Lake Hamilton senior does it all on field

LITTLE ROCK — Lake Hamilton senior Levi Runyan has an opportunity to wear a state championship ring on both hands.

And in different sports.

“Got a chance,” Wolves Coach Jerry Clay said.

Runyan started at shortstop as a sophomore on Lake Hamilton’s 2010 Class 6A state championship baseball team.

He will start at quarterback Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock when top-ranked Lake Hamilton (12-1) faces No. 2 and two-time defending state champion El Dorado (12-1) in the Class 6A final.

A victory will give Lake Hamilton its second football state championship in four seasons and its third in school history.

Runyan, 6-0, 185 pounds, has been a catalyst for the latest title drive. He has completed 152 of 243 passes for 2,567 yards and 29 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions and has rushed 76 times for 330 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Runyan had two punts of more than 50 yards in last week’s 23-21 quarterfinal victory over Pine Bluff.

“He’s a really good player,” El Dorado Coach Scott Reed said. “He’s got a good arm. He can run. He can punt. He’s just a winner.”

He’s also versatile.

Runyan was a backup quarterback early in his sophomore season before moving to wide receiver, where he caught 32 passes for 489 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Runyan showed flashes of his ability at quarterback in an important 6A-South match-up at Pine Bluff in Week 6.

After Benson Jordan left the game with a leg injury, Runyan ran 11 yards for the game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Runyan had caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jordan in the second quarter.

But Runyan was a member of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Super Sophomore team after making 89 tackles and intercepting one pass at safety.

“I would say he’s one of the most versatile players we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Clay, who has coached the Wolves since 1988. “He’s a good athlete. He’s got great hand-eye coordination, and he’s tough. Actually, I would like to see him run the ball more.”

Runyan was Lake Hamilton’s starting quarterback last fall and completed 167 of 280 passes for 2,742 yards — the third highest single season total in school history — and 29 touchdowns.

Phillip Butterfield threw for a record 2,795 yards in 2007 and 2,761 yards in 2008, when he led Lake Hamilton to a 42-28 victory over El Dorado in the Class 6A state championship game.

Butterfield signed with Arkansas State.

Clay said Runyan has been offered scholarships by Ouachita Baptist and Harding University. Both schools are recruiting Runyan as a wide receiver/defensive back, Clay said.

“I don’t know where he’ll play in college,” Reed said. “He’s just a player. I think he really throws the ball well on the run. They do a lot of things with him, and that’s what makes them so hard to defend.”