Champions pay tribute to Johnson

STANDISH – When a blown pickoff play, a wild pitch on a third strike and a bad-hop two-run single all combined to fuel the decisive rally in Saturday’s Class C baseball state final, Sean Johnson knew someone was looking down on the Searsport Vikings.

But it wasn’t the baseball gods. It was his father.

“My dad was watching us,” said Johnson after helping the Vikings rally for a 5-2 victory over St. Dominic of Auburn. “He wanted this as much as we did.”

Michael Johnson, Sean’s dad, died on June 12, 2005, when the pickup truck he was driving suddenly left Route 1A in Stockton Springs and crashed. Johnson, a longtime plumbing inspector and firefighter in his hometown, was headed home after competing with his Plymouth Barracuda at Winterport Dragway that Sunday afternoon, but apparently suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel.

When he wasn’t working or racing, the elder Johnson spent considerable time watching his son and his teammates climb the baseball ranks in Eastern Maine Class C.

“He knew everybody, and everyone knew him growing up,” said Sean. “Everybody was like family.”

A year earlier, when Sean was a sophomore, the Vikings had reached the 2004 Eastern Maine final, where they lost a one-run decision to George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill.

Two days after Michael Johnson died, Searsport and GSA matched up again in the Eastern Maine final – and again Searsport fell one run short.

“We were all playing with pretty heavy hearts,” said Searsport coach Dave Pepin.

Sean Johnson has been playing with a heavy heart ever since. No matter if you’re 17 or 37 or 57, there’s few things in life more difficult than for a son to lose his father.

But while there was pain, Sean and his teammates also played this year with a special dedication – to a father, a friend, a fan and a fellow Viking, Class of 1976. Searsport dedicated the season to Michael Johnson’s memory, and adorned its baseball caps with his initials.

And leading the way was Sean, now a senior first baseman.

He led with his performance – batting nearly .400 and topping the team in home runs and RBIs – and when forced to move to catcher late in the state final he played flawless defense while helping winning pitcher Matt Nickerson pitch four innings of no-hit relief.

Johnson had caught one inning all season, but in a game with a state championship on the line he looked like a natural behind the plate.

“It didn’t really bother me,” he said. “I caught a lot last year, so I was pretty comfortable with it, and I’ve caught Matt since Little League, so I know him up and down and side to side.”

But even more than performance, Johnson has led with his presence amid adversity.

“His teammates love him,” said Pepin. “He’s the team clown. He ribs us, and we rib him back. He’s just a great kid as far as character goes.”

That character availed itself on game day hours before the first pitch, as the team was being sent off for the game at Saint Joseph’s College with a pep rally at the school.

“Sean’s just been classy throughout everything,” said Pepin. “For the pep rally he wrote up a nice speech and he talked about his dad. I was sitting there wiping the tears from my eyes.”

On this Father’s Day weekend, Michael Johnson would have been proud.

Ernie Clark may be reached at 1-800-310-8600, 990-8045 or by e-mail at eclark@bangordailynews.net