It was vintage Mikey Sainristil from his football days at Everett High School.
Sainristil made an excellent catch in the middle of the field, shook off two defenders, deked a third defender, and then raced to the end zone.
But while Everett draws the largest crowds in eastern Massachusetts, especially for its Homecoming game, Sainristil’s touchdown was on arguably the biggest stage in college football – Michigan Stadium, which seats 110,000 fans, making it the largest stadium in the United States. It is also known as the “Big House.”
Sainristil scored his first touchdown in the Michigan football program, a 26-yard pass from quarterback Dylan McCaffrey to put the exclamation point on Michigan’s 45-14 victory over Notre Dame.
Raymonde Sainristil, Mikey’s mother, was watching the game at her residence in Everett.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” said Mrs. Sainristil about Mikey, the 2018 Mass. Gatorade Player of the Year. “We all know what Mikey can do. God is watching over him and helped make this all possible.”
Sainristil was the Wolverines’ leading receiver in the game with three catches for 73 yards.
Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh said Sainristil is making great strides as a steady contributor in the team’s offensive attack.
“Mike really made the most of his opportunities, no question,” said Harbaugh. “He had a big third-down catch early in the game, and that was great to see. It was tough to catch the ball at that point in the game when it was really raining.
“His touchdown was terrific,” added Harbaugh. He got wide open and our quarterback found him for a big gain. Mike’s three catches made a big impact and I thought he also blocked well. We’ve seen a lot of growth from Mikey lately, especially the last four weeks in practice. He’s gained a lot of confidence. He has always been good route-running, but he went through a spell where he wasn’t catching the ball real great and now his confidence is back, and it’s surging.”
Michigan improved to 6-2 and is now ranked 14th in the Associated Press national poll.
Sainristil and the Wolverines will try to keep the momentum going against Maryland this Saturday.
“I’ll be watching,” said Mrs. Sainristil. “I’m looking forward to seeing Mikey in person when they play Michigan State (Nov. 16).”
Also on the Sainristil family travel schedule is a Nov. 30 game against Ohio State, arguably the greatest rivarly in college football. Who can forget those incredible Bo Schembechler-Woody Hayes coaching matchups with the Big Ten title on the line and Keith Jackson in the ABC-TV broadcast booth?