Player of the Week: Oakdale’s Dom Nichols
Now in his third year as a starter for the Oakdale High School football team, Dominic Nichols has always had the physical tools to succeed. The senior tight end and defensive end, who has accepted a football scholarship to play for the University of Michigan, put in countless hours this past offseason, working to refine his skills — and it is showing in the results.
This past Friday, the 6 foot 6 inches tall, 250-pound Nichols made plays on both sides of the ball. On defense, he made 11 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, while on offense, he caught a 40-yard pass and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass on a trick play as the Oakdale Bears beat visiting Allegany, 41-24.
For his efforts, Nichols was named the DC Touchdown Club High School Football Player of the Week.
“The potential was always there because of his size and speed, but now he’s starting to put it all together,” Oakdale Coach Kurt Stein said. “Just being consistent and improving his technique. He’s always been a great athlete and able to make great plays, but it is the consistency of being great every down. He worked hard this offseason on the finer points of being a defensive end.”
Nichols also worked this summer to get himself more involved in Oakdale’s offensive playbook. During one workout, Nichols asked Stein to develop some trick plays that he could be a part of.
“I told him he couldn’t throw, so he picked up a ball and threw it 50 yards,” Stein said.
That led to practice last week, where the Bears installed a play for Nichols to throw the ball, resulting in his long touchdown pass to Ohio recruit Hunter Thompson in the second quarter.
Nichols has started on the Bears’ basketball team the past two seasons, but plans to enroll at Michigan for the spring semester.
This week’s DC Touchdown Club Player of the Week High School Football Player of the Week Honor Roll:
D.C.
Phelps LB Gabriel Wiggins returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown, returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown, rushed for a two-point touchdown and had two tackles for loss and one sack as the Panthers beat Richard Wright, 15-6.
ANNE ARUNDEL
Meade WR Tyrique Jones caught four passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns as the Mustangs beat Severn, 48-14.
HOWARD
Glenelg QB Zach LaFountain threw two touchdown passes and rushed for three more scores as the Gladiators beat Hammond, 48-0.
LOUDOUN
Lightridge WR-DB Alfred Honesty caught 10 passes for a school-record 201 yards and two touchdowns and, on defense, made three tackles and forced a fumble as the Lightning beat Sherando, 27-25.
MONTGOMERY
Walter Johnson RB Dylan Byrd rushed 25 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats beat Richard Montgomery, 53-22.
NORTHERN REGION
South Lakes QB Nick Harris completed 8 of 12 passes for 198 yards, threw touchdowns to five different receivers and rushed three times for 77 yards and one touchdown as the Seahawks beat Falls Church, 65-0.
PRINCE GEORGE’S
Wise RB-LB DeCarlos Young rushed 27 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns and made 11 tackles with four tackles for loss and two sacks as the Pumas beat Eleanor Roosevelt, 22-16.
PRINCE WILLIAM
Gainesville QB Colton Kilmer completed 17 of 29 passes for 178 yards and four touchdowns and rushed 17 times for 133 yards as the Cardinals beat Woodbridge, 34-20, to improve to 3-0.
PRIVATE
Maret QB Roman Jensen completed all of 11 of his passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 98 yards and three touchdowns as the Frogs beat St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, 51-14.
SOUTHERN MARYLAND
Patuxent QB Evan Blouir completed 13 of 22 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown and rushed 22 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers beat Huntingtown, 41-31.
WCAC
Gonzaga K John Holley made all six of his point-after attempts, kicked a 38-yard field goal and had two kickoffs for touchbacks as the Eagles beat Fordham Prep, 45-0.