Whenever Elmwood Park got itself into a minor jam in the Tigers’ season opener Friday against St. Joseph, senior quarterback Jason Polito-Carlson seemed to produce a solution on the very next play.
The most notable example was in the second quarter when the Tigers had the ball on the St. Joseph 48-yard line after a holding penalty wiped out a sizable gain. On the next snap, Polito-Carlson threw a deep pass to senior receiver Julian Moscatello for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
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That was all the offense they’d need in a 40-6 rout of the visiting Chargers.
“I listened to the coaches and they kept telling me to overcome adversity and not think about the last play,” Polito-Carlson said. “I didn’t let those things affect me when they happened.”
Tigers coach John Freeman said his quarterback has made progress since last season.
“We had such an up-and-down year last year by bringing him in and converting him from a receiver,” Freeman said. “And he really put in the time and you could tell that this year the game is slowing down for him.”
Polito-Carlson had two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns for the Tigers (1-0). He finished with 51 yards on 10 carries and was 15-of-18 passing for 173 yards. He kept the chains moving for most of the game against the Chargers (0-1).
“I was really proud of the entire team and how everyone did their job and how everyone was communicating and making plays,” Polito-Carlson said.
Polito-Carlson also showed his skills at cornerback with two key pass deflections inside the Tigers’ 20 that helped prevent the Chargers from gaining any momentum going into halftime.
Freeman liked what he saw from his team in their season debut.
“There’s always things you can work on and things to improve,” he said, “but what I’ve seen this summer and tonight from our guys and the effort they’ve put in has me excited.”
Moscatello caught eight passes for 124 yards and two TD for the Tigers and he also made some key blocks for Tigers’ running backs.
Junior backup quarterback Xavier Vega had a 76-yard run on a QB sneak in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers a running clock for the final seven minutes.
Chris Vavra is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press