McKitty sparks IMG win with two touchdowns

Stuck behind Isaac Nauta, the No. 1 tight end in the Class of 2016, on the depth chart last fall, Tre McKitty waited for his turn at IMG Academy.

He tallied one catch during the 2015 season.

Now the tight end from Wesley Chapel is coming into his own.

McKitty sparked the Ascenders’ offense with a four-reception game, where he made the highlight-reel play of IMG’s 38-0 victory over Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson on Friday.

McKitty’s catch that ignited IMG came late in the second quarter when the Ascenders held a 10-0 lead. He twisted his body around, extended one arm to snag quarterback Kellen Mond’s pass along the sideline for a one-handed reception and a 22-yard gain.

“I saw the ball and it was kind of far, so I just went for it,” said McKitty, an Oregon commit.

Later, Mond capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Greene.

McKitty, though, became the red zone target for IMG’s offense in the third quarter with two touchdown receptions that doubled his season total to four just a year after registering zero touchdowns.

“I think you saw him use that as motivation,” IMG Academy head coach Kevin Wright said. “And he’s bigger, faster, stronger than what he was when he first got here.”

Meanwhile, IMG (5-0) cemented its standing as the No. 2-ranked team in the nation with the program’s first shutout since Oct. 9, 2015. The defense limited the Cobras (3-1) to 30 rushing yards and constantly harassed Boyd Anderson quarterback Shabbazz Telfort into quick decisions.

Defensive end Josh Kaindoh, a Maryland commit, racked up a few sacks, too.

“They did a good job keeping us in the game, until we found a way to break away with it,” Wright said.

Mond, who is headed to Texas A&M next season, inched closer to setting IMG’s single-season touchdown record. Shea Patterson, who was last year’s No. 1 quarterback recruit in the nation and is at Ole Miss now, had a combined 21 touchdowns between passing and rushing.

Mond tallied four more scores between his three passing ones to Greene and McKitty and a rushing score midway through the second quarter. That gives him 20 touchdowns this season, one shy of Patterson’s record.

However, getting that offense chugging forward didn’t begin immediately. The slow start came with Boyd Anderson going toe-to-toe with the Ascenders in the early portions of Friday’s game. Then, LSU-committed defensive back Grant Delpit shined in his first significant time returning punts and kickoffs this year.

Delpit engineered IMG’s first points when he returned a punt 56 yards early in the second quarter. IMG’s Cooper Graham later converted a 20-yard field goal. Delpit followed that return with a 66-yard kick return to open the third quarter.

“You could’ve drove a truck through that hole,” Delpit said. “But I got caught from behind. I didn’t see him, but it was a good return. I’m mad I didn’t score.”

Delpit said he was given the chance in the return game earlier this week during practice.

He had just one goal.

“I wanted to score, but I got caught,” Delpit said. “I had two big returns, so I think I did pretty good.”

Someone who did score and contributed significantly was McKitty, who committed to Oregon over 31 other offers earlier this summer.

“I think he’s got a chance to have a great college career at Oregon and he’s a guy that if he keeps going can play on Sundays,” Wright said. “That’s the type of resolve that you have to have if you’re going to reach that level.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 11:45 PM with the headline "McKitty sparks IMG win with two touchdowns."