Douglas Turner, captain, starting running back and defensive back, is an incredibly talented and motivated player. Turner has not only showed his skills this season, but also has been a supportive leader for his team. He has scored 12 touchdowns in his 8 games so far this season.
Turner’s football career started when he was young. When he was 5 he was introduced to football and grew a passion for the game. Turner says “My father figure showed me the game and I was like I wanted to play football so I started to play it.” Douglas’ mother has also had a huge impact on his athletics. Turner says, “my mom helps me stick with it and also helps me focus on school and football.” Douglas is able to maintain a balance between his athletics and school work. Coach Edwards says “The way he treats the game, the way he treats academics, everything is just hard work, respectful, and trying to improve himself.”
By the time he entered Washington High School he had made huge progress in his skills as a player. In the last minutes of the Huskies’ homecoming game, we were losing by 3 points. The Cougars had the ball and the fans were on the edges of their seats. The Cougars threw a pass that Douglas denied with an amazing interception. He ran the ball into the endzone for a game winning touchdown and the crowd went wild. Turner showed his tremendous patience as he waited for just the right moment to grab the ball and make a score. He put an exclamation point on our fantastic spirit week. He is well respected by his teammates and his coaches. Head Coach Edwards says “his knowledge of the game along with his want to get better and the fact that he works at it consistently, not just in season, but he works at it out of season also makes him such a good player.” Gabe Ulloa, a teammate on the varsity football team, says “Doug is a good player, he is the first to show up to practice and the last to leave. He strives to make himself, and the team as a whole, better than the day before.”
In his Junior year, Douglas Turner’s ultimate goal is to be an admirable team leader, and to lead his team to success. He wants his team to have many more fantastic wins and also to reach the NCS title, which is the California Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section. Whichever way he chooses to go, Douglas Turner will always remember his fellow teammates and what he has learnt from football: having great leadership, working with his fellow teammates, and most notably to always have fun. Ultimately, Turner is definitely a player to be watched, and scouts are sure to be keeping an eye. Coach Edwards thinks that Turner has a college bound work ethic unlike any he has seen. One day, when his name is in lights, Washington High School will surely be proud. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
Rio Collett is a Senior at Washington High School. He has lived in Fremont his entire life. This is Rio’s third year at the paper. Rio loves exploring conspiracy theories as well as letting people know what’s going on near them. Rio loves to game on his pc and plans to go to college and get a job that pays well.