Ohio QB just misses national record with 9 passing TDs

Canton South (Ohio) senior quarterback Jared May just missed tying the national record by firing an incredible nine touchdown passes Friday night during a 62-14 rout of East Palestine (Ohio).

The National High School Record Book lists five players who share the record of 10. May, who tied the Ohio record, is the 12th player to throw nine scoring strikes in a single outing.

"I was pretty shocked – I just couldn't believe it," May told MaxPreps. "I never in a million years ever thought that I would be up there close to all those other great players. I sat out most of the fourth quarter and I don't think I threw a pass."

What makes the record most remarkable is that the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder had thrown just three touchdowns in his first two games combined. His career high was four at the end of his junior year.

However, there is at least a partial explanation, because Coach Moe Daniska noted that his receivers dropped 12 passes in the first game and 14 in the second game.

"They were ones that hit guys in the chest or hands," Daniska emphasized. "We finally clicked last week."

May admitted that after watching 26 dropped passes in the first two games, "It got pretty frustrating. They would always tell me to keep coming their way."

The Wildcats are not big but they are quick and athletic. Six-foot-four Eric Thompkins and 5-8 Chantler Jenkins, both 155-pound seniors, each snared three touchdown passes.

"He's a 4.0 student and a really smart kid," Daniska said of May. "We went to a five-wide this year because of him and we thought we had the receivers to do it. He's done a fantastic job. He makes all of our audibles (no huddle) based on the defense. I wish we had him for another year."

Last year May started part-time at quarterback because he had to fill a void at strong safety. This year, however, it's full speed ahead, because he's been throwing on 95 percent of the plays.

Also a fine baseball catcher, he had no thoughts of playing college football. Academics always loomed large because of his "A" average and 29 ACT score. But now the possibility of an athletic scholarship exists as the team comes together with an explosive, showcase offense.

As the rest of the season unfolds, the talented teenager faces a whole new ball game because (1) he truly could earn a college scholarship and (2) he will be a marked man by opposing defenses for the first time in his budding career.

* Goose Creek (S.C.) outlasted Summerville (S.C.) 64-57 in a triple-overtime thriller Friday night before an estimated 7,000 fans. Virgil Smalls scored five touchdowns — including the winner. De'angelo Henderson scored five times for the losers. The teams combined for 1,232 yards.

* Grosse Ile (Mich.) junior quarterback Rob White completed 26 of 44 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns during a 75-58 loss to Jefferson (Monroe, Mich.). Wide receiver Jim Cameron caught 12 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns.

* Whitehouse (Texas) quarterback Hunter Taylor passed for 452 yards (29 of 36) and five touchdowns during a 40-39 loss to Sulphur Springs (Texas).

* Maty Mauk, the outstanding junior from Kenton (Ohio), completed 35 of 56 passes for 476 yards and seven touchdowns during a 54-14 rout of Shawnee (Lima, Ohio).

* Richardson (Texas) nipped Pearce (Richardson, Texas) 44-42 despite the efforts of Mac Morse, who completed 31 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns.

* Senior Dakota Darkis completed 14 of 18 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns as North College Hill (Cincinnati) rolled past Madeira (Cincinnati), 52-13.

* Taylor Kerr kicked a school-record 55-yard field goal to help Pike (Indianapolis) defeat Lawrence Central (Indianapolis), 37-14.

* Jacob Van Ginkel kicked field goals of 50, 50 and 45 yards as Upland (Calif.) defeated Miller (Fontana, Calif.), 21-16. He also had punts of 49 and 45 yards.

* Highly-touted eighth grade quarterback David Sills completed 10 of 14 passes for 162 yards in his varsity debut as Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) defeated Smyrna (Del.), 35-9. Already committed to the University of Southern California, Sills had no touchdown passes, but he also had no interceptions and two running backs gained more than 100 yards.

* Zeeland West (Mich.) defeated Byron Center (Mich.) 28-15 to hand John Shillito his 200th coaching victory.

CROSS COUNTRY: WALDEN BEATS WILLS
Two of the USA's premier cross country runners tangled Saturday during the 36th annual Mason (Ohio) Invitational.

Carmel (Ind.) junior Chris Walden enhanced his reputation greatly by winning the Division I race in a sizzling meet, course and school record of 14 minutes, 59.54 seconds. The previous meet and course record was 15:17 by Mason (Ohio) star Zach Wills, who was a distant runner-up in 15:27.42.

In the girls race, Carmel swept the top three spots behind junior Renee Wellman with a first-place time of 18:25. The Carmel girls and boys also both won the team titles.

VOLLEYBALL: COACHING MILESTONES
Sharon Zavala of Grand Island Central Catholic (Neb.) became the winningest volleyball coach in Nebraska history when she guided her team to three victories during a recent invitational. She has compiled a 795-146 record in 35 years, which includes eight state titles and eight runner-up finishes.

The previous record was 793 wins by former Lincoln East (Neb.) coach Myron Oehlerking.

* Karns (Knoxville, Tenn.) coach Kynette Williams recently posted her 400th career victory.

* Cindy Strauss picked up her 300th coaching victory in her 21st season at Braddock (Miami).

BASKETBALL: LOGIC LIKES IOWA
Case (Racine, Wis.) basketball star Samantha Logic has chosen the University of Iowa as her next destination according to the Racine Journal Times. The 5-9 senior guard also was heavily recruited by Marquette, Stanford and Vanderbilt following a great junior year during which she averaged 15.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 5.0 steals.

* The University of Notre Dame has received a commitment from one of Indiana's top juniors, Austin Burgett, according to the Indianapolis Star. The 6-8 standout averaged 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore at Avon (Ind.).

TENNIS: THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Mark Price was an outstanding professional basketball player for many years, but his daughter, Caroline Price, is making her name in the world of tennis.

Price, a senior from Duluth, Ga., defeated Zarah Razafimahatratra of Madagascar, 6-3, 6-3, during the U.S. Open Junior Tournament in New York. The 5-11 standout then bowed to the world's No. 1-ranked junior, Daria Gavrilova of Russia, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

Earlier in the summer, the 17-year-old Price won the prestigious USTA Girls 18 Clay Court Championship.

* The Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.) girls tennis team won its 275th consecutive match last week. The listed national record is 218 by Tucson (Ariz.) from 1959-73. Athletic director Rich Roy is contacting the sponsoring National Federation of State High School Associations this week.

GOLF: CHUNG WINS AJGA TITLE
Karen Chung, a 15-year-old sophomore from Livingston, N.J., shot 4-under-par 212 to win the prestigious AJGA Girls Championship for the second straight year in Greenville, S.C.