Sept. 3: Kellen Lewis, Forest Park

courtesy forest park football

Kellen Lewis earned accolades for his play as a defensive back last season at Forest Park High in Woodbridge. He was a physical presence who occasionally played quarterback when the Bruins went with a jumbo package in short yardage situations.

This season, though, Lewis has moved to linebacker, as first-year coach Brandon Benson looks for ways to get the dynamic player more involved. Offensively, Lewis has moved to running back, where he established himself with one of the opening weekend’s top performances.

Lewis rushed 18 times for 345 yards and three touchdowns and caught two screen passes for 62 yards – taking both for touchdowns – as the Bruins began their season with a 54-47 season at Centreville this past Thursday.

For his efforts, Benson was named the Military Bowl DC Touchdown Club High School Football Player of the Week.

“Last year we saw a little of what he could do with the ball in his hands,” Benson said. “This year we wanted to get him the more ball and the best way to make that happen was to have him at running back. He has shown flashes of strength and speed and once he gets in the open field, he’s hard to tackle.

“We think we have running back by committee, we have a lot of talented guys. But he took control this week. After that performance, he separated himself – not just from the kids on our team, but from a lot of kids in the area.”

Lewis has offers from Ferrum and Hampden-Sydney to play college football, though Benson thinks that list will expand if Lewis can have more games like the opener.

This week’s DC Touchdown Club Washington Metro College Football Player of the Week honor roll:

DC
Ballou WR-DB Javon Poole caught four passes for 70 yards and one touchdown, rushed for a two-point conversion and on defense made seven tackles and returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown as the Knights beat McKinley Tech, 24-13.

LOUDOUN
Rock Ridge K Elijah Mezzacappa made a 47-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Phoenix to a 23-22 win over Warren County.

NORTHERN REGION
Westfield LB Wesley Flamer made 15 tackles with three tackles for loss, broke up one pass and returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown as the Bulldogs beat Patriot, 17-14.

PRIVATE
Potomac School WR-DB Akim Iscandari caught 33- and 40-yard touchdown passes and on defense made four tackles with one tackle for loss, broke up three passes and returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown as the Panthers beat St. John’s Catholic Prep, 28-12.

WCAC
St. Mary’s Ryken QB Nick Reisinger completed 21 of 26 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns as the Knights beat Severn, 42-28.