It was a great year for achievements in football, particularly in the state of Texas.
Many impressive milestones were achieved this past fall, especially in football. The following list includes our Top 10 choices:
Johnathan Gray set one of the many spectacular national records this season, as he grabbed the all-time rushing touchdowns mark.
Photo by Kyle Dantzler
senior running back
Johnathan Gray had perhaps the greatest performance when he finished his brilliant career with a national-record 205 rushing touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 202-pound University of Texas recruit eased past the previous standard of 204 by Michael Hart of
Onondaga (Nedrow, N.Y.) from 2000-2003.
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2. Maty Mauk shatters all-time passing records
Maty Mauk's spectacular passing career at Kenton erased national records his brother had set.
Photo by Scott Seighman
broke most of the national all-time passing records, many of them held by his older brother, Ben, who was his quarterback coach under their father, Mike, the past two years. The
Kenton (Ohio) superstar, who is headed for the University of Missouri, now holds national career records for most passing attempts (2,110), completions (1,353), yards (18,932) and touchdowns (219). The 6-2, 195-pounder also set a national record with a total offense of 22,681 yards.
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3. J.T. Curtis wins No. 500
J.T. Curtis put himself in elite company by winning his 500th career game. Only one other man can say he belongs to the 500-win club.
Photo courtesy of John Curtis Christian School
J.T. Curtis of
Curtis (River Ridge, La.) became only the second high school coach in history to win 500 games. Curtis, whose family owns the school, completed his 42nd campaign with another state championship and shows no signs of slowing down.
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4. Dorial Green-Beckham sets all-time receiving record
Dorial Green-Beckham is a serious contender for National Player of the Year after setting the national all-time receiving yards record.
Photo by Sam Soliday
of
Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.) upheld his ranking as the nation's No. 1 player by completing his career with a national-record total of 6,356 receiving yards. The 6-6, 225-pound wide receiver, who still has not chosen a college, has been compared favorably to NFL great Randy Moss.
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5. Cole Hedlund sets national field goals record
Cole Hedlund will have two more seasons to beat his single-season field goal record.
Photo by Bruce Crockett
Though he's only a sophomore,
Cole Hedlund of
Argyle (Texas) set a national record by kicking 25 field goals this fall. Three players had shared the previous record of 22. The 5-9, 160-pounder has extreme accuracy, converting 25 of 30 field goal tries and 73 of 75 extra point attempts.
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6. Refugio ranks No. 2 in points scored
Quarterback Travis Quintanilla led the Refugio"NASCAR package" that set the No. 2 mark forpoints in a season.
Photo courtesy of Jason Herring
Stepping up in the team category,
Refugio (Texas) scored an incredible 891 points for a 59.4 average while posting a 15-0 record and winning the Class 2A state championship. The point total is second only to the national record of 903.
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7. Edward Cheserek wins every cross country race
Edward Cheserek completed one of the most dominant cross country seasons in history, setting course records at all but one race.
Photo courtesy of Mike Scanlon
He's just a junior, but Edward Cheserek of
St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) dominated the cross country scene like few before him by winning every race, including the prestigious Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego. The latter meet was the only one in which he did not set a course record. He could experience stardom on a world-wide stage some day soon.
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8. Rushel Shell rushes for 100 in 39 straight games
Rushel Shell's broke a rushing record that had stoodfor 36 years.
Photo by Jim Stout
Who could have been more consistent than
Rushel Shell of
Hopewell (Aliquippa, Pa.)? The 6-0, 215-pound University of Pittsburgh recruit rushed for at least 100 yards in 39 consecutive games to surpass a national record that had stood since 1975.
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9. Gehrig Dieter posts 447 receiving yards in one game
Gehrig Dieter burst onto the scene in a big way in 2011.
Courtesy photo
exploded onto the scene early in the fall when he amassed a national receiving record of 447 yards in a singe game. The 6-3, 210-pounder from
Washington (South Bend, Ind.) continued to set Indiana season and career records in several categories, even though being double- and triple-teamed most of the year.
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10. Tucker Israel passes for 10 touchdowns in a game
Tucker Israel's 10-touchdown performance set a high standard in just his freshman year.
Courtesy photo
set the bar extremely high during his freshman year at
Lake Nona (Orlando, Fla.). The 6-0, 180-pound quarterback tied the national record by firing an amazing 10 touchdown passes during a 68-10 victory over Celebration (Fla.). What will he do for an encore?
