Grieving Mount Si football captain honors father with career performance
Just days after former NAIA All-American linebacker Jeff Johnson unexpectedly dies, his youngest son, Taylor, has 'unbelievable night' in team's Week 2 win over Wenatchee
When it comes to Football the Sport, nobody has been more dedicated to seeking improvement and proficiency than Mount Si High School team captain Taylor Johnson.
And, Football the Healing Power? Well, the teenager is now a firm believer in that, too.
More than two weeks ago, Johnson’s father, Jeff — a former all-state linebacker standout at Mercer Island High School and NAIA All-American at the University of Puget Sound, who was also a respected coaching staple in youth programs in Snoqualmie — unexpectedly died after brain surgery.
While battling Stage 4 esophageal cancer for the past 2 1/2 years, Jeff Johnson began experiencing debilitating migraines. Doctors discovered a small tumor in the back of his brain was the cause of the headaches, and recommended surgery.
“He asked the doctor if he could have surgery on Monday (Sept. 8) so he could watch my first game of the season,” Taylor Johnson said.
Because of unbearable head pain, Jeff Johnson’s procedure was moved up one day. He was admitted to the UW Medical Center on Saturday night.
The next day, Jeff Johnson never woke up from surgery. He died at age 57.
Very suddenly, not only was the husband to Melissa of 24 years gone, so was the primary football-playing influence and father of two boys, Jake and Taylor.
“Growing up, everything was about football,” Taylor Johnson said. “As far back as kindergarten, I remember all my brother and dad talked about was football. And the first day I could join a tackle football team (in second grade), I was the first one to sign up.”
The day after his father’s death, Taylor Johnson stayed home from school with his family. The grief was overwhelming.
“I was losing my mind at home,” he said. “Nothing felt right or normal. So, I went to practice Monday.”
Seeing Taylor Johnson show up to team activities, Wildcats coach Steve Botulinski reached out to the standout’s mother, who is also the Snoqualmie Valley School District school board president, to assure her this would be a good place for her son to be.
“I told his mom, it’s a chance for him to be normal for a minute, and around many of the people he’s closest with,” Botulinski said. “It is a tight group of seniors here.”
Admitting he wasn’t sleeping well, and having difficulty focusing on any task at hand, Taylor Johnson participated in every practice leading up to the team’s Sept. 12 home opener against Wenatchee.
What Taylor Johnson couldn’t anticipate that Friday night was, through the sorrow and exhaustion, he’d find a newfound energy to play the game of his life.
It’s almost as if a guardian angel had picked him up while he was down.
At cornerback, Taylor Johnson had two interceptions during the team’s sluggish first half. But it was his over-the-shoulder 36-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Colton Stiles in the third quarter that proved to be the spark in Mount Si’s 26-7 victory.
In all, Taylor Johnson caught three passes for 105 yards and the score. He also forced three total turnovers on defense.
“The whole game, it was pretty nuts,” Taylor Johnson said. “All I could hear was my teammates cheer me on, ‘Let’s go, let’s go!’
“It was the best thing for me.”
He also learned the best lesson in synergy. The amount of points the team scored that night was also the same jersey number he and his brother have worn at Mount Si.
“It was an unbelievable night for him to show who he is,” Botulinski said, “and honor his father.”
