Peter Carew’s school day commute takes him from Southampton to South Huntington and back. For the longest time, that was his claim to fame at .
But the senior's journey from backup quarterback to key player on the state’s top-ranked football team is an even more remarkable odyssey.
Four games into the Peter Carew era saw his best performance yet. Carew ran the play action pass to near-perfection last week against Stepinac, and a score. He also ran for 21 yards on 10 carries, highlighted by a 7-yard touchdown run.
The Friars broke the 50-point mark for the second time in three weeks, blowing out previously unbeaten Stepinac, 55-29, in White Plains. All the while the improved to 4-0 and ran their winning streak to 23 straight.
“There’s nothing like game time in football,” Carew said. “You practice all week just for that one game. Everyone comes together as a family and tries to pull off that W.”
Elite NCAA Division I lacrosse stars have quarterbacked the Friars in seasons past. Charlie Raffa is a freshman at Maryland. Tom Schreiber was Ivy League rookie of the year at Princeton. Then there’s James Brady, who started at quarterback for Georgetown as a freshman.
Harvard lacrosse recruit Sean McDonough was penciled in as the starting quarterback for St. Anthony’s until a back injury forced him to sit out the fall season.
Enter the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Carew.
“This has happened to us before,” St. Anthony’s Coach Rich Reichert said. “We’ve had some quarterbacks with injuries. It was very disappointing for Sean McDonough. But at this point you move forward and play with the people you have.”
Carew? He’s a surfer. He’s been a member of Student Council. He’s relay sprinter in track. All of which is impressive to the head of college admissions, but hardly the resume you’d expect from the guy holding down one of the most competitive positions in New York.
“There’s no pressure on him,” Friars Offensive Coordinator Fred Gallagher said. “We’re not asking him to be Charlie Raffa or Tom Schreiber. We’re asking him to be Pete Carew and keep the offense on the field and keep all the other guys in play.”
Carew has completed 20 of 37 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns this season. He’s carried 27 times for 36 yards and one touchdown.
“I didn’t want to be seen as the backup,” Carew said. “I wanted to fight for that starting spot and earn it. It’s one of the most envied spots in all of New York.”
All of New York is watching. St. Anthony’s, the top-ranked team in the NYSSWA Class AA poll, faces yet another road test Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Xaverian at Kings Bay in Brooklyn.
With a running game that has racked up 1,295 yards and five runners with at least 100 yards on the season – surprising Anthony Anderson leads the way with 422 yards and 4 TDs – Carew doesn’t have to do it all. He merely has to lead.
It's Carew in the driver's seat.
