By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
State football records tumbled over the weekend in Pennsylvania. Steelton-Highspire workhorse Jeremiah Young pushed his four-year rushing total to 8,506 yards to surpass the state career record of 8,432 set by James Mungro of East Stroudsburg. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior has at least one more state playoff game to increase his record.
Zach Barket increased his Pennsylvania single-season touchdown record with four as Schuylkill Haven routed Communications Teach, 43-0, giving him 61 this year. He needs just 41 yards to erase the single-season state rushing record of 3,806 held by Austin Scott and appears a good bet to break that record this weekend because the Hurricanes are 13-0 and rolling.
Two records also were broken in Iowa. University of Iowa recruit Brandon Wegher ran 32 times for 241 yards and scored five touchdowns as Sioux City Heelan (14-0) defeated Decorah, 35-10, to win the Class 3A state championship. His five touchdowns set a Class 3A state-title game record and his senior-year rushing total of 3,238 yards broke the state record of 3,109 set in 2002 by Dustyn Baethke of Williamsburg. Heelan had lost the state championship game six times since its last title in 1982…Solon (14-0) ran its winning streak to 27 games and set an Iowa state-title game scoring record with a 60-14 rout of previously unbeaten Central Lyon/George-Little Rock to repeat as Class 2A champion.
He’s just a junior, but Shreveport Evangel Christian quarterback Dez Duron is surpassing Louisiana records held by some greats of the past. Last week he threw his 55th touchdown pass of the year to break the state record of 54 held by Brock Berlin, a former Evangel Christian superstar….In Alabama, Nolen Smith of Oneonta tied the state single-season pass reception record with 102. The record was set by Orlando Watters of Anniston in 1989.
Smith Center tied the Kansas state record by routing Meade, 60-14, for its 66th consecutive victory. The record was set by Pittsburg Colgan from 2000-2004. That streak was broken by none other than Smith Center in the Class 2A-1A state championship game. The Redmen will play Olpe (13-0) this Saturday in search of a new record and their fifth consecutive state title.
Football Notes
* The nation’s longest winning streak grew to 88 games as Batesville South Panola edged Northwest Rankin, 21-14, in Mississippi’s Class 5A state quarterfinals. Junior Nicholas Parker ran 58 (that’s right) times for a career-high 373 yards and all three touchdowns as the Tigers stayed on track to notch their sixth consecutive state championship…Timpview (Provo, Utah) defeated previously unbeaten Salt Lake City Cottonwood, 34-28, to win its third consecutive Class 4A state title and stretch its winning streak to 36 games.
* Turning to Tennessee, Memphis Mitchell outlasted Dyersburg, 41-35, as Robert Redmond completed 25-of-37 passes for 488 yards and four touchdowns. Keiwone Malone snared 13 for 358 and three touchdowns…In New York, junior Jeffrey Mack ran for 393 yards and seven touchdowns as New Rochelle Iona Prep completed a 12-0 campaign with a 48-35 victory over Melville St. Anthony to win the CHSFL Class AAA championship for the first time since 1967.
* Senior quarterback Russell Shepard – who has committed to LSU – continued to dominate as he ran for 323 yards and five touchdowns to spark Cypress Ridge (Houston, Texas) to a 42-32 victory over Lufkin in the Class 5A-Division II state playoffs…Kevin Siple has resigned after coaching Indian Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio) to a 116-57 record in 16 years.
* Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) tailback Beau Burton has made a commitment to the University of Utah. The 5-10, 200-pounder has rushed for over 2,000 yards this season and sparked the Sabercats to a 12-0 record entering the Class 4A-Division I state semifinals…Butler (Matthews, N.C.) linebacker Hawatha Bell (6-1, 225) has made a commitment to the University of North Carolina.
* Everything is big in Texas – even the pep sessions! Last week Dallas Lake Highlands held a pep session for its football and volleyball teams, which both were involved in state tournaments. And who should show up but Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys. Just for good measure, he was joined by movie star Will Smith! After they gave short talks, they exited to a huge ovation. Just for the record, the volleyball team lost in the Class 5A state semifinals, but the football team eked out a 28-27 victory.
Basketball Notes
* Demetrius Walker, a 6-3 shooting guard from St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.), signed with Arizona State after switching from the University of Southern California, while 6-8 small forward Mike Moser of Grant (Portland, Ore.) rejected his earlier University of Arizona pledge to sign with UCLA. Moser averaged 16.9 points, 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks as a junior to lead Grant to the Class 6A state championship…Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) senior DaShonte Riley (6-11, 220) decommitted from Georgetown and has reopened his recruiting.
* Some other late signings of significance include: Rice (Manhattan, N.Y.) guard Durand Scott (6-5), with Miami-Florida; Oak Hill Academy center Keith Gallon (6-9, 320), with Oklahoma; Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) guard Chris Colvin (6-3), with Iowa State; and Cheyenne (Las Vegas, Nev.) guard Elijah Johnson (6-2), with Kansas. Johnson averaged an impressive 15.7 points, 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds as a junior…A second Oak Hill standout, 6-0 senior guard Lamont Jones, has given a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech…Wolfson (Jacksonville, Fla.) junior Aaron Bowen (6-5) has made a pledge to Marquette.
* In Alabama, Mike Robertson collected 30 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks and four steals as Midfield crushed Oak Grove, 104-31…Garner (N.C.) coach Eddie Gray posted his 300th victory as Middle Creek fell, 72-62. Gray has coached the likes of David West of the New Orleans Hornets and Donald Williams, who was the Final Four MVP while playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels…Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) has hired former NBA player Duane Cooper as its interim basketball coach to replace Russell Otis, who is on paid administrative leave.
* On the girls side, Enloe (Raleigh, N.C.) senior Shala Hodges exploded for 50 points during an 81-71 victory over Southeast Raleigh. The 5-8 standout drilled 15-of-20 shots from the field and is averaging 27.3 points per game…In Tennessee, Monica Miller fired in a 25-footer as time expired to give Lausanne a 59-56 victory over Houston and extend its winning streak to 19 games. Houston’s Sarah Watkins, an Arkansas signee, took game honors with 39 points.
* Turning to Illinois, Michelle Tinajero set school records with 39 points and nine 3-pointers as Elmwood Park rolled past Earlville, 69-37…In another Illinois game, Tinley Park routed CICS-Longwood, 63-27, behind Sarah Fencl’s career-high 41 points…Former NBA guard Dwayne “Pearl” Washington has been hired as the girls basketball coach at Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.)…The University of North Carolina has landed one of the top guards in the country, 6-0 Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists last year for T.C. Williams (Alexandria, Va.).
Volleyball Notes
* Jenison (65-6) defeated Bloomfield Hills Marian, 29-27, 25-21, 25-19, to win its second consecutive Michigan Class A state championship. Six-foot senior outside hitter Megan Hendrickson – runner-up for the state’s Miss Volleyball honors – dominated with 17 kills. Abigail Lovell had 35 assists and 13 kills for Marian. In the semifinals, Hendrickson had 20 kills in a semifinal victory over Livonia Churchill…Miss Volleyball honors went to North Branch senior Olivia Kohler in the closest vote (151-142) during the award’s seven-year history. Though only 5-feet-4, Kohler has a 33-inch vertical jump. She also has a 4.053 GPA and is on track to become class valedictorian.
* Moving to Texas, Amarillo (48-3) rallied to defeat Austin Westlake for the second consecutive year (19-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 15-11) to win a record third straight Class 5A state championship. MVP Aryn Bohannon paced the champs with 14 kills and 13 digs. Sara Shaw, a 6-1 junior, led Westlake (40-8) with 27 kills and 17 digs, while Abby Howden added 20 kills and setter Elly Barrett had 54 assists…Ellicott City Centennial (20-0) defeated Towson, 26-24, 25-18, 25-21, to win Maryland’s Class 3A state title and a state-record 14th overall championship.
* Santa Margarita outlasted perennial national power Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 23-21, to win California’s Division I-AA Southern Section championship. Kylie Hargreaves lit the spark with 21 kills. Natalie Hamill contributed 41 assists and sophomore Samantha Tinsley added 17 kills. For the losers, 6-4 junior Falyn Fonoimoana showed why she is an All-American with a dominating 39 kills.
* A legendary coach has retired in Nebraska. Myron Oehlerking, the only coach in Lincoln East history, is leaving his post with a state-record 793 victories and six state championships during his 37-year tenure. The 75-year-old Nebraska Hall of Famer has overcome two knee replacements, a heart valve replacement and bypass surgery. “Myron is one of the main reasons why volleyball is played at such a high level in Nebraska,” Papillion-La Vista coach J.J. Toczek told the Lincoln Journal Star. “He’s an icon who will go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time here.”…Illinois lost a very successful coach when Kathy Wuller – the 2005 Coach of the Year – resigned from Belleville Althoff with a 13-year record of 394-101.
Soccer Notes
* In Massachusetts, Minnechaug handed Acton-Boxboro its first loss in 48 games, 1-0. In the MIAA Division I championship contest…Minnechaug has yielded just six goals this year. Acton-Boxboro had scored 87 goals entering the game…After 27 years, Jay Brady has stepped down as coach at Essex (Vt.) His record was 269-119-54 with three Division I state titles…In Florida, Miami Country Day coach Jeff Watson posted his 400th career victory, 6-1, against Miami Christian.
* A Wisconsin sophomore, Mitch Arnold of Fort Atkinson, was inspired by a talk he heard at his church in 2006 and the result is rather mind boggling. He learned that children in Haiti had to make soccer balls out of such items as rocks, plastic bottles and garbage. The result is that since then he has sent 3,362 soccer balls and 720 pieces of soccer equipment to a total of 20 countries. He first applied for a $500 Do Something Grant, but most of the estimated $8,000 cost has come from his own earnings. On April 18, 2007 he was named National Point of Light, signed by President George Bush. MaxPreps salutes Mitch for his wonderful work.
* A Utah girls team, Provo Timpview, is going to take a goodwill trip to Africa for two weeks in June, 2009. The Thunderbirds will be taking part in a charitable program called Goals for Girls 2009: Project Uganda, which is sponsored by Provo-based HELP International. They will promote health and education through soccer and stage an exhibition game. Each player must raise $5,000 to make the trip.
Cross Country Notes
* The final regional qualifications for the Nike Team Nationals (Dec. 6 in Portland, Ore.) were held over the weekend. The South Regional was dominated by Texas host The Woodlands, which won the boys (71 points) and girls (70 points) races. Reed Connor led the boys with a course-record clocking of 14:57. The girls champion was Greenhill (Texas) sophomore Chelsey Sveinsson, who was timed in 17:11, six seconds ahead of The Woodlands star Sarah Andrews.
Albuquerque Academy (N.M.) won the boys race with 156 points during the exciting Southwest Regional at Tempe, Ariz. Colorado standout Dart Schwaderer of Wheat Ridge captured individual honors in a time of 15:15. One second back was Jon Nelson of Timpview (Provo, Utah). In the girls division, Fort Collins (Colo.) claimed the team title with 61 points, while individual honors were taken by Laura Tremblay, Thompson Valley (Loveland, Colo.), in 17:41 – a mere 0.03 of a second ahead of Arizona standout Jessica Tonn (Xavier Prep).
* Defending Foot Locker national girls champion Ashley Brasovan (Wellington) became only the third runner in Florida history to win the state cross country title four times. She ran away with the Class 4A crown in 17:03 at Dade City. Later Kayla Hale of Holy Trinity Academy became the fourth runner in history to win four straight when she dominated Class A in 17:45.
Swimming Notes
* An awesome double dual meet took place last week in Tennessee with Chattanooga Baylor defeating Johnson City Science Hill’s boys, 210-105, and its girls, 232-80. Baylor set 12 national independent school records – seven individual and five relays – for a short course meter meet. Auburn University recruit Kyle Owens of Science Hill set national public school records in the 200 individual medley (2:02.56) and the 100 backstroke (53.94).
* In Minnesota, Stillwater’s girls won the Class AA state title for the third time in the last four years. Sophomore sensation Hannah Bowen led the way with state records in the 50-yard freestyle (22.73) and 100-yard freestyle (49.78). Stillwater coach Brian Luke predicted, “Bowen’s mailbox will be full (of college offers) over the next two years.” The Class A star was Hutchinson’s Audrey Kumm, who set state records in the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.14) and the 100-yard butterfly (55.73).
Potpourri
* Samantha Shapiro (Los Angeles, Calif.) won a pair of gold medals during the Pan American Gymnastics Union Individual Event Championships in Rosario, Argentina. The USA star placed first on the uneven bars with a score of 15.425 and the balance beam with a score of 15.775. Corrie Lothrop (Gaithersburg, Md.) won gold on vault with a score of 14.375. Olivia Courtney (Boone, Orlando, Fla.) claimed gold in floor exercise with a score of 15.175. In boys competition, Danell Leyva (Miami, Fla.) won the horizontal bars with a score of 15.775.
* Three-time Texas state champion pole vaulter Shade Weygandt of Mansfield has made a commitment to Texas Tech…Pennsylvania tennis star Alison Riske (Peters Township) has signed with Vanderbilt. She earned a U.S. Open berth by winning the USTA National Collegiate Clay Court title in 2007 in Pittsburgh…Penn-Trafford wrestler Shane Young, who was 44-0 last year and won the Pennsylvania Class AAA state title at 112 pounds, has signed with West Virginia.
