The ball was drifting away from South Lakes senior Gabe Itoka. He followed its arc across the field and stepped directly in front of a teammate to catch it.
Not that anyone minded, especially 85 yards later when Itoka stood in the end zone after his third kick return touchdown of the season in Monday’s 28-13 loss to Madison.
Even when teams try to kick away from the Seahawks’ dynamic 5-foot-6, 175-pound return man he finds a way to score. Make it 12 times and counting the last three weeks for Itoka, who has become a touchdown-scoring machine at running back and on special teams. Itoka hopes those eye-popping numbers help him earn a college football scholarship in the coming months.
“That is something that really motivates me, to get a full ride somewhere and make it so my mom doesn’t have to work so hard to pay for it,” said Itoka, who emigrated to the United States with his family from war-torn Liberia six years ago. “A lot of coaches don’t know about me just because we haven’t won a lot of games recently. Maybe this will help.”
Itoka has made himself noticeable with 654 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns for the Seahawks (1-4) entering tonight’s non-district game at Falls Church (2-3). But his size has left even some Division I-AA coaches leery. He has drawn interest but no firm offers from William & Mary, Towson and several Ivy League schools, who award financial aid instead of scholarships. Navy has also been in contact with Seahawks coaches.
“Gabe is carrying us right now,” said South Lakes coach John Ellenberger. “I’ve been here a long time and we’ve had some great backs. But I don’t know if we’ve had anyone as good.”
Returned investment
» South Lakes senior running back Gabe Itoka has three 85-yard kick returns for touchdowns this season.
» The biggest game of the season for Itoka was a six-touchdown performance against Jefferson on Sept. 22 where he rushed for 194 yards. He scored four touchdowns the next week against W.T. Woodson in a 41-35 loss.
» Itoka, a three-year varsity player, sat out his freshman season at South Lakes after undergoing sports hernia surgery.
