PORT ST. LUCIE – The John Carroll Catholic High football team let Jeremy Pittman eat for a while and then pulled him away from the table.
With the completion of a game Monday, the Rams wanted to conserve as much energy as they could Friday against St. Lucie West Centennial.
Pittman received 27 touches in two-and-a-half quarters, gaining 303 yards on the ground on 25 carries and catching a pass for 27 yards in John Carroll Catholic’s 35-6 victory over the Eagles on Friday at St. Lucie County South County Regional Stadium.
The game was delayed 1 hour, 20 minutes in the first quarter because of inclement weather, but neither the Eagles nor Mother Nature could slow Pittman on this night.
The senior accounted for four touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air. He also ran in a 2-point conversion that gave the Rams a 35-0 lead to start a running clock with 8:31 left in the third quarter because of the mercy rule.
Pittman was ready for the heavy workload.
“I feel like this is just the start of a beginning,” he said. “There’s more coming this season.”
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Pittman had 15 yards on 15 carries in the Rams’ Week 1 home loss to Cardinal Newman.
Friday, he went for 61 on his first attempt. Quarterback Jackson Summerall capped the John Carroll Catholic opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Then it was Pittman’s show.
In the second quarter, he had a 13-yard touchdown run, caught a 27-yard scoring pass from Summerall on a wheel route and burst up the middle on a trap play for 50 yards and a score.
Pittman’s 2-yard run on the opening drive of the third quarter and 2-point conversion made it 35-0 and sent him and most of the starters to the bench.
“It was really good,” Rams coach Mickey Groody said. “Getting to a running clock was great. We were able to get some guys rest, especially with the quick turnaround on Monday for a district game. The key is going to be recovery. That’s going to be our goal tomorrow.”
On Pittman, Groody said, “It’s the same thing I say every time about him. He’s such a hard runner. I think I said on the headset five or six times tonight, we didn’t do some things great up front sometimes, and he made plays out of it every single time. He’s a workhorse. I was able to get him in, score like we did and able to get him some rest.”
The offensive line of Thomas Smith, Sean Tatum, Nico Fasano, Cameron Bowen and Charles Pisani blocked at the point of attack, which was all Pittman needed to break loose.
“They blocked today until they couldn’t block any more, and I ran right behind them every time,” Pittman said.
“They did a great job,” Groody said of the offensive linemen. “I talked to them before the game, I said if we are going to be successful in this game, it will be because of you.”
When John Carroll Catholic travels 5 p.m. Monday to Okeechobee High to complete the Week 2 game, the game will be picked up early in the first quarter with the Rams leading 7-0.
John Carroll Catholic takeaways
1. The Rams (1-1) recovered three kickoffs, two onside kicks and one Centennial muffed deep in its own territory. Kicker Yatzil Villanueva recovered the two onside kicks, one at the outset of the second quarter and one to begin the second half. Zander Lemons made the other recovery. “We played well in all three phases, which was really good,” Groody said. “What we did in all three phases, I couldn’t be happier.”
2. Summerall was 5-for-9 for 79 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. He also rushed three times for six yards and a score.
3. Defensively, Antonio Correa recovered a fumble caused by Nathan Jackson. Jackson, John Dean and Devon Lewis recorded tackles for a loss. Lemons and Jackson tied for the team lead in tackles with four.
Centennial takeaways
1. For one, the Eagles (0-1) were able to get onto the field and finish a game for the first time this season. Previously they had played one quarter and two-plus minutes of another quarter. “They were just better tonight,” Centennial coach Jacob Turay said. “We just couldn’t stop the run.”
2. Centennial got deep into John Carroll territory twice, once after the delay and once in the second quarter, but did not get on the board until the fourth quarter. Quarterback Mason Brown had three straight completions to Marc Johns Jr. covering 20, 7 and 20 yards. Emmanuel Dorelus Jr. took over at quarterback and ran for the final 16 yards of the drive on two carries. Defensively, Nasean Estelhomme picked off a pass. Kaden Huggins, David Beasley, Malik Jefferson and Brandon Freeman had tackles for a loss. “We ran the ball well, but when we got into the red zone, we got allergic to the end zone,” Turay said.
3. Centennial has a stretch of three games in seven days. Friday, the Eagles travel to unbeaten Vero Beach High, Sept. 15 they complete the suspended game with Wellington (Centennial owns a 14-0 lead in the second quarter) and Sept. 18 they play host to Bayside High. “Football comes down to can you make more plays than the other team,” Turay said. “Most importantly, you’ve got to execute simple, and we didn’t execute simple tonight. We’ve got to go back to the process. It’s all about self improvement, day in and day out. We’ve got to go back to square one. We’ve got to go back to tackling drills. We’ve got to go back to linemen assignment. We’ve got to do simple better.”
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: The Jeremy Pittman Show: John Carroll running back racks up yards, TDs against Centennial
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
