Newcastle, Wyoming is a small town of about 3,000 people. The high school has about 250 students and the football team has roughly 40 players. But only one of them is the undisputed leader of the Dogies. Quarterback J.T. Harper is playing the best football of his life, but the road he has taken to get to this point has been a little bumpy.

     J.T. grew up in Newcastle but he began his high school career at Rapid City's Central High School. As a sophomore he struggled, so he moved back home and since then has blossomed into one of the better signal callers in the Black Hills. It would be easy to say that it was just a bad fit at Central, but dig a little deeper and the underlying issue was much more common and much simpler, he just wasn't ready yet.

     When he arrived on campus at Newcastle J.T. brought leadership and a swagger with him that the team needed, and that was just fine with his team mates. After a rough beginning to his football career J.T. seems to have come full circle. He's being looked at by the University of Wyoming for a possible football scholarship and if he continues to play the way he has, the Cowboys will be getting one heck of a player.

     Congratulations to J.T. Harper, this week's Black Hills Fox Powerade Athlete of the Week.

Cory Coppock