Green Bay Notre Dame's Kingston Allen is Gatorade football player of year
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Kingston Allen recently received a text message from a random phone number. The Green Bay Notre Dame running back wasn’t certain what he was reading was even real.
No worries, kid. It was no prank.
The junior was informed he was named the state’s Gatorade player of the year, becoming just the fourth local football product to receive the award since it was established in 1985.
Allen joins former Bay Port quarterback Alec Ingold (2014), Sturgeon Bay offensive lineman Jake Bscherer (2005) and Southern Door running back-linebacker Jim Flanigan (1989) in the club.
It isn’t a surprise the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Allen was a top contender for the award after setting the state’s single-season record for rushing yards (3,436) and rushing touchdowns (57).
What is notable is that he’s only the second non-senior to be named Gatorade player of the year and the first since former Muskego running back Alex Current was honored in 2019.
Allen will attempt to become the only two-time Gatorade player of the year in his final season of prep football in 2026.
“The honor of winning it is another thing in itself, but being the second junior to ever win it is a phenomenal feat that is such a blessing,” Allen said. “It not only means that I’m being rewarded for things that I have done in my junior year, but that also means that I have a chance to win it again. I could be the very first person ever in the state of Wisconsin to win it twice. That is such a blessing and an honor not only for me, but every person that has a piece in this program. If we can just do that again, it would be a phenomenal feat for us.”
Kingston Allen has memorable junior season for Green Bay Notre Dame
Allen helped lead the Tritons to a 13-1 record and to the WIAA Division 2 state title game, where they lost 28-14 to West De Pere.
It was a meeting between the best running back in the state and the top quarterback in Phantoms senior Patrick Greisen, who along with Allen was named the state’s co-offensive player of the year by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.
Allen had the difficult task of replacing former Notre Dame standout Christian Collins, who won back-to-back state rushing titles as a junior and senior and became at the time just the second player to top 3,000 yards in a season when he accomplished the feat in 2024.
Yet Allen somehow outdid a mentor who taught him plenty about the position when Allen was a sophomore backup.
He made a statement the first game this season, when he rushed for 251 yards and four TDs against Kaukauna. In case anybody thought it was a fluke, he followed with 348 yards and five scores in Week 2 against De Pere.
He rushed for 200 or more yards in 10 of 13 games – he missed a Week 4 contest against Green Bay East with an injury – and scored five or more rushing TDs six times.
“Back in August, it was definitely a feeling of, ‘Oh, crap, I am going to have step in for one of the best players I have ever witnessed with my own eyes,’” Allen said. “But that, ‘Oh, crap,’ feeling kind of went away after the first game when I realized that, yeah, I am built for this. I am ready for this extreme moment ahead.
“As the season progressed and progressed, I realized I was more ready and more fit for the role. As it kept going, all I felt was I just have got to do what it takes to win. Obviously, as we can tell, some crazy numbers came along with that. Again, that’s just a blessing that comes along with it. I did whatever it took to win. Sadly, we didn’t get the job done all the way in state, but that doesn’t discredit all the things this team was able to accomplish this year.”
Allen took his game to another level during the playoffs. He rushed for 477 yards and eight TDs in the first round against Greenfield and had 509 yards and seven scores in the second round against Slinger.
In five postseason games, he rushed for 1,741 yards and 27 TDs. He would have added a few more if not for a head injury that sidelined him in the fourth quarter against West De Pere.
Future is bright for Notre Dame’s Kingston Allen
As for an encore?
Allen spent last offseason lifting weights most mornings, did conditioning work and participated in track and field in the spring to help with stamina.
He will be doing that, and even more, this time around.
“I think the biggest wrinkle I am going to be adding is I am going to try to get a little bit heavier for next year,” Allen said. “I am going to try and come in over 200 pounds, trying to fill out my frame more so that I can take more of those big hits, keep moving my feet, keep turning my legs. Rather than trying to utilize only my speed for what we do in this offense.
“Our offense is heavily based on can we pound the rock up the middle? Can we bust it out when we need it? I want to be able to be the back that can be utilized in every aspect of the game. If that requires me tweaking my offseason training or tweaking my diet, then that’s what it definitely is going to have to be.”
When not playing football, earning a 3.60 grade-point average, volunteering time to serve food to Green Bay’s unhoused community and helping build beds for children through the Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization, Allen is speaking to college recruiters about his future.
He already has five NCAA Division I offers, including from the University of Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Being offered by the Badgers was cool for the Green Bay native, but Allen isn’t sure when he will decide on his college team.
“I haven’t thought about it too much,” he said. “This is all still pretty new to me. I’m not very educated in the field of college athletics, but it’s definitely something I will be looking at in the near future.
“Obviously, I hold some pretty big offers. It’s not just a willy-nilly process for me. I have got to really break it down and think where I want to go at the next level.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Notre Dame’s Kingston Allen Gatorade football player of year
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