Established in 1952 and tucked among the oak-filled streets in the immediate southeast side of Downtown Orlando, Boone High School is one of the city’s most-recognized schools and have a proud history when it comes to their football program. Famous alumni include former NFL running back Stacey Mack and boxing’s Antonio Tarver among countless baseball players through the years that have made it to the show and flourished. They’ve even produced one of the nation’s fastest men currently with Marvin Bracy holding the 60-meter title for three consecutive years at the US National Championships.
Boone were the runners-up to Timber Creek in Class 8A, District 3 last season and their season ended rather sourly with a defeat to arch rivals Edgewater and then thumped by West Orange in the first round. Their season began with back-to-back losses, but the Braves rattled-off four consecutive victories heading into the meat of their district schedule. Although the Braves couldn’t defeat Timber Creek, making the postseason allowed the Braves to keep an impressive consistency by playing past week eleven for the twelfth time in the last fifteen years.
The Braves from 2002-2008 were one of the Orlando Metro’s best programs going 45-16 and making it to the playoffs every season during that stretch and even the state finals in 2007 at the Citrus Bowl against Miami Northwestern–which, to this day is still the largest-attended game in the history of the state finals. Since 2009, they are 39-35 and have missed the postseason three times.
You never want to be “the guy” that follows “the guy”–but that’s the case for Johnson following in legendary coach Phil Ziglar’s footsteps and his twenty-three seasons at the school. Johnson took over for Ziglar in 2013 and is entering his fourth season at Boone with a 16-16 record. Before that stint, Johnson was at Freedom High School in Orlando and ironically led the Patriots to their first win over Boone in school history his final season there.
Boone was 11th in total offense throughout the Orlando Metro area last season, but rather “unconventionally” if you’ve grown up say–the last three decades–in that area. The Braves should be perennial favorites to win BCP’s ‘Bull in the Ring’ every season due to the fact that when you say Boone Football in Orange County and beyond, the most common terms used are “bruising” and “smash-mouth.” Therefore three-consecutive top five finishes at the event should come as no surprise. In recent years, they’ve been the go-to in order to find running backs that resemble a front-end loader with the ability to inflict damage like AJ Turman. Well, somebody–or some bodies–have to open up holes for said front-end loaders.
The Braves were as balanced as they’ve ever been this past season though en route to a 3,837-yard output thanks to Tommy Verzi at the QB position and his 1,855 yards. Although Boone still had their customary rushing yardage ahead of their passing yardage, Johnson knows the times’ are-a-changin’ and you have to adapt in order to survive in the state’s highest classification and without question the state’s deepest competition coming from their own backyard with teams like Apopka, Lake Brantley, Dr. Phillips, Osceola (just to name a few) perennially standing in their way.
But if you think that a tiger’s going to change its stripes or perception is going to change overnight, think again. The Braves aren’t going to shy away from their identity even if last year actually happened and forward passes were flying through the night sky.
“For sure,” said Johnson. “I think if you ask around Orlando and Orange County, that’s what people associate us with. We’ve changed styles a little bit because we don’t have those same types of guys anymore, but I think at the root of it–I think that’s what our kids still associate (Boone Football) with.”
Johnson may be showing his respect for the changing of the guard in terms of his schematic adaptions, but as he points out in a poignantly accurate fashion–you’ve still got to have a wall up front on both sides in order to be successful.
“Like I said, we’ve gotten to a cycle of football where it’s gotten to be about the skill kids,” said Johnson. “But if you look at levels of football, that’s (in the trenches) where teams are still winning games. It’s a nice to see a Super Bowl Champion that wasn’t throwing the ball fifty times a game and a college champion in the same way–the really good teams are still going to focus (on that aspect) and make it (the offensive and defensive lines) a priority because if you don’t have that–it’s a lot of smoke-and-mirrors.”