Ram tough: Johnson, Pedro spark 4th-quarter comeback in 30-29 win over Casa Grande

Johnny Johnson sprinted toward the bouncing punt with only one thing racing through his mind.

 

With less than 7 minutes to play in Maricopa’s 30-29 win over Casa Grande Friday night, the junior punt returner knew he had to make something happen, or the Rams’ playoff hopes would collapse. The Rams were trailing 27-15 and needed a charge worse than a dying cell phone battery on an important conference call.

 

Johnson electrified the Maricopa crowd at Al Van Hazel Stadium by scooping up the football at the 44-yard-line and running 56 yards for at touchdown with 6:31 left. The split-second decision brought the Rams within 27-22 in the battle of cross-county rivals.

 

“I saw the punt was short, and no one was in front of me,” Johnson said. “I thought, ‘Wow!’ I caught it and started running as fast as I could down the sideline.

 

“My heart for racing, for sure,” the 5-foot-8, 145-pounder added. “I could feel them chasing me. That’s the fastest I think I’ve ever run. It was amazing.”

 

The play unfolded in front of Maricopa coach Chris McDonald, a former punt returner himself in his playing days at Tempe Corona del Sol.

 

“I knew exactly was he was thinking,” the coach said. “He saw the ball bounce high, and he saw open field. No one was going to catch him. He was at full speed.”

 

On the next play, Johnson intercepted a pass from Casa Grande quarterback Brock Hall that put the ball in Maricopa’s hands again. 

 

“Two of the biggest plays of my football career came on back-to-back plays,” Johnson smiled. “I couldn’t believe it. But it really happened.”

 

With 4:04 left, backup quarterback Isaiah Pedro ran 14 yards for a touchdown to put the Rams ahead to stay, and Johnson caught a 2-point conversion pass from Pedro to make it 30-27.

 

Pedro replaced starter Aaron Owens in the second half and completed 8 of 15 passes for one touchdown and no interceptions. Owens did not return after being injured on a sack with 6:08 left in the third quarter, with the Rams training 27-9. Both Owens and Pedro are juniors.

 

“I’m not surprised by what Isaiah did,” McDonald said. “He was the starting quarterback last season before he broke his hand.”

 

Pedro responded with a 64-yard touchdown pass to Elisha Donaldson, cutting Casa Grande’s lead to 27-15 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. Donaldson finished with eight catches for 202 yards, giving him 53 catches for 1,228 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

 

“I didn’t feel any pressure,” Pedro said. “I just settled us down, and then we found a way to come back. It’s one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen.”

 

Casa Grande had the ball with 1:10 remaining, but the Rams stopped the Cougars with sacks on two of the last three plays. 

 

Maricopa (4-5, 3-1 Division III/Section 5) failed to score 35 points for only the second time this season, with only one game remaining Friday night at home against Catalina Foothills. McDonald wasn’t complaining.

 

“We’ve lost a lot of pretty games this season, and it’s a lot better to win ugly than lose pretty,” he said.

 

Casa Grande (2-7, 1-3) led 21-9 at halftime and had a season-high 443 yards total offense, but the Rams kept***ADVERTISEMENT*** the Cougars from scoring on their final three possessions. An interception by Maricopa’s Jackson Stensgard after a deflection with 1:58 to go stopped one Casa Grande drive.

 

“I am speechless,” McDonald told his team after the game. “All I can say is, we won ugly. Defense, this one is on you, because of you. You stepped up. You guys figured out how to win.”

 

The momentum shifted dramatically when Johnson picked up the punt rather than safely running away and letting it roll to a stop.

 

“There was no way I could pass up an opportunity like that.”

 

Click here to view more photos of the 2014 Rams football season.