The newly dubbed QB will look to lead the Bulldogs to a 6A state title
Watch Rehman Johnson lead his team to victory over Lake Braddock, as he threw for three touchdowns in his first start. (Video by Josh Apple for Synthesis/Koubaroulis LLC / The Washington Post)
Purchase a copy of this video.
December 11, 2015, 6:30 p.m. — He may not have won the starting job in the preseason, but Rehman Johnson is under center when the stakes are the highest for No. 4 Westfield.
Coming off impressive wins over Lake Braddock and South County with Johnson running the show, the Bulldogs (13-1) have a tough test with perennial power Oscar Smith (13-0) in the Virginia 6A state finals this Saturday at UVA’s Scott Stadium at 4 p.m.
“During the season I’ve been working on quarterback waiting to get my shot because coach told me to get ready and stay ready,” Johnson said.
Despite being relegated to receiver for the first 12 games, Head coach Kyle Simmons moved Johnson, the 6-foot-1 junior, to quarterback in the biggest games of the year.
“I prefer quarterback because that’s my family position, my dad played quarterback and I’m following after him,” Johnson said.
A team known for its suffocating defense, allowing just 10.5 points per game, the Bulldogs have seen the offense perform just as well as the defense the last two weeks since making the switch.
Quarterbacking the Bulldogs throughout the season was 6-foot-7 senior Tyler Scanlon, who originally beat out Johnson for the job. Coming off a season in which he used his height advantage to shine at receiver, the two-sport star made the transition under center and led the squad to a one-loss regular season, and to two post-season victories over Washington-Lee and South Lakes.
However, in the regional semi-final contest against Lake Braddock, the Boston University basketball commit moved back to his natural position, opening the door for Johnson to make his debut at quarterback.
“Coaches said, hey, ‘we got to add something to the offense,’ we were getting a little stagnant,” Scanlon said, “people were scouting us well, and that’s what happens when you do things well, people try to stop it.”
The element of surprise threw off the Bruins, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 31-7 victory in Burke. Johnson and Scanlon connected on three touchdown passes, and were seemingly unstoppable. Johnson completed 10 balls to Scanlon for 145 yards.
Josh Apple is a featured columnist and blogger at DMVSTREAM.COM.
You can reach josh by emailing him at [email protected].
“Since I didn’t get the starting job at the beginning of the season,” Johnson said, “I knew I was going to have to be ready to get a shot, and it just happened to be I got my shot against Lake Braddock in the playoffs.”
Scanlon also saw some time at quarterback against the Bruins, as he connected with Johnson three times for 23 yards, as the duo fed each other early and often.
“During that week before the game, we built chemistry all week and it worked, and now we have a little thing going with me and Tyler,” Jonson said.
With the surprise factor no longer there, the Bulldogs sent Johnson back out at the quarterback position against South County in the 6A North Region finals, and the result was even more dominant. The Bulldogs downed the previously unbeaten Stallions 40-8 in Lorton, snapping a streak of four consecutive losses in the region finals.
“It makes me feel really good about myself that the coaches trust me in these types of situations, and that my teammates trust me,” Johnson said.
This time, however, it was Johnson from start to finish at the helm for the Bulldogs, as Scanlon stayed at receiver throughout.
“When the other team doesn’t know what you’re doing,” Scanlon said, “you’re going to find success, and I think we had them off balance a little bit.”
Although Johnson’s passing numbers were down from his first performance, tossing for 70 yards and one touchdown, he managed the game well, got the ball to his playmakers, and kept plays alive with his legs.
“Going into the South County game I was a little more confident in myself,” Jonson said, “I believed in myself a lot more, and I felt like after the Lake Braddock game I was ready to play quarterback any time they needed me to.”
After knocking off the two highest rated teams in Northern Virginia back-to-back weeks in blowout fashion, Johnson and the Bulldogs face their greatest challenge this weekend.
The Oscar Smith Tigers, the two-time state champions out of Chesapeake, just won their second 6A South region title in three years, defeating the defending state champs, Ocean Lakes, in the process.
“This is all we’ve been working on for five months now, and now it’s finally here,” Johnson said, “we’re all ready to go, I think I’m prepared, my coaches have prepared me well, and my teammates are very supportive.”
The Bulldogs have two state titles of their own in 2003 and 2007, and it will be on the right arm of Johnson to bring the third back to Chantilly.
“We say ‘family’ at the end of every practice, and the last couple weeks we have really been playing like a family,” Jonson said.
DMVSTREAM.com is a web site dedicated to broadcasting live sports in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. DMVSTREAM.com broadcasts pro, amateur, college, high school, AAU and youth games and tournaments to televisions, computers and mobile devices like iPads, iPhones and more. DMVSTREAM.com is a product of Synthesis Multimedia Productions/Koubaroulis LLC. — founded, owned and operated by longtime D.C. area sports personality B.J. Koubaroulis.