Arch Manning, Isidore Newman lose, fail to reach state championship game
Not many people outside of Lafayette, Louisiana have heard of Ju'Juan Johnson.
Johnson, the quarterback at Lafayette Christian, is only a sophomore. There was no guarantee at the beginning of the year if he was even going to be the starter — it was between him and junior Daejon Sinegal.
But on Friday night against five-star quarterback Arch Manning and Isidore Newman, it was Johnson putting up points faster than a pinball machine, not the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning.
Lafayette Christian defeated Newman 49-7 in Lafayette, ending any hopes the Greenies (7-3) had of reaching their first state title game and opening the door for the Knights (10-1) to win their fifth straight championship.
The game was never in question. LCA led 42-7 at halftime.
"They're a good team," Manning said. "They're really well-coached and have a bunch of athletes. I thought we played pretty well at first but they're an explosive offense."
The loss means Manning, a junior, will have to wait till next season to try to do what no Manning — and no Newman team, period — has ever done: win the state championship
Johnson produced over 300 total yards by halftime without an incompletion. He only played in one series in the second half and threw his fourth touchdown in that drive, finishing the game with six total TDs, 297 passing yards and 49 rushing.
His famous counterpart ended the night completing only 7-of-16 passes for 47 yards with an interception that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Manning's throws were on target, but the physicality LCA played with consistently jarred out potential completions from his receivers' fingertips.
Johnson had the benefit of throwing to wide-open weapons on nearly every throw, but the sophomore took advantage with explosive play after explosive play — most notably throwing a 62-yard rainbow perfectly in the hands of junior Alex Beard.
The Knights' win over Newman is their second consecutive victory over the Greenies in the Division III semifinals, after winning last season 21-7 in New Orleans. LCA will play St. Charles in the state title game Saturday at Tulane University in New Orleans.
"I'm going to go into the offseason and try to improve everywhere," Manning said. "Running, getting bigger, I'm getting more accurate and improving my decision making. It's going to be a fun offseason."
With signing day for the 2022 class around the corner, Manning's recruitment will soon take center stage. The junior made stops at Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Clemson for games this fall and had unofficial visits at those schools, plus LSU and SMU, over the summer.
But Manning isn't concentrating on his recruitment just yet.
"I still need to decide whether I'm playing basketball so I'm going to focus on that," Manning said.