During last season’s news conference after Kinder’s 34-20 Class 2A state championship over Many, then-junior running back Jordan Vickers was asked, What he was thinking in the fourth quarter as he carried the Yellow Jackets on his back?

He simply replied, “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

With Vickers having missed most of the season due to a knee injury, the Kinder running game has undertaken that mantra behind sophomore Taylor Johnson and a slew of supporting guys.

Johnson has run for 731 yards in the four playoff games — 686 in the last three rounds — in stepping up as the focal point of the Yellow Jackets’ double-slot offense.

Kinder coach Bret Fuselier had used Vickers and Johnson in a time-share before Vickers’ injury, so Johnson’s promotion to primary back hasn’t been a difficult one.

“It wasn’t a hard transition for him,” Fuselier said. “He’s a guy, like I said after (the semifinal win over Sterlington), is a guy who gets stronger as the game goes on.”

Watching Johnson run is usually a practice in keeping your eyes on the middle of the field. As the “dive back” in Kinder’s veer-based offense, it’s often a lot of banging between the tackles.

But Johnson brings a big-play element to Kinder’s offense, being a smaller and quicker back than Vickers was.

“He’s definitely smaller than Jordan,” Fuselier said. “But as the dive back, he hits the hole quick. That’s something we like in our offense. He’s a quick-hitter, but he’s also got deceptive power.

“Last week in a one-on-one situation he lowered his shoulder against a safety who was about 6-1 and 180 pounds and ran for a touchdown. He’s not afraid of contact; that’s who he is.”

But in focusing on Johnson, who had 30 carries last week, Kinder uses a variety of slot backs around the corner to try to get a big play.

That role is usually performed by some combination of Bryce Baker, Zach Rider and Wallace Burns. It’s usually a different one to step up depending on the week. In the quarterfinals, Burns had a 66-yard touchdown run and Rider had four carries for 62 yards last week with a touchdown.

“That’s just part of our offense,” Fuselier said. “Teams are going to try to take away the dive, that’s part of the veer. Those guys try to take the pressure off of our offense.”(Rick Hickman/American Press)

Rick Hickman