In front of the next generation of Houston Cougars, with several Texas high school football commits stepping foot on the field pregame with their families, the Coogs earned their first victory of the season, defeating the Rice Owls 33-7 at the Bayou Bucket Classic.
Houston is one of many local universities who take pride in recruiting local talent. In fact, of the 14 high school recruits signed this year, half were from the Lone Star State. UH is also quick to target former local graduates in the transfer portal; wide receiver Stephon Johnson Jr. is one such receiver.
Against the Owls, the former DeSoto standout hauled in his first touchdown of the season.
The contest opened with Mansfield Timberview’s own Stacy Sneed dashing away for a 65 yard rush, but didn’t get out of hand until the Johnson 44 yard reception with 7:29 in the second quarter, putting the Cougars up 20-0 after a failed extra point kick.
“We had some of our good quick receivers get the ball out on the perimeter and turn short catches into long touchdown plays,” coach Willie Fritz said post game, reflecting on his first win with the program.
Over the last two season, Johnson averaged 14.3 yards per catch with both Houston and OSU.
In high school, Johnson played for three high schools during his prep career, totaling more than 1,700 yards in three seasons. A native of Houston, Johnson competed at Stephen Dixon at Heights as a sophomore, Lancaster under coach Chris Gilbert as a junior, and finished his high school career at DeSoto as a senior, leading his team to a berth in the Class 6A DI quarterfinals in the playoffs.
“The game may be going good or may be going bad, but me still being me is going to help this team,” Johnson said preseason.
TexasHSFootball was on the sidelines and took in the Cougars first victory of the season, capped by Johnson’s massive haul.
DeSoto Standout Stephon Johnson Jr. Leads Houston Cougars To Victory
Game Recap here: https://t.co/eINzIVHR9a
Video by Nadia Hernandez pic.twitter.com/4dm0BEjjKU
— Texas HS Football (@texashsfootball) September 17, 2024
Video by Nadia Hernandez
