By Aaron Snyder
In his one year in the United States, Sebastian Johannson made a name for himself at Raceland Worthington High School as both a fine football player and tremendous track athlete.
Johannson served as the Rams’ junior center in 2008, when Raceland hosted Lexington Christian Academy in the regional championship game only to fall 27-20 to end the best season in Raceland history at 12-1.
Johannson also threw the shot put and discus and became an integral part in Raceland’s track success.
The 19-year-old added another accomplishment to his resume a week ago, when he competed in USA Football’s “Team USA vs. The World” game in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 30.
The game featured the 2010 Junior National Team comprised of 45 of the country’s top high school seniors and the World team’s roster, which spanned eight countries on four continents. All players were 19 and under.
Johannson, a member of the Carlstad Crusaders, a Swedish team of the International Federation of American Football, which were runners-up in their division this past season, started as the World squad’s center in a game televised on NFL Network.
“It was a huge honor to be selected for the World team,” Johannson said in a recent interview with lockerblogger.com. “When I found out about the event, I worked hard and was aiming for it, so when it happened I was very happy.”
The 6-foot-5, 282-pounder credited his short stint at Raceland as the biggest contributor to his success in football.
“I think what has helped me most in my ability to play football was my year at (Raceland),” Johannson said. “We had a very good coaching staff that helped me with a lot of techniques I had never heard of before.”
Johannson was previously nationally recognized as a member of Team Sweden in the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship, played in Canton, Ohio.
Johannson enjoyed the experience to spend time with other great players around the world during the event, which was part of the NFL Pro Bowl festivities, in South Florida.
“My favorite part of this experience is definitely not the sun — it is killing me!” Johannson said during the week before the game. “But it is fun to get the opportunity to meet all the guys from around the world and share football stories.”
Team USA dropped The World 17-0 in the game. Sweden’s Hampus Hellermark led The World with 59 rushing yards.
AARON SNYDER can be reached at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.
