Monroe's Isaiah Johnston voted GMC Week 3 Football Player of the Week

Isaiah Johnston was apparently paying close attention when Monroe head football coach Dan Lee was talking during the offseason about the impact a friend and former high school teammate had on his life.

Lee’s friend, Bill Loblein, with whom the coach played at Toms River North, passed away in December.

Johnston wanted to honor Loblein’s memory, so he asked Lee if he could wear the same No. 20 that Loblein wore as a scholastic player.

“He said, ‘I’m going to take that (number) for your friend,’ ” Lee recalled Johnston saying last month when the coaching staff was distributing game jerseys. “I didn’t ask (Johnston) to do it. He took it. That’s the kind of young man he is. I usually get a little choked up when I think about it. It means a lot to me and my friends. He didn’t have to do it.”

Johnston paid further respect to Loblein, turning in the best performance of his career while leading the Falcons to a 21-19 victory over East Brunswick last weekend.

He recorded 75 receiving yards including a 64-yard scoring catch, 39 rushing yards, a 45-yard interception return for a score, 12 tackles (two for a loss), blocked A PAT and broke up a two-point conversion pass.

“If my friend could put his spirit into someone and have him play a good football game, maybe that’s what happened Saturday,” mused Lee, who knows Johnston is more than capable of turning in such performances.

Johnston was voted MyCentralJersey.com’s Readers’ Choice Greater Middlesex Conference Week 3 Football Player of the Week, receiving 6,733 votes or 45.4 percent of the total 14,844 votes cast on a ballot featuring 10 nominees.

Johnston nearly had a blocked field goal to add to his game resume as he almost got a hand on East Brunswick’s 25-yard attempt that missed wide left with five seconds remaining.

“I tried to go for it,” Johnston said after the game. “I know I just missed it. As soon as I looked, I saw it turn left but I was so happy. I was so excited. I was more happy for the seniors and the coaches, though, because they really deserve this win.”

Johnston’s 64-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Fritz Frage on which he caught the ball near midfield and raced to the end zone gave the Falcons a 21-7 lead and proved to be the winning score.

His 45-yard interception return produced the game’s first points. East Brunswick quarterback James Schuld would exact revenge, completing two scoring strikes during a three-minute span of the fourth quarter, positioning the Bears for a chance to win.

The victory was the first in the Red Division for Monroe since 2015 and it avenged a 48-7 loss to East Brunswick last season.

“We went into the week working hard,” Johnston said after the win. “We had a chip on our shoulder from last year. We got blown out by them.”

Johnston started last season as a sophomore at cornerback. He worked tirelessly in the offseason to add muscle to his 5-foot-10 and 190-pound frame. The coaching staff moved him to safety and utilizes him as a slot receiver and running back on offense.

“He’s all over the place for us,” said Lee, noting, “You’re not going to find a kid who loves football more.”

Johnston is quick to deflect attention from himself and distribute it to the players and coaches around him.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the o-line, the d-line for doing their assignments and a lot of my teammates,” he said after the game. “I couldn’t have done it without them. I really couldn’t have and the coaches, especially. They work real hard and it just feels good to get them a W and hopefully we can continue to do so during the season.”

Monroe, which has now won back-to-back games for the first time since posting consecutive victories on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 of 2015, looks to win its second straight against New Brunswick on Thursday night.