Jared Smith
Out of the 104 career touchdowns Jared Smith can choose from, there wasn’t one more fulfilling for the Pewamo-Westphalia senior running back than his second score in last week’s victory over Laingsburg.
Smith, who set the state record for most touchdowns in a season (53) as a junior, busted a 95-yard touchdown run on a rain-filled night to give the Division 7 No. 2-ranked Pirates a 27-point lead over the Division 6 No. 4-ranked Wolfpack.
It was the longest touchdown run of Smith’s career, and it was voted the LSJ high school video of the week.
“I broke quite a few tackles, the field conditions were awful, and that adds to it,” said Smith, who has 19 touchdowns in six games this season. “With the field conditions like that, it’s not easy to break long runs. You can’t really cut and make guys miss as much, you basically have to go north and south.
“Before that run, we were on the 5-yard line, so our biggest focus was to get a couple of yards so we can have (enough room) to run. …It ended up turning into a 95-yard touchdown run.”
The victory gave Pewamo-Westphalia sole possession of the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, as Laingsburg was also undefeated heading into the league matchup.
The Pirates (6-0, 5-0) are a year removed from losing in the state championship game at Ford Field, and Smith, like he has all season, believes his team is prepared to get back to the sport’s pinnacle and come out victorious.
“We all worked so hard in the offseason. We want it bad,” said Smith, who is one of nine returning starters on both sides of the ball for P-W. “The improvement from Week 1 to now is amazing. It’s going to be great to see where we go.”
High school athlete of week: Mason’s Autumn Kissman
Lansing area high school football leaders: Oct. 6
Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.