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Johnson guides USD to easy win over Marist

By: TOM SHANAHAN - For The North County Times | Saturday, September 8, 2007 11:03 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- The Chicago Bears will win or lose today against the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium, but judging by the crowd Saturday night at Torero Stadium, it can be assumed even with a loss the quarterback-challenged Bears won't feel they departed San Diego empty-handed.

Chicago scout Marty Barrett was among the 3,071 spectators on hand to see University of San Diego senior quarterback Josh Johnson lead the Toreros to a 38-17 nonconference win over Marist College.

Barrett should have taken home plenty of notes as Johnson was 24-of-28 for 403 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first game after serving a one-game suspension last week. The Toreros totaled 525 yards against the Red Foxes (0-2) from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

"He made play after play," said first-year USD coach Ron Caragher, getting his first game look at Johnson. "The icing on the cake with Josh is above being smart, above having a strong arm, above being accurate and knowing where to take the ball, if they get pressure on him, he's such a great athlete he can get out of trouble."

The Toreros (2-0), two-time national champions among mid-major schools in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), no doubt protected their No. 1 national ranking as they won their 20th straight home game.

Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound two-time mid-major All-American, picked up where he left off last year when he first began to be mentioned as a possible NFL draft pick.

"I love football too much to feel pressure from other things," Johnson said of draft speculation. "I just wanted to come out and make a statement tonight that I'm back on the field."

In the first quarter, he was 8-of-9 for 134 yards and one touchdown, and at halftime he was 17-of-19 for 296 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

On the Toreros' first possession, USD drove 71 yards in four plays to score.

The big play was a 57-yard completion to junior wide receiver John Matthews, who pirouetted out of a tackle and ran another 40 yards. That set up a 1-yard plunge by junior running back J.T. Rogan.

In the second quarter, Johnson was 9-of-10 for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

The scoring tosses were an 80-yarder to Matthews (six catches, 169 yards, two touchdowns) and a 9-yarder to senior wide receiver Wes Doyle (seven catches, 84 yards, one touchdown).