Top 20 high school sports stories from 2012-13

With more than 25,000 high schools in the United States, playing more than 20 sports each, the potential for compelling stories over 365 days is great.

Narrowing them to the Top 20 is a monumental and imprecise task, but here's our best shot for the top stories of the 2012-13 high school sports year.

1. Derrick Henry would be king Overload right, 24 blast. That was the play call for Derrick Henry to secure a first down for Yulee (Fla.) High School early in the second quarter on Nov. 16, 2012.

Turned out, it was the call and the play that secured history.

For 59 years, hundreds of thousands of prep running backs from every corner of the country have tried to run down Sugarland, Texas legend Ken Hall and finally after the 1,257th carry of his high school career, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior manchild they call "Shocka" passed him.

In vintage Henry form, the Alabama recruit broke past two perfectly-positioned would be tacklers, stiff-armed another and sprinted the final 40 yards untouched completing a 52-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes, 16 seconds left in the second quarter that broke the national career rushing yardage record during a 41-26 Florida 4A first-round playoff win Friday night.

At 7:46 p.m., on a cool and breezy 50-degree night on the Northern tip of Florida, just outside of Jacksonville, 11 miles south of the Georgia border, 839 miles east of Sugarland, and once a stratosphere from reality, a new rushing king was crowned. Hall's magical landmark total of 11,232 yards set from 1950 to 1953 went poof.

When asked what went through his mind when he crossed the goal line, Henry, a thoughtful, humble sort, took a big giant sigh.

"It's over," said Henry after the game while surrounded by reporters, fans, friends and family. "I was happy to get it and to get a little rest. But I knew I had to get out there and help my teammates win a game."

That night, he carried the ball a Florida-record 57 times for 485 yards — 20 short of the state mark — and six touchdowns. He went on to carry 462 times for 4,261 yards and 55 touchdowns in 2012 — all state records — leading Yulee to a 9-4 record and into the 4A semifinals.

For his career, he carried 1,387 times for 12,122 yards and 153 yards. According to the NFHS record book, the carries and yards are national records. His rushing touchdowns rank fifth.

Henry's run for the record was not only compelling from historical perspective, but he helped little Yulee get on the national map. He represented his small town well not only on the field, but with his humble and gracious responses afterward.

"It means a lot, it really does," said Henry of breaking the record. "I feel privileged and blessed and thankful. I'm just glad to be a part of history. I think Ken Hall is in a league of his own. I'm just happy my name could be placed up with his."

Read full story