Gunner Rivers Close to Return for St. Michael, Philip Rivers Says: ‘Don’t Blink’
St. Michael coach Philip Rivers said injured quarterback Gunner Rivers, an N.C. State commit, has returned to practice and will be back on the field soon as the Cardinals ride a three-game winning streak.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Gunner Rivers is back on the practice field, and his father and coach says the St. Michael quarterback’s return to game action is close. “Don’t blink,” Philip Rivers said, “because he will be out there before long.”
The North Carolina State commitment has practiced with the Cardinals the past couple of days, Philip Rivers said during a radio interview in Mobile on Thursday night, Oct. 8. Gunner, the coach’s oldest son, has been sidelined since he was injured on St. Michael’s second offensive series of the season opener against Battle Ground Academy, a private school from Franklin, Tennessee. The senior hurt his knee on the play, according to earlier reporting, and the Cardinals have played nearly the entire season without him.
“I wouldn’t say full, but he practiced,” Philip Rivers said. “It’s been encouraging seeing him with his helmet on and throwing it around out there.”
No firm date, but ‘right around the corner’
Rivers stopped short of saying when his son will play again. St. Michael hosts Houston Academy, a private school from Dothan, at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12. That game had been scheduled for Thursday night but was pushed back because of Hurricane Isaias’ expected landfall on the Gulf Coast on Friday. The Cardinals then travel to Glenwood on Friday, Oct. 16.
“I’m not suggesting he will for sure be out there Monday, but soon,” Rivers said. “And I’m not for sure next Friday, but it’s right around the corner. … Don’t blink because he will be out there before long.”
Just having Gunner back in practice gear has lifted the team, his father said.
“It kind of gave us a little juice just him being out there with a helmet on,” Rivers said. “Guys were like, ‘What are you doing out here?’ It was just good to have him back out there in the mix with us. It won’t be long.”
How St. Michael got back to .500
The Cardinals have had to find another way without their senior quarterback, and after a rough start they appear to have found it. St. Michael opened 0-3, including two losses decided in the final minutes, among them a 20-17 defeat at McGill-Toolen on a field goal at the buzzer.
Since then, St. Michael has won three straight to even its record at 3-3. The streak began with a 39-35 comeback win over St. Paul’s, continued with a 37-19 victory over then-No. 1 Bayside Academy and extended with a win over Faith Academy last week.
Junior Marshall Pitre has started at quarterback in Gunner’s place. Pitre threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns in the win over St. Paul’s and was efficient against Bayside, completing 12 of 16 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Nygel Mitchell has carried much of the offensive load, highlighted by a 240-yard, four-touchdown performance against Bayside.
Rivers said last month that the Cardinals have put more on Mitchell’s shoulders than they would have with Gunner healthy, and that the extra carries have eased the load on Pitre. “He’s become the workhorse, and he’s taken the reins and ran with it,” Rivers said of Mitchell at the time.
The turnaround matters for seeding. In the private-school classification, every team reaches the playoffs, which makes the regular season largely about positioning and home-field advantage. St. Michael had expected Gunner Rivers to be back in time for a postseason run, and the latest update suggests he could return even sooner.
A quarterback with Wolfpack ties
Gunner Rivers entered the season as the centerpiece of St. Michael’s offense and one of the area’s most closely watched players. His commitment to N.C. State continues a family connection: Philip Rivers was a record-setting quarterback for the Wolfpack, throwing for 13,484 yards from 2000 to 2003 to become the program’s career passing leader.
The elder Rivers went on to a long NFL career with the Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts that included eight Pro Bowl selections and more than 63,000 passing yards. After retiring as a player, he settled in Fairhope and became head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School, where he now coaches his son.
The program has been a winner under Rivers. Last season, the Cardinals won their first 13 games, setting high expectations for this fall with Gunner returning at quarterback. The early-season injury forced the team to adjust, and the recent winning streak suggests those adjustments are paying off.
Isaias reshuffles the schedule
St. Michael is far from the only team whose plans were scrambled this week. With Hurricane Isaias forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, more than a dozen Gulf Coast high school football games were moved up to Thursday night, and others, like St. Michael’s matchup with Houston Academy, were pushed back to next week.
The Monday afternoon kickoff gives teams time to get through the storm and its aftermath before returning to the field. School and athletic officials have said schedules could still change depending on storm impacts, so fans should check with schools for the latest information before traveling.
What’s next
- Monday, Oct. 12: Houston Academy at St. Michael, 2 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 16: St. Michael at Glenwood.
Whether Gunner Rivers suits up Monday, next Friday or later, his father made one thing clear on Thursday night: the wait is almost over.
