HARRISBURG, Ill. -- Harrisburg High School senior, Karmello Downey did it all for the Bulldogs in Friday's 40-0 win over the panthers.
The running back was effective on the ground rushing for 60 yards on 13 carries and found the endzone twice. He also made an impact as a receiver. He hauled in two passes for a total of 107 yards, both of those catches were for touchdowns, including an 83-yard reception.
His impressive four-touchdown performance earns him our week three WSIL Athlete of the Week award.
The Harrisburg High School senior had four touchdowns in the Bulldogs 40-0 win on Friday.
“It feels great, it feels like, I don’t know, it's just a lot of energy, it feels like finally. I’m getting the recognition I deserve, or my team deserves, we got it last year with Tevin, so I’m excited to bring it back. I’ve got to give it to our coaches and our O-line of course, our O-line did great, they always do great. And then of course our offensive coordinator coming in with some clutch pass plays for me,â€� said Downey.Â
Bulldogs head coach, Matt Griffith has made a bit of a change to his offense this year, which has given Downey more chances to catch some big-time passes from quarterback Owen Rann.
“We knew going in we’ve got to replace a kid like Ross Rider, and we knew that Mello could be that guy for us. He’s a dynamic player, he can make guys miss, he hits the hole hard. We knew going into training camp there was some learning behind that, it’s a different position, he played wing for us, so he’s out in space more now he’s running between the tackles, and he’s made that shift really well," said Bulldogs head coach, Matt Griffith.
Downey is much more than just a playmaker on the field. He is a vocal leader on the team, and his passion has already helped this Bulldog squad this season.
Griffith added, "if you’ve been around him for more than 10 seconds, you realize he is a charismatic energy-driven kind of kid. He’s fun to be around, so that’s kind of transitioned to the football field and being a good vocal leader and getting guys up and all of that."
Harrisburg will look to improve to 3-1 on Friday when the Bulldogs host Marquette Catholic for a non-conference match-up at 7 p.m.Â
