MAIZE – As postgame revelers started to disperse Friday night, Maize quarterback Avery Johnson peeled off by himself and jogged down the field toward the bell near the south end zone of the Eagles' happy home stadium.
 
The bell rang repeatedly as Johnson celebrated with teammates, gave interviews and posed for pictures after Maize's 28-21 victory over Bishop Carroll in the second round of the Class 5A football playoffs.
 
Now it was Johnson's turn. The junior standout reached his destination, gave the bell a solitary ring, and headed back the other way.
 
"You want dogfights like this and you want to play in tight games like this," Johnson said minutes earlier in the aftermath of the Eagles' victory, which he procured for his team with an 18-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds remaining. "It just prepares us as we move on further into the playoffs."
 
Johnson, a recruiting target of programs coast to coast, ran for 159 yards and all four of Maize's touchdowns on 15 attempts as the Eagles advanced to next week's quarterfinals. Maize (8-2) will host Hays (8-2), an 18-6 second-round winner over Andover.
 
Maize scored a bit of revenge against Carroll (7-3), which knocked Johnson and the Eagles out of the 2020 playoffs with a two-touchdown victory last November. It didn't come easy, however, as Carroll used Johnson's fumble on the game's second play as the spark to build a 14-0 first-half lead.
 
"I'm just a really competitive person and I try to put so much of the pressure on myself, and I try to do way more than I need to do," Johnson said. "I think when I relaxed and finally did my own part, it fit the role in our game plan a lot better."
 

Carroll, which held the No. 1 ranking in 5A during the regular season, was taken to the brink of defeat before slipping past Hutchinson 31-28 in overtime last week. The Golden Eagles were much sharper from the outset against Maize, in large part due to the play of senior quarterback Chase Smarsh.
 
Smarsh capitalized on Maize's early turnover with a 9-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Luke Holthusen. He added a 26-yard scoring pass to senior Tim Helten early in the second quarter. Smarsh was 8 of 8 for 95 yards when he sustained a concussion on a sack by Maize linebacker Connor Padgett.
 
Sophomore Jackson Long played the final two-plus quarters in place of Smarsh, who sat on the ground outside Carroll's locker room during the halftime break.
 
"Obviously, when you get a team leader who has to go out and can't continue to play, that's going to affect the mindset of the team a little bit," Carroll coach Dusty Trail said. "But I thought Jackson came in and played hard and did some good things."
 
Smarsh was injured with 4:34 remaining in the first half, shortly after Johnson sliced Maize's deficit to 14-7 with a dazzling 25-yard touchdown run in which he fielded a high snap, started right, cut back left and weaved through defenders on his way to the end zone. Maize had a chance to tie the score before halftime, but a pair of holding penalties stalled a drive in Carroll territory.
 
"I told the kids we're only down seven and we've got the whole second half," Maize coach Gary Guzman said. "We played our bad half already, so let's go out and play a better second half. Our kids did."
 
Maize senior Dakota Shook recovered a fumbled shotgun snap – one of two Carroll turnovers – midway through the third quarter. Maize covered 41 yards in seven plays for the tying score. Johnson got the final, hard-earned yard on a run around the left side.
 
Long, who went 6 of 10 for 99 yards, moved Carroll into Maize territory with a 39-yard pass to Luke Holthusen on a third-and-19 play. But Carroll came up empty on the drive when Michael Polley's 31-yard field-goal attempt early in the fourth quarter struck the left upright.
 
Johnson quickly capitalized. Faking a handoff on the zone read, he cut through the line untouched and used his speed to pull away for an 80-yard touchdown that gave Maize its first lead at 21-14 with 10:25 to play.
 
"It was a great momentum shifter, and our coaches told us it was going to be open before we went out there," Johnson said. "We called it and it just so happened to break. The offensive line opened up big holes and I just kind of hit a seam, and it was off to the races from there."
 
Carroll answered, however, with a 60-yard drive to pull even. Long and Helten connected on a 31-yard pass to convert a third down. Then after junior Derek Breese moved the chains on fourth down, Long hit Matt Holthusen in the back of the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown with 6:11 remaining.
 
Maize's game-winning drive sharply contrasted with Johnson's lightning strike earlier in the quarter. The Eagles survived a scare early in the march when Johnson's pass was tipped twice in the air, but landed in the hands of Maize receiver Justin Stephens for a first down. Johnson converted two more first downs with runs of 10 and seven yards.
 
With the clock rolling under a minute, Johnson connected with junior Bryce Cohoon for 17 yards to Carroll's 18. Then Johnson faked a handoff, slipped away from Carroll's Sam Duling and cut up the field toward the end zone for the game's final touchdown.
 
In addition to his rushing performance, Johnson completed 12 of 19 passes for 138 yards. Cohoon had seven receptions for 91 yards.
 
Johnson and Guzman echoed each other's words, saying talented kicker Cole Segraves was a viable option once Maize got into Carroll territory on its final drive. But Maize's coach was pleased with what transpired.
 
"We felt pretty confident if we needed to kick a field goal," Guzman said. "Obviously, with Avery, anything can happen." Guzman then paused, smiled and exhaled as he added, "And it's better that way."
 
 
MAIZE 28, BISHOP CARROLL 21
 
Bishop Carroll (7-3)     7  7  0   7 – 21
 
Maize (8-2)                  0  7  7 14 – 28
 
Bishop Carroll – L. Holthusen 9 pass from Smarsh (Polley kick)
 
Bishop Carroll – Helten 26 pass from Smarsh (Polley kick)
 
Maize – Johnson 25 run (Segraves kick)
 
Maize – Johnson 1 run (Segraves kick)
 
Maize – Johnson 80 run (Segraves kick)
 
Bishop Carroll – M. Holthusen 14 pass from King (Polley kick)
 
Maize – Johnson 18 run (Segraves kick)
 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
 
Rushing – Bishop Carroll: Breese 12-46, Smarsh 6-28, Fernandez 4-16, King 14-14, L. Holthusen 1-5. Maize: Johnson 15-159, Carter 12-58, Williams 4-20.
 
Passing – Bishop Carroll: King 6-10-0, 99 yards; Smarsh 8-8-0, 95 yards. Maize: Johnson 12-19-0, 138 yards.
 
Receiving – Bishop Carroll: Helten 3-67, L. Holthusen 2-48, M. Holthusen 4-43, Blasi 2-17, Breese 2-14, Maul 1-5. Maize: Cohoon 7-91, Martin 2-20, Doty 1-15, Stephens 2-12.