Awards

 On July 2, 2014, in Sports, by Stephanie Stefani 

USA Football Press Release – Brophy Running Noah Pittenger selected to attend national team development games in Claremont, Calif., hosted by USA Football

Noah Pittenger has been selected to attend USA Football’s National Team Development Games presented by Shock Doctor in Claremont, Calif. The event is July 7-12 at Claremont McKenna College.

Noah Pittenger will be one of more than 180 incoming freshman and sophomore athletes participating in this event, joining an elite group of football players from across the United States. A Running Back from Brophy College Preparatory, Noah Pittenger will have the opportunity to earn a roster spot on the U.S. National Team that will compete against Canada in the 2015 International Bowl, scheduled for February in Dallas.

The U.S. National Development Games are not considered an all-star event by the NCAA or NFHS as they serve as the key evaluation event for the national team selection. The program was built to allow the best athletes across the county to compete on the field in order to gain exposure, develop their skills and fundamentals and compete for a spot on the U.S. National Team.

U.S. National Team participants are chosen based on talent and character. Players will compete in a 7-on-7 tournament, jamboree and full length games. Players will learn USA Football’s Heads Up Football player health and safety curriculum featuring proper equipment fitting, concussion education, heat preparedness and hydration education and proper tackling techniques.

USA Football scouts will evaluate the talent and ultimately build the U.S. National Team rosters. Scouts will also compile a list of top prospects from each event that will be distributed to every college football program in the country. Because this is a national team event, current NCAA coaches are granted permission from the NCAA to serve as instructors at the National Development Games. This provides an excellent opportunity for the athletes in attendance to work first hand with college coaches as well as former NFL players and top area high school coaches. 

  Richard Obert, azcentral sports12:31 p.m. MST October 11, 2014 

USA Football Press Release – Brophy Running Noah Pittenger selected to attend national team development games in Claremont, Calif., hosted by USA Football

 The offense looked special for much of a first half in which Brophy controlled the ball for all but six minutes and outgained explosive Mountain Pointe 268 yards to 148. Mountain Pointe gained 78 of its yards in the half on a Brandyn Leonard scoring run, the first of his four rushing touchdowns. Brophy finished with 400 yards, 200 passing from Cade Knox, who found sophomore Robert Brooks down the sideline for a 44-yard touchdown to give Brophy a 28-21 lead with about seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Oliver came through as the half expired to block John Abercrombie's 47-yard field-goal try to keep Brophy ahead 21-14. It was the third time this season Oliver blocked a field goal, and the seventh since his junior season.

Knox showed off his speed, getting around Mountain Pointe's athletic defense for 89 yards rushing in the first half. Sophomore tailback Noah Pittenger, the backup to Ryan Velez, was magical every time he touched the ball, maneuvering through traffic and fighting off tackles.

In the end, Brophy's defense and special teams delivered in a tense final quarter that saw Mountain Pointe sputter with penalties and defenders not allowing a big play. 

 Richard Obert, azcentral sports 6:13 p.m. MST April 18, 2015 

 No. 12 Noah Pittenger, Brophy Prep, 5-9, 180, Athlete

Really broke out as a running back/slot receiver the fourth game of his sophomore season when he had seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown in a victory over Phoenix Mountain Pointe. He is fast, shifty, elusive. Hard to tackle. He averaged 8.6 yards on 56 carries and caught 22 passes for 233 yards last season. He also had 10 tackles as a defensive back and can return kicks. 

Richard Obert, azcentral June 18, 2015

No. 6 QB Cade Knox and RB/Athlete Noah Pittenger, Phoenix Brophy Prep
 

One player alone can't carry a team, no matter how great he is. The teams that distinguish themselves from the rest usually have two dynamos and an incredible supporting cast. Last week, I took a look at the top 10 dynamos in Arizona for the 2015 football season.

Now it's time to turn the focus on the top 10 dynamic duos, tandems who complement each other, lead by example, and get the best out of the rest of their teammates' abilities.

They don't have to be a passing duo or a one-two running punch. But duos who complement and feed off each other so well that they stand out together.

This duo rode into Phoenix College last season and a put a hurt on Mountain Pointe, slicing up its defense with one big play after another. Pittenger turned seven short passes from Knox into 107 yards of offense in the 31-28 victory over Mountain Pointe. Knox is a dual threat with plenty of weapons, most notably Pittenger, who can catch and run and turn on a dime to make defenders look silly trying to tackle him. 

 Scott Bordow, azcentral sports 6:31 p.m. MST August 20, 2016 

 FLAGSTAFF - Noah Pittenger fielded the punt around his 30-yard line, looked up and saw three Phoenix Pinnacle defenders bearing down on him.

He took a step to his left and all three Pinnacle players responded in kind. Pittenger then cut sharply back to the right and before his pursuers could react, he sliced through two of them and headed upfield.

The play didn’t decide the game. By then, Phoenix Brophy Prep was well on its way to a 31-10 victory over Pinnacle on Saturday in the first game of the Sollenberger Classic at Flagstaff Coconino High School. But it did illustrate just how special Pittenger is, and what he’ll mean to Brophy this season.

“He’s lightning in a bottle,” said Brophy coach Scooter Molander. “He’s worth the price of admission.”

Pittenger didn’t put up huge numbers Saturday, rushing 15 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns, but he had two long runs called back because of penalties and he sat out much of the fourth quarter after Brophy had built up a big lead.

RELATED: HS rewind: Breakthrough wins, rushing efforts

It was the way Pittenger ran that was so impressive. He was quick off the blocks, his cuts were fast and precise and he broke far more tackles than his 5-foot-9, 180-pound frame would suggest. Time and time again, Pinnacle’s defenders bounced off him.

“One guy can’t tackle him,” Molander said.

Pittenger played mostly wide receiver last year because Brophy had a first-team all-state running back in Ryan Velez, but Molander knew what Pittenger could do with the ball in his hands.

“We had two great ones,” Molander said.

For Pittenger, moving to running back is like going home. It’s the position he played growing up, the position he feels most comfortable. And that ability to break tackles? It’s sweat equity.

MORE: Updated HS football rankings: Through Friday

“Hard work,” Pittenger said. “I spend a lot of time in the weight room. I try to develop my strength as much as I can. A lot of it is just hard work in the offseason.”

Pittenger was the star Saturday, but he had lots of help. Brophy’s defense held Pinnacle to 255 total yards and forced six turnovers.

“Our defense was just lights out, just absolutely lights out,” Molander said. “They played tremendous. I’m just really, really proud of them.”

The start of the game was delayed 70 minutes by lightning, but even before the first bolt you knew it would be a long day for Pinnacle. When the Pioneers stepped onto the field for their warmups, sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler had a soft cast in his throwing hand and no pads under his No. 2 jersey.

An injury to a knuckle on his throwing hand would sideline him – coach Dana Zupke is hopeful Rattler will play next week – leaving Saturday’s game in the hands of fellow sophomore Keegan Schenk.

Zupke has raved about Schenk but, still, it’s asking an awful lot of a kid playing in his first varsity game to beat a team like Brophy. Schenk played well, showing off a strong arm and nice touch – he completed 13 of 25 passes for 208 yards – but Pinnacle’s running game was non-existent against Brophy’s front.

BORDOW: 6A final determined by untested QBs

Oh, and six turnovers don’t help.

“That didn’t go very well,” Zupke said. “I just told these guys (his players) that Number 2 (Rattler) doesn’t cause us not to block or not to hold onto the ball. We never had a chance with that many turnovers.”

Pinnacle will be a different team when Rattler is back behind center, but there’s an inherent danger of so much of the team’s success dependent on one player. What happens, if, like Saturday, that player is hurt?

“Everybody wants their Division I quarterback out there on the field,” Zupke said. “The challenge for us is getting our kids to believe that we’re not just about Spencer. That’s something we’re working on.”

Brophy, meanwhile, has another big-time back it can rely on. Pittenger may not ace the eye test but when he takes a hand-off that perception quickly changes.

“He’s special,” Molander said.

Molander knew that last year.

The rest of us found out Saturday. 

 Jared Cohen September 12, 2016 at 4:15 pm

 The Brophy Broncos have had a great run of running backs over the last several seasons. For the last three years it was Ryan Valez and before him, Marche Dennard and D’Amani Grayer. All extremely talented and productive players who wore red and white on Friday nights.

The trend has not stopped this season with a new featured back in Noah Pittenger who brings something a little different than those who have come before him.

Last season, Pittenger spelled Ryan Valez but head coach Scooter Molander had to find ways to get him on the field. So Pittenger spent much of his junior season playing in the slot on offense for the Broncos and ultimately had a very good junior season with just under 700 receiving yards and seven touchdowns finishing second on the team in total yard behind Valez.

Now Pittenger is back at tailback which was the position he played his whole life before joining the Brophy Varsity squad. While Pittenger pounds the rock on the ground, teams have to respect what he can do in the passing game as well which could make things that much easier for quarterback Matt Ryan and the offense to beat opposing defenses in a myriad of ways. 

Brad Cesmat Posted November 4, 2016 at 11:51 pm 

Over the past week I asked this question to over a dozen high school football coaches and respected observers of the game. More than a couple blurted out the same name without hesitation. “Noah Pittenger, at Brophy” or “that running back at Brophy, he’s the toughest I’ve seen”. One athletic director said “I want that guy protecting my country, he’s a darn good, tough nosed football player.”

Brophy head coach Scooter Molander summed up his Pittenger this way to the Arizona Republic  earlier this season. “He’s lightning in a bottle, he’s worth the price of admission.” Well put.

​Friday night the Broncos had to hold off Pinnacle to advance to round two of the playoffs. Pittenger was right in the middle of the action rushing for 270 yards and 3 scores, the last of which sealed the game for the Broncos.