DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Searcy RB Dede Johnson delivers with 6 TDs

Searcy Coach Zak Clark kept coming back to one word to describe Dede Johnson.

"He's very intense," Clark said. "And there's something about him that it just seems like he's got something to prove."

Johnson, Searcy's running back, proved himself Friday against Sheridan, scoring all six of the Lions' touchdowns and totaling 305 rushing yards in a 41-13 victory against the Yellowjackets. His performance was enough to earn the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Player of the Week honor.

The junior began the season with a 95-yard performance on the ground against Cabot in the Lions' season-opener. He also had 239 total yards, 182 of which were rushing yards, and 3 touchdowns in Searcy's victory against Batesville.

Following the victory over Sheridan on Friday, Johnson has 680 rushing yards on the season on 78 carries with 9 touchdowns. He also has 7 receptions for 82 yards and a receiving touchdown, totaling 762 yards and 10 scores.

"Anytime you go 24 carries for 305 yards and 6 touchdowns, obviously it's a huge day," Clark said. "He had some phenomenal runs where ... he just wouldn't go down."

At least three of Johnson's scores went for 20-plus yards, something both he and Clark attributed to the Lions' ability to block downfield.

Clark said Johnson is multi-faceted at his position, being one of the few running backs he's seen that runs well in both zone and gap blocking schemes. A lot of that could be attributed to the shape Johnson's in, as the running back said he's both the fastest and strongest he's ever been.

Johnson said that, much like Clark sees, he's "always" played with a chip on his shoulder, a lot of which comes from playing alongside running back and offensive weapon Daniel Perry. Now a senior for the Lions, Petty finished the 2020 season with 1,377 rushing yards.

"He's helped me these past two years a lot, to be honest," Johnson said in reference to Perry. "He's really the reason why I've grown this much."