25 MAR 24 

Johnston IA The defending class 4A state champs, the Johnston Dragons, opened their season at home against the Dallas Center Grimes Mustangs at Dragon Stadium Monday evening. Dallas Center senior Ben Jackson opened the scoring just 15 minutes into the first half. Johnston junior Kyron Pope tied the game just seven minutes later, getting the first Johnston goal of the regular season. Junior, Amir Kotoric put home a beautiful cross to make it 2-1 Johnston. Sophomore Cael Leach puts home a pass that finds a seam and puts it into the top right corner, which was a beautiful pass by Pope to set up Leach. Kyron Pope grabs his second goal of the game to seal a 4-1 win for the Dragons. Senior GK Cole Hanson makes three saves. Assists: Dylan O’Connor, Kyron Pope, and Carlos Martinez get two assists. 

Here’s what Johnston Head Coach James Frizzell said following the 4-1 win over DCG:

Overall thoughts: “The first game of the year is always a mystery. I thought our guys handled everything really well and we were fortunate to get a positive result.” 

Offense: “I think this team going forward has loads of potential. It’s definitely going to be a strong suit of this team. It’s something we don’t go a day without emphasizing.” 

Defense: “Through injury and graduation, this is the area that has been hit the hardest for us between this year and last year. I thought our guys rose to the challenge last night. DCG’s attack has some of the best combination of players in this state. It was a tremendous first test for our guys back there and they passed with flying colors.”