New Brunswick's Dylan Johnson is GMC Football Player of the Week

As the feature back on a young team, New Brunswick High School’s Dylan Johnson has served a dual role this season, being relied upon for both leadership and offensive productivity.

“I believe that Johnson has basically had to act like a player-coach on the field with so many sophomores starting for the Zebras,” MyCentralJersey.com football analyst Marcus Borden said. “Having him around certainly has been a plus for the kids that have been doing on-the-job training.”

In addition to being a team captain, Johnson is New Brunswick’s top performer, having accounted for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns rushing.

He was impressive in New Brunswick’s 20-14 overtime victory over East Brunswick on Friday night, rushing 28 times for 122 yards, including a game-winning 16-yard touchdown run on which he broke a couple of tackles on the first possession of the extra session.

Johnson also had a 69-yard scoring catch on New Brunswick’s first play from scrimmage. Three Bears appeared to have New Brunswick quarterback Ny’dir Harmon sacked. Just as the sophomore appeared to be going down, he spotted Johnson and dumped the ball off to him. The junior back darted to his left, raced down the left sideline, then weaved his way across the field and crossed the goal line near the right corner. It was a 69-yard play, but Johnson ran at least 100.

For his efforts, which included 171 all-purpose yards, Johnson has been named Borden’s Baller of the Week and was voted MyCentralJersey.com’s Readers’ Choice Player of the Week for Week 9.

Johnson received 12,334 votes, 37.4 percent of the 32,980 votes cast on a ballot featuring 10 candidates.

“Offensively, he’s been one of the rocks of our team,” New Brunswick head coach Don Sofilkanich said. “He’s a young man that has performed week in and week out, through the good times and the more difficult ones.”

New Brunswick opened the 2017 campaign with a brutal three-game stretch including games against perennial state powers Piscataway, South Brunswick and Sayreville. After snapping a three-game losing streak with a win over Monroe in which Johnson rushed for a season-high 247 yards, the Zebras went on to drop four in a row before snapping the skid with last weekend’s win.

“He has very good leadership ability,” Sofilkanich said. “He’s the one constant on our team, a young man you can count on day in and day out.”

Johnson is the younger brother of Jerod Johnson, a 2013 Carteret graduate who is the Ramblers’ all-time rushing touchdown leader. Dylan is not running in his older sibling’s footsteps.

“He’s a slasher as a running back,” Borden explained of the junior, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 170 pounds. “He plants the foot and makes a big cut and uses a burst to the end zone. That has been one of his strengths. He’s also physical for someone who is not a very big player.”

Sofilkanich describes Johnson as “an explosive back who can really finish his runs” adding that he is an exemplary teammate.

“He’s a great character kid,” Sofilkanich said. “He’s a hard worker and very dedicated."