because everyone played hard, and thanks to their blocks, I did my thing."

Junior fullback Kevin Prosper added 43 yards and two touchdowns on five carries for the Trojans (5-5, 2-4). Seniors Kadir Chisholm (quarterback) and Ismail Guyton added a ground tally apiece.

Defensively, seniors Elvin Feliciano and Dangeio Thomas each intercepted a pass.

For Future, sophomore Supreme Kemp bulled his way for 44 yards and a score on six carries. Kemp had an impressive, 18-yard score (he broke five tackles) negated in the fourth quarter due to an illegal block that was inconsequential to the play. Junior Marvin Dozier added the Firebirds' other tally.

Olney didn't make the playoffs in Public League AAAA play, but had an impressive upset win against Martin Luther King High (Johns rushed for 132 yards and two scores). Yesterday's nonleague triumph over AAA Future (0-6, 0-10), was sweet nonetheless.

"It doesn't mean a whole lot because we didn't make the playoffs," Johns said, "but it's a good win because we worked as a team. And as I said all offseason, I wanted to hit 1,000 yards. I came out here and worked hard all offseason and put in work on the field, and I did it."

The oldest of six children, Johns said next up is earning a walk-on spot somewhere. He reports a C average and a hunger for entrepreneurship that he hopes his siblings will share someday.

"If I go out there and do big things, they'll want to do big things," he said. "If you go into a positive direction, they'll follow. If you set a bad example, they'll go out there thinking they can do bad things . . . so I have to keep my head on straight and stay positive."

As for his mother, who was reluctant to let him play, Johns has a good idea of how she'll react when he bursts into the family home near Einstein Hospital in Logan. He finished with 1,090 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on the season.

"Yeah, she did not want me to play at all," he smiled. "Now, she's still a little scared. She comes to my games and snaps on the sideline when I get tackled, saying, 'Oh, you shouldn't play anymore.' And I'll be like, 'Mom, that's what football is about. It's about tackling, and I can hold my own.'

"I'm going to tell her about my accomplishments," he said, "and, I think she'll be real happy."