Thomas Hewitt headed to Holy Cross football (VIDEO)
NEWTOWN – Transitioning back to the United States from Singapore, Council Rock North senior Thomas Hewitt and his family moved to Newtown during the summer of 2014.
It was just in time, according to Indians head coach Adam Collachi.
“He’s an explosive football player,” stated Coach Collachi. “He made a lot of big, big plays throughout his time here.”
“He made an impact on our team right away. So it was nice to have him the last two years.”
In just two seasons at Rock North, the 6-3, 200-pound defensive end recorded 88 tackles and 24 assists. As a high school senior, Hewitt added another dimension to his game, blocking four punts. In 11 games for the Indians in 2015, he dropped the opposing quarterback nine times.
“He was an impact player for us on the defensive side of the ball,” added Collachi. “He dominated from the very first football game to the latter parts of the season.
“He made big plays when we needed them and he’s a great kid.”
Recently, Hewitt announced that he’s taking his game to the next level, committing to Patriot League rival Holy Cross. Apparently, the Crusaders plan to play the former defensive end for the Rock at outside linebacker.
Holy Cross returns 16 of 22 starters from its 2015 squad which went 6-5 overall and 3-3 in the Patriot League. In their 2015 campaign, the Crusaders finished with a winning record for the eighth time in head coach Tom Gilmore’s 12 years at the helm.
“It’s a good spot for him; I think he’ll excel there,” said Collachi. “He’ll have a chance to compete for playing time which will be great.”
A private Jesuit college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Holy Cross has a population of approximately 3,000 students.
“They are traditionally a strong program, great academics – all the things that Thomas was looking for in a university.”
On Feb. 3 – NCAA National Commitment Day – the Crusaders announced 20 new recruits, nine of whom play on the defensive side of the ball, one swing player and a special teams player.
“We are very excited about the incoming class we have signed,” said Gilmore, on Signing Day. “We feel that the quality and the quantity of this class will help us achieve our goals of winning a Patriot League Championship this fall.
“We have addressed the needs that we have on both sides of the ball, and feel this class will give us great depth in all of our position groups this season.”
Holy Cross recruited three additional linebackers to the 2016 lineup including Zach Jarome (Salesianum School) a 6-1, 201-pound outside LB from Wilmington, Blake Flovin (Archbishop Mitty) a 6-1, 215-pound linebacker from Sunnyvale, California and Jesse Conners [Salisbury (Conn.) School], a 6-2, 220-pound linebacker from Pittsford, N.Y.
At Rock North, Hewitt was a big part of the reason why the Indians captured their first SOL Continental Conference championship since 2006.
In two years at CR North, Hewitt totaled 112 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, 13 quarterback sacks, 10 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 10 pass breakups.
One of four team captains his senior season, Hewitt was named first team All-Suburban One League (SOL) Continental Conference in 2015, after getting a second team nod as a junior.
Just because he was a newbie in Newtown in 2014, didn’t mean that Hewitt had no experience. Thomas came to the Indians after playing two years for Coach Michael Petrosino at the Singapore American School, which apparently is one of the leading football programs in Asia.
NOTES: Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore is from the Newtown-Richboro area. Perhaps, the most famous graduate of the College of the Holy Cross is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (Class of 1971). Perhaps, the most infamous was Phillip Berrigan (Class of 1950) a former Roman Catholic priest who became active in the Peace and Civil Right Movements in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Contact the author at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
