Top 10 most memorable football games of the MaxPreps era

MaxPreps is celebrating its 10th anniversary this summer. In recognition of a decade as America's source for high school sports, we will look back at the top teams, athletes, games and moments of the MaxPreps era over the next month.

Today's list is the Top 10 Most Memorable Football Game. The 10 contests listed feature state championship games, streak-breaking contests and wild statistical shootouts, not to mention the longest game in high school football history.

Top 10 most memorable football games of the MaxPreps era

10. Meridian (Miss.) 26, South Panola (Batesville, Miss.) 20 in 2008



The third-longest high school win streak of all time came to an end on Dec. 7, 2008 in the Mississippi Class 6A state championship game. South Panola, winner of 89 straight games, lost in its bid for a sixth-straight state championship when it fell to Meridian in overtime, 26-20.

After the teams finished deadlocked at 20 in regulation, Meridian (14-1) took the upper hand in the overtime period. Tyler Russell, who completed 21 of 36 passes for 243 yards, threw a 7-yard pass to Chris Smith on the first play to set up James Barnett a 3-yard touchdown by James Barnett.



[MaxPreps Story]

Sophomore defensive end Jacoby Eason proved to be the hero for Meridian during South Panola's possession as he sacked quarterback David Renfroe on third and fourth downs to end the game.

Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation, but missed kicks kept the game tied. South Panola tied the game at 20 with 7:29 remaining on Renfroe's 4-yard pass to Taylor Rotenberry, but Renfroe missed the extra point kick for the lead. Meridian had a 30-yard field goal try by Jet Miller push wide with 10 seconds remaining in the game.

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9. Pearland (Texas) 28, Trinity (Euless, Texas) 24 in 2010

Going up against the No. 1 team in the country, Pearland needed to reach into its bag of tricks to pull off an upset win over the Trinity Trojans.

Leading 14-10 in the third quarter in front of 43,321 fans at Cowboys Stadium, Pearland lined up at midfield for a second-down play. Prior to the snap, the offensive line stood up as if the play were dead. Instead, Pearland quick-snapped and quarterback Trey Anderson found Samuel Ukwuachu on a fade route down the right sideline for a 54-yard touchdown.

[MaxPreps Story]

The score put Pearland up 21-10 against a Trinity team that had won 28 straight games and had averaged 46 points a game in racking up a 15-0 record. The Trojans fought back, closing the gap to 21-17 on a 2-yard run by Terrence Tusan.
But Pearland, which finished the season 16-0, did not fold. The Oilers put together a 15-play, 67-yard march that culminated in a 2-yard run by Dustin Garrison, one of his three touchdowns on the day.



The state title was the first in school history for the Oilers and prevented Trinity from adding to its collection of championships that included titles in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

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8. Elder (Cincinnati) 41, Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) 34 in 2007



If there was one team that looked capable of threatening De La Salle's 151-game win streak, it was the Independence Patriots. Heading into the 2007 season, Independence had won 108 straight games and seven straight North Carolina 4A state titles. Along the way, quarterback Chris Leak had set numerous national career passing records and the Patriots beat teams by an average of 35 points per game.

But in 2007, the Patriots were scheduled to take part in the third-annual Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge with a matchup against a tough Elder team. The Panthers had played De La Salle the year before in the Herbstreit event and had lost 56-38 to the Spartans. Elder looked to be on its way to another big loss in 2007, trailing 27-14 to Independence at halftime.

[MaxPreps Story]

However, Elder outscored Independence 20-7 in the second half to force overtime. Eric Linneman intercepted a Patriot pass and returned it to the 1-yard line where Nick Gramke dove in for the score. After forcing an Independence punt, Elder drove 90 yards on 11 plays to score on a 10-yard pass from John Groene to future Notre Dame standout Kyle Rudolph and tie the game at 27-27.



Independence converted a pair of fourth-down plays on its ensuing drive and regained the lead on a 2-yard run by Rodney Chisholm. Elder responded with a 70-yard drive highlighted by a 36-yard fourth down catch by Rudolph. Gramke scored on a 1-yard run with 1:31 remaining to force overtime.

In the extra period, Groene threw 14 yards to Josh Jones for the go-ahead touchdown. Independence was unable to answer as Keith Hamburg intercepted Anthony Carruthers to end the game.

The teams combined for a ridiculous number of yards of offense with Grone completing 17 of 25 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Gramke added 130 yards on 27 carries and three scores. Carruthers, a sophomore, completed 25 of 37 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns.

The loss ended Independence's 109-game win streak (the Patriots defeated Olympic to start the 2007 season). The Patriots (13-3) went on to lose two more games that season, including a 28-17 loss to New Bern in the Class 4A state championship game. Elder finished the year 7-4, losing to St. Xavier in the first round of the Ohio Division I playoffs.

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7. Bellevue (Wash.) 39, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 20 in 2004

Bellevue's three-touchdown win over De La Salle in the first game of the 2004 season wouldn't necessarily fall into the category of great games if not for the magnitude of the win for the Wolverines. De La Salle, which had often traveled to take on big-time opponents such as Long Beach Poly, Mission Viejo and Saint Louis, made the trip to Washington with a 151-game win streak - easily the longest win streak in high school football history and possibly one of the greatest records in prep sports.

But the Spartans were simply no match for the homestanding Wolverines, who never had to punt and never had to attempt a pass in the win. Bellevue scored on its first seven possessions and did not allow a point to the Spartans in the second half. J.R. Hasty led the attack for Bellevue, rushing 30 times for 271 yards with scoring runs of 2, 9, 1 and 74 yards.



The loss was another jolt to the Spartans, who had suffered several leading up to the season. Longtime coach Bob Ladouceur suffered a heart attack following the 2003 season and former DLS standout Terrance Kelly had been gunned down in Richmond just one month prior to the Bellevue contest. Additionally, De La Salle returned just three starters and no major recruits from the 2003 team.

Bellevue certainly earned the win, however, as it went on to capture the Washington 3A state title in 2004 to complete a run of four straight state championships. Since 2001, the Wolverines have won nine crowns, including four in a row since 2008.

De La Salle has also rebounded nicely since the loss to Bellevue. Although the Spartans went 2-3-2 to start the 2004 season, they finished with six straight wins and a North Coast Section title. Since 2004, the Spartans are 89-8 with three state championships.

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6. Highland Park (Dallas) 41, Stephenville (Texas) 38 in 2005



In 2009, Matt Stafford was the No. 1 pick of the Detroit Lions in the NFL Draft. But in 2005, Stafford was a high school senior leading Highland Park to an eventual 4A state championship and a No. 3 overall national ranking by MaxPreps. In order to win that title, however, Stafford and his Highland Park team, 13-0 at the time, needed to get past Stephenville, also 13-0, in the 4A semifinals.

Highland Park grabbed a 27-17 halftime lead in front of a crowd of 21,423 fans. Stafford connected on touchdown passes for 44 and 70 yards to John Dickenson in the first half. Stephenville quarterback Jevan Snead kept pace with touchdown passes of 80 and 10 yards to Brent McElfresh. Stafford gave Highland Park a 34-23 lead on a 22-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-17 in the fourth quarter, but Stephenville stormed back with two touchdowns in the fourth to take a 38-34 lead. Snead scored on a 5-yard run and Dallas Neal scored on a 94-yard run with 8:07 left after Highland Park failed to convert on a fourth-down play at the Stephenville 6.



Stephenville appeared to ice the game on Cody Davis' interception with 4:12 left, but John Callahan intercepted Snead two plays later to give Stafford one more chance. He hit Holt Martin with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 37.7 seconds remaining to give Highland Park the 41-38 win. Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 336 yards while Snead completed 16 of 32 passes for 272 yards.

Stafford finished the year throwing for 4,018 yards and 38 touchdowns while earning Parade Magazine All-American honors. Snead also earned Parade Magazine All-American honors that season and finished with a 23-2 career record at Stephenville. He was considered a top QB prospect for the 2010 draft, but a poor final season at Ole Miss resulted in Snead going undrafted.

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5. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) 42, Bellarmine (San Jose, Calif.) 37 in 2011

Harry Welch is one of the more prolific coaches in California prep football history, winning 244 games and losing just 54 (with two ties) during his 38-year coaching career. Welch also has the unique distinction of winning three state championships with three different teams. He won a state crown with Canyon (Canyon Country) in 2006 and then moved to St. Margaret's and won a state title in 2008. Welch, who moved on to Santa Margarita in 2010, was going for his third state title against Bellarmine in 2011 in a game that proved to be the most exciting game in the short history of the CIF State Bowl Games.

The Eagles grabbed an early lead, but found themselves trailing 30-21 with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter of the California Division I state championship game. Johnny Stanton rallied the Eagles with three touchdowns in the final eight minutes for a 42-37 victory.

[MaxPreps Story]

First, Stanton got the Eagles within two points with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Connor O'Brien. Matt Andersen then set up Santa Maragrita's next score when he intercepted a Travis McHugh pass and ran it back 17 yards to the Bellarmine 1. Stanton crashed over from there to put the Eagles up 36-30 with 6:52 remaining.



Undaunted, Bellarmine drove for the go-ahead score, a 1-yard run by Justin Taliaferro, with 1:40 left in the contest.
Stanton marched Santa Margarita 80 yards in the final seconds, completing two passes for 49 yards and rushing for 22 more. He scored the final touchdown on a 1-yard run with 16 seconds remaining on fourth down.

Stanton completed 14 of 25 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 20 times for 69 yards and accounted for all six of the Eagles' touchdowns. McHugh was equally as impressive, rushing for 140 yards on 21 carries while completing 9 of 15 passes for 199 yards. The teams were nearly dead-even in yardage with Santa Margarita gaining 407 total yards and Bellarmine gaining 401.

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4. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 51, Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 37 in 2007



The arm of Mater Dei's Matt Barkley won out over the legs of Centennial's Ryan Bass in a regular-season thriller that saw the teams combine for more than 1,200 yards of total offense. Barkley, who went on to win Gatorade National Player of the Year honors, completed 21 of 32 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-clinching score on a 6-yard pass to Chais Pinesett with 5:07 left in the fourth quarter. Bass, meanwhile, rushed 44 times for 326 yards and four touchdowns, including a 65-yard run early in the fourth quarter that cut Mater Dei's lead to seven points, 44-37.

As big as Bass was for the Huskies, quarterback Matt Scott also had a huge night. He completed 11 of 25 passes for 178 yards and also ran 19 times for 177 yards. All total, Centennial had 503 yards on the ground to go with Scott's passing total. The Huskies had 681 yards of total offense.

[MaxPreps Story]



The Monarchs also piled up the yardage, gaining 256 yards on the ground behind Jaron Hytche's 126 yards and Robert Mojica's 132. According to stats posted on MaxPreps, the teams combined for 1,302 yards, although the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book lists the game total at 1,295 yards, which still set a state record.

The teams kept it close throughout. Centennial tied the game at 10 early in the second quarter, but Mater Dei took a 23-17 lead at halftime on a 7-yard run by Mojica. The teams exchanged the lead throughout the third period with Centennial taking the lead on a 12-yard run by Bass, only to relinquish it to the Monarchs on Hytche's 20-yard run. A 1-yard run by Bass put the Huskies in front again, but Hytche's 1-yard blast at the end of the third and another at the start of the fourth gave Mater Dei the lead for good.

Mater Dei ended the season at 9-2 and did not advance past the second round of the Southern Section playoffs. Centennial (13-2), meanwhile, did not lose again until the CIF Open Division Bowl Game, where it lost to De La Salle 37-31.

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3. Jenks (Okla.) 48, Union (Tulsa, Okla.) 44 in 2005



The Backyard Bowl is considered one of the best rivalries in the country and the 2005 matchup between the Jenks Trojans and the Union Redskins has gone down as one of the greatest games in Oklahoma history.

Trailing 37-20 in the fourth quarter, Jenks scored 28 points to come from behind and claim a 48-44 win over the top-ranked Redskins. Union opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard run by Renard Johnson, but that's when Jake Strain caught fire for Jenks.



Strain directed three scoring drives in the course of 2 minutes, 56 seconds to give Jenks the lead. First he found Brandon McLaurin for a 21-yard touchdown to cut the margin to 37-26. Then he threw to Stephen Campbell for a 19-yard touchdown to close the gap to four points, 37-33. Jenks then took a 40-37 lead on Chris Adkins' 15-yard touchdown run with 3:06 remaining.

Union came back to regain the lead at 44-40 on an 80-yard drive that included a fourth-and-13 conversion. Casey Whorton threw 10 yards to Kegon Beers for the go-ahead score with 34 seconds remaining.

Jenks had one final chance and made the most of it. This time Strain hooked up with Isaac Norman for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left for the winning score.

Strain completed only 5 of 8 passes for 124 yards in the game, but three of his passes went for touchdowns. Adkins rushed for 161 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns while Johnson gained 198 yards on 27 carries for Union. Whorton completed 13 of 26 passes for 177 yards and four touchdowns with Jake Borgsmiller catching 10 of those passes for 136 yards and two scores.

Jenks went on to a 9-2 record in 2005, losing to Sapulpa in the Class 6A playoffs. Union lost the game to Jenks, but won the state title with a 33-7 victory over Mustang. The Redskins finished 13-1 with the lone loss coming in the Backyard Brawl.

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2. East Poinsett County (Lepanto, Ark.) 73, Hughes (Ark.) 72 in 2006

Sometimes great games don't necessarily need great teams. Case in point is the 2006 matchup between East Poinsett County and Hughes. Both teams were winless entering this midseason contest: East Poinsett County was 0-6 while Hughes was 0-4.



Turns out, the contest produced one of the most thrilling individual performances in Arkansas prep history.

Hughes running back Kendric Smith rushed for 425 yards and scored nine touchdowns, including a 2-yard touchdown run in overtime after the game finished tied at 66 in regulation. Unfortunately for Hughes, the team had just 15 players and none of them could kick. A try for a 2-point conversion failed.

[Sports Illustrated Game of the Year]

East Poinsett County, led by quarterback Brett Hardin, scored on a 2-yard run and kicked the extra point for the one-point victory. Hardin finished with five touchdown passes in the win and had 835 all-purpose yards.

The contest was called the "Game of the Year" by Sports Illustrated for 2006. East Poinsett lost its final three games of the season and finished the year 1-9. The one-point loss was the closest game of the season for Hughes, which finished the year 0-9. Smith, who had touchdown runs of 13, 20, 28, 35, 40, 45, 52, 53 and 2 yards, was nominated for an ESPY Award for his performance in a losing cause.

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1. Jacksonville (Texas) 84, Nacogdoches (Texas) 81 in 2010

In the longest game in high school football history, Jacksonville defeated Nacogdoches on a 19-yard field goal in the 12th overtime of a game that didn't finish until 12:54 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2010.



[MaxPreps Story]

The contest beat the previous record book entrant for longest game by three overtime sessions. Southeast (Detroit) defeated Northeast (Detroit) in nine overtimes in 1977 while Bothell (Wash.) and Pasco (Wash.) tied that feat in 2006.

Despite the eventual high score, the teams were tied at just 28 at the end of regulation. Jacksonville and Nacogdoches each scored a touchdown in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh overtimes but failed to convert the extra point. Both teams scored a touchdown and a 2-point conversion in the eighth overtime and kicked a field goal in the ninth. Another touchdown for each team in the 11th overtime set up the 12th extra period.

Nacogdoches received the ball first in the 12th overtime and started at the Jacksonville 25. The Dragons moved the ball to the 7-yard line, but Jacksonville linebacker Londerick Taylor stripped the ball from the quarterback and Bryson Haywood recovered to end the scoring attempt.

Jacksonville went to the wildcat formation on its ensuing series and Tevin Garland motored 17 yards on the first play. The Indians moved the ball to the 2-yard line where sophomore kicker Rodrigo Carreon booted the 19-yard field goal for the win.

The teams combined for 1,327 yards of total offense, 725 for Nacogdoches and 602 for Jacksonville. Ryan Black completed 19 of 39 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns for Jacksonville while Jonathan Session rushed 40 times for 193 yards and three scores. For Nacogdoches, Damion Johnson ran 21 times for 255 yards and five touchdowns and receiver Arsenio Hall had 11 catches for 158 yards and a score.



Jacksonville finished the season 7-4, losing to Sulphur Springs 56-52. Nacogdoches lost the following week to Hallsville to finish 3-7 on the season.