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In Jelani Jenkins, the Good Counsel football team boasted one of the country's most sought-after Class of 2009 football recruits with his ability as a punishing runner and blocker from his fullback position.

The University of Florida commit was a mouth-watering blend of size (6-foot-2, 220 pounds), speed (4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash) and athletic ability. His replacement at fullback, Silver Spring native Michael Nittoli, is smaller (5-9, 200 pounds), slower (4.7-second 40) and more lightly recruited, with interest from Dayton (Ohio) and Bryant (R.I.) Universities, according to caazone.com."

But through five games, he has been just as productive.

In victories against Valhalla (Calif.), Mount St. Joseph, Gilman, Bishop O'Connell (Va.) and McNamara, Nittoli produced 276 yards on 38 carries and 6 touchdowns. The third-year varsity performer was second only to sophomore tailback Wes Brown in yardage and touchdowns with six.

"He's just never been a very big guy, and he's a quiet guy," Falcons head coach Bob Milloy said. "When you get behind Jelani Jenkins, you've got to wait your turn. Mike did that and he never complained. Some people transfer schools or quit or whatever. ... He just kept working."

Nittoli has made the most of his opportunities, both carrying the ball and blocking for Brown (539 yards, 8 touchdowns). The senior rolled up three touchdowns in Good Counsel's 42-0 win against Mount St. Joseph, scoring on runs of 10, 16 and 4 yards.

He opened the season with 73 yards and a touchdown in a 28-16 win against Valhalla, and ran all over O'Connell for 104 yards and a pair of scores on just six carries.

"He is a powerful and tough inside runner with deceptive speed," Mount St. Joseph coach Chip Armstrong said. "Good Counsel is as good of a football team as I have seen in the metro area in the last 25 years."

Added O'Connell coach Steve Trimble: "He is a good, hard-nosed football player. He runs and blocks well and is very aggressive."

Nittoli was a particularly punishing blocker in his team's 49-37 win over Gilman, helping the Falcons score three times on the ground against one of the tougher teams in the state. His downfield blocks sprung Brown and Stefon Diggs for 154 combined yards and two touchdowns.

"He's a very, very valuable guy," Milloy said. "We always knew he could run and catch, but the thing that's really, really got everybody's attention is his blocking. His blocking has been great and his running has been good. Speed-wise and size-wise, he's doesn't fit the criteria [colleges] like, but people forgot to tell him that."

Nittoli's career began as an 8-year old with the Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association, and one year with the White Oak Warriors. Before he enrolled at Good Counsel, a former Milloy player learned of Nittoli's aggressiveness at a youth basketball game.

Nittoli apparently shut down the other team's top player, prompting a call to Milloy, who later watched Nittoli play for White Oak. Back then, he played on the offensive and defensive lines and linebacker. He was moved to fullback at Good Counsel, a position change he has relished ever since.

"If I'm blocking, I'm looking for [a defender] to crush basically and make a hole for my running back," Nittoli said. "When I'm running, I know I'm not going to be taken down. I'm not going to let one person put me down. People probably think I'm not going to be hitting as hard, but I'm low to the ground and I can just come up and I have a lot of power."

His ultimate hope is to plow Good Counsel back into the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game again and this time, walk away with the trophy.

"We're all working together," he said. "We have good chemistry. Everyone thought we'd be the underdog, but actually we're like a united team. ... I just want to keep pushing and try to get to that last game."