Drew Johnston has been a part of four different state title games in his lifetime as a Newton Eagle. Once as a player in 2005 and three times as a defensive coordinator.

Thursday's 3A Division II State Championship Game will be the first one without his father, W.T., with him on the sidelines.

Johnston was named the head coach at Newton in 2019, months after helping the Eagles win their second straight state championship as the defensive coordinator. 

The Eagles were 97-15 from 2011-18 with W.T. leading the charge and played for a state championship in 2014 before winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. The 2018 state championship victory over Canadian proved to be W.T.’s last game as the head coach. He retired in the spring and then passed away two months later after a longtime battle with lung disease.

Johnston calls that school year “a blur” and it all runs together in his memory. 

“By the grace of God, he made it through that season. It was really hard on him,” Johnston said of his dad’s final season as the head coach. “He wanted to be there for the kids and was the rock that was holding us all together. They played hard for him, but he couldn’t do a whole lot because he was struggling so much physically.” 

Johnston grew up in the Newton football facilities and won a state title as a two-way star in 2005 before playing college football at McNeese State. His fondest childhood memories were hanging out at the fieldhouse with his dad or going on long bus rides with the team. He was the ball boy for Newton growing up and never hesitated to join his father’s staff after graduating from college. Some sons run from their father’s shadow, like Johnston’s younger brother, Shaw. Others, like Johnston himself, want nothing more than to follow it. 

“I played here, grew up here, so it’s been my home my whole life,” Johnston said. “Taking over for him is something I always wanted to do. I wanted to keep the traditions going, keep the expectations where they were, and it’s been a privilege and I’ve been blessed to do it.”

Johnston says the Newton community, players and coaches on the staff in that 2018-19 school year helped him grieve the loss of his father. He’s now hoping to write new history in a community that loves Eagle football with a passion that is hard to replicate in bigger towns. The population is around 2,200 people and Johnston believes that most of them will brave the 266-mile drive to Jerry World to watch their Eagles compete for a state championship for the first time in seven years. 

“There will be a lot of people there wearing purple,” he said. “My dad used to always say, ‘It’s the only show in town.’ We have a lot of support and a lot of people in our community that grew up with Newton football. I love it for our kids and our town. The expectation here is to get to the state championship every year, so when you get a chance to do that it becomes a chance to reward the city for being so supportive.” 

Johnston hopes his experience playing and coaching in these big games helps a roster that hasn’t played for these types of stakes on this type of stage. He says a lot of his players haven’t traveled this far from home before and that he plans on helping the acclimation by arriving early and getting his team in the stadium to eliminate some of the shock and awe that is natural when small schools play in an NFL stadium. 

“It’s got to bring out the best in you,” he said. “The key is to not let the moment get too big and those guys will be thinking the same thing on the other side. Mistakes will be made, but you just gotta keep playing.”

The biggest obstacle is the opponent, however. Wall is 15-0 entering the game and will have the full support of West Texas inside AT&T Stadium. 

“They’re a dang good football team,” Johnston said. “They’re well-coached and it is easy to tell that they play hard. They’re good. They’re undefeated and playing for a state championship for a reason. We need to limit the turnovers and limit the big plays.”