Football: The future looks bright at Oaks Christian

While the Oaks Christian varsity football team was practicing on Tuesday, off to the side Michael Owusu and Darnay Holmes were engaged in their own personal workout, running up and down bleachers and passing a football to each other. They're 14-year-old eighth-graders, but they're not just any eighth-graders.

Michael is a receiver and the youngest of the Owusu siblings. Brother Francis is the LIons' standout receiver headed to Stanford. Brother Chris just graduated from Stanford. He's got another brother and a sister at Harvard and Columbia, respectively.

The family is adamant about academics. Michael had to miss a middle school football game last week because he got a B in Bible class. He needed to get an A.

Darnay, a running back-defensive back, scored five touchdowns and had three interceptions in his last middle-school game for Oaks Christian. His brother, Darick, is a sophomore running back for the Lions.

Everyone at Oaks Christian can't wait until the younger brothers play varsity as freshmen. They're that good.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Photo: Darnay Holmes (left) and Michael Owusu are eighth-graders. Credit: Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times