Johnson was an All Metro running back for the Knights at Thomas Dale in the mid-1990s and is one of just three players at the school whose number has been retired. His family still lives in Chesterfield and were on hand last Thursday when Johnson was inducted into the Chesterfield Sports Hall of Fame.

Thomas Dale head coach Kevin Tucker, who played for the Knights alongside Johnson, remembers the ease with which Johnson dominated on the field.

"Rudi, again, made it look easy," he said. "That's when, I think, everybody realized he was going to be the great back that he was. It's just how easy he made it look when everybody else sounded like they were standing still."

Tucker believes Johnson's legacy extends far beyond football statistics.

"You never know when it's going to be your last

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