Devante Johnson’s football success did not come out of nowhere.

Sure, the Mesa Ridge senior had a breakout season, running for 1,732 yards and 18 touchdowns. But that success was foreshadowed by his success on the wrestling mat the past two seasons.

The two-time regional champion was the 4A runner-up at 160 pounds as a junior, establishing himself as a state title contender this season.

The Pikes Peak area boasts three returning state champions in Pine Creek’s Geordan Martinez, Discovery Canyon’s AJ Rees and Coronado’s Adrian Cordova. Fountain-Fort Carson runner-up Josh Schoenberger narrowly missed a title on a disputed call.

But the explosive Johnson may be the most exciting wrestler of the bunch.

Johnson says his success on the mat helped propel him to an outstanding football season and he wants to carry that momentum into his final wrestling campaign.

“Since I did great in football, I have to do a step better in wrestling,” Johnson said. “Don’t get me wrong, second place is a good spot, but I want to go for the championship.” 

Johnson is everything you hope for in a high school athlete. A good student with a 3.7 grade-point average, he’s exceedingly polite and respectful as well as disciplined and focused.  

“This season is no joking around because it’s senior year and basing off of last year I want to go a step further,” Johnson said. “So, I have to work hard and keep my mind on the right thing, you know? Don’t get off task. Stay on pace.” 

Pace has been the defining characteristic of his approach on the mat. His combination of strength and quickness stands out and his style last year was pretty clear; get it over with as quickly as possible. He set single-season school records in wins (42), takedowns (97) and pins (32) but his name is absent from the top 10 lists for escapes and reversals.

“The athleticism that he’s got – he’s very powerful,” Fountain-Fort Carson coach Chris James said. “He’s got the total package; he just needs some of that wrestling vocabulary. If I was a college coach that’s the guy I would look for.”

Johnson pinned his way to a regional title last year and stuck his first three opponents in the state tournament to become the first Grizzlies wrestler to reach the finals, where he dropped a 13-3 decision to Arvada’s Marcos Peralta.

Among his goals for this season are to reach 100 wins (he has 67), as well as improve his endurance to help persevere in matches like the finals tilt against Peralta.

Any coach would be happy to have a talent like Johnson in the room, especially one with the combination of humility and work ethic displayed by the soft-spoken team leader. Although, as Grizzlies coach Mark Walker knows, it does present a special challenge.

“You have to drive them a little harder,” Walker said. “Drive him to ‘this is what you can be’. He’s the type of kid that he’s going to do everything you ask him to do, so you need to continue … building his strengths and helping him be the best everywhere on the mat he can be.”

If all goes according to plan that will mean being the best, period.

Mesa Ridge’s Devante Johnson was a runner-up finish at 160 pounds last year in 4A. Photo by THE GAZETTE FILE