Out of the Gate
It was no accident that quarterback Exavier Johnson took off on an 18-yard run to open Friday's game against Taft. The Birmingham coaches --head coach Ed Croson and offensive coordinator Jim Thornton -- purposely called for Johnson to run on the first play so he'd get any extra energy/aggressiveness out right away. Johnson was the quarterback at Taft for two seasons before transferring to Birmingham.
``That was a good idea coach Thornton had,'' Croson said. ``Ex was pretty pumped up so it was good for him to take off, hit someone and get some of that out right away.''
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