Bright Has Been a Bright Spot for Pallotti Prep

Ben Thompson, the first-year football coach at Pallotti Prep, was headed out to the field last week when standout senior A.J. Bright was in the training room getting water for the Panthers as they prepared to practice.

He was asked by a classmate why Bright, of all people as the team’s top offensive threat, was doing such chores. “Because I am the captain,” said Bright, according to Thompson.

"He took it upon himself," Thompson said Tuesday.

Thompson, a 1993 graduate of Pallotti Prep, said he was prouder of that moment than the nearly 500 yards on the ground that the senior has gained in the first three games of the season.

“That outlook and attitude will serve him well in life, long after football is gone,” according to Thompson.

Bright has made unofficial visits to Stony Brook, Robert Morris and Temple and Thompson feels that once he turns in his SAT and ACT rest results he could get a college football offer.

“Everything you could ask for in a star player,” Thompson says of Bright, a captain from Howard County. “He has emerged not only as a leader with his abilities but he has become very vocal."

"He has taken upon himself to not only encourage his teammates but get on them if they are not performing up to expectations. If every player matched his attitude and desire we would be lights out as a team," adds Thompson.

Bright ran for 199 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown on Saturday as Pallotti Prep lost, 32-13, at St. John Paul The Great in Dumfries, VA. A 5-foot-10 player, Bright has run the ball 47 times for 498 yards in the first three games and has completed four of six passes for 87 yards.

Allen Hall of the Panthers scored the other touchdown on a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter. Pallotti Prep trailed, 21-7, at halftime and 29-7 going into the fourth quarter. Hall ran six times for 57 yards.

The Panthers, now 1-2 overall, played without senior quarterback Rafi Correa and wideout Chaz Pittman, who were ejected in a game at the Severn School on Sept. 10 after a scuffle with opposing players. Bright ran for 86 yards against Severn. Bright was forced into duty as the quarterback on Saturday with Correa unable to play.

Pallotti Prep will host Pikesville on Friday at 7 p.m. at Fairland Regional Park in West Laurel and Correa and Pittman will also be suspended for that game as well, according to Thompson.

Laurel High is also 1-2 overall following a 58-18 drubbing on Saturday at Bowie High. Tied at 6 after the first quarter, Bowie scored 20 points in the second quarter and 24 points in the third quarter to pull away.

Jarvis McClam completed 15 of 37 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns for Laurel. Joel Roberson completed his only pass for 27 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Harmon of Laurel completed one of four passes for five yards. Each player threw one interception.

McClam ran 12 times for 65 yards and Jovan Roberson ran three times for 11 yards. John Ketum caught six passes for 81 yards and two scores and Joel Roberson caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Malik Harvin caught five passes, Harmon caught two and Jovan Roberson caught one.

Laurel hosts Suitland on Saturday at Kirby Field at 2 p.m.

Prep notes: Pallotti Prep beat Mercy, 25-9, 25-20, 25-5 on Monday in volleyball as the Panthers improved to 7-3. Victoria Johnson had seven kills and Casey Tait had five. Carissa Hill had seven digs and five aces for the Panthers.

Johnson was named the tournament’s most outstanding player on Saturday as Pallotti Prep lost in the championship game to Spalding in the Eagle Invitational at McDonogh. Hill was also named to the all-tourney team for the Panthers, who were 6-0 in bracket play ... The Pallotti Prep girls soccer team won its first game of the season, 2-0, on Sept. 13 against The Key School of Annapolis. The Panthers did not win a game last season.

The new head coach for Pallotti Prep is John Russo. His son, Anthony, plays on the boys soccer team at Pallotti Prep ... Pallotti Prep grad Keith Charles has gained 108 yards in two games as a running back for St. Anselm, a Division II school in New Hampshire. Correa, a current Pallotti Prep player, is looking at St. Anselm and Salisbury for football and baseball, according to coach Thompson.