For a metropolitan area that sends dozens of high school football players to Division I colleges every year, Washington, D.C., boastsjust a handful of Arena League players.
Columbus defensive back Jerald Brown, the AFL defensive player of the year in 2006, is the most notable. But there are eight other players in the league with local ties, including William “Roc” Haith, Brown’s high school teammate at Wilson High in Northwest, who plays defensive back for New Orleans. Haith, who led the Voodoo with four interceptions, played college football for one year with Brown at Glanville (W.Va.) State before transferring to Liberty.
Haith is AFL teammates with former Maryland fullback James Lynch (Dunbar), who was named to the AFL all-rookie team with five rushing touchdowns, a receiving touchdown and 156 yards of total offense. The 5-foot-11, 276-pound Lynch had previously played for three NFL teams. Linebacker/wide receiver Tremaine Neal (266 receiving yards, two interceptions) also plays for New Orleans. He spent two seasons at Montgomery College. Former Montgomery College teammate Mike Brown is a wide receiver/defensive back with Philadelphia and had three touchdowns for the Soul.
A pair of former Maryland standouts are teammates again in the AFL. Linebacker Marlon Moye-Moore (Potomac) and lineman Charles Hill (Eleanor Roosevelt) both play for the Orlando Predators. They are joined by Doug Miller, a lineman who played college football at Howard. Moore finished with five interceptions and 70 tackles, second-most on the team, while Hill added nine tackles.
Georgia wide receiver Carl Morris (Episcopal), a Harvard graduate, was part of the AFL’s top passing offense, scoring five touchdowns. He helped the Force reached the National Conference championship game.
