High School

Buffalo-area star tailback ties modern state record for rushing TDs in a game

Kaivohn Pitts’ performance also makes him the new Western New York/Section VI leader for TD runs in a game.

Kevin L. Smith

Senior Kaivohn "Sonic" Pitts had nine rushing touchdowns in Health Sciences' 76-3 win over Hamburg on Friday. Pitts' TD total tied the state record for most in a single game.
Senior Kaivohn "Sonic" Pitts had nine rushing touchdowns in Health Sciences' 76-3 win over Hamburg on Friday. Pitts' TD total tied the state record for most in a single game. / Health Sciences Charter School

Kaivohn Pitts, a senior tailback for the Health Sciences Charter football team in Buffalo, New York has excelled on the ground so far this season.

Nicknamed “Sonic,” Pitts ran for 434 yards and nine touchdowns on 19 carries in the Falcons’ dominant 76-3 victory over Hamburg on Friday.

Pitts’ electric performance crowns him the new Western New York/Section VI leader for TD runs in a single game. The senior also tied the modern New York State record with four other players.

According to the New York State Sportswriters Association, Pitts’ nine rushing scores goes alongside Don Dougherty (Eastern Military Academy, 1957), Jason Gwaltney (North Babylon, 2004), Rowan Marshall (Indian River, 2021) and Drew Kozak (Our Lady of Lourdes, 2024) for most all-time in a game.

Tom Wallace, who had 11 rushing TDs in a game for Saranac Lake in 1926, currently holds the pre-modern single game state record.

Pitts leads Section VI with 19 TD runs and is second with 1,098 rushing yards. The senior also averages 14.4 yards-per-carry.

Health Sciences, now 7-0 on the season, hosts Williamsville East on Thursday.

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Kevin L. Smith
KEVIN L. SMITH

Kevin L. Smith, a Rochester (NY) native and a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, has been covering high school sports for over a decade. He started out as a freelance sportswriter in 2013. Since then, he’s held sportswriter and editor positions for newspapers in Coudersport (PA), Sayre (PA) and Oswego (NY). Smith currently covers high school sports in the Greater Syracuse Area for syracuse.com | Post-Standard, a position he’s held since 2021. You can follow him on social media @KevLSmittie. Story ideas can be sent to KLSFreelancing@outlook.com.

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