Who knew?
Back in fifth grade, when Aric Johnson moved from Palatine and met Troyer Carlson, it marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The connection began when both players teamed up in the Kaneland Youth Football League. It has blossomed in high school, where the two juniors lead a potent offense for Kaneland.
The Knights (6-3), who average 33 points a game, open the Class 6A playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday against visiting Riverside-Brookfield (6-3).
But years ago, Johnson was the running back who took handoffs and also caught the occasional pass from Carlson, his quarterback.
“I started there because of my size,” Johnson said of the backfield. “I was 5-foot-9. Once we got to high school, the playing field kind of leveled out when it came to height.”
Today, the 6-foot, 195-pound Johnson plays wide receiver and actually looks up to his 6-2, 200-pound quarterback.
In Kaneland’s spread offense, Johnson is Carlson’s leading receiver with 37 receptions for 720 yards and eight touchdowns.
Carlson has completed 61% of his passes (119 of 194) for 1,698 yards and 17 TDs. He has thrown only five interceptions.
“I started playing receiver freshman year because I thought I could play varsity,” Johnson said. “So I took that chance.”
Turns out he was right.
Both players, in fact, were promoted by Knights coach Patrick Ryan as freshmen for a 2020 season that was delayed by the pandemic until spring 2021 and then shortened to six games without any playoffs.
Carlson and Johnson led what appeared to be a strong class.
Last fall, Ryan had 10 players from his program’s sophomore class up on varsity. The Knights advanced to the playoffs as the largest school in Class 5A, drawing eventual state champion Fenwick in the first round.
Most of Kaneland’s starters played for the Kaneland Youth Football League.
This year, Johnson moved from slot to split end, a position held last season by graduated 1,000-yard receiver Sam Gagne.
“I’ve definitely gotten better and made improvements,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’ve established myself at the X. I think it’s a bigger role.”
Carlson confirmed being the split end is huge.
“It’s basically our best receiver,” Carlson said. “He’s one of the more dynamic receivers around and gets double teamed most of the game.”
Ryan said Johnson often is the focus of opposing defenses.
“A lot of teams will use two guys, with one playing him tight and a safety over the top,” Ryan said. “Even if Aric’s on one side of the formation by himself, they’ll still bring a safety over instead of leaving the corner on an island by himself.”
Johnson, who has two interceptions, also returns kicks and starts at cornerback. He said he splits time on the defensive side of the ball with sophomore Vinny McDonald.
On offense, Johnson delivers big plays. He has TD receptions covering 64, 57, 49 and 39 yards, with two going for 36.
“I love it when I’m running free or just deep because I know it’s going to look good on film after catching it,” Johnson said. “We’ll throw it short or long, though. Last game I had a hitch and took it about 50 yards.
“Troyer and I have a good connection. Since high school, we’ve worked a lot together in the offseason after school.”
The focus, according to Johnson, is to always improve at catching the ball because drops at what he deems “crucial times” can haunt a wide receiver.
Carlson, however, said his favorite target has terrific hands.
“Even at running back, he always had good hands catching the ball out of the backfield,” Carlson said. “He’s got very good hands and keeps getting better and better.”