And that was it for the scoring. The rest of the evening belonged to the Forest Lake defense that Johnson presided over like a proud papa.
Johnson and his football future get the publicity, and Beeskow believes he deserves every bit.
“He’s special, absolutely,” Beeskow said. “Just to have a kid like him that can go make plays over and over and over but at the same time is so into the details and the technique and what football has to be.”
Eagan coach Nick Johnson was philosophical about the loss. The Wildcats (4-3) suffered a major disappointment during the game when an inadvertent whistle by an official negated a 39-yard touchdown, but he was proud of the fight his team showed and considered the game a lesson learned.
“The official apologized, but what can you do?” Johnson said. “Early in the season, our offense was playing well and the defense was struggling a little. Tonight, I thought our defense was great and the offense had trouble getting going. But we’ve still got some time to put it all together.”
Forest Lake took its fourth straight victory, a streak Beeskow credits to the Rangers’ blue-collar style. “We’re built on what we call the work culture. The only thing you control out here on the field and in your life is how hard you work at everything that you do. These guys buy in to that.”