Player of the Week: Haughton’s Ethan Johnson

HAUGHTON, LA (KTAL/KMSS) — Haughton wide receiver Ethan “EJ” Johnson has been a force for the Buccaneers through two weeks. The junior has over 350 yards receiving and four touchdowns on the season already.

“All I could say was wow and just a testament to a kid that’s super committed to our football program,” head coach Matthew Sewell said.

Johnson is in the Haughton record books.

“It means a lot to me because you know all the work I put in day and night, its hard work constantly, always improving on my game,” Johnson said.

In the Bucs thrilling win over Byrd, Johnson reeled in 290 yards receiving with three touchdowns, passing Damon Gladney’s single game receiving yards record of 228.

“We always talked about executing at practice, and then we did that at practice and then come game time and that just happened,” Johnson stated.

“Really cool to see it, you know, I’ve been here my whole life and I’ve seen all the great receivers we’ve had come through here and to see the names that he kind of passed on Friday night, it’s really cool, so yeah, super proud of him,” Sewell said.

His performance was a testament to the hard work put in between him and quarterback Taylor Weathersby. 

“We work a lot together. Nobody really knows that, but we have a deep connection that coaches see and we work really a lot together. Days, weekends we always come to the field working on what we need to do in case this game scenario and that’s what we did,” Johnson said. 

“They definitely have a special connection, but you know that’s not something that just happened on Friday, they’ve had it for three years since, since the day they got here they had a special connection in freshman football and all the way up,” Sewell said.

“They work a lot in the offseason, they throw together all the time and so, they, they work on that, you know, it’s not something they just do at practice, they work together all the time and have a great relationship,” Sewell said. “It’s really cool kind of seeing them coming to their own a little bit and see them have the success that you know they could have, but it’s still really cool to see it once it happens.”

For EJ, his confidence just keeps growing. 

“It boosts it because I know there’s gonna be a lot of teams trying to, you know, try to get a game plan together, but it really just helps me motivate myself and just work even harder,” Johnson said.

In Bossier Parish, Johnson leads all other schools in receptions (18), yards (359), and touchdowns (4) through week two.

 Johnson and the Buccaneers hit the field again on Thursday, September 18 at Parkway.