VICTORY
OVER LEXINGTON GIVES TOMMY
JOHNSON 50TH WIN
Louisville, Ky.- Louisville
Fire Head Coach Tommy Johnson gains his
50th win after defeating in state rival
the Lexington Horsemen. Johnson is only
the seventh coach in the af2 to reach this
level of success.
His journey began in 2003
when he stepped into the Fire head coach
position. Johnson earned his first win on
April 25, 2003, when his squad defeated
the Peoria Pirates 54-50. During his time
with the Fire, Johnson has taken each Louisville
team to successful post season appearances.
In 2005, Johnson went on to
lead Louisville to their most successful
season in franchise history. Finishing the
regular season 11-5, the Fire made an outstanding
playoff run, falling short of the Arena
Cup Championship. After three convincing
back- to- back victories, Louisville fell
to Memphis 41-63 in the championship game.
Taking pride in his athletes
on and off the field Coach Johnson feels
developing the talent and leadership skills
of his players is one of his most important
jobs. “Developing the young men is one of
the things I feel like I am good at. Developing
these young men into the type of arena football
players they need to be to move on to the
next level is something I get joy out of
doing,” stated Johnson.
Several former Louisville
athletes, including Tampa Bay Quarterback
Brett Dietz and Georgia Force receiver Tiger
Jones were able to further their careers
through the help and support of Coach Johnson.
His influenced has grown outside of the
U.S, as former Fire veteran Tony Stallings
joined the Buragamo Giants in Italy.
Having the respect and loyalty
of his players and coaching staff, over
the last five seasons has made winning that
much easier. Without the support of his
assistant coaches Johnson feels this level
of success would have been impossible, this
feeling is mutual. “Coach Johnson is very
open minded and positive. He’s always smiling
and in a good mood. Football wise it’s a
leadership thing, being straight forward
with the players and letting them know what’s
really going on . . . I have adopted some
of that. I like the way he carries himself
as far as off the field. I’ve adopted some
of that too,” explained Offensive Coordinator
Anthony Payton.
Louisville looks to continue
their success as they head to the Midwest,
taking on the Quad City Steamwheelers on
Saturday, May 3. This match-up marks the
second meeting between the American conference
opponents this season. The game will be
available on the internet, visit
www.louisvillefirefootball.com and click
on the Nifty TV link.
