Archive: Toledo Rocket Success Stories
TOLEDO Ohio – Asked by his mother what he wanted for his fifth birthday, Desjuan Johnson was ready with his answer.
"I want," he said without hesitation, "to play football."
Desjuan's older brothers, Dion and Dejon, were already playing pee-wee football, and young Desjuan was eager to join them. So Lacresia Stegar, a single mother raising five children, dutifully bought young Desjuan all the requisite football gear. Later, she drove him to the local football field for Desjuan's first practice.
There was just one problem.