Johnson coach Richard Magembe has tried to tell anyone willing to lend an ear about his junior wide receiver, but the talent of Justice Moody may need to first be seen to be believed.
It was on full display on Friday at Two Rivers High School.
Moody tied a Johnson program record with six touchdowns — four receiving and two on the ground. The last of which was a 6-yard scoring run on a jet sweep with 24 seconds to play to give the Governors a 38-35 win over rival Highland Park.
Moody finished with six catches for 202 yards receiving. Oh, and he also had an interception.
Surely, even Magembe didn’t see this coming.
“I might sound like I’m making this up, but I honestly did,” Magembe said. “I told him before the season, ‘You’re a special player. Be humble, but I truly think you have a chance to break every single receiver record.’”
Not just at Johnson, but in the entire St. Paul City Conference. Friday’s touchdown tally tied the school mark set by Thomas Tapeh, who spent four years in the NFL.
“I expected a game like this out of him,” Magembe said. “I didn’t know it was going to be today, but I knew it was coming at some point.”
Moody can’t say the same.
“I ain’t going to lie, I didn’t know I had this in me,” he said. “I just played the best game of my life.”
And he did so through cramps — a common Week 1 condition — that plagued him throughout the second half. The ailment caused the three-way standout, who also had a couple lengthy kick returns, to miss a few more snaps than usual.
But every time a big play was required, he was on the field.
Like when Johnson faced a third-and-forever from the Highland Park 40-yard-line while trailing 28-26 midway through the fourth quarter. Moody, a 5-foot-9 shifty speedster with excellent technique, shook the coverage, as he did all day — even as the Scots attempted to commit multiple bodies to him — and broke free down the sidelines. Junior quarterback Ali Farfan hit him in stride for another score.
“I just knew I’m not going to die, (The cramps are) not going to kill me. I still had stuff left in the tank, still had stuff to leave on the field. So I just came back out and made the play,” Moody said. “I feel like, personally, I’m an underrated player in the state. So I’ve got to leave everything on the field. And we’re playing at Johnson, so we already don’t get as much opportunity. So I’m just leaving everything on the field.”
But the secret may not last much longer. Not with these types of performances from Johnson’s skill position players. Farfan threw for 396 yards on Friday, 151 of which went to junior wideout Anthony Stevenson. Farfan sought out a quarterback trainer in the offseason, and the added layers of preparation are paying early dividends.
The offensive explosion was needed Friday, because Highland Park’s ground game was nearly as effective as Johnson’s aerial attack.
The two-headed rushing attack of quarterback Jonah Sadowski and running back Isaac Johnson matriculated the ball down the field on a number of drives for the Scots, including one that Sadowski capped with a quarterback sneak touchdown to put Highland Park up 35-32 with just 81 seconds to play.
But as the Scots celebrated the score, Moody looked at the clock and immediately noted there was too much time remaining for Johnson.
He proceeded to put together a lengthy kick return, drew a pass interference penalty and then scored the game-winning touchdown.
“We were right in it, we had it and we let it slip away. The reality is we have a long way to go,” Highland Park coach Dave Zeitchick said. “We have a lot of guys that are playing that are really getting their first varsity experience, and they were lost some. Deer in the headlights some of the time.
“We didn’t want to lose today, but we knew there was going to be some developmental (aspect), and we think, at the end, when we pull it all together, we can be pretty tough.”
As could the Governors, who certainly don’t lack varsity experience. Farfan, Moody and others have been at this level since their freshmen campaigns, a product of playing for a program with a player tally that can nearly be counted with your fingers and toes. Friday’s resilient showing demonstrated just how far they’ve come in that time.
“I was preaching to them all offseason, ‘Hey, you guys aren’t babies anymore,’” Magembe said. “‘The standards should increase for yourselves, because you guys are capable. Because you took your lumps, and now it’s time to go show people what you’re made of.’”
Not just the people on the outside, but perhaps even within the school. Yes, numbers are currently an issue for a Johnson team oozing with top-end talent, but Moody is confident that may change.
“I feel like more people will come out when they see stuff like this happen. I think we’ll be straight in the long run,” he said. “I feel like we could be a state type of team.”
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