Johnathon Smith did things during his four years with Mount Airy that no other Granite Bear football player had done in the 95 seasons that preceded his time at the high school.
Smith had three-straight seasons of at least 1,300 yards rushing, setting the school record for career points, career touchdowns, points in a single game and touchdowns in a game. During his time with Mount Airy the Bears won three-straight Northwest 1A Conference Championships and had an overall record of 47-8 over four years.
The three-time member of the NW1A All-Conference team capped off an iconic high school career by signing his NCAA National Letter of Intent with Winston-Salem State University.
“Johnny is a great player; this community is fortunate to have watched him play over the last few years here,” said Bears coach JK Adkins. “We’re just proud of his accomplishments and we’re so excited that he’s going to have an opportunity to continue to play the game and to receive an education past high school.”
Adkins added that when the lights came on Friday nights, “Smith was all business.” Johnathon echoed his coach’s mindset of business as usual at his signing in February. In describing his signing, Johnathon said he was “same person as I was, it’s no different – just a different setting.”
This no-nonsense attitude helped Johnathan become a wrecking ball on the field. He might not have looked like the most physically imposing figure at first, but that was an undeniable truth quickly recognized by any opposing player that attempted to tackle him.
Johnathon began his high school career on August 19, 2016, in a game against Starmount. In the 42-18 win, Johnathon rushed 20 times for 99 yards and three TDs. While many thought this game showed his potential to be a college athlete, Johnathon believes that moment took place less than than a year prior.
“I’d say when I was in eighth grade, in my last game. That’s when I realized I should go somewhere and do something with [football]. I won the game for us and realized it was something that I wanted to do.”
Johnathon became the varsity’s top running back in 2017 following the graduation of the two leading ball carriers from the year prior. After flirting with the milestone his freshman year, Johnathon had a career day in week four win in which he broke the 100-yard barrier for the first time. He rushed 26 times for 191 yards and and two touchdowns.
After that night, Johnathon rushed for at least 100 yards in all but two of the remaining 11 games. One of those games was a 59-0 win over North Stokes, in which Johnathon had three touches, and the other was the 1AA State Championship.
He led the conference in yards per carry in 2017 with 8.7 (minimum 100 carries) and rushing TDs with 25. He also finished third in yards rushing with 1,525.
The 2017 season was the last ride for Mount Airy’s all-time leader in wins, Kelly Holder. Johnathon expressed gratitude to both Holder and Adkins for helping him in his journey.
“It’s helped a lot,” he said. “They support me through everything and they’re always there for me. If you don’t have that, what do you have in football?”
Johnathon continued his evolution as a running back as a junior while also becoming more of a presence on defense. He was named to the all-conference squad on both offense and defense and was named NW1A Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He finished the 2018 season with 60 total tackles (44 solo and 16 assisted), two sacks, four passes deflected, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
His rushing numbers declined slightly as a junior, but that was due to the new offense relying more on the pass to move the chains. The team went from averaging 242.8 yards rushing and 146.9 passing in 2017 to 168.1 yards rushing and 248.4 passing in 2018.
Johnathon still finished second in the conference with 1,366 yards rushing. He also became an option on the pass in 2018, increasing from four receptions for 30 yards and one receiving TD as a sophomore to 14 catches for 254 yards and three receiving TDs as a junior.
He was also the go-to player to score in the red zone. His 22 rushing TDs and 27 total TDs both led the conference.
Johnathon’s role once again increased between seasons due to graduation. Mount Airy lost its top two receivers who both went on to play in college. This, combined with quarterback Holden Poindexter being sidelined for the season, meant Johnathon would shoulder a heavier load than ever before.
He did so without hesitation. Johnathon rushed 231 times for 2,016 yards and 27 touchdowns in 12 games. He led the conference in carries, rushing TDs and yards per game. Even considering all of North Carolina and all four public school classifications, Smith had the fourth-most yards rushing per game, fifth-most yards rushing overall and fifth-most rushing TDs.
Despite the workload, Adkins said Johnathon made time to be a team leader on and off the field.
“He’s an unselfish kid in that regard and really pulling for his teammates to do well. Those are two great qualities to have going forward.”
Johnathon rushed for at least 100 yards in 9-of-12 games, and the three exceptions were blowouts. What’s even more impressive is he had five games of 200+ yards rushing and two games of 250+ yards rushing.
Statistically, Johnathon’s best career game took place on Oct. 25, against Winston-Salem Prep. In the 50-20 win, Johnathon rushed 28 times for a career-high 364 yards. He set Mount Airy school record’s with seven touchdowns and 44 points in the game.
Johnathon graduates with 5,352 yards rushing, the second-most in Mount Airy history. This is in addition to his four school records.
“I think Johnathon is going to do well at Winston-Salem State,” Adkins said. “I think his coach would talk about how physical he is and what a good team player he is. I would be surprised if he said anything other than that.”
Smith won’t be too far from home and said he looks forward to returning to see the Bears play next season.
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Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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