High School

Kentucky commit Stone Saunders breaks Pennsylvania's career passing TD record

Bishop McDevitt star throws for two scores against Altoona to set the new state record for touchdown passes at 178

Gary Adornato

Stone Saunders of Bishop McDevitt completed his 177th career touchdown pass early in the Crusaders' home game against Altoona, Friday night in Harrisburg, Pa.
Stone Saunders of Bishop McDevitt completed his 177th career touchdown pass early in the Crusaders' home game against Altoona, Friday night in Harrisburg, Pa. / Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports

One season after Steelton-Highspire quarterback Alex Erby set Pennsylvania's all-time career record for passing touchdowns, Bishop McDevitt 4-star QB Stone Saunders, a University of Kentucky commit, has broken that mark.

In the first minute of McDevitt's Friday night contest with winless Altoona, Saunders connected with Dominic Diaz-Ellis for a 40-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 7-0 lead. It was the 177th career touchdown pass for Saunders, after he tied the previous state record, of 176, last week against Carlisle.

Diaz-Ellis broke free down the right sideline and made an outstanding grab, getting his foot down just before he fell out of the side of the end zone. He immediately lept to his feet and sprinted to deliver the football and a hug to Saunders father, Steve, on the sideline. Steve Saunders is a former strength and conditioning coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

Later in the first quarter, Saunders added TD pass number 178 with a 4-yard flip to Jontai Quick. Bishop McDevitt (5-1) got a strong test from winless Altoona (0-6), which battled back from a 21-7 deficit to tie the contest in third quarter, before McDevitt pulled out a 28-21 win in the fourth quarter.

Saunders is one of only three Pennsylvania passers to eclipse 11,000 career yards and he is eying Erby's place at the top of that record. Erby finished his career with 13,562 yards.

Saunders was the 2022 Pennsylvania Gatorade Football Player of the Year when he led Bishop McDevitt to PIAA state championship.

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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

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