The play was called “Double Left 27 Bootleg.” It resulted in a touchdown that Marcel Pitre calls his best moment in football.
When the huddle broke, a post route was in order for the Mater Dei Catholic High running back. Sneaking out of the backfield, the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Pitre ran downfield and leaped above two Hilltop defenders to catch a 42-yard TD pass.
“It was a pretty difficult catch to make,” said Pitre, who remembered the Sept. 28 game as if it were yesterday. “I just jumped in the air, and I caught it.”
The play required a blend of speed and athleticism few high school athletes possess. Yet
Hilltop might have been able to contain Pitre if the Lancers had done their homework.
Pitre has a 4.0 grade-point average that he's worked tirelessly to maintain. A work ethic in the classroom, he says, translates to positive results on the field.
“If you do well in the classroom, more than likely you do well on the field,” Pitre said. “If the (other team) sees I have good grades, they know for sure I'm trying my best off the field and they know I'm not going to slack off on the field.”
Pitre and his Mater Dei teammates rolled over Hilltop 38-7. It was the first of five straight wins that propelled the Crusaders to a South Bay League championship last season.
Pitre, who earned All-South Bay League honors, was an integral part of the team as a running back and linebacker.
“He does it all,” said Mater Dei coach Matt White, whose team opens the season tomorrow against Hoover. “He's a two-way starter, has been a two-way starter for two years, and will be again as a senior. He plays linebacker, carries the ball, catches the ball, blocks. He does everything we ask him to do, which is a lot.”
Hilltop won't be surprised by any plays Pitre might make this season. The Crusaders and Lancers are scheduled to meet Nov. 7, but this year as members of the Mesa League.
It's a significant move for Mater Dei and Hilltop, who will be competing in a league whose teams are considered faster and stronger than programs in the South Bay League.
“That switch is going to make us a lot better team because there are harder challenges against us,” said Pitre, whose team was eliminated in the San Diego Section Division IV quarterfinals last season. “A lot of people are down on us. We're not as big as the other teams so they think we're just a weak team from the South Bay and we don't know how to play with the big teams in the Mesa League.”
Pitre vows to be ready. The question is, will Mesa League teams do their homework on Pitre?
