By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
MaxPreps Player of the Week Dominique Barnes scored touchdowns on six consecutive first-half carries as he sparked Burroughs (Burbank, Calif.) to a 76-20 rout of Glendale Hoover. He finished the game with seven touchdowns and 203 yards on just 15 carries…In Columbus (Ohio), Brandon Rice also scored seven touchdowns as Walnut Ridge blanked South, 65-0. He finished with 326 yards on 16 carries.
Turning to Arkansas, Springdale Har-Ber senior Zach Faust also accounted for seven touchdowns, but accomplished his feat through the air. He passed for 433 yards during a 49-17 victory over Rogers Heritage. The state record for touchdown passes is eight.
Faust, who threw scoring strikes to five different receivers, entered the game with just nine touchdown passes this fall…Twin City Emanuel County Institute star Washaun Ealey (5-11, 205) set a Georgia career record with his 113th touchdown.
Brady Whipple was spectacular in his own way while leading Pahranagat Valley (Alamo, Nev.) to a 68-22 victory over Las Vegas Spring Mountain. He scored on first-half interception returns of 65 and 48 yards, a 75-yard kick-off return and a 69-yard punt return . He also had one rushing touchdown and three two-point conversions. ..Everett Horne tied the North College Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio) record with six touchdowns during a 62-19 win against Cincinnati Christian. He ran nine times for 332 yards (36.8 average) and five touchdowns and also scored on a 35-yard interception return.
Mike Mooney set a Maryland public school state record when he passed for 451 yards as Rockville Wootton throttled Silver Spring Blair, 36-7. Working out of a no-huddle offense, he completed 26-of-43 passes to 11 different receivers…In Iowa, Brandon Wegher of Sioux City Heelan is the new Class 3A state career rushing leader with 5,436 yards. Wegher and Walker Woods of Waukee each scored six touchdowns last week.
More Football Notes
* In Texas, Kurt Walker kicked field goals of 48, 45 and 23 yards to help Carrollton Hebron defeat Coppell, 30-17. Coppell’s Chase Wood booted a 50-yarder as time ran out in the second quarter…In California, junior Deantre Lewis scored six times and amassed 321 yards on just 21 carries as Norco outlasted Riverside North, 50-40…Dalton Hewitt passed for 423 yards (30-of-38) and four touchdowns as Vianney (Kirkwood, Mo.) nipped St. Louis Chaminade, 57-54.
* Dax Dupire continues to put up big numbers in Arkansas. The Fort Smith Northside senior completed 31-of-51 passes for 443 yards and four touchdowns during a 59-28 rout of Springdale. He also ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns. For the losers, Ashton Glaser passed for 435 yards and LaDarius Eckwood had 19 catches for 309 yards…Moving to South Dakota, Ryan Harder passed for 406 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters as Sioux Falls Lincoln raced past Rapid City Stevens, 56-7.
* In only his third game this fall, Hand (Madison, Conn.) junior Nick Merullo passed for 394 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 84 yards and a fifth touchdown en route to a 49-40 victory over North Haven. The 6-1, 195-pounder also is a top-flight baseball prospect and has just recovered from an ankle injury suffered during a summer baseball showcase in Florida.
* One of the nation’s longest winning streaks – 49 games – was severed in Louisiana when MaxPreps Team of the Week Shreveport Evangel Christian edged Bastrop, 28-22. The big victory also may signal the return of Evangel to national prominence…In Maryland, Sandy Spring Sherwood snapped Quince Orchards’s 20-game winning streak, 14-6. The defending Class 4A state champions also lost quarterback Kevin Adams with a broken collarbone and highly-ranked corner back Travis Hawkins with a sprained ankle.
* Indiana’s top-ranked Class 5A team also tasted its first loss as Indianapolis Ben Davis whipped Carmel, 24-17…Indiana’s No. 1 Class A team, Sheridan, had its 44-game winning streak broken, 37-7, by unbeaten Class 3A No. 2 West Lafayette…In Alaska, Soldotna defeated Kodiak, 28-6, to win its third consecutive small-school state championship and tie the state record with its 29th straight victory. ..In Ohio, Cleveland St. Ignatius nipped Cincinnati St. Xavier, 19-16, in overtime to end a 26-game home winning streak.
* A near miss: Tupelo suffered a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Batesville South Panola, which extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 83 games. A Tupelo stadium record crowd of 10,000 held its collective breath as the hosts missed a two-point conversion attempt with under two minutes to play…It was difficult to breathe in Columbus, Ohio, too, because Watterson needed five overtimes to defeat St. Charles, 40-34…Phil Butler rushed for 432 yards – No. 3 in Minnesota state history – as St. Paul St. Agnes defeated West Lutheran, 41-18.
* Big time running back David Oku (5-9, 178) of Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) has made a commitment to the University of Tennessee…Pittsburgh has received a commitment from wide receiver-running back Todd Thomas (6-3, 202) of Beaver Falls (Pa.)….Bill Hurst became the third coach in Mississippi history to win 300 games when Centreville Academy defeated Oak Forest (Amite, La.), 35-14…Gilbert coach Jesse Parker has tied the Arizona record of 308 career victories held by Karl Kiefer.
Basketball Notes
* Where, oh where has Tony gone? According to the Louisville Courier –Journal, one of the nation’s top sophomores, 6-5 Tony Kimbro Jr., has left Louisville Manual, but his mother won’t divulge what prep school he is headed for. Stay tuned…Recent recruiting commitments: Cheyenne (Las Vegas, Nev.) senior point guard Elijah Johnson, to Kansas; Provo (Utah) senior center Brandon Davies (6-9), to Brigham Young; Metairie Park Country Day (La.) senior Eddie Ludwig (6-8), to Louisiana State; and Baltimore City College (Md.) junior C.J. Fair (6-7), to Syracuse.
* De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) point guard Brandon Smith, who averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 assists as a junior, has made a commitment to the University of California. Senior teammates Jefferson Powers and Hollis Thompson, both 6-7, have committed to Denver University and Georgetown, respectively. Thompson averaged 18.5 points last year at Los Angeles Loyola. This could be one of coach Frank Allocco’s best teams.
* Tom Diener has been hired as boys basketball coach at Hamilton (Milwaukee, Wis.). Diener guided Milwaukee Vincent to a 313-60 record and five state titles in 15 years before resigning last spring. Good luck, Tom, because Hamilton had a 21-105 record over the past six years. The good news is that eight former Bay View underclassmen have transferred to Hamilton…Khalid Green has left his head coaching position after five years at Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to become the East Coast college scout for the New York Nets.
* Mike Conley Jr. has donated $15,000 to the John Stewart Memorial Fund at Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.). Conley is the starting point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies after starring at Lawrence North and Ohio State University. Stewart was a 7-foot center who died tragically from an undetected heart ailment during a regional tourney in Columbus, Ind., in 1999.
* Perhaps the nation’s top junior girl, Samarie Walker has made a commitment to the University of Connecticut. The versatile 6-1 wing averaged 14 points and 9.0 rebounds as a sophomore for Chaminade-Julienne (Dayton, Ohio)…Illinois has received a commitment from 6-2 senior Karisma Penn, who averaged 19.3 points last year for Shaker Heights (Ohio)…Ohio University has received a pledge from 6-1 senior Porsha Harris, who averaged 12.2 points and an impressive 11.3 rebounds as Chicago Whitney Young won Illinois’ Class 4A state title.
* Emily Stark has made a commitment to the University of New Mexico. The 6-5 standout averaged 13 points and 7.0 rebounds as a junior at Grand Junction (Colo.), but will be playing this year at Colorado powerhouse Highlands Ranch…Other recent commitments: Diamond Ashmore, 6-3 senior from Midwest City (Okla.), to Texas A&M; Victoria Macaulay, 6-4 senior from Curtis (Staten Island, N.Y.), to Temple; and Jade McNorton, 6-3 senior from Centennial (Boise, Ida.), to Pepperdine.
Golf Notes
* The Rochester girls set two Michigan state team records by winning the Division I state title with a score of 607 and a single-round best of 296. The champs may repeat because they had only one senior, Amy Meier, who was state medalist with 141…A seventh grader, Lydia Gumm of Radcliff North Hardin, has been named Kentucky’s Miss Golf. She placed second in the state tourney. Junior David Payne of Louisville St. Xavier, the individual state champion, was named Mr. Golf.
* Can you top this? For the third year in a row, David Gushee of Gorham and Ryan Gay of Gardiner tied for the boys Class A state championship in Maine. This year, playing in different threesomes, they both carded even-par 72s. Last year they both shot 74. As sophomores they shot 1-over-par and shared the title with Chris Hamel of Waterville….Maine’s Class A girls title was captured by German exchange student Pauline Schopp of Fryeburg Academy with a 79. In an earlier practice round, Schopp fired a women’s record 65 at the Arrowhead course.
* In Illinois, Arlington Heights St. Viator tied the boys state record with a winning Class 3A score of 583 (7-over-par). Junior Joe Carlson led the champs with a medalist score of 7-under-par 137. The Illinois Class A girls medalist was Driscoll senior GiGi DiGrazia, who shot 147. The University of Iowa recruit spent the regular season with the boys team because Driscoll does not have a girls team.
Softball Notes
* It was the Year of the Junior in Colorado. Shelby Babcock’s legend continues to grow as the state’s best-ever softball player and she’s still got another year before graduation. The dominating right-hander struck out 12 while pitching Broomfield Legacy (23-2) to a 4-1 victory over Arvada Ralston Valley and its second consecutive Class 5A state title. During 28 tournament innings, she struck out 60, gave up five hits and threw one no-hitter while winning all four games. A national recruit, she will decide between Texas A&M and Arizona.
* Another junior pitcher, Stephanie Routzon, paced Wheat Ridge (23-2) to Colorado’s Class 4A state title with a 14-1 rout of Frederick. She finished the year with a perfect 23-0 record. In four tournament games, she struck out 42. Senior Heather Eggleston supplied the power in the finale with two doubles, a triple and one home run…The Missouri state tourney will finish this coming weekend, but there is another legend developing at Blue Springs (29-0). Freshman pitcher Kelsey Kessler stifled Kearney, 2-0, in the Class 4 state quarterfinals, striking out 18 with her eighth no-hitter and third perfect game this year.
Tennis Notes
* Fort Collins Rocky Mountain junior Casey MacMaster used his overpowering 130-mile-per-hour serve to defeat Loveland’s Alex Clinkenbeard, 6-2, 6-4, to win Colorado’s Class 5A No. 1 singles championship. MacMaster, who finished the year at 26-0, amassed 31 first-serve points, including a string of 12 consecutive aces. Clinkenbeard, also a junior, lost just four times – all to MacMaster…Greenwood Village Cherry Creek won its eighth consecutive and 35th overall state team championship.
A freshman girl drew the biggest raves at Ohio’s state tennis tournament. Lauren Davis of Gates Mills Gilmour Academy defeated defending champion Gabby Smith of Cincinnati Country Day, 6-4, 6-0, to win the Division II crown. She won 48 of 53 games – 33 in a row - during her four tourney victories.
Cross Country Notes
* Greater Latrobe (Pa.) senior Natalie Bower set a course record of 17:58 while winning the girls division of the Tri-State Coaches Association meet in Slippery Rock, Pa. It marked her fourth straight Tri-States victory. The course record of 18:04 had been held by former state champion and Foot Locker All-American Kacey Gibson of New Castle Neshannock.
* Greenhill (Addison, Texas) sophomore Chelsey Sveinsson won the girls title in 17:11 during the annual Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. Reed Conner of The Woodlands (Texas) won the boys championship in 14:57.
Potpourri
* Senior Jacob Stanko became only the 16th soccer player in Michigan history to score seven goals as Auburn Hills Oakland Christian blanked Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 8-0, in a Division 4 district final…In Vermont, Bill O’Neil posted his 1,000th career coaching victory (in a combined three sports) with a 4-0 girls soccer triumph over BFA-St. Alban’s. O’Neil has coached Essex Junction Essex to 21 state titles – 13 in hockey, six in soccer and two in softball.
* Earlier this fall, the USA under-16 baseball team posted an 8-0 record while winning the Pan American Championships in Veracruz, Mexico. The Americans scored three times in the 11th inning to defeat powerful Cuba, 3-1, in their toughest test. Tony Wolters, a junior second baseman from Rancho Buena Vista (Vista, Calif.), batted .364 with 14 runs, 11 walks and six runs batted in.
* One of California’s top swimmers, breaststroker Jordan Danny of Newhall Hart, has made a commitment to the University of Southern California…Martin County (Stuart, Fla.) volleyball coach Marty Bielicki recorded his 600th career victory last week. The 53-year-old coach is in his 22nd year at the Tigers’ helm.