National Highlight Reel: Kentucky football freshmen post big numbers

They may only be freshmen in their first varsity football season, but Elijah Sindelar and Jaylen Boyd already have made major impacts in just two games for Caldwell County (Princeton, Ky.).

They were explosive in their debut, a spectacular school-record 80-62 victory over Calloway County (Murray, Ky.).

Sindelar, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound quarterback, completed 19 of 25 passes for 552 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. Boyd, a 5-8, 165-pounder, rushed 24 times for 288 yards and scored eight touchdowns. Tez Sivils had seven catches for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

Calloway County quarterback Tyler Greer held his own by completing 30 of 52 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns, while also running 16 times for 82 yards and another four touchdowns.



In their second outing, the Tigers defeated Union County (Morganfield, Ky.), 34-12. Sindelar completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown, while Boyd ran 18 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He returned a kickoff 82 yards for a third touchdown.

Coach David Barnes told MaxPreps, "Nobody expected that type of output. Both are pretty mature and pretty athletic kids who responded well. Our offensive line did a very good job (in the opener), which gave our quarterback time. He did a good job of finding the holes."

Sindelar is an outstanding three-sport athlete, having led the varsity baseball team in hitting as an eighth grader and also starting in basketball during the second half of the year. Boyd plays just football.

The Tigers run the popular no-huddle spread offense that strikes quickly and from any distance. In the 80-point explosion, they had the ball for less than 17 minutes and needed just 55 offensive plays. In the second outing, Barnes explained that Union County slowed everything down and played a possession game.

Caldwell County is a Class 2A school with 625 students in grades 9-12.

Barnes said the Tigers have not had a Division I player in the past six years. Sindelar and Boyd hope to reverse that trend by the time they are seniors.



* Washington (South Bend, Ind.) senior wide receiver Gehrig Deiter is for real. After setting an Indiana state record with 373 yards in receptions, the 6-3, 210-pounder followed up with 11 catches for 346 yards and three touchdowns during a 40-21 victory over Michigan City (Ind.).

* Heralded freshman quarterback David Sills completed 17 of 21 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns as rising power Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) crushed Ursuline (Youngstown, Ohio), 54-18. The Lions forced four turnovers and blocked two punts to end three-time defending state champion Ursuline's 21-game winning streak.

* Hunter Thornton (6-2, 220) boomed a punt a school-record 74 yards as Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) suffered a 14-3 loss to Stephenson (Stone Mountain, Ga.).

* In his first start at quarterback, 6-4 junior Blake Gimbel passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns as Marshalltown (Iowa) whipped Roosevelt (Des Moines, Iowa), 52-13.

* Knoxville Christian (Tenn.) routed Lexington Christian (Lexington, Ky.), 50-7, as 6-foot, 176-pound junior Charlie High passed for 380 yards and five touchdowns in little more than one half.

* J.J. Howald had a magnificent all-around game as Pike Central (Petersburg, Ind.) broke a 27-game losing streak with a 56-21 victory over Princeton (Ind.). The 6-foot, 170-pound senior completed 11 of 16 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns, ran 23 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns and had three kick returns for 110 yards. In addition, he had an interception, forced a fumble and made five tackles.



* Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) set a Class 5A Division I state record by defeating Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), 17-7, for its 41st consecutive victory. The record of 40 was held by Mountain View (Mesa, Ariz.).

* University of North Carolina recruit Damien Washington scored on a reception of 80 yards and runs of 64, 61 and 57 yards – all in the first quarter – as A.L. Brown (Kannapolis, N.C.) routed South Rowan (China Grove, N.C.), 63-12.

* Senior Tim Shenk kicked a school-record 55-yard field goal as St. Ignatius (Cleveland) defeated Cody (Detroit), 40-20.

* Junior Kenny Hill completed 32 of 44 passes for 402 yards and four touchdowns and ran nine yards for the winning score as Carroll (Southlake, Texas) edged Copperas Cove (Texas), 38-31, before a crowd of 8,000. The son of former Texas Rangers pitcher Ken Hill appears to be the next great quarterback at Carroll, which has produced the likes of Riley Dodge, Greg McElroy and Chase Daniel in recent years.

* Arlington (Texas) outlasted East (Plano, Texas), 49-42. Josh Greer passed for 439 yards and four touchdowns, including the winner in overtime.

* James H. Niswander kicked three field goals – including a 53-yarder – to spark Woodridge (Peninsula, Ohio) to a 16-13 victory over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio).



* Though zeroing in on national passing records, Kenton (Ohio) senior quarterback Maty Mauk proved he can run, too, during a 24-17 victory over Coldwater (Ohio). He did complete 32 of 38 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown, but he also ran 38 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns – including the winner from two yards with 3:07 left.

* Senior Daje Johnson ran for 377 yards and two touchdowns to lead Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas) past Vista Ridge (Cedar Park, Texas), 28-26.

* Oxford (Mich.) celebrated the installation of its unusual blue turf with a 41-20 victory over defending Division I state champion Lake Orion (Mich.) before a crowd of 10,000.

* Royal Oak (Mich.) snapped a 28-game losing streak with a 21-20 victory over Lake Shore (St. Clair Shores, Mich.).

* Senior quarterback Zach Deutel passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as Brooke Point (Stafford, Va.) defeated Osbourn (Manassas, Va.), 54-21.

* Daleville (Ala.) senior Brandon Burks ran for 411 yards on 26 carries and scored seven touchdowns during a 53-23 rout of Bullock County (Union Springs, Ala.). It marked the first time since 2008 that an Alabama runner has reached 400 yards.



* Geraldine (Ala.) junior Michael Davis tied a state record by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns (94 and 91 yards) during a 41-21 victory over Randolph (Huntsville, Ala.).

* With the temperature reaching 108 degrees on Friday night in Arizona, many games were allowed to start a half hour or hour later than normal.

* Senior quarterback Kyle Tack passed for six touchdowns, rushed for one and returned an interception for an eighth score to spark Merrill (Mich.) to a 70-24 rout of Bridgeport (Mich.). He also led his team with nine tackles.

* Washington (Mo.) junior quarterback Luke Hasenjaeger (5-10, 160) passed for 416 yards and five touchdowns and ran for a sixth score during a 50-42 loss to East (Fort Zumwalt, Mo.).

* Kinkaid (Houston) quarterback Ford Childress, who has pledged to the University of West Virginia, passed for 354 yards and seven touchdowns during a 63-14 rout of Anahuac (Texas).

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}U.S. UNDER-16 BASEBALL WINS GOLD
The U.S. Under-16 baseball team blanked Cuba, 9-0, to win the gold medal during the IBAF World AA/16U Youth Championships in Lagos De Moreno, Mexico. The Under-16 team now has won six consecutive international tournaments.



Keegan Thompson, a 6-2, 175-pound junior from Cullman (Ala.), pitched a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts and also went 4-for-5 at the plate.

MVP honors went to Zack Collins, a 6-2, 200-pound junior catcher from Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.). Bryson Brigman had the top batting average (.594) and Austin Meadows drove in 25 runs during the tourney.

An 8-6 loss to Japan in 10 innings had ended the U.S. streak of 45 straight wins in international competition. In another 10-inning game, the Americans outlasted Venezuela, 18-17.

* The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association will lose a pioneer next summer when executive director Bill Jones will retire. Jones, along with coaches Ken Schreiber (LaPorte, Ind.) and Jim Reinebold of Clay (South Bend, Ind.), founded the organization in 1971 and it long has been a model to coaches around the country. Jones also was an outstanding baseball coach, having guided DeKalb (Auburn, Ind.) to the state title in 1980. He completed his career with a record of 1,177-429.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}TWINS MAYA AND MALINA HOOD CHOOSE TO STAY HOME
Five-foot-11 senior twins Maya Hood and Malina Hood have made commitments to the University of San Diego, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Maya averaged 18.5 points and 11.9 rebounds last year for La Jolla Country Day (Calif.). Malina averaged 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds.

* Princeton University has received a commitment from 6-2 senior Alex Wheatley, according to Bluestarbb.com. Wheatley averaged 20.1 points, 15 rebounds, 3.8 steals and shot .503 from the field last year for Council Rock South (Holland, Pa.).



Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}LAKE TRAVIS VOLLEYBALL WINS PEARLAND TITLE
Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) defeated College Park (The Woodlands, Texas), 25-22, 25-18, to win the prestigious Pearland Volleyball Classic. College Park senior attacker Kaite Mitchell, who had 12 kills, was named MVP.
The defending Class 4A state champs have yet to lose a set while winning their first 26 matches. In the quarterfinals, Lake Travis – ranked No. 4 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 – easily defeated No. 3 Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 25-12, 25-13.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}EVAN PINION WINS 2 GOLDS AT FINA SWIM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.) junior Evan Pinion won a pair of gold medals during the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru. He set meet records, too, by capturing the 800-meter freestyle in 7 minutes, 55.92 seconds, and the 1,500 freestyle in 15:11.03. He also placed third in the 400 freestyle in 3:51.47.

* Three-time Central Florida Swimmer of the Year Chelsea Britt has transferred from Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.) to Boone (Orlando, Fla.) for her junior year, according to the Orlando Sentinel. She has won the Class 1A state title three times in the 100-meter butterfly.