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Two RBMS football players picked for national team

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Football University game to be played at Alamodome in San Antonio on Jan. 4

By Charles Wood, HCN

Talent shines very early in some athletes, especially those who work hard. That's certainly true of Running Brushy Middle School students Hayden Newsom and Tyler “TJ” Kawejsza - now recognized as two of the nation's top youth football players.

The students were invited to compete as linebackers in the 2009 Football University Youth All-American Bowl on Sunday, Jan. 4, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It will be held in conjunction with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a national-level game for high school football players on Jan. 3.

There will be three middle-school-level football games on Jan. 4, one for seventh graders and two for eighth graders of different weight classes. The games will be televised by the Fox network.

The players were chosen for “taking care of business in the classroom and on the field,” said Anthony Williams, who presented the FU jerseys to Newsom and Kawejsza on Wednesday. “It's amazing how middle school players are bigger and able to compete on a great level,” he said.

Williams is regional director of the Football University Youth division. He played for the San Francisco 49ers. His son now plays football for the University of Texas.

The two players were first recommended for the team by coach Kevin McFadden. Football University then picked the players for a Central Texas team after watching them in action on game videos submitted by coaches.

“You will see them win awards in high school, too,” McFadden said of the two players. “They will be all-district players by the time they're seniors if they continue working as they have been - possibly higher than that.”

McFadden had a tough choice to make, since his entire cast of eighth grade players is rather impressive. The eighth grade A and B teams won the district championship this year; the same players also won the A and B team district championships last year as seventh graders. “This is the first time that's happened in our school's history,” he said. “The entire team has a great work ethic. I had a couple of running backs who could've been on the national team, but they only had slots open for two linebackers.”

Newsom and Kawejsza will be on a team headed by Cedar Park Middle School coach Karl Murphy.

“It was a complete surprise,” said Kelly Newsom, about her son Hayden qualifying for national-level competition. “It's a big honor.” Football has always been very important for Hayden. “He has played Pop Warner football since he was five. His team, the Falcons, went to the [Pop Warner] Superbowl in Orlando and was third in the country,” said Kelly.

“This is pretty exciting,” said TJ's mother, Cindy Kawejsza. “He really enjoys it.”

Football is also a big part of TJ's life, although he also competes at a high level in other sports, including baseball, wrestling and swimming.

E-mail charles@hillcountrynews.com

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