.jpg)
MANALAPAN’S ANDRE JOHNSON SHOWING WHAT HE’S GOT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
By Mike Ready
MANALAPAN – When Manalapan football’s preseason summer camp opened last August, senior Andre Johnson was penciled in as the No. 2 running back on the depth chart behind senior Nico Santorelli.
Santorelli, after all, was a 2018 second-team All-Shore selection at running back following a breakout junior campaign. He ran for 909 yards and 10 touchdowns on 88 carries for a hefty 10.3 yards per carry average and added 121-yards receiving and two touchdowns and was poised to have a monster senior season.
Johnson, a Manalapan native who began his football career at St. Joe’s (Montvale), rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries as a sophomore at St. Joe’s before getting injured. He then decided to return home and transferred to Manalapan at the start of his junior year.
“I already lived in Manalapan so I already knew everyone, but transferring was still difficult,” said Johnson. “Learning the playbook took time and adapting to a different environment was hard because St. Joe’s was an all-boys school and Manalapan is co-ed so that was also an adjustment.”
Due to NJSIAA transfer regulations, Johnson was required to sit out the first four games last season.
In the meantime, Manalapan was stacked in the backfield with Santorelli and senior Dale Sieczkowski – a 2017 second-team All-Shore selection at linebacker – getting most the touches.
.jpg)
With Santorelli’s blistering speed and Sieczkowski’s powerful bursts, the Braves had their own version of ‘Thunder and Lightning’ and through five games the duo looked invincible. They were averaging over 200 yards per game between the two of them in those five games. Sieczkowski had rushed for 548 yards and five touchdowns for an average 7.7 yards per carry while Santorelli was averaging a whopping 13.7 yards per carry on 33 attempts for 451 yards and six touchdowns.
Sieczkowski, however, was battling injuries and by the sixth game he was forced to sit. In his absence, Johnson worked his way into the running back rotation with Santorelli carrying the load.
Johnson, who already started at cornerback, rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries backing up Santorelli, while gaining more and more confidence as the season progressed.
“After Dale was hurt I got the opportunity to run the ball more,” said Johnson. “That experience helped my vision and my view of the whole field. I saw my improvement and it helped my confidence coming into this season.”
Santorelli was also hobbled in the final two games of the season and in the Braves’ 14-7 win over Hunterdon Central in the first round of the playoffs, Johnson got the start and excelled rushing for 99-yards rushing on 21 carries.
“In the playoffs Nico was hurt too, and I took most of the carries in our first-round win,” said Johnson. “And that was different because I never had that many carries in a row before. It was tough but I got through it and we won.”
Sieczkowski showed his mettle by returning to the starting backfield in the Braves’ CJG V semifinal loss to Sayreville – his final game of his high school football career – and ran for 130 yards on 26 carries in the game.
.jpg)
As the 2019 season approached, Santorelli and Johnson both were having excellent preseason camps and were expected to give the Braves another potent one-two punch at running attack this season – until disaster struck. During a late August practice, the injury bug struck again. Santorelli went down with a knee injury that was ultimately diagnosed as a torn ACL, sidelining him for the year.
“That was really upsetting to me,” said Johnson. “We grew up playing running back together. The day after, he texted me that he was in the hospital and didn’t know for sure what was going on. After finding out the news that he tore his ACL, I texted him back, ‘I got you’ and that he was passing the torch. I went over to his house after the surgery and he’s doing well but it’s rough for him.”
Now thrust into the starting role, Johnson was prepared and he’s taken the bull by the horns and run with it; literally.
“Nico had a tremendous year averaging over 10-yards per carry and his injury was a devastating blow to the team and a significant loss,” said Manalapan head coach Ed Gurrieri. “Andre was always going to play; he was our starting corner and he was also going to get reps in the backfield spelling Nico. We knew he was a hard runner and it’s easy to go in there and run hard for a couple of plays when you’re spelling somebody. But when you’re the guy for the whole game, like Andre is now, and to continually run hard the way he does, it’s a tremendous job by him.”
So far through six games this season, Johnson has rushed for 780 yards and 11 touchdowns on 136 carries and has another 131 yards receiving on 11 catches for a 11.9 yards per catch average.
.jpg)
“We haven’t lost a beat,” said Gurrieri. “Andre’s been one of the best backs in the Shore I believe. He has great vision and is very subtle in his movements and cuts. Sometimes, you don’t think he’s doing much but he’s setting things up and before you know it he’s gone. He’s a home run hitter. He’s our bell cow and he does it for us week-in-and-week-out.” Johnson was originally slated to be a full-time cornerback and backup to Santorelli in the backfield, but with Santorelli’s season-ending injury, plans changed.
“In the offseason we spoke with Andre,” said Gurrieri. “We loved the way he moved, we loved his work ethic and everything about him and thought he could be a really good lockdown corner and he really took to it. All summer in the 7-on-7 stuff he did an outstanding job at corner and he’s still doing an outstanding job at corner. But then when Nico got hurt he took over as the No. 1 running back and he has not missed a beat.
“He doesn’t come off the field,” Gurrieri added. “We’ve had a lot of great backs come through here but those guys were primarily our running back and that was it. But Andre was a starting corner before Nico got hurt and he’s stayed out there and doesn’t come off the field. He’s outstanding; he’s absolutely one of the best corners in the Shore. His ability to stop-and-start is as good as anybody.”
Now starting at both cornerback, where he has two interception to his credit, and running back, Johnson has risen above the challenge and has excelled at both positions.
“It’s a new experience starting both ways but I knew I could do both and told coach I could,” said Johnson. “It’s rough and a grind but I can handle it. I practiced all summer for it and trained my body for it and I was ready; I like playing both.”
According to Gurrieri, Johnson is a fiery, vocal kind of a leader and his teammates feed off of his style.
“I get hyped up at my line all the time,” said Johnson. “I’m a vocal leader and my teammates like it and respond to it great. I also get my defense fired up and I love it and they love it too.”
Latest posts by admin (see all)
- 2023 JSN Awards Finalists Announced - December 18, 2023
- Sunil Sunder Raj Recaps Day One of State Football Finals With OnNJ (VIDEO) - November 27, 2023
- Mental Health and Exercise: Finding Balance in New Jersey's Fast-Paced Life - November 27, 2023
