Washington & Lee quarterback Bryan Burrell gets hung up by King George's Henry Hughes (center) and Caleb Eakins.

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LEWIS BOOSTS FOXES

High school football: King George 28, Washington & Lee 12

By CARDEN HEDELT

Date published: 9/4/2010

At halftime, King George coach Jeff Smith asked his players to huddle around him so he could give his team a few final words of inspiration with his Foxes leading Washington & Lee 13-0.

All of his players obliged--except one.

D.J. Lewis sat near his coach, stretching his legs and getting ready for the second half.

Smith could understand his starting running back, starting linebacker and special teams ace being tired.

Lewis, who scored a defensive touchdown, a special teams touchdown and paced the team in rushing, led several Foxes that saw significant time on both sides of the ball in a 28-12 win over Washington & Lee.

With his team already leading 7-0 after Washington & Lee fumbled a punt into the end zone, Lewis latched onto a wayward shotgun snap and ran 8 yards for the game's second score.

At halftime, he felt his muscles starting to cramp and knew he was in need of a good stretch.

"That happens when you play both sides," Lewis said. "I play the majority of most games basically. I'm used to it. You just need to keep up the conditioning."

Lewis made it clear that he was in the necessary condition to play a full game on both sides of the ball with his 20-yard punt block return in the third quarter.

After Washington & Lee quarterback Bryan Burrell's 32-yard touchdown pass to Otho Gaskins made it 19-6, Wayne Wyatt returned the kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown.

Like Lewis, Wyatt plays offense, defense and special teams.

"I work hard in practice to have that endurance," Wyatt said. "Coaches try to put who they think is best on the field to get the job done. Wherever they put me, I play my hardest and give my best effort."

Smith was proud of the effort from his defense and special teams.

He said that his offense--held scoreless through the game--needs improvement and his team needs to cut back on costly penalties. The Foxes racked up 16 penalties for 150 yards last night.

"It was more them being aggressive and being in the wrong place in the wrong time," Smith said. "My kids know better and we can fix it."

W&L coach Malcolm Lewis is looking at a harder fix.