Welcome to the Show: Madison Prep Taking Prolific Offense to D2 Select State Semifinals
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Six months had passed when the signs for an explosive offense showed up on Madison Prep Academy’s practice field this summer.
With centerpiece quarterback – three-year starter Tylan Johnson – returning, the Chargers had the key piece in place for the 2024 season.
There was also a determination that was prevalent in the weight room and tireless hours on the practice field under an unrelenting sun where players tried to perfect their crafts.
“I don’t think we said we knew it was going to happen,” Johnson said. “This summer we were talking about it. It’s been an explosive offense since the summer. We could make plays when we needed to make plays.”
Johnson, senior running back Alfred McKnight, and junior wide receiver Keyon Robinson, have been the headliners for a Madison Prep offense that’s helped to keep the Chargers in the conversation for their first state championship in four years.
Fifth-seeded Madison Prep (9-3) will attempt to reach the Caeser’s Superdome and the Division II select state championship game, traveling to top-seeded Archbishop Shaw (10-2) in Friday’s state semifinal at 7 p.m. at Joe Zimmerman Stadium in Marrero.
Madison Prep has featured its share of standout offensive players and high-octane units since the school opened in 2009.
But the Chargers have never had an offense with a 2,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season until this year.
Johnson completed 60% of his passes (127 of 210) for 2,259 yards with 28 touchdowns and only three interceptions. McKnight, a first-year starter, has blossomed with 178 attempts for 1,354 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns, and Robinson leads a deep receiving corps with 50 receptions for 1,116 yards (22.32 yards per catch).
“Everybody had their goals,” said Robinson. “We couldn’t do it without God.”
Madison Prep, winners of nine straight games, averages 36.8 points a game under offensive coordinator Ross Akpan and faces a stern challenge from a Shaw defense that’s allowed 14.5 points. The Eagles are also riding a 9-game winning streak.
“It’s been a smooth chemistry among the guys,” MPA coach Landry Williams said. “Nobody’s selfish. Everybody’s cheering for one another and pushing for everyone to be better. They’ve come to have those expectations for each other.”
Balanced attack keeps opponents off-balance
The beauty behind this year’s spread offense has been the ability to strike a balance between the pass and run.
Johnson commands plenty of attention in the shotgun, but he’s the first to admit his job has been easier playing behind a talented offensive line and McKnight’s emergence.
“It’s so fun,” Johnson said of the offense. “It pumps you up to a new level. Some of my teammates have never seen me this hyped during the game. You can tell when someone really trusts an offense. This whole team really trusts. We come up with all kinds of celebrations because you know you’re going to do something that week.”
The part about his offensive line that makes Williams smile is that four of five starters return in 2025.
Right tackle Robric Walker is the group’s “unsung hero” according to Williams, while the Chargers have a pair of twins in Carnell and Darnell Smith at left and right guard, respectively, with Jamyris Allen (center) and Jarvis Smith (left tackle) are both sophomores.
They’ve galvanized to not only protect Johnson and enable him to lead the offense but have opened holes to enable McKnight to take advantage when teams commit more defenders to stop the pass.
“There’s certain games, it will be the passing game, and the next it will be the running,” McKnight said. “It really balances our game.”
McKnight’s success has played a key in Johnson’s ability to find mismatches at the line of scrimmage and can audible to a pass play and spread the ball around to Robinson, Brandon Blunt, and Landon Johnson.
“Most times we really run a two-play call system like the NFL,” Johnson said. “I’ve got a read and the call’s on me sometimes. That helps us to slow down and really read. They may have emptied out the box on third-and-10 and it’s a give to Alfred for 20 (yards). That’s how we’ve played.”
Madison Prep emerged from an opening gauntlet to the season 0-3 with losses to Class 5A teams – Dutchtown, Mandeville, and Southside – to reel off nine consecutive victories that included winning the District 6-3A championship over University High (14-6) on Oct. 31.
The Chargers showed the ability to post big offensive numbers, scoring 40-plus points five times, but they’ve also relied on defense in wins over U-High and in last week’s state quarterfinal victory over Istrouma (14-6).
“In 12 games, the good part is they still haven’t played a full game yet,” Williams said. “We haven’t played some games to our standard. We’ve made some mistakes here and there. We’ve yet to play that game that I know we’re capable of playing. Hopefully, we reach perfection at the right time.”
Rise of a running back and receiver
McKnight and Robinson have both waited their turns to deliver game-changing plays and serve as integral parts of the offense.
“He’s never been healthy his whole time until this year,” Williams said of McKnight. “He’s spent more time in the weight room, and you can tell. He’s had less injuries and has taken more pride in taking care of his body. It seemed like this year he wanted it for himself. You see the growth of the player, the development of the player. The light went off at the right time. He’s continued to play well.”
Part of the workout regime McKnight has followed since entering the program has been to work out with the team’s offensive line to help develop a better rapport with the guys he’s counting on to make his life easier.
“That was to create a bond,” said McKnight, whose brother Tariq, a safety, was on the 2020 Class 3A state championship team. “If we get down at times, or we’re losing, they’re going to trust and believe in me. We have been through everything. It’s an unspeakable bond. I really can’t explain it. If something goes down, we’re right there for each other.”
McKnight’s work in the offseason resulted in him playing around 190 pounds this season, allowing him to shoulder a bigger load in the team’s offense when a pair of other running backs transferred this summer.
“He played behind a senior (in 2022) who had 1,000 yards, he was king of getting nicked up and had some guys playing in front of him (in 2023),” Williams said. “We had two guys transfer and he ended up being the sole guy to carry the mail and he hasn’t disappointed. It goes back to his off-season regime. He owned it and pushed himself, not just because the coach said to do it. He’s waited his turn, learned a lot from watching those guys and you can tell the way he gets downhill now. He just has a feel for the game.”
McKnight opened the season against Dutchtown with 191 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. In a pivotal 54-31 win over Parkview Baptist in 6-3A play, he rushed 20 times for 191 yards and 4 TDs and followed with a terrific effort against arch-rival Southern Lab with a season-high 23 attempts for 192 yards and three scores.
Following an opening-round bye, Madison Prep opened playoff action with a 34-20 regional win over St. Charles Catholic in which McKnight gained 180 yards and scored twice on 22 carries.
“I’ve been waiting for my turn for three years,” McKnight said. “Last year against U-High, I didn’t get many carries. That was a heartbreaker, and I didn’t want to feel like that again. I’ve always told myself that everything’s for a reason. Whatever you do, it’s never enough.
“I was skinny, I was slow when I got here,” McKnight said. “I had to work on my speed, get better at catching the ball. I was doubted at first. I’ve stepped up and now they’re looking at me as a leader. I like to lead on the field. I’m not really a talkative person.”
Robinson found a loaded receiver position waiting when he arrived at Madison Prep, forcing him to be patient and watch such starters Semaj Pierre and Hezekian Dantzler lead the way.
He moved into the starting lineup last season, gained additional confidence that he carried into the summer, and further developed his connection with Johnson.
“I watched them and watched their work ethic,” Robinson said. “I observed them at practice so I could be better than them, so I could take that on the field. I’m just thankful to be where I’m at.”
Robinson’s role as the team’s top receiver has evolved over the past three years.
“That connection is 100%,” he said of Johnson. “He knows what I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it. We worked in the summer and worked after practice. We had field work and in the weight room. We made sure to put in work and got some extra throws in. Every day we pushed each other in workouts and practice. If we saw the other lacking, we were going to push each other.”
Robinson flashed during Madison Prep’s difficult early stretch of games with an 8-catch, 155-yard effort and a TD against Southside. He followed that with seven receptions for a season-high 266 yards (38 yards a catch) and two TDs against Mandeville.
He matched his career-high of eight catches with 102 yards and two TDs in the team’s win over Parkview Baptist.
Williams noticed Robinson’s ability to impact the offense last year.
“He’s hard-working,” he said. “He was hurt some his freshman year. Last year broke in there with a couple of big catches and showed that he could make big plays. This year he’s taken everything by storm, made big play after big play for us. He’s become the go-to guy.”
Maintaining the program’s QB standard
Johnson took the baton three years ago from Zeon Chriss, now at the University of Houston, to continue the program’s standard of quarterback excellence.
He’s led the Chargers to a 25-11 record and three straight playoff appearances during his career with a devout passion for returning the program to the pinnacle in the Division II select bracket.
“I let Zeon set the standard,” Johnson said. “I played my part as the backup at practice and on scout team. I took it as a motivation to get better. I’m not as big as Zeon, so I said maybe I should go get in the weight room. I thought I wasn’t as fast, maybe I should go get on the track.”
Williams has enjoyed Johnson’s yearly progression, not only developing himself on the practice field and weight room but also with additional film study that’s enabled him to be a step ahead of the opponent in games.
“He’s just been a leader this year,” he said. “He’s been more of a vocal leader, and he’s been a leader by example. Him being vocal set the tone for the team and the progress we’ve made.”
Adapting to the position and taking over a leadership role came naturally.
“It comes with some expectations,” Williams said. “You’re expected to lead the team, you’re expected to be available, and you’ve got to take responsibility for it all. He hasn’t shied away from that. When he’s played well, he’s played well, but if he played horribly, he’ll say it.
“He definitely takes accountability for his performance and how he leads the team, and that’s been one of the biggest differences,” Williams said. “A lot of guys like the glamour of that position, but they don’t like the responsibility and the ups and downs that come with it. He’s just a hard-working kid that brings his lunch pail with him every day.”
Johnson acknowledged greater detail to playing the position, studying more film room last season to understand pre-snap looks and coverages.
“I realized my junior year that it’s not youth ball anymore,” he said. “You can’t keep running around trying to make plays. I started to really break down defenses, learn the game, and become a student of the game. Now I see how it all ties together. Being on the same page as the O-line and my teammates. They trust me if I tell them something. They know I’m ready to back up what I say. They trust me because they know I trust myself.
“I understood what I was looking for last year, how to break down film and what certain teams were doing and how to beat it,” he said. “I just couldn’t quite put the pieces together last year and figure out how to run the offense. When I learned, we started to learn how to run the offense. It became unselfish football. You have to play your part. That comes together with playing for your brothers.”
Johnson said it’s been a personal objective this season to compile a high completion percentage and reduce his number of interceptions.
With a better than 60% completion rate and only three picks in more than 200 attempts is a testament to Johnson’s improvement.
“One of my goals wasn’t just touchdowns, it was protecting the ball and getting first downs,” he said. “We pride ourselves on being a first-down team, getting what you can. In high school, people are asking the quarterback to go deep. I’m one of the few in the state who will go short. That’s been the game plan in the playoffs, and we’ve been executing pretty well.”
Johnson’s breakout game was against Mandeville in which he tried to rally Madison Prep back from a 31-6 halftime deficit. The Chargers outscored the Skippers 31-6 in the third quarter and 37-21 in the second half in a 52-43 defeat.
He completed 20 of 31 passes for 409 yards and four touchdowns with Robinson enjoying a career-best night with 266 yards and two scores.
“I’ve tried to speed up my reads, it wasn’t so much holding the ball anymore,” said Johnson, who has averaged 17.7 yards per completion. “It looks like I’m staring at one guy, but really I’ve already read the field on my drop and ready to throw as soon as my receiver makes his break.”
Johnson’s enjoyed four more games of better than 200 yards passing with 254 and a TD against Southside, 233 yards and 3 TDs against Port Allen (52-6 win), and 229 yards and 3 TDs against Glen Oaks (54-0 win). In his team’s two playoff wins, he’s averaged 120 yards a game with three TDs and no turnovers.
“We’re the show,” McKnight said, “and we don’t plan on stopping until we get to state.”