High school football stories get better with age, don’t they?
When they’re recalled, legends usually grow. Embellishment is implemented, consciously or not. Memories weaken, but the tales improve each time they’re told, even the legitimate ones that have stood the test of time.
Hype aside, prep football here and nationally has documented facts and figures that make you go, “Wow!”
For instance, De La Salle High School in California won 151 consecutive games from 1992 to 2003, according to the National High School Record Book.
In 1919, Eugene, Ore., scored 101 points in the first half — yes, in the first half — against Cottage Grove.
New York’s Michael Hart scored 1,246 points from 2000-03. Texas’ Ken Hall, a.k.a. the “Sugar Land Express,” still has the most rushing yards of any schoolboy — 11,232 from 1950-53. In 1950, New Jersey’s John Giannantonio ran for 4,756 yards . . . in only eight games. North Carolina’s Kevin Parks Jr. rushed for 100-plus yards in 55 games from 2006-09.
Some high-end national marks have a local flavor. The two highest- scoring seasons belong to Hugo in 1930 (748 points in 11 games) and Limon in 1968 (722 in 12 games). And Pueblo Centennial’s Clyde Pearson is tied for a record six fumble recoveries in a game; his came against the old Colorado Springs High School in 1958.
There was another Wow! attained Sept. 9 that requires a new category. It involves the Pulaski Academy Bruins of Little Rock, Ark., coached by Kevin Kelley, who, among other things, doesn’t believe in punting. The Bruins were playing at the Cabot Panthers, generally regarded as one of that state’s top teams and with an enrollment approximately five times the size of Pulaski’s, which, by the way, many Coloradans couldn’t comprehend.
In front of 8,000 fans, Pulaski scored on the game’s opening possession, then tried an onside kick. It recovered, drove and scored.
The process was repeated twice more, and the Bruins were ahead 29-0 before their opponent had run a play from scrimmage. In fact, Cabot called a timeout with 8:35 to play in the first quarter.
“Not too often you see a timeout called as the receiving team lines up for a first-quarter kickoff,” Kelley said to reporters.
And it got better. On their first play on defense, the Bruins rushed all 11 players — leaving backs and receivers uncovered. (The pass fell incomplete.) For the game, they recovered five onside kicks. Ultimately Pulaski, ranked in the top 100 nationally in assorted polls, won 64-34 and had 664 yards of offense.
One moral of this story — attend a prep game, because you may see something never done before.
Footnotes.
Last Friday’s Fairview- Mountain Vista matchup at Shea Stadium had a nice crowd, but there were more cars in the parking lots than usual. Mountain Vista players drove their own vehicles. Why no bus? The Douglas County School District was saving funds. . . . Defense? 8-man Fowler and Class 5A Arapahoe have yet to surrender a point. Fowler has waxed three foes by an aggregate 128-0. Arapahoe has done the same 107-0. . . . Nederland broke a 12-game losing streak on Saturday with a 27-20 win at Denver Christian.
