Sheldon Wilson rushed 26 times for 390 yards and four touchdown on Friday.
File photo courtesy of Wally Young
Senior running back
Sheldon Wilson is taking the
Anadarko (Okla.) Warriors to lofty height they never before had reached.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior broke two state records Friday night while leading the Warriors (14-0) to a decisive 32-7 victory over Berryhill (Tulsa, Okla.) in the Class 3A state semifinals. The victory earned Anadarko's first-ever appearance in the state finals.
Sheldon Wilson
Photo by Wally Young
Wilson rushed 26 times for 390 yards and four touchdowns, giving him single-season state records of 53 rushing touchdowns and 59 total touchdowns. The record of 51 rushing touchdowns had stood since 1996, while the standard of 58 total touchdowns had been in the books since 2002.
The Anadarko star, who runs 40 yards in 4.4 seconds, has a shot at a third record, too. He now has rushed for 7,521 yards during his career - not far from the state record of 7,656.
Coach Kent Jackson told MaxPreps that his star "is really the total package. He is extremely strong and can break tackles as well as out-run people. He's fast - always fast enough because nobody is able to catch him. He has loose ankles. It looks like he touches them to the ground every time he makes a cut.
"He never has missed a practice since seventh grade. We ask him to do a lot. I've had a lot of people say that he's the best back in the state - and that includes Barry Sanders."
* Standing in the way of any more Wilson records and hoping to crush Anadarko dreams of its first state title is
Cascia Hall (Tulsa, Okla.), which stunned No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten defending champion Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 14-7, with an outstanding defensive effort in the other Class 3A state semifinal Heritage Hall had averaged 53 points entering the semifinals.
Cascia Hall stopped highly-rated Barry J. Sanders at the goal line in the final minute to seal its huge victory.
Sanders, who was held to 101 yards on 18 carries, told the Oklahoman, "I do think the ball crossed the line and I think that's where instant replay would've been great."
However, his coach, Andy Bogert, who viewed the play from the pressbox, said, "Even if it was close, I don't think he got in. There wasn't any controversy there at all."
Anadarko and Cascia Hall will match 14-0 records for the Class 3A state title on either Friday or Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.
