Miles Halbert is a busy teenager. A junior at Northern High School in Calvert County, Maryland, he starts on offense and defense for the school’s football team. He also is a sprinter on the track team and plays outfield on the baseball team.
As Northern opened its football season this past Friday night, once again, it was easy to see why he’s in such high demand.
Playing wide receiver and strong safety, Halbert caught seven passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns on offense and intercepted a pass on defense as the Patriots beat Westlake 47-7. For his efforts, Halbert was named the Military Bowl DC Touchdown Club High School Football Player of the Week.
“What makes Miles special is his speed,” Northern coach Rich Holzer said. “It’s deceptive, because when he gets out there and you watch him warm up, he doesn’t look fast. But then you get in games and he just glides.
“They played him one-on-one. We didn’t do anything fancy. … We felt he could win against any corner they put out there. We were going to force them to put a corner and a safety out there and double team him,” Holzer added.
Halbert started both ways for the Patriots as a sophomore last season, finishing with 30 catches for 433 yards and four touchdowns with 65 tackles, four interceptions (returning three for touchdowns), three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He’s now being recruited by college football and college baseball teams.
This year, he was selected as one of Northern’s team captains — the first time Holzer has had a junior in that position since he was coaching at Mount St. Joseph in Baltimore and had talented linebacker Marlowe Wax, who now plays at Syracuse University.
“Miles is just a talented kid,” Holzer said.
This week’s DC Touchdown Club Player of the Week High School Football Player of the Week Honor Roll:
ANNE ARUNDEL
Old Mill RB Max Jones rushed for 321 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots beat Annapolis, 34-12.
DC
Bell QB Demarco Valladares completed 13 of 21 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns as the Griffins beat KIPP DC Legacy, 38-8.
FREDERICK
Frederick WR-DB Davian Pryor caught five passes for 93 yards, rushed for a touchdown, rushed for a two-point conversion following a bad snap and on defense made 13 tackles and intercepted two passes as the Cadets beat Middletown, 29-12.
HOWARD
Mount Hebron RB-LB Aidan Hauf rushed 13 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns and on defense, made four tackles and intercepted a pass as the Vikings beat Wilde Lake, 46-12.
LOUDOUN
Tuscarora QB Thomas Peede rushed for four touchdowns as the Huskies beat Independence, 42-13.
MONTGOMERY
Churchill RB David Avit rushed 28 times for 268 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs beat Seneca Valley, 27-7.
NORTHERN REGION
Langley RB-LB Cannon Clarke rushed for a touchdown, caught a 34-yard pass and on defense, made eight tackles with three tackles for loss, forced one fumble and returned an interception 40 yards as the Saxons beat Herndon, 21-0.
PRINCE GEORGE’S
Suitland S Derrian George made five tackles and intercepted three passes as the Rams beat Coolidge, 20-6.
PRINCE WILLIAM
Freedom-Woodbridge WR-DB EJ Reid, a Wake Forest recruit, caught five passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes on defense deep in his own territory as the Eagles held on to beat Varina, 35-27.
PRIVATE
Bullis LB Chris Forbes, who has committed to play for Old Dominion, made nine tackles, with seven of them for losses, as the Bulldogs beat St. Mary’s-Annapolis, 24-16.
WCAC
Gonzaga DL David McMorris, a Syracuse recruit, made five tackles with three tackles for loss and 2 ½ sacks as the Eagles beat Calvert Hall, 26-0.
