In partnership with the Newsplex, we’re bringing you the second annual edition of the Scrimmage Play Six, a series that highlights six of the area’s top prep quarterbacks. We continue with Orange’s Garret Johnson.
For the Newsplex’s segment on Garret Johnson, click here.
Orange County junior quarterback Garret Johnson was moving the ball all over the field, making quick decisions and Orange was winning. It was just Scrimmage Play’s 7v7 tournament in the dead of summer, but it’s a welcome sight for a program that’s struggled to build momentum over the past two seasons.
“There’s no (offensive) or (defensive) line involved but that’s a good way to work on your timing with your receivers,” Johnson said. “We played pretty well, we hit on a couple of touchdown passes — a couple of corners, the post route — I love the post.”
Johnson’s laid back but focused approach to the game makes him an ideal candidate to lead the Hornets in a campaign that could prove critical to Orange’s football future. He could be a major key to a resurgence of Orange County football under new head coach Keita Malloy and as the Hornets move back into a Jefferson District slate after two years in the Commonwealth.
Johnson, who also plays baseball for Orange, is among the talented young players that Malloy has pointed to of late, indicating that the cupboard isn’t as bare as one would think after two one-win seasons. If Johnson can build on his past experience, he’ll be in even better shape. The junior got a chance to play on the varsity as a freshman and then took over as a sophomore, showing flashes of brilliance including an 11-for-12, three-touchdown outing against Culpeper in 2012. Stringing together more of those performances in 2013 is a top priority for the talented signal-caller.
“Me getting thrown in as a freshman did nothing but help me,” Johnson said. “Now that I’ll be a junior, I feel like I’ve got a better grasp on the team.”
He’s also got some strong supporting cast members, including Isaiah Ferguson and Damian Clark who can make plays on a regular basis.
“You give (Isaiah) the ball and he creates space wherever he’s at — you give him a hitch route he’s going to work it back to the inside,” Johnson said. “(Damian) is fast, he’s got amazing hands and he reads the field really well.”
With a few playmakers surrounding a now-experienced quarterback and a change in the regular season schedule, Orange County could be well on the way to turning things around. Johnson can certainly help accelerate that process with a big season in 2013.
