Korbin Johnston of
Kenton (Ohio) had one of the more explosive offensive outings of the 2023 high school football season in a 38-34 win over Bath, including a game-winning 55-yard touchdown pass as time expired (see in the video).
But huge offensive outings have become commonplace at Kenton, which has been home to some of the most prolific quarterbacks in history. Brothers Maty Mauk (18,932 passing yards, 22,681 total yards) and Ben Mauk (17,364 and 19,628) rank No. 1 and 2 all-time in career passing yardage and No. 1 and 3 in career total yardage.
And that's what makes Johnston's effort so impressive. He had 470 yards passing and 208 yards rushing in the win over Bath, giving him 678 yards of total offense in the contest. Neither of the Mauk brothers ever had a single game total offense yardage performance like that.
Johnston's mark ranks second all-time at the school behind Blane Huston, who had 713 yards in 2019. Johnston's mark also ranks third all-time in state history.
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If
Hunter Babb of
Caruthers (Calif.) were a stock, he would be a very hot commodity trending upward. Just take a look at the weekly rushing totals for the national leader.
In his first game, Babb rushed for 161 yards in a loss to Coalinga. He then gained 286 yards in a loss to San Luis Obispo. In two straight wins, Babb gained 364 yards against Firebaugh and 440 yards against Riverdale. Babb has 1,251 yards for the season and holds the national lead by nearly 170 yards.
Also trending upward are the Blue Raiders' point totals. After scoring 21 and then 28 points in their first two losses, Caruthers has scored 46 and 79 points in its last two wins.
While Babb's upwardly mobile rushing yardage totals don't fit any record book categories, they are definitely a statistical curiosity. The question now is whether or not he can continue the pace. Carruthers faces a Liberty (Madera) team that went 10-1 last year and is off to a 2-1 start.
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Westlake (Austin, Texas) is creeping up on an unfathomable milestone but they will have to get past traditional rival Lake Travis (Austin) unscathed in order to keep the streak alive.
The Chaparrals are closing in on 600 straight games without being shutout, needing just eight more games to accomplish the feat. Westlake started the season with 592 in a row and have had no trouble scoring in their first three games while averaging 47 points per contest.
Westlake meets a Lake Travis team that is also 3-0 and has allowed 40 points in the three games.
Senior quarterback Paxton Land has helped the Westlake offense continue to pile up points so far this season, posting totals of 31, 47 and 64 in three wins. (Photo: Ralph Parrott)
It's hard to put into context Westlake's dominance in this record category since it's such a unique achievement. Consider, however, that the next closest team is believed to be
Lufkin (Texas) with 380 consecutive games scoring. Westlake's total is 55 percent higher than Lufkin.
Take the 151-game win streak of
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.). That total is only 38 percent higher than
Independence (Charlotte, N.C.), which is No. 2 on the consecutive wins list with 109 straight.
Or consider some other seemingly unreachable records in the world of sports. Cy Young's 511 career baseball wins is only 22 percent higher than No. 2 Walter Johnson with 417. Nolan Ryan's 5,714 career strikeouts are only 17 percent more than No. 2 Randy Johnson with 4,875.
The best comparison might be Wayne Gretzky's career assist total. With 1,963 career assists, the Great One easily outdistances Ron Francis (1,249) by 57 percent.
Even if Westlake were to be shut out by Lake Travis this week, it would take approximately 17 years for Lufkin to break Westlake's record.
However, with a record of 89-5 over the past six seasons, it looks like Westlake might continue to put its one-of-a-kind record even further out of reach.
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When Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak ended with a hitless game against the Cleveland Indians, he started another streak that lasted 16 games, giving him a hit in 72 out of 73 games. So what would that look like with regard to high school football win streaks?
Aforementioned De La Salle would still be on top as it had a 34-game win streak before losing to Pittsburg in the North Coast Section 3A championships in 1991. The Spartans then embarked on their incredible 151-game streak that lasted nearly 15 years.
Here's what a top 10 list would like like for best record with one loss:
1. De La Salle, 185-1 (34-1-151)
2. Independence, 117-1 (109-1-8)
3.
Maryville (Tenn.), 113-1 (39-1-74)
4.
South Panola (Batesville, Miss.), 103-1 (14-1-89)
5.
Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.), 95-1 (31-1-64)
6.
Ithaca (Mich.), 94-1 (69-1-25)
7.
Smith Center (Kan.), 83-1 (4-1-79)
8.
Hudson (Mich.), 82-1 (71-1-10)
8.
Kimberly (Wis.), 82-1 (70-1-12)
8.
Caledonia (Minn.), 82-1 (12-1-70)
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Aleyna Quinn of
Castle (Newburgh, Ind.) made good on her first field goal attempt of the season and it ranks as one of the longest in high school history by a female player. Her 42-yard kick in a 52-42 win over Bosse (Evansville) ranks as the fourth-longest ever with the longest being 48 yards.
So far this year, Quinn has made 9 of 10 extra points to go with the field goal. Also impressive are her eight touchbacks on kickoffs.
