{"id":420065,"date":"2026-08-29T08:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T08:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/420065\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T08:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T08:22:09","slug":"johnson-judson-plan-to-make-the-most-from-fridays-canceled-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/420065\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson, Judson plan to make the most from Friday’s canceled game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the Friday night lights went out on them at Heroes Stadium on Friday, Johnson and\u00a0Judson plan to use the quarter and half they managed to play to good use.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s all they can do after their season opener was canceled when a storm rolled through in the middle of the second quarter. It began with a lightning delay at 8:10 p.m., followed by strong winds and pouring rain before the electricity went out about an hour later.<\/p>\n

The lights were still out at 9:30 p.m. when the game was called. The non-district game won\u2019t be completed. Although Johnson led 7-0 when the game was stopped, it doesn\u2019t count as a result because it didn\u2019t go a full half.<\/p>\n

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This wasn\u2019t exactly the way Vernon Hughes envisioned his highly anticipated coaching debut at Judson to be. Hughes is tasked with restoring the glory of Judson football, which hasn\u2019t had a winning record in five seasons, tied with the longest stretch in program history.<\/p>\n

Hughes is making the most of the unusual situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, to us, we kind of see it as a third scrimmage,\u201d said Hughes, who coached at Mesquite Horn for one season before heading to Judson. \u201cOur ones (starters) got to see some high-level competition, and we competed with those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, the Express-News\u2019 top-ranked area team, had just taken a 7-0 lead with 6:06 in the second quarter after receiver Bryson Thompson scored on a 1-yard run out of the wildcat formation. The Jaguars didn\u2019t get to line up for the kickoff before the game was delayed and ultimately canceled.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou can always spin things into a positive, and that positive is you can always learn from a quarter,\u201d Johnson coach TP Miller said. \u201cYou can learn from situational football. There\u2019s a lot of situations that took place in the first quarter and the second quarter \u2014 offensively, defensively, special teams. We have to do a better job as a staff to control what we can control, and that\u2019s what we are going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Friday\u2019s meeting offered a glimpse of a few things. Judson ran a solid tempo offense that had Johnson on its heels. However, the Rockets came up empty on their two possessions \u2014 the first went 12 plays and the second went 18 plays. Well-timed sacks put the Rockets behind the sticks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get to clean some things up and go into next week with some confidence, knowing that if we do things right, that we can play at that level,\u201d said Hughes, whose Rockets host Hutto on Friday.<\/p>\n

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Judson senior running back Kayden Graham ran with power with seven rushes for 23 yards and showed off skillful hands from the backfield with four receptions for 32 yards. Junior quarterback Joseph Dimando got the ball out quickly as the Jaguars applied heavy pressure in long yardage situations. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 70 yards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you open up against a team like Johnson, you want to see where you are at,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cNo one expected us to come in and even compete with these guys. As far as a ranking, I\u2019m not really worried about that. My focus is on us and trying to make sure we prepare our guys to play at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

Johnson wide receiver Bryson Thompson (12) is hoisted into the air by teammate Terrin Abrego (77) as they celebrate Thompson\u2019s second-quarter touchdown against the Judson Rockets at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. The Jaguars were leading in the second quarter when the game was canceled because of heavy wind and rain.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Storm<\/p>\n

Storm clouds roll over Heroes Stadium during a varsity football game between the Johnson Jaguars and the Judson Rockets in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. The game was later canceled after heavy wind and rain hit the area.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Johnson<\/p>\n

Johnson running back Noah Cartwright (8) runs down the field during the first quarter against the Judson Rockets at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. The Jaguars were leading in the second quarter when the game was canceled because of heavy wind and rain.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Johnson<\/p>\n

Johnson Jaguars players touch a golden jaguar statue as they take the field before facing the Judson Rockets in their first game of the season at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"The<\/p>\n

The Judson Rockets rush the field as they prepare to take on the Johnson Jaguars in their first game of the season at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Pouring<\/p>\n

Pouring rain falls over Heroes Stadium as a storm stopped the Judson versus Johnson varsity football game in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. The game was later canceled due to the severe storm and flood warning.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Pouring<\/p>\n

Pouring rain falls over Heroes Stadium as a storm stopped the Judson versus Johnson varsity football game in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. The game was later canceled due to the severe storm and flood warning.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Downed<\/p>\n

Downed tree limbs are seen in the parking lot of Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, after a severe storm hit the area during the Johnson versus Judson varsity football game.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"School<\/p>\n

School buses and vehicles line up outside of Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, to take students back to Johnson High School following the cancelation of the varsity football game against Judson High School due to severe weather.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"People<\/p>\n

People prepare to walk back to their vehicles in the pouring rain at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, after the Johnson versus Judson varsity football game was canceled due to a heavy storm.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"Sports<\/p>\n

Sports reporter David Hinojosa looks at his phone for weather updates as pouring rain and high winds hit Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, during the Johnson versus Judson varsity football game.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Johnson unveiled another offensive weapon to add to its talented arsenal in senior running back Noah Cartwright, who rushed for 80 yards on seven carries. A rushing threat like that will be good support for third-year senior starting quarterback Elvis Estrada, sophomore receiver Braelyn Allen, a rising national college recruit, and Thompson, who is committed to Iowa State.<\/p>\n

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Miller said it was good to get that kind of work against a team like Judson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality of opponent means everything,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThey have a new staff, new energy. Their staff does a great job and for us as a Johnson football team, we have to make sure we look at that first quarter and a half of play and any conscious mistakes that we made and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although the Friday night lights went out on them at Heroes Stadium on Friday, Johnson and\u00a0Judson plan to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-420065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}