Kentucky teams run wild in 85-52 football shootout

There were explosions galore Friday night in Lexington, Ky. It was comparable to having the Fourth of July in October.

The 85-52 football victory for Clay (Lexington, Ky.) over Tates Creek (Lexington, Ky.) could be even more accurately described as a track meet, because both teams boast speed to burn. The 137 points are believed to be an unofficial state record. Elden May of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association reported that the highest point total on record is 136 (South Floyd 78, Phelps 58).

The fireworks included these spectacular touchdowns:
* An 86-yard kickoff return by Clay’s Vinny Miller.
* A 51-yard interception return by Clay’s Jerry Williams.
* A 92-yard kickoff return by Tates Creek’s Jontez Jones.
* A 75-yard game-opening kickoff return by Tates Creek’s Martrell Berry.

The 85 points were the highest ever scored by the Blue Devils and kicker A.J. Yewell also set a school record by kicking all 11 extra point tries.

“It wasn’t a game we normally play,” Clay coach Sam Simpson told MaxPreps. “Both defenses did not play well and both kicking games were poor. It wasn’t pretty and I didn’t enjoy it as much. I’d rather it would have been 30 to nothing.”

The Blue Devils, who scored 54 and 70 points in their previous two outings, are loaded with track athletes, having won state titles last spring in the 4x400-meter relay and the open 400 races.

“It’s only been the last two weeks that we have had everybody on the field,” Simpson said, pointing out injuries and suspensions.

Miller, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior, recently came off a four-game suspension. Possibly the best junior athlete in Kentucky, Miller has been switched from wide receiver to quarterback with outstanding results. Friday night he ran for four touchdowns and passed for two.

“I’d put him (Miller) toe to toe with anybody,” Tates Creek coach Mike Harmon said admiringly. “He’s a legit 4.5 (for 40 yards) guy. He’s so quick and makes so many hard cuts. Every once in a while he slips because his feet just go out from under him.

“We knew coming in that they had tons of speed and would be hard to tackle. We had six starters out (injured) on defense, so we knew we had to keep scoring. If we hadn’t turned it over four times – I thought that was the difference in the game.”

* Esparto (Calif.) outlasted Quincy (Calif.), 66-60, in a five-overtime thriller. Brandon Kuehn ran for 147 yards and passed for 107, while Mike Evans ran for 158 yards. Nick McCoy made 15 tackles.

* Willie Snead IV passed for 359 yards, ran for 222 yards and made 12 tackles as Muskegon Heights (Mich.) edged Buchanan (Mich.), 41-38.

* Steel Valley (Munhall, Pa.) raced past Quaker Valley (Leetsdale, Pa.), 76-26, as Delrece Williams ran for 339 yards and eight touchdowns.

* Flower Mound (Texas) nipped Plano East (Texas), 52-50, on a 31-yard field goal by Aaron Stock with seven seconds left. Paul Millard passed for 444 yards and four touchdowns for the winners.

* Jerrard Randall tied the Broward County record when he passed for 432 yards (20 of 23) as Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) edged Archbishop Carroll (Miami), 42-41. Curt Evans had 301 receiving yards (11 catches) – just 23 yards short of the county record.

* Cooper (Burlington, Ky.) senior Dvontae Bradley (6-1, 205) ran 41 times for 410 yards during a 46-40 loss at Conner (Hebron, Ky.).

* Wesley Leonard of Fennville (Mich.) completed 21 of 29 passes for 484 yards and seven touchdowns during a 71-28 rout of Bloomingdale (Mich.).

* Monroe (Wash.) senior quarterback Joey Roppo completed 35 of 56 passes for a school-record 516 yards during a 63-31 loss to Marysville-Pilchuck (Wash.).

* Backup quarterback Mariah Provost (5-7, 140) proved that girls not only can kick, but they can score, too, when she scored a five-yard touchdown on a bootleg as Birdlebough (Phoenix, N.Y.) lost to Homer (N.Y.), 33-19. She also completed three of six passes for 79 yards and made two tackles at defensive end.

* Randy Ragsdale posted his 200th career coaching victory as Trinity Presbyterian (Montgomery, Ala.) defeated Montgomery Academy (Ala.), 41-7.

* Venice (Fla.) senior linebacker Clay Burton has switched his football commitment from Notre Dame to the University of Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder will be joining his brother, Trey Burton, a freshman quarterback at Florida.

GOLF: PARK, PAOLUCCI WIN AJGA HONORS
Kristen Park and Anthony Paolucci have been named Rolex Junior Players of the Year by the American Junior Golf Association.

Park, who is a senior at Sunny Hills (Fullerton, Calif.), earned the top girls honor by winning three major events during 2010, including the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Paolucci, a senior at La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), also won the Rolex Tournament of Champions and finished No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings.

GYMNASTICS: BROSS WINS 4 MEDALS
Rebecca Bross (Plano, Texas) won the balance beam silver medal during the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. She was awarded 15.233 points for her well-executed routine. Bross also earned bronze medals in all-around (58.966) and uneven bars (15.066) as the United States’ top performer. The USA women placed a close second to Russia in the team standings, giving Bross four medals.

* Bishop Ahr (Edison, N.J.) junior gymnast Kyla Vacchio is believed to have set an all-time state record with an amazing all-around score of 39.025 points while leading her team to the championship in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. Her individual event scores were 9.9 (Floor exercise), 9.75 (vault), 9.7 (balance beam) and 9.675 (uneven bars).

CROSS COUNTRY: MOUSSA TIES RECORD
Arcadia (Calif.) senior Ammar Moussa tied the course record with an outstanding time of 14 minutes, 24 seconds while winning the Team Sweepstakes boys race Saturday at Mt. Sac in Walnut, Calif. He also helped his team win with a meet-record total time of 75:16. That’s barely more than 15 minutes per runner for the nation’s top-ranked team.

The girls sweepstakes team title went to Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.), which edged La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) on a better finish by its No. 6 runner. Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley (Calif.) broke former national champion Jordan Hasay’s freshman course record with a 16:41 clocking. Loyola (Los Angeles) senior Elias Gedyon won the Individual Sweepstakes race for the fourth consecutive year. His time was 14:26.

* Scottsbluff (Neb.) senior Aubree Worden broke Emily Sisson’s all-class record by winning Nebraska’s Class B state cross country title in 14:22.2. It was the third title of her career.

* Glenwood (Iowa) senior Johnny Fuller has committed to the University of Notre Dame for track and cross country, according to the Omaha World-Herald. As a junior he won the 3200- and 1600-meter races at the Drake Relays and this fall he captured the state Class 3A cross country crown. He also carries a 4.0 GPA.

BASKETBALL: NASH PICKS OSU
Lincoln (Dallas) basketball star LeBryan Nash has committed to Oklahoma State University, according to the Dallas News. The 6-8, 230-pounder, who averaged 17.8 points and 10.2 rebounds last year, is ranked as the No. 13 senior in the country by MaxPreps.

*After less than a week, Aurora East (Aurora, Ill.) senior guard Ryan Boatright has decommitted from West Virginia and now is looking at UConn, according to Zagsblog.

SOFTBALL: ONE HIT IN STATE TITLE GAME
Senior Remi Edwards pitched a no-hitter as Oakville (St. Louis, Mo.) nipped Truman (Independence, Mo.), 1-0, to win its first Class 4 state softball championship. Edwards, who struck out 12 and walked three, is committed to Miami (Ohio). Julie Kernen doubled in the sixth inning for the only hit of the game. She was replaced by courtesy runner Janelle Hackman, who eventually stole third and scored on a squeeze bunt by Lauren Fussell. The Tigers finished with a 26-1 record.

POTPOURRI
* Volleyball coaching milestones: Rick Lorenz of Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) notched No, 1,000, while Susan Snyder of Simla (Colo.) gained No. 500.

* Greensburg Central Catholic (Pa.) golf coach George Janik recently recorded his 600th victory. Adding frosting to the cake, his son, Steve, was medalist with a 39.

* The current issue of High School Today pays tribute to Herman Masin, who died earlier this year at age 96. Masin was editor of Scholastic Coach Magazine for an amazing 72 years and was the first person to elevate high school sports onto a national stage.