POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — You probably won’t find him in any of the statistical record books, but Daniel Trujillo will forever be cemented into the lore of Johnson soccer.
When the Knights needed him most, the senior forward responded at the perfect time in the Class 3A championship match on Wednesday at Cantrell Stadium. Trujillo scored with just 6:04 left to give Johnson a thrilling 1-0 win over Northwest Whitfield to claim the program’s third state title in four years and fourth overall.
But it didn’t come in typical Johnson fashion. Truliio’s blast from 15-yards came after Yannick Niyibigira gathered in a pass following a non-typical Knights offense strategy of firing wayward long balls downfield.
Johnson’s usual ball-control offense to produce quality shots from multiple angles had been stymied by the Bruins defense for most of the second half. Desperate times and all that?
“You could say it's desperate times for desperate measures, but, I mean, it's a state final,” Trujillo said. “We have experience. You never give up. We always play till the end.”
Johnson coach Frank Zamora, who captured his 100th win as head coach on Wednesday, said sometimes you just have to deviate from the norm.
“We didn't get a lot of space in the middle of the field, so at times you have to deviate from your style and find what works,” he said. “We knew it was just going to be a matter of time before we got the opportunity to score. And when Danny got it there at the end, he had some fresh legs.
“He did what he does, you know, and that was to capitalize on that one opportunity. If he would get one in the box, he was going to bury it. And you can count on Danny to do that for us.”
It was the third goal in four championship matches for Trujillo.
“I just let the ball find me,” Trujillo said. “I had a feeling that I would score today. And knowing that’s my third goal in my fourth final, means a lot.”
Northwest took advantage of some early Johnson miscues, getting two quick chances inside the box in the first three minutes. A Johnson yellow on Miguel Duran in the 13th minute nearly gave the Bruins the early lead. But Chris Tapia’s 20-yard rocket hit the left upright.
But after that, the Knights began to settle down. Niyibigira was denied by the Northwest defense inside of 10-yards in the 15th minute. In a 4-minute span to the 25th minute, Jailil Chavez, Trujillo, and Junior Castillo all saw open shots sail wide.
The Bruins next best chance came in the 30th minute when Johnson keeper Benjamin Villatoro made a leaping punch save on a header by Connor Stiles. Tapia had a 25-yard shot sail wide right in the 33rd minute.
In another flourish over the final four minutes of the half, Johnson again had golden chances to break the scoreless tie. Bruins’ keeper Nery Martinez stopped shots by Castillo, another header attempt from Trujillo, and Martinez used his face to stop Castillo once again as it went to the half scoreless.
The second half was just a slog for both offenses as any mistake was immediately gobbled up by the defenses. The Bruins managed just a pair of true chances inside the Johnson zone while the Knights were able to find few seams into the Northwest end.
Johnson had a corner in the 61st minute that went nowhere while the Bruins got a corner in the 73rd minute, with a header sliding just wide on the right side.
Then, the Knights struck gold with a clearing pass that turned into a long bouncing pass that was eventually run down by Niyibigira, who found Trujillo. The rest is history.
It’s a history where this group of Knights also broke free from the powerhouse teams that won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.
“These boys can play,” he said. “All season, different players stepping up and being clutch for us in the final third. This one's sweet because it's been a different journey for this group. This year they showed resilience and hard work, dedication and overcame some challenges. So proud of them.”
