Drew Heitland from Kennedy has been selected as the winner of the Metro Spotlight award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Heitland has been a mainstay on the Kennedy varsity football team for three years. He is a tight end/defensive end on the club this season and caught seven passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in Kennedy's 28-24 victory over Prairie Friday night.

Heitland lost 50 pounds during the offseason to get in better shape and now stands 6-foot-3 and approximately 225 pounds.

He also plays basketball for the Cougars and finished eighth in the shot put at the Class 4A state track meet last May.

Here is our Question-&-Answer session with Drew Heitland:

MSR: What is your favorite individual highlight in sports?

DREW: My favorite individual highlight might be scoring my first career touchdown against Prairie Friday night.

MSR: What is your favorite team highlight in sports?

DREW: My favorite team highlight would be after starting 0-5 last season, coming back to beat a good Muscatine team in the football playoffs.

MSR: Who has had the biggest influence on your sports career?

DREW: The two biggest influences on my sports career would be my dad and my brother. They are always there to push me to get better and I look up to both of them.

MSR: What are your future goals in sports?

DREW: My future goal in sports is to go play football in college at whatever level that may be.

MSR: What are your favorite classes in school?

DREW: My favorite class in school would probably be math because it's always a good feeling when you figure out how to solve the problem.

MSR: What has been your favorite community service project?

DREW: My favorite community service project is every year the football team goes and helps clean the MYFA complex. I like this one because that is where I started playing football and want other kids to love playing the game like I do.