Watch: Raiders’ Isaiah Johnson dedicates game-saving play to friend who was killed

Isaiah Johnson had a heavy heart when he played for the Raiders Sunday.

The Las Vegas Raiders managed to get by the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday with the help of an official review and a great play by DB Isaiah Johnson, who separated the football from Donald Parnham Jr.

It took a few minutes before officials overturned the original call of touchdown and the play meant a great deal to Johnson, more than simply a victory.

“I found out that one of my close, close teammates [Ka’Darian Smith] that was like a little brother to me had passed away in Houston,” Johnson told reporters postgame. “I played cornerback with him at U of H. He had lost his life in Houston this past Wednesday and I didn’t tell a whole bunch of people about it because I knew we still had to prepare and win the game, and I didn’t want to be a distraction.”

A man found shot to death at a high-rise apartment in Midtown Houston has been identified as a former member of the UH Cougars and Spring High School football teams.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences identified the victim from a deadly shooting early Wednesday as 22-year-old Ka’Darian Smith.

Smith played for the Cougars from 2016-19. A graduate of Spring High School, Smith was part of the Cougars’ H-Town Takeover recruiting class of 2016.