Marist coach Mike Fitzgerald had a funny thought while driving to school for the -RedHawks’ season opener.
His starting receiver Saturday was his ball boy two years ago.
But sophomore Conor Fleming was up to the challenge, catching two touchdown passes from his junior brother, Jake, as Marist rolled to a 44-28 home victory.
It was a big afternoon for one of Marist’s legacy families. Their grandfather was a member of the school’s first graduating class in the mid-1960s and their father, Pat, is the RedHawks’ athletic director.
Jake Fleming completed 12 of 17 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, while Conor had five catches for 74 yards and two scores. It was the varsity starting debut for both.
“I was nervous going in, but after the first play it’s go time so I got my nerves down,” Jake said.
Conor Fleming got a taste of varsity sports last spring as a freshman when he played lacrosse.
Even so, he was “a little nervous. But I just do what I can and [I know] I’ll be fine.”
The quarterback/receiver connection is strong, as you’d expect given their family ties.
But they also have been working on it for a long time.
“Started playing football in fourth grade,” Conor said. “But before that, our dad coached here so we’d be up here a lot just to be around football. When we finally got our shot, we wanted to prove something.”
Fitzgerald liked what he saw of the duo.
“They seemed unfazed, cool; calm, collected,” he said. “Both of those kids, they put the preparation in, they put the time in and that’s what you love to see.”
Marist had some other notable efforts on offense. Conor Hunt ran 28 times for 136 yards and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass, while Chase Tylka had two catches for 89 yards. Billy Nitsche added a 29-yard scoring run.
“There’s a lot of things we’ve got to clean up just in terms of better discipline, [avoiding] personal fouls, those types of things,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s not who we are. That’s not going to help us reach where we’re trying to go.”
Simeon had some highlights on offense and special teams. Quarterback Aki King and receiver Jalonny Billingsley (whose brother Jahleel starred at Phillips) — both sophomores — had TDs of 53 and 34 yards.
“I’m excited about having those two guys going forward,” Wolverines coach Sinque Turner said.
Senior running back James Bell, whose offers include Indiana and Miami, had 12 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re going to run a lot of the offense through him to set up some of the passes to Jalonny,” Turner said.
Elijah Welch, a senior making his high school football debut, had two long kickoff -returns, including an 85-yarder for a TD.
“He’s just lightning fast,” Turner said. “I don’t anticipate too many teams [will] want to kick it deep if they get this tape.”