Eight-man football has been making national headlines this fall, perhaps more than ever before.
On Thursday morning, senior quarterback Kyle Koch completed one of the most incredible football seasons at any level while leading Calvary Christian (Meridian, Miss.) to a 72-42 rout of Tensas Academy (Saint Joseph, La.) to win its second consecutive Mississippi Association of Independent Schools state championship.
The 5-foot-10, 160-pound dynamo completed 21 of 31 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran 15 times for 190 yards and another five touchdowns.
He came oh-so-close to amassing 2,000 rushing and 3,000 passing yards in a single season. His final totals were 168 of 258 passing for 3,093 yards and 51 touchdowns and 125 carries for 1,979 yards and 29 touchdowns. He threw only two interceptions as the Cougars posted a 10-1 record.
Koch’s total of 5,072 yards easily erased the national record of 4,519 by Patrick Green of Wallowa (Ore.) in 2005.
As a junior he passed for 2,261 yards and rushed for 1,423 yards while accounting for 61 touchdowns.
Coach Kirby Newell says Koch “is blessed with extremely quick feet that get him out of trouble. He has great open-field moves. He will be a great receiver at the next level. In my 30 years of football, he’s the most accurate passer (nine interceptions in two years) that I’ve ever been around.
“We run a spread (offense) with four wide out of a shotgun. What makes him really special is that he’s a student of the game. We call everything at the line of scrimmage. I instituted the offense, but this kid has taken it and run with it. I’ve got a coach back there at quarterback.”
Newell concedes that his star’s records don’t “hold as much merit (as if he did it in 11-man competition). But here’s the plus side. A small school allows people an alternative education and kids the opportunity to compete and still have a program. Most of the time on a regulation field, it gives faster teams an opportunity to compete with bigger teams.”
Collin Keoshian
Photo by Darcy Brown
Brigham Young University coaches were asked to check out a YouTube video showing a running back from an 8-man team hurdling an opponent (who was standing straight up) and on another occasion body-slamming a foe on defense.
BYU, which never before had recruited an 8-man player, soon placed a call to Santa Clarita Christian (Canyon Country, Calif.) and in no time its standout running back/linebacker, Collin Keoshian, was offered a full ride. He accepted and intends to honor the commitment at signing time.
Keoshian, however, is no average 8-man player. He is a powerful 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior who bench presses 355 pounds. He easily could have transferred to a local powerhouse, but chose to stay at the small school he has attended since kindergarten.
Directing a rare single-wing attack, Keoshian has rushed for 1,042 yards and 21 touchdowns while passing for 213 yards and four touchdowns. He also has made 57 tackles. He has played in just six games due to injuries, but is 100 percent healthy entering Saturday’s CIF Southern Section 8-man Division I playoffs.
As a junior he rushed for 2,226 yards and passed for 408 yards while accounting for 37 touchdowns. He also made 169 tackles. His sophomore year was even better: 2,253 rushing, 578 passing and 38 touchdowns. In addition, he led the state with 184 tackles.
Keoshian holds six single-season and six career school records.
Coach Garrick Moss says Keoshian’s greatest asset is “his desire. When the game is on the line - or it’s fourth and eight in crucial situations – he wants the ball. He has great determination and desire to succeed. He loves to compete. He’s really strong and very explosive. He has an unbelievable stiff arm – he can lay people on their backs.
“He loves to fly to the ball (on defense). He’ll go through blocks. His instincts set him apart. He also loves watching film.
“He’s one of the nicest kids I’ve ever met. His relationship with God is first. He’s a role model to a lot of younger kids on campus.”
Everything considered, Keoshian projects somewhat of a Tim Tebow image.
Moss has had a couple other players who reached Division I in college, but they transferred to a bigger high school after their freshman year.
The most famous 8-man player probably is Rashaan Salaam, a running back who starred at Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.), earned a scholarship to the University of Colorado and won the Heisman Trophy in 1994.
Keoshian is a straight-A student and hopes to get major playing time at BYU as a freshman. The only question is will it be at running back or linebacker?
Shattuck streak at 92
Earlier this season, Shattuck, Okla., shattered the national 8-man record for consecutive victories and since has raised the mark to 92 with playoffs just ahead.
The Indians recorded their record 91st with a 40-14 rout of Goodwell. That surpassed the record of 90 held by another Oklahoma team, Morrison.
Coach Troy Bullard calls the record “huge for the town of Shattuck (population 1,200). I looked at it as another game, but it was a chance to close off the pressure of the streak. We had two TV stations and four or five newspapers there that night.”
The Indians, who start just three seniors on offense and four on defense, have played the entire season without injured quarterback Cade Young. Still, the 22-player squad has thrived running an option attack with a lot of quick traps.
Three-year, two-way starters Brent Starbuck (5-8, 170) and Mitch Henson (6-1, 180) have led the way.
Though the pressure of the win streak has subsided, the Indians have another hurdle facing them in the state playoffs. They have won the state title six years in a row. If they win No. 7, they will tie Morrison’s national record for consecutive state titles.
Bullard, who has a 111-5 record in nine years, emphasizes, “We’re not going to change anything we do. They’re still hungry.”
