Bayside QB Stitt climbing area career passing list

As Deion Stitt began his Bayside career, he didn't think about replacing E.J. Manuel - or breaking the star quarterback's records.

"I really didn't look at it that way, but people kept telling me I had big shoes to fill," Stitt, a junior, said recently. "That's a lot of added pressure for no reason. I was going to come out here and play my best, and if it's going to work, it's going to work."

So far, it has worked.

Stitt enters today's game against Princess Anne with 4,583 career regular-season passing yards. He has moved into ninth on South Hampton Roads' career list, and he trails Manuel's school passing record - which includes playoff games - by just 408 yards. Stitt has 5,471 total yards in three varsity seasons; Manuel, now at Florida State, finished with 5,879.

Stitt is one of a handful of local players this season who are climbing the career leader boards.

Oscar Smith senior quarterback J.J. Williamson is 744 passing yards from the all-time top 10; Oscar Smith senior running back J.C. Coleman is close to joining the all-time rushing top 10; Indian River kicker Heath Saunders, a senior, has 18 career field goals to rank fifth in South Hampton Roads.

Stitt, meanwhile, has piled up yardage since earning the starting spot as a freshman in 2009. Through eight games this season, he has thrown for 1,544 yards and 15 TDs. He's on pace to challenge South Hampton Roads' career leader - Great Bridge's Casey Turner at 7,667 yards - next year.

For now, Stitt needs to average only 204 yards in the next two games to catch Manuel atop Bayside's career list.

"If you think about it, you're not going to play as well," Stitt said. "If I break it, I break it."