After leading his team to a 48-6 region win last Friday, Keith High School junior quarterback Maurice Crumpton is the male athlete of the week.

Crumpton scored two rushing touchdowns in helping the Bears improve to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in Class 1A Region 3.

Crumpton said his job in leading the Bears’ wing-T rushing attack is to minimize mistakes and keep the team on track.

“To play quarterback you just have to stay focused and not make as many mistakes as you can,” Crumpton said. “You just have to keep your team focused so that they can be able to win.”

Crumpton helped lead the Bears to an 8-3 record and a trip to the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 1A state playoffs last season in his first year as a starter.

It doesn’t take long while watching a Bears practice to notice Crumpton’s role as a leader, as he’s able to inform teammates where they need to be on certain plays effortlessly to the point that you’d almost mistake him for Bears’ head coach Harry Crum.

Crumpton said his knowledge on the field comes from camps and working with coaches all the way up through Keith’s middle school program.

“It just comes from going to camps and listening when I was younger,” Crumpton said. “Coaches just teach me the plays so that I’ll be able to teach everybody else what to do, too.”

Crumpton added he looks to be a positive leader for the Bears.

“My goal leading the team is just to be a positive leader,” Crumpton said. “My goal is to not lead people in a negative way and just keep everybody focused and avoid distractions.”