ARTICLE reprinted from dfwVarsity.com
By Jarret Johnson
Kennedale running back Juwan Washington has seemingly burst onto the scene this season with 1,208 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns through six games.
Yet, Wildcats’ coach Richard Barrett says the coaching staff couldn’t wait to get him into the high school program. “What people don’t know is that off in junior high he was phenomenal,” Barrett said. “Last year he tried to battle through a tough injury but through no fault of his own, he just couldn’t do it. He just wasn’t the same player and couldn’t show what he’s capable of doing.”
He is now. {{more}}
The 5-foot-6, 160-pound sophomore has averaged 200 yards and a pair of scores a game and nine yards per carry for the Wildcats (4-2, 1-0 in District 6-3A) against tough competition.
Washington’s coming out party was a 224-yard, three-touchdown performance in Week 0 that helped Kennedale hand Crowley its only loss of the season.
He rushed for a career-high 258 yards and four touchdowns against Dallas Hutchins on Sept. 14 and most recently carved up Springtown for 221 yards and a pair of scores last week to lead the Wildcats to a 48-17 triumph in their District 6-3A opener.
“To everybody else, certainly it’s a surprise, but not to us; we knew what he could do,” Barrett said. “He has a lot of great characteristics; for one thing he’s tough, he has excellent speed, good balance and quickness and good vision. He’s just an excellent player and the good news is he’s just a sophomore.”
Twitter: @JohnsonJarret
Editor’s note: Since this article was written Washington has added 6 more carries for 165 yards and one touchdown
