Into the endzone with Johnson

By Melanie Cho
Staff Writer

“Break!,” the football team yelled as they emerged from their huddle. The players donned their helmets and jogged into formation in a play designed by new head football coach Laron Johnson. The team played their fourth game of the season on Sept. 17 against  Rio Hondo Preparatory School.

TCUSD hired Johnson as the head coach after the resignation of Riley Saxon. 

By playing street football with his family, Johnson developed a passion for the sport. He was a running back and defensive back on the junior varsity team at John Muir High School and played under Mike McFarland. After graduating high school in 2005 and contacting McFarland, who also coached at TCHS, he became an assistant coach.

“I fell in love with football,” Johnson said. “I think the friendships that you build and the people that you meet have all been different. I mean, the assistant coaches and I have been friends since we were like five years old.”

During his practices, Johnson leads the team on conditioning drills and scrimmages. He also works individually with different players. In addition, he draws from his experiences as a player and analyzes film from previous games in order to build strategies and spot mistakes.

“Last season, we only played one game and had two weeks to practice,” junior left guard Joel Agullion said. “Since that time, Coach Johnson really has helped me learn more about my position that I’ve never even known about.” 

Johnson wants to focus on the development of his younger players this season and become a playoff contender. He hopes to build a competitive culture in the team and win a league title. 

“I mean, obviously we want to win,” Johnson said. “But first, we need to focus on playing with effort and fighting on every play.”

The team will play an away game against San Gabriel High School on Sept. 24 for their fifth preseason game.