The Pingree School football team has faced some tough competition throughout its fourth season as a varsity program, and so far the Highlanders have stood tall.
But when Pingree (7-1) goes toe-to-toe with Brooks School (7-1) for the New England Prep School Athletic Conference championship today in the Clark/Francis bowl at Endicott, the Highlanders will be trying to defend Jordan Johnson, a quarterback of a higher-caliber than any player Pingree has faced this season.
Johnson, who recently committed to play football for Division 1 Brigham Young University, leads the Green and White offense with 742 yards and 11 touchdowns on 112 carries, while racking up 498 yards and four touchdowns on 33 of 63 passing. Johnson will be returning to the field Saturday after missing Brooks' final game of the season, a 9-8 squeaker over St. Paul's.
"He (Johnson) is a playmaker and he makes things happen. His strong suit seems to be capitalizing on broken plays and improvising once he gets into the open field," explained Pingree coach Chris Powers, whose defense has surrendered only 95 points through eight games this season. "If we play soundly, keep him under control, and keep his runs toward the middle of the field, I think we will be in good shape."
The two teams, both of which will be playing in their program's first-ever bowl game, actually played against one another in a scrimmage before the season, however Powers believes his squad has improved since then.
In fact, the Highlanders have only allowed a mere seven points per game in the second half of the season, a statistic that can be attributed to Pingree's speed and athleticism in their linebacking core of Brendan Oliver, Brian Rogers, Will Walfield, and Evan Perkins. This quick and talented package of linebackers will have to be on top of their games in order to contain Johnson.
"We think our linemen can help bottle him up, and not many teams have linemen who can play with someone (Johnson) that quick," noted Powers.
The other major weapon for the Green and White offense is senior wide receiver Jason Buco, who has five touchdown receptions this season, all for over 30 yards.
"They (Brooks) run a lot of sprint out passes where (Johnson) is clearly trying to get Buco the ball," said Powers. "We need to keep Buco from making the big play, which he has done a lot of this season."
Johnson may be the one getting national attention, but the Pingree offense has some weapons of its own lead by senior wideout Ehab Hamdan, who has 22 receptions for 330 yards and six touchdowns. The guy getting Hamdan the ball, Oliver, a junior gunslinger, has also had an impressive season throwing for 1,042 yards and 10 touchdowns on 73 of 125 attempts passing.
"Ehab is explosive, a good possession receiver, and if he gets in the open field he has that breakaway speed.," said Powers, whose team runs the spread offense.
"We have five or six guys on our offense who we can go to on any given play so its almost like we are saying 'pick your poison' to the opposing defense."
Powers is also impressed with how his wide receivers block down field, something that has contributed to the 1,310 yards the Highlanders have picked up on the ground this season.
"I am amazed at how well our receivers block downfield, which is one of those skills that gets you no glory, but is a tremendous asset to our offense," Powers explained. "It allows our running backs some open lanes at the second and third levels and helps them avoid the big hit."
Who will prevail in the battle of 7-1 teams, the flashy, division talent of Brooks or the hard-nosed defense of Pingree?
Find out today when the Highlanders go to battle against the Green and White at 1:30 at Endicott Stadium.
