JT’s St. Hill breaks out

Jim Thorpe running back Justin St. Hill has been waiting for a breakout game.

The senior entered last Friday’s showdown with Blue Mountain averaging 85 yards per game – with a season-high 157 coming against Minersville - through the first half of the season.

St. Hill blew past those totals against the Eagles, storming to a school-record 325 yards rushing and four touchdowns as the Olympians rolled to a 27-0 victory.

“It was a special night,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “You don’t get many 300-yard rushing games; first one in school history. Just an outstanding effort on his part, but also a great team effort as well. I think Justin will be the first one to say his linemen were a big part of his production on Friday night.

“But don’t let him fool you. A lot of it is him as well. His ability to find the hole, once he hits the hole to get through it really quick, and then accelerate into the second level is pretty impressive.”

Those skills were on full display on the road against Blue Mountain, Jim Thorpe’s first Schuylkill League Division I opponent of the season.

“It meant a lot for me, especially because Blue Mountain was supposed to be our first test of the season; we got into the bulk of our schedule,” said St. Hill. “And definitely having a breakout game during our sixth week, when we normally struggle, was a good key for the team.”

St. Hill had a solid first half of the season, racking up 425 yards rushing on 67 carries as the Olympians roared to a 5-0 start.

“Earlier in the season, I thought about it a lot,” St. Hill said of his stats. “I’m guessing my play was hindered a little bit, and it was better of me just to keep my mind on the game; just don’t think about stats; don’t think about the schedule; just take everything one week at a time.

“I feel like I started playing a lot better. The team started playing as one. Eleven as one is what we preach.”

After running for 1,104 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, Rosenberger knew the potential for a big night was always there.

“I think it was a matter of time for it to happen because he’s such a great athlete,” Rosenberger said of St. Hill. “But our goal is to continue to spread the ball around, and it just so happened that things were working that night.

“We felt we could stay with it until they stopped it. And fortunately for our part, they didn’t stop it and we were able to keep on running the ball.”

There was no shortage of highlight-reel runs for St. Hill, whose touchdowns covered 7, 10, 4 and 33 yards, against the Eagles. But one play in particular stood out.

“For me, it was definitely a play before the end of the first half, where I did an 80-keep, and I rolled all the way to the outside, and I broke a couple peoples’ ankles and hurdled a guy,” St. Hill recalled.

Rosenberger knew early on St. Hill was ready to run.

“I think in the beginning, I thought he looked really fresh,” the coach said. “His legs looked really, really fresh. He looked really fast on Friday night. A different level of speed I think than we saw the first few games. And against an outstanding team in Blue Mountain, nonetheless.

“I think early on we saw it. But I think the big play before halftime where he hurdled over one of the defenders and got another 15 yards was pretty darn impressive.”

So too, is what makes St. Hill such special player.

“He’s got great speed, he has excellent vision, he has the ability to make a quick cut and accelerate through a hole,” Rosenberger said of St. Hill. “His toughness as well. He’s not afraid to put his shoulder down, and fall forward for a couple extra yards every time, or break tackles. He’s an all-around great running back.”