Outstanding in his field

When the final horn sounds at the end of Timberlake High School football games, Ammon Johnston is worn out, his uniform is drenched in sweat and he’s ready to go to bed.

His Monday-through-Friday routine allows him few breaks, on and off the field. But Johnston wouldn’t have it any other way.

A starter on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Johnston, a senior, rarely comes off the field.

“He’ll try to come out and we’ll look at him and tell him we don’t have anyone to take his place,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said. “He’s not in on kickoff or kickoff returns. That’s when he has to get his drinks of water.”

There’s a simple reason why Johnston hardly ever leaves the field.

“We can’t afford not to have him on the field all the time right now,” Timberlake assistant coach Brian Kluss said.

Johnston, who played enough minutes as a freshman and sophomore to earn varsity letters, started at left guard and defensive tackle last year, earning all-Intermountain League honors on both sides of the ball.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Johnston continues to start at guard, but he switched to inside linebacker this year. He made the switch because he believes it’s the position best suited for him in college.

He started playing linebacker when Timberlake went to a team camp at the University of Montana this summer. Johnston also attended camps on his own at Brigham Young University and Snow College, a two-year school in Utah.

“He wanted to be as prepared as he could be coming into the season,” Albertson said.

The transition from the line to linebacker hasn’t been without frustrations.

“It’s just the frustration of learning a new position,” Johnston said. “Sometimes I’m not in the right place at the right time or I’m not quick enough or fast enough or I read a play wrong. I’m definitely playing with more confidence now than I did at the start of the season.”

Despite his mistakes, Johnston leads the Tigers in tackles.

“He doesn’t make many mistakes, but if he does he’s usually going 100 mph,” Albertson said.

Kluss agreed.

“His mistakes are hustle and effort mistakes,” Kluss said. “Even when he makes mistakes he’s close to the ball.”

Johnston is enjoying his new responsibilities defensively.

“I make all the defensive calls. You could say I’m the quarterback of the defense,” Johnston said.

Albertson and Kluss rank Johnston among the best guards Timberlake has produced.

He was a starter last year on a team dominated by seniors. He was one of three returning starters this year.

“Even as a junior he had a big impact for us,” Albertson said.

Johnston was a second-team All-Idaho pick at defensive tackle last season. But he knew he had to change positions this year.

“I’m really too short to play in college on the offensive or defensive lines,” Johnston said. “But I think I can play at either linebacker or fullback.”

His dream is to go to BYU. If that doesn’t work out initially, Johnston hopes to get an opportunity to play at Snow College.

He hasn’t decided if he’ll do a two-year mission for his church right away after high school or if he’ll postpone it for a year.

“He’s a quality kid,” Kluss said. “He’s an Eagle Scout. That really speaks to his character.”

When graduation hit Timberlake hard last year, Albertson knew he would have to count on Johnston for leadership. He’s one of the team’s four captains.

“We really needed his leadership this year with such an inexperienced team,” Albertson said.

Timberlake lost its first three games before edging Priest River 7-6 in an IML opener last week.

“We knew our schedule was tough the first half of the season,” Johnston said. “We’ve had lots of little mistakes. It just seems that one mistake can sometimes be a game-changing mistake.”

The mistakes haven’t always been the same either.

“We see our mistakes, we just don’t always correct them,” Johnston said. “It seems we fix something and the next game it’s something else. We’ve had new mistakes every game.”

Johnston doesn’t harp on his teammates about their mistakes.

“I try to keep a good attitude about everything and keep them from getting on one another,” Johnston said. “I just try to encourage them to work harder.”

Johnston is getting a jump on college by being dual-enrolled at North Idaho College. He awakes every morning around 5 and leaves his home in Athol about an hour later so he can get to his first class at 7.

“Then he turns around and drives an hour to get to practice,” Kluss said. “By the time he heads home from practice, he’s had a long day.”

No wonder Johnston looks forward to the weekends. It’s an opportunity for him to re-charge his batteries for another busy week on and off the field.