Johnson Finds Room for 222 in Katella Victory

Senior Francis Johnson rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns in 28 carries to lead Katella to a 21-19 victory in the first round of the Southern Section Division VI playoffs Friday night at Glover Stadium.

Johnson’s 49-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes 29 seconds left in the game gave Katella (7-3-1) a 21-13 lead.

But University (6-4-1) came back on its next drive. After taking over on its 30-yard line, the Trojans moved the ball to the Knights’ five-yard line on a 40-yard run by Daniel Tadych.

Three plays later, quarterback Andy Dennis connected with Justin Lin on a five-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left to close the gap to 21-19.

The Trojans tried to tie the score with a two-point conversion, but Dennis’ pass intended for Tadych fell incomplete. University was unable to recover an on-side kick and Katella ran the clock out.

Tadych, who rushed for 68 yards in 11 carries, scored on a 22-yard touchdown run with 7:12 left in the game, to trim Katella’s lead to 14-13. But after a low snap, Chris Gray’s kick was blocked, enabling the Knights to hold onto the lead.

University scored the first touchdown of the game on Dennis’ 39-yard touchdown run with 6:24 left in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the Knights tied the score, 7-7, on quarterback Chris Haller’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Chris Walters and took the lead on Johnson’s six-yard run.

Katella will play top-seeded Woodbridge, which beat Saddleback, 37-0, in the second round next week.