Spotlight: Brady Lichtenberg's record-breaking performance

10/11/2018
BY STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
  • SPT-SJwhitmerFB16p-26

    St. John's Jesuit QB Brady Lichtenberg (16) throws against Whitmer.

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  • He can hardly remember a time when he didn’t have a football in his hands, and St. John’s Jesuit quarterback Brady Lichtenberg won’t soon forget the game he turned in Oct. 5 in the Titans’ 56-28 victory at Findlay.

    The 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore completed 39 of his 50 pass attempts for 484 yards and seven touchdowns in the win, which took St. John’s to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in Three Rivers Athletic Conference play.

    “Going into that game our coaches saw some mismatches and ideas that we tried out there in the game, and they all worked for us,” Lichtenberg said. “I feel like the receivers I have are the best in the area. They make my job a whole lot easier with what I can do, and I trust them to throw the ball to them. I know they’ll make plays, and nobody in the area can guard them. They’re great teammates and great players.”

    The seven scoring passes set a single-game school record, and his 39 completions tied a St. John’s mark.

    WATCH: Lichtenberg named player of the week

    “He’s been groomed since a young age,” Titans coach Larry McDaniel said. “His dad was a college quarterback, his grandpa was a college head coach, and it’s really kind of in his DNA.

    “From a technique standpoint, and what he does with the ball, that’s been something his dad and his family have worked on with him, and he’s also gone to a lot of camps.”

    Lichtenberg is the son of former Ohio University quarterback Anthony “Bubba” Lichtenberg, whose father, Tom, was a college head coach at Morehead State, Maine, and Ohio, and also a an assistant at several other programs, including Ohio State, Notre Dame and Bowling Green.

    That football lineage sparked an interest in Brady, who began playing organized football in second grade in the Washington Local Schools program, and continued at Ottawa Hills, St. Joseph of Sylvania, and the St. John’s Jesuit Academy (junior high) before joining the Titans varsity team as a freshman.

    “My family’s background in football really prepared me for the high school level,” Brady said. “My freshman year really prepared me for this year, making the playoffs and gaining a lot of experience with the guys I got to play with last year.”

    WATCH: Brady Lichtenberg credits his teammates

    Under McDaniel last season as a freshman, Brady earned the starting spot early in the season, and started nine games. He completed 110 of 171 passes for 1,291 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2017 as the Titans earned a Division II playoff berth, and has carried that momentum to this season.

    Through seven games, Brady is 171-for-242 passing for 2,227 yards and 22 scores, bringing his career line to 281-for-413 for 3,318 yards and 35 touchdowns.

    His talents are not limited to the football field. Brady carries a 3.7 grade-point average at St. John’s, where he also played 27 games in 2017-18 on the St. John’s varsity basketball team, scoring 100 points for a 3.8 average with the Titans, who won the TRAC championship and advanced to a Division I regional final.

    “I think he’s got a great future,” McDaniel said. “Obviously a lot depends on his growth and maturation. He’s a very mature young man for his age. He really wants to be great. With his combination of his history, his lineage, and also his want-to, the sky’s the limit. I know we’re fortunate to have him here, we’re happy he’s here, and we look forward to having him here for the next couple years.”

    Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com419-724-6461, or on Twitter @JungaBlade.