Johnny White, Douglas County head coach
Today’s interviewee is Douglas County coach Johnny White, whose team defeated defending Class 6A champion Hughes 30-27 last week to improve to 5-0. White was on Hughes’ staff before taking the Douglas County job in 2016. He’s 4-2 against his old team.
1. What were the key moments of the Hughes game? “I do think the touchdown on the last drive was important [a 29-yard pass from Sire Hardaway to James Johnson]. I think some of the key plays of the game were created by Sire using his legs and scrambling for some key first downs. Also, the defense really played hard the second half, only giving up one touchdown. I think that was huge.”
2. What's different about Douglas County this season that would turn around losing 48-3 to Hughes to winning 30-27? “I think it's their ability to play hard for each other. This team is a very unselfish group of young men. They really love each other. The biggest difference between last year and this year is Sire Hardaway. Last year the score was 14-3 at the half and we lost Sire for the remainder of the game.”
3. What’s Sire’s skill set/makeup? “Sire Hardaway is an unbelievable football player. He’s very accurate as a passer [90-of-123 for 1,274 yards, 11 touchdowns]. He is a super smart young man [3.75 GPA and former ScoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week] and runs when needed. His development has been both on the field and off. On the field, he does a lot of work with our quarterback coach [Corky Gordon] and our offensive coordinator [Ken Quinn]. He runs our scramble drill better than anyone that I have coached. His understanding of our offense and each week’s game plan has given us a chance to be successful in every game this year. Off of the field Sire Hardaway is our leader. He is never too high or too low in any circumstance, and now he has spread that spirit to our entire team.”
4. James Johnson also had a big game, scoring three touchdowns, including the winning score. What kind of player is he? “James is a junior and a three-year starter for us at Douglas County. James Johnson is special. In five games this year he has 859 total yards [106 rushing, 359 receiving, 115 on punt returns, 394 on kickoff returns, all on 42 touches]. He has 13 touchdowns and also plays defensive back for us and has 35 tackles and four pass breakups. He's one of the best players I've ever been blessed to coach.”