Johnson, Kuns inducted into Clay athletic hall

The late former Clay football coach John “J.J.” Johnson and multi-sport athlete Drew Kuns were inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame during a banquet at St. Michael’s Centre.
Johnson, who was represented by his family at the banquet, was head football coach at Clay from 1984-99 following a five-year stint at Macomber High School, where he was the reigning Toledo City League champion and Coach of the Year.
During his career at Clay, he was twice named the Great Lakes League Coach of the Year (1988 and 1992). In 1992, Johnson led the Eagles to a 9-1 record and was named the Northwest Ohio Coach of the Year. In that same season, he also received the National Football Foundation Toledo Chapter Coach’s Award.
In 1993, Johnson led the North team to a victory in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game.
In 1998, Johnson received the 100 victory award from the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association. He has also been inducted into the Toledo City League and OHSFA hall of fames for his coaching accomplishments.
He was married to his wife Cathy for 30 years and had four daughters, all Clay graduates—Jamie Johnson (P.J. DuBeck), Leslie Johnson, Melissa Johnson (James Eggerding) and Lindsey (Justin) Carmack. He also had five grandchildren — Kolton, Kynsley, Kamryn, Kyler and Keegan.
Kuns, a 2009 Clay graduate, earned Toledo City League Player of the Year, first team All-Ohio, first team all-district, first team All-City, and first team Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press playing for the Clay baseball team his senior year. He was also all-academic.
His senior year, he hit a team best .450 and drove in 15 RBIs to earn team MVP honors. When he was brought in to solidify a 6-5 win to advance the Eagles to the City League finals, he threw a perfect inning to help close out an 8-6 victory and win the City title.
Kuns was named to the state all-star team, which chose players from all 50 states to play in Norman, Oklahoma. He was the first male athlete to earn All-City first team awards for three different sports in over 22 years.
In football, he was a two-year starter for the Clay football team, setting 11 different school records at quarterback, six of which stand today.
In basketball, Kuns was a four-year starter, playing guard and forward.
He attended Bowling Green State University on an athletic scholarship, playing baseball for coach Danny Schmitz. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In summer college ball, he led the Toledo Hawks to a National Amateur Baseball Federation championship and was named tournament MVP.