Player of the Week Desmond Pittman's powerful display earns honor

Monday, September 23, 2013

photo Ooltewah's Desmond Pittman (28) rushed for 264 yards on 30 carries to lead the Owls to a 28-26 win over District 5-AAA foe East Hamilton on Friday night.

13 FOR '13 WEEK 5(Listed alphabetically)* Austin Banks, Notre Dame: 173 yards on 12 carries and 2 TDs.* Kendrick Bradley, Hixson: 184 yards rushing, 2 TDs.* Jeffrey Coleman, McCallie: Kickoff returns for TDs of 95 and 93 yards.* Dee Crisp, Bradley Central: 5 catches for 143 yards and 2 TDs.* Slade Dale, Ringgold: 123 rushing yards, 102 passing and 2 TDs.* Corbin Fitzgerald, South Pittsburg: 97 yards and 2 TDs to go with a 78-yard kickoff return.* Cody Long, Sonoraville: 240 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns.* Demetrius Patterson, Rhea County: 98 yards receiving, 62 rushing and 3 TDs.* Desmond Pittman, Ooltewah: 264 yards rushing on 30 carries, 2 TDs.* Georga Porter, Baylor: TD runs of 56, 57 and 3, 175 yards.* Kelvis Rhodes, Dalton: 4 TD runs and 164 yards on 16 carries.* Isaiah Robinson, Hixson: 222 yards rushing 2 TDs.* Logan Walters, Marion County: 6-of-7 passing, 158 yards, 3 TD passes.

Mac Bryan only reiterated what some 7,000 folks in attendance and the East Hamilton defense already knew: Desmond Pittman came to play Friday night.

A standing-room-only crowd witnessed the bruising Ooltewah running back explode for 264 yards on 30 carries and a pair of touchdowns in the Owls' 28-26 win over the Hurricanes in a District 5-AAA thriller. For his work Pittman is this week's Times Free Press Player of the Week, an honor Bryan says is certainly deserving.

"He just did a great job. He found holes and broke tackles and he ran with power all night," Bryan said of the 6-foot, 240-pounder. "He carried the pulse of the game with the way he ran the ball. The offensive line helped Desmond a lot, and when he saw a hole he hit it with power."

Pittman, who is only a few yards shy of 1,000 on the season, scored on runs of 1 and 14 yards as the Owls improved to 5-1 and 2-0 in the district. It was the first league meeting of the two programs after East Hamilton moved up this season. Losing coach Ted Gatewood, like Bryan, was impressed with the hard running of Pittman.

"They did a great job with him," Gatewood said after the game. "We would come up with something to stop him and they would counter with something. There were times we didn't fairly poor job of tacklng, too, but you could say that every game."

Though a big back, Pittman has more than just brute strength, according to his coach.

"He's got a lot of power, but he also got great feet," Bryan said. "He's very explosive when he hits the hole and as the game goes along he continues to get stronger."

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.