Sophomore Cyrus Johnson settling into top WR role as Stillwater prepares for clash with Lawton High

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There was always going to be more responsibility on the shoulders of Stillwater receiver Cyrus Johnson heading into his sophomore year, but his role grew more quickly than expected.

Johnson was the third or fourth target for the Pioneers as a freshman, behind receivers David Thomas and Deakon Jones. But before the season, Thomas transferred and Jones has been sidelined for the year.

Freshman year was officially over for Johnson. He was no longer the newcomer, and his responsibility to help lead the offense grew overnight.

“I knew that I needed to step up a role and get the ball more and make plays since they’re not here to do it,” Johnson said. “It put a lot of pressure on me, too. But I was ready.”

Through two games, Johnson has shown his growth from freshman year and been the Pioneers’ top target. Johnson is moving with more confidence than ever, and he looks to help get Stillwater (1-1) humming again at 7 p.m. Friday at Lawton High (2-1).

Johnson said it was scary heading into the season opener against Fayetteville knowing more was expected of him. But after the 23-3 win, in which he caught six passes for 47 yards, Johnson learned he could rely on the work he put in and that his teammates were confident in him, too.

“It kind of relieved the pressure after that,” he said.

Against Bixby the next week, Johnson had his biggest night yet. He reeled in three catches for 107 yards – his first 100-yard game – and scored a 78-yard touchdown. The lid was taken off for Johnson’s potential.

In eight games last year, Johnson had 16 catches for 232 yards and two scores. He’s already up to nine catches for 154 yards and a touchdown this season in six less games, and against top-level competition in Arkansas powerhouse Fayetteville and No. 1 Bixby.

It comes as no surprise to coach Chad Cawood, who said Johnson has elite route-running and catching skills, paired with being a sponge.

“You’re sitting in meetings, and he doesn’t talk. He ain’t messing around,” Cawood said. “He’s paying attention to everything you say. He’s trying to get better, and he wants to be great, and he’s willing to do the things to do it.”

That includes the weight room. Johnson was listed on last year’s roster as 152 pounds, and now the 6-foot receiver is up to 170.

“I’ve just been in the weight room. That’s where it all starts,” Johnson said. “You do what you can in the weight room to get better, and it correlates to the field when you do.”

Colleges have taken notice, too. Johnson went on an official visit to Baylor last weekend during Stillwater’s bye week, where he received his second Division-I offer (along with Arkansas).

“I was in shock. It was just wild,” Johnson said. “Coach (Dave) Aranda, he just randomly was like, ‘We’re gonna offer you a scholarship.’ It was awesome.”

Back from the recruiting trip, Johnson and the Stillwater offense have a new challenge this week, though. After the loss to Bixby, Cawood said he needed to see more out of the offense, which was shut down the entire first half. He was encouraged by the 260-yard second half, though.

Bixby is an elite team that makes every team it plays reassess, but it gave the Pioneers good tape to learn from, and Cawood said the bye week was beneficial and gave them time to correct some areas.

Stillwater also gets offensive lineman Paxton Pitchford back this week, which will help aid the running game. The Pioneers have only rushed for 132 yards at 2.6 yards a carry, and getting that going will help out Johnson and the passing game, too.

“That’s who we are. We run the football. And that’s been tough sledding the first couple weeks, and that’s because of the opponents we played,” Cawood said. “Could have played some opponents that weren’t any good, and we would have rushed for a bunch of yards and thought we were the greatest thing in the world, but now we’ve had to go find a way to win a ballgame Week 1, and Week 2 in the second half we started moving the football a little bit, throwing the football a little bit.

“As long as we keep improving, we will. We know we’ve got a really good tailback (Jaedan Adams), and he’s ready for a big game, and hopefully we can have that this Friday.”

Lawton’s defense uses both three- and four-man fronts, led by senior defensive end Tyler Cochran, who has four tackles for loss and two sacks. Behind him is a disruptive linebacker in Brayland Williams.

And as good as the Pioneer defense has been this season, it will be tested against the Wolverine offense. Through three games, senior quarterback Noah Smith – an OU commit – has thrown for 800 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for another 89 yards and two scores.

“Not anybody gets to commit to OU. That means you’re pretty special,” Cawood said. “So when that happens, you’ve got to be prepared and you’ve got to play well. … He’s a big, strong-armed kid, can make all the throws, so we have to be disciplined in the back end. We’re gonna have to get pressure on him up front. If we don’t, and he gets to sit there, it’s not going to be fun.”

But after sitting on a loss through the bye week, Cawood said the Pioneers are ready to go.

“It’s not something we’re used to around here. We don’t lose very often,” he said. “It’s one of those things where we’ve had that taste in our mouth for almost two weeks now. We’re excited to get on the field this Friday and go play.”

Johnson said he’s ready to get back on the field, too, and show he and the offense has more to offer. The Pioneer offense has averaged 19 points a game, and Johnson knows they’re capable of more.

“I want to see us play fast and play physical and score a lot of points,” Johnson said. “That’s what we do, and we need to do that more.”

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