Playing through pain: Tryce Johnson guts out season for Happy, garners Six-Man Player of the Year
Have you ever cracked a shoulder blade? Have you ever sprained an AC joint? You may have had one or the other, but have never had to deal with both at the same time? You don't have to have in order to know that it hurts.
Now imagine having to play football while dealing with both.
That's the reality Happy's Tryce Johnson had to deal with in the latter portion of last season.
“Every hit I could dang sure feel it, and it dang sure impacted my play," Johnson said. "On the defensive side of the ball I was basically only tackling with my left side, and I couldn’t barely lift my right arm above my head. It wasn’t pretty, but my mindset was that if I didn’t want anything to hurt, don’t get tackled.
“I didn’t want to leave my teammates stranded, so I just put mind over matter at that point.”
After playing through excruciating pain against Nazareth, Johnson took three district games off to recover ahead of the playoffs. Even with all of that, he still finished the season with 1,506 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns to go with two more receiving on offense. He totaled 99 tackles with three interceptions and two defensive touchdowns as well.
Top it all off with the fact that Happy advanced to the state semifinals in which it narrowly lost to undisputed No. 1 Westbrook. With all that in mind, it wasn't hard to choose Johnson as the Amarillo Globe-News Six-Man Football Player Of the Year.
Cowboys head coach Stacy Perryman called Johnson one of the toughest kids he's ever coached after watching him fight through the pain. He noted that Johnson's success when he played was made all the more impressive by the challenge he faced long before his injury.
"Starting off, he played in a different position at tailback with us this year," Perryman said. "He stepped up in a big way for us on defense last year and we still expected that same output, but to learn the position of running back and have as much success as he did was pretty impressive.
“Once he figured the position out, he was that guy that when the game was on the line, he wanted the ball.”
That last part shouldn't come as a surprise, if you know Johnson. The attitude he took when he learned of his expanded role tells you everything you need to know about him.
“This year I knew I’d have a lot bigger role on the offensive side of the ball," Johnson said. "I talked to coach knowing I’d be trusted there more, and I was ready for it. I wanted to be as big a part of a team as I could be.”
Johnson takes a lot of pride in being a Cowboy on his uniform and his heart.
He's been a part of the Happy community his entire life — with both parents attending Happy High School. He's a standout on the basketball team and runs the 4x4 in track, while also competing in rodeo. His passion for the Cowboys and in general is something that's helped him stand out to Perryman and all of those around him.
It's why Perryman is convinced Johnson is destined for greatness in life.
“His future will be whatever he wants it to be," Perryman said. "His parents are great, and they push him in the right direction, so he has a great home life. His character is phenomenal. His ability to compete at a high level, you never have to get on him about effort, his toughness, I don’t know if you can find one better than Tryce Johnson in that regard."
Johnson will be attending West Texas A&M University in the fall. He'll major in mechanical engineering while competing for the Buffs' rodeo team. Whatever happens in college and whatever happens after that, there is one thing that Johnson knows will be true about himself forever.
“I want to excel at whatever I do," he said. "Even if it’s playing tick-tack-toe against somebody, I’m always competitive and want to beat somebody. I’ll keep that mindset the rest of my life.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Tryce Johnson guts out season for Happy, garners Six-Man Player of the Year
