Running back Cavalli Pittman, who led the state in rushing last season with 3,174 yards and was among the top rushers in the country, returns for his Senior Season. His rushing production was just 187 yards shy of Kentucky's all- time rushing yards leader, Frank Jones (Bath County), 1969. Pittman rushed for 250 yards or more seven times last season, including four games of 317 yards or more. His season-high was 345 yards against Nelson County.

It all started his sophomore season when he earned Area Sophomore of the Year in ’2023. Pittman pieced together a strong finish at running back to set the foundation for this season. “Nothing he’s doing surprises me,” coach Preston has stated. “He can catch the ball; he blocks well and runs extremely hard. I knew when we got Cavalli as a freshman based on middle school that he was going to be a good player. Preston also stated, "What I like is that he hasn’t gotten stuck at a point, he’s continuing to get better each season,” he said. “His attitude is great and he’s a great practice player and that’s usually what makes a great player.”

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Pittman said a lot of credit for his performance last week goes to the Bulldogs’ offensive line. “From week one to week two, they really made a big improvement in knowing their assignments and everything,” he said.

Long before Cavalli Pittman was running around and thru defenses as a running back at John Hardin High School or making tackles as a linebacker, Pittman was a Bulldogs’ football fan. He’s now living out a childhood dream of playing on a field he once watched so many others play on. “I came to a whole bunch of games, I did,” he said with a big smile. “I just loved watching football and playing football. I was watching and definitely thinking about that one day. Football is a lot of fun; football means everything to me.”

When this season is over, Pittman has the potential to be in the top 5 all- time career rushing leaders in the State of Kentucky. If we are looking solely at individual performances by a single player, Cavalli should be considered for the Mr. Football conversation. 

References: News Enterprise interviews

Photo Credit: Cavalli Pittman on X/Twitter

Coached against Pittman for three years.  Kid is tough as nails!!

He’s a good running back, but HCP, they falsify his stats. By as much as 20%. This was discussed on the site last year.

In the first game of the season vs Hancock County, Pittman recorded 237 yards on 30 rushing attempts. 

On 8/26/2025 at 8:54 PM, Hearsay said:

He’s a good running back, but HCP, they falsify his stats. By as much as 20%. This was discussed on the site last year.

I watched the game and looked at his stats. I have him down for 39 carries, 211 yards, 4 TD

Roger, I am going strictly off of the stats that are loaded into the KHSAA website for the Hancock County game.

Regardless, this thread is for conversation about the potential for Cavalli Pittman to be considered for Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky for the 2025 season, not to diminish his accomplishments. 

Bump.

Cavalli Pittman rushed for 147 yards on 26 rushing attempts and 3 TDs vs Seneca on Thursday night. 

Thru 2 games played, he has 65 rushing attempts for 384 yards and 7 rushing TDs for an average of 192 yards rushing per game. 

 

Last Friday at Bardstown, Cavalli Pittman rushed for 120 yards on 24 rushing attempts. 

Thru three games he has rushed for 504 net yards on 89 rushing attempts

Thru 5 games, Cavalli has rushed for 790 yards on 131 rushing attempts. He has 10 rushing touchdowns, (2 per game), on the season and averages 158 net yards per game. John Hardin is 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in district play. 

Bump.

Cavalli Pittman is 3rd in the state in rushing for class 4A, averaging 158 rushing yards per game in 5 games. He missed the Nelson County game on concussion protocol and is hopeful to return this week vs Bethlehem. 

In the matchup last Friday vs Bethlehem, Cavalli Pittman went off for 385 yards on 36 attempts and 5 rushing TDs. 
Net rushing yards on the season 1,175, good for an average of 196 yards per game. 
John Hardin is on a bye this week. Next up October 17th at Taylor County. 
 

Last Friday night, in a thriller, John Hardin upset previously undefeated Taylor County on the road, 30-28. 

In that game, Cavalli Pittman had 118 yards rushing on 25 attempts. For the season, he has racked up 1293 rushing yards on 192 rushing attempts, good for 185 yards average per game.

Next up tonight is Elizabethtown with a possible district championship on the line.