Dedication Continues to Make Difference as Pittman Elevates Game, Shores' Offense
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
September 11, 2024
Jonathan Pittman lives by the acronym “PGF.”
“My mom gave me that life motto; it stands for 'Put God First,'” explained Pittman, the senior quarterback for Muskegon Mona Shores, which is off to a 2-0 start.
“That is the core of who I am.”
Those aren’t just words for Pittman, who starts every day – Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 7, when much of the world and most 17-year-olds are still sleeping – by going to church to study his Mormon faith at the Spring Lake Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He heads directly from there to school, where he either practices throwing the football or shooting the basketball (Pittman is also a standout on the Sailors’ hoops team). Then it’s off to the classroom – where, by the way, he is a straight-A student in honors classes.
Only when all of that is completed does he switch his focus solely to football. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior is a three-year starter with a rocket arm and the power to run over linebackers like a fullback.
“Pitt is the hardest-working kid I have ever coached,” said 14th-year Mona Shores coach Matt Koziak, who has led the Sailors to four Division 2 championship games and won two, in 2019 and 2020.
“He is very critical of his own game. He identifies where he needs to get better, and he just keeps working at it.”
Koziak can track how much film his players are watching. One day, he checked and noticed that senior linebacker and film study devotee Solomon Robertson had logged two hours on that day. The only player with more was Pittman – with six hours.
Pittman’s work ethic appears to be paying dividends, as he’s led the Sailors to impressive road wins over Grand Blanc (28-26) and River Rouge (21-6) to open the season and heading into yet another road game this week at undefeated Flint Hamady.
He did it with his feet against Grand Blanc, running 25 times for 192 yards and throwing for only 43. Against River Rouge, it was just the opposite – he completed 9-of-13 passes for 127 yards, while rushing for just 30.
Pittman comes from good pedigree. His father, also Jonathan Pittman, is a California native and former standout receiver at Brigham Young University who went on to play three years in the NFL for Buffalo, Tampa Bay and the New York Jets. His mother, Quintina, was a three-sport high school star whose college sports dreams were cut short by a knee injury.
The Pittmans moved to Muskegon in 2014 when his father was hired as the general manager at The Lakes Mall, a position he held for five years. (The younger Pittman, who is the second oldest of four children, said his family is not related to any of the many Pittmans in the Muskegon area.)
Pittman has always had a big arm, which allowed him to earn the varsity starting role as a sophomore. Last fall, he completed 87-of-134 passes for 1,391 yards and 15 TDs. His main targets this fall are wideouts Jaeger Johnson and Micah Carafelle and tight end George Duggins.
Pittman is equally well-known for his power running, forming a tough-to-tackle 1-2 duo with junior running back Tomarion “Ike” Steward (5-11, 205).
The biggest improvement for Pittman so far this season has been his increased speed and agility, as he has slimmed down from 218 pounds to 205.
“I wasn’t as fast as I needed to be and couldn’t execute some of the things we like to run,” said Pittman. “I needed to work on that. Our offense is much more diverse this year. We have a ton of weapons, and we can hit teams from all angles.”
Koziak hopes his quicker quarterback will give his team the extra edge it needs in huge Ottawa-Kent Conference Green games at home against Byron Center (Sept. 20) and at Muskegon (Sept. 27) – both against likely Division 2 playoff opponents.
Shores made it to the Division 2 Final four times in eight years, losing to Warren De La Salle Collegiate in 2014 and 2018, then defeating Detroit Martin Luther King in 2019 and De La Salle in 2020. The Sailors have not advanced out of their District the past three years.
Right now, Shores is just waiting to play a game in West Michigan, and will have traveled 1,030 miles round-trip for their first three this season.
The most puzzling aspect of Pittman’s football career thus far is his surprisingly small number of college scholarship offers. Wayne State, Lawrence Tech and Siena Heights have made offers, while Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois have made the trip to Muskegon to watch him throw.
Pittman, who plans to major in accounting, is not doing any lobbying – preferring to let his play on Friday nights speak for itself.
One thing is for certain: He has made a believer out of Koziak, who has been coaching football for more than 20 years, with prior stops as offensive coordinator at Muskegon Heights and head coach at Muskegon High in 2009.
“I will say this: Wherever he goes, by his junior year, he will be a team captain,” said Koziak. “You combine his athletic ability and his work ethic, and it’s magic. He’s a special kid; a generational kid.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Mona Shores' Jonathan Pittman powers into the Grand Blanc defense during his team's season-opening win. (Middle) Pittman watches as a teammate carries the ball upfield. (Photos by Terry Lyons.)
Divine Child Delivers in Defining Moments to End 40-Year Championship Wait
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 28, 2025
DETROIT – Marcello Vitti knew his teammates had his back.
After fumbling near midfield with five minutes to play and his Dearborn Divine Child team clinging to a one-point lead, Vitti’s faith was rewarded as the Falcons forced a four-and-out from the Hudsonville Unity Christian offense.
Then he paid them back.
The senior running back rushed for 20 yards and a pair of first downs on the final drive, including the game clincher, as Divine Child picked up a 23-22 victory Friday in the Division 4 Football Final at Ford Field.
“I knew that I was going to have to make plays to win this game,” said Vitti, who rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown. “I fumbled at the end, and I knew that my team’s got my back. This team isn’t good because of me. We have a lot of guys that do their jobs and maybe a little bit extra. There’s so many good guys and good players, Division I, Division II players on our team that they make me that much better.”
The title is the third in program history for the Falcons, and first since 1985.
To win it, Divine Child (13-1) had to survive a back-and-forth battle with several plays that felt as if they could be game-defining in the moment.
Vitti’s fumble felt like it could have been that, as Unity Christian took over near midfield with an offense that had been rolling through the second half.
The Crusaders (12-2) had gained 205 yards on 35 plays on their first three second-half drives, scoring a pair of touchdowns and getting inside the 5 on the other.
But after the turnover, Divine Child’s defense stiffened up, holding Unity Christian to two yards and forcing a turnover on downs.
“I do want to say, congratulations to Unity Christian,” Divine Child coach Chris Laney said. “I think they replaced 18 starters going into this year, and (coach Craig Tibbe) does a tremendous job; that scheme gives you nightmares. But, I wasn’t the one that coined it, but defense wins championships, and we had a great defense this year. Great defensive staff. The kids bought in, they really checked their egos this year at the door and played within our scheme defensively.”
Divine Child had its lead thanks to a five-yard touchdown rush by Vitti and a 2-point conversion run on which he broke multiple tackles and pushed through several defenders at the goal line with the help of his teammates.
All of that was set up by a toe-tapping catch from sophomore Rayshawn Thomas on the sideline on a pass from fellow sophomore Drew Sheridan. Initially, it was called incomplete, but was overturned on replay.
“To be honest, I thought I had my foot down,” Thomas said. “Then I saw that I had my foot down (on the big screen) and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I caught it.’”
Unity Christian answered with a 10-play, 69-yard drive capped off with a two-yard touchdown run from Jared DeVries.
The Crusaders lined up to kick an extra point to tie the game, but faked it. The pass was intercepted by Divine Child’s Adam Garcia, preserving the one-point lead.
“Silly stuff, isn’t it?” Tibbe said. “I’d like a do-over, for sure. They defended it well. I look at myself, I’m kicking myself, asking, ‘Why did you get so cute?’ Just pound the ball. They hadn’t stopped these guys. These guys had just been tearing it up, then I go and do something like that. So, yeah, I would like a do-over there.”
Tibbe’s offense was strong throughout the game, gaining 332 yards on the ground and averaging five yards per carry. That was led by Lucas Elliott, who had 115 yards, and DeVries, who had 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game’s first score. Joshua Bremer added 60 yards, and had the fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Justin Febus rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown, which, following a DeVries conversion run, gave his team a 16-15 lead early in the third quarter.
“I’m super proud of how we hung,” Tibbe said. “The fact that we were right there with this team says a lot about these guys. There’s probably a couple times in this game where it didn’t look great, but they didn’t quit. They kept chugging along.”
The offensive output was needed to keep up with Divine Child’s balanced attack, led by Vitti and Sheridan. The left-handed quarterback completed 13 of his first 15 passes in the game, and finished 19-of-25 for 241 yards and a pair of first-half touchdown throws to Antonio Solares-Vitti. He did it all with his non-throwing shoulder in a brace thanks to an injury suffered in the Regional Final against Harper Woods.
“My mindset, honestly, the past two weeks was do whatever it takes to win,” Sheridan said. “Harper Woods, we didn’t really throw the ball, I got injured. Last week, I made plays when they had to be made. Marcello made plays, Ray made plays, Giancarlo (Vitti), Antonio, they’ve all been making plays for me. So, for me, it’s been about rehabbing and getting better. Today, the mindset was, it was just a next-play mentality. If we don’t have a good play, we had to make up for it the next play. And the guys made plays for me today.”
Solares-Vitti had seven catches for 88 yards, including a big 13-yarder on the final drive. Thomas had four for 64.
Marcello Vitti led the defense with 14 tackles, while Andre Davis Jr. had 12 and Giancarlo Vitti had an interception.
Unity Christian’s defense was led by DeVries’ 10 tackles, while Febus and Jack Portenga each had eight.
PHOTOS (Top) Dearborn Divine Child’s Marcello Vitti (2) breaks through the line during Friday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Antonio Solares-Vitti stretches across the goal line for a score. (Below) Divine Child quarterback Drew Sheridan tosses a pass.