Jeff Mathews, Camarillo
File photo by Marc Liberts
Camarillo (Calif.) senior quarterback Jeff Mathews passed for 588 yards – No. 2 in CIF Southern Section history – during a 69-20 rout of Hueneme. The 6-foot-4, 231-pounder completed 33 of 48 passes – six for touchdowns – to approach the record of 604 yards set by Robert Fuller of San Bernardino in 2006. His total also is No. 4 in California history.
At halftime Mathews already had thrown for 495 yards and he did not throw a pass in the fourth quarter while taking part in just two plays.
Coach Dennis Riedmiller estimates that his ace may have exceeded 700 yards had not two passes been dropped by his most sure-handed receiver and two penalties nullified large gains.
Thus far Cornell has been the strongest bidder for Mathews’ college services (he has a 4.0 GPA).
“It baffles me – I just don’t get it,” Riedmiller says of the lack of big-time scholarship offers. “He has a strong, strong arm. He has decent speed, too. The only problem is that he likes to put his head down and run people over. That scares me to death.
“His size alone would interest me. He’s going to be a steal for somebody.”
* Littleton Heritage senior wide receiver Shane Opitz (6-2, 181) snared four touchdowns passes during a 56-24 victory over Dakota Ridge. That gave him a Colorado state-record 21 touchdown catches this season. The record was 20 by Ryan Lenderman of Grand Junction in 1988.
Coach Mike Griebel says that Opitz “has great, unbelievable hands. He’s probably the best we’ve ever had at our school.”
Also a talented infielder, Opitz plans to play baseball at the University of Nebraska.
* Senior quarterback Phillip Sims continues to set records in Virginia. He fired five touchdown passes as unbeaten powerhouse Chesapeake Oscar Smith defeated Great Bridge, 47-17, to give him a state-record 113 in his brilliant career. Teammate Ryan Trotman kicked five extra points, giving him 179 for a state career record.
* Golden (Colo.) senior quarterback Ryan Stokes (6-2, 180) passed for seven touchdowns during a 64-6 rout of Denver West.
* In Texas, Kerrville Tivy junior quarterback Johnny Manziel (5-11, 160) rushed for eight touchdowns in a 56-35 victory against Clemens. He had a total offense of 461 yards.
* Maybe it was the pink socks he wore to raise breast cancer awareness, but senior quarterback Del’javon Simmons (5-10, 210) made six of his eight completions click for touchdowns as Burke (Charleston, S.C.) raced past Wade Hampton, 60-20. Two other passes that looked like sure-fire touchdowns were dropped and a third was fumbled into the end zone for a touchback.
* Senior quarterback Dylan Favre set three more Mississippi single-season passing records as St. Stanislaus defeated Quitman, 49-21. He threw for 498 yards to help establish records for total offense (4,903), touchdowns (47) and touchdowns responsible for (58).
* Lexington Christian senior Domonique Hayden rushed for six touchdowns during a 70-31 rout of Berea to tie the Kentucky career record of 110 touchdowns set by Derek Homer of Fort Knox.
* Senior Anthony Hall (5-7, 157) kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:25 left to give Sierra (Manteca, Calif.) a stunning 44-42 upset victory over previously unbeaten Oakdale. He also kicked earlier field goals of 50 and 45 yards to help Sierra post what the Modesto Bee called “the greatest victory in its 15-year history.”
* In Utah, West Valley City Hunter outlasted Lone Peak, 45-37, in a four-overtime thriller.
* Gambrills Arundel senior quarterback Billy Cosh passed for 380 yards and six touchdowns during a 69-28 victory over Southern. That gives him a Maryland state-record 6,878 career passing yards – his 11th state record. B.J. Harris snared three touchdown passes to set a Maryland public school record with 24 this year.
* In Florida, senior Kadron Boone (6-1, 190) scored on kick-off returns of 83 and 78 yards and on a 72-yard punt return as Ocala Trinity Catholic raced past Mount Dora, 66-21.
* Columbia (Lake City, Fla.) standout Jamaal Montague snared scoring passes of 40, 70, 38 and 57 yards on the first play of four consecutive first-quarter series during a 49-14 victory over Jacksonville Wolfson.
*In another Florida game, Jacksonville Eagle’s View nipped Gainesville P.K. Yonge, 28-25, thanks to three interceptions by junior Tevin Stewart – two in the end zone and one on the five-yard line.
* Bonneville defeated Tchula Marshall, 59-6, to give Jim Drewry his Mississippi-record 344th career coaching victory. Posting their 300th career victories last week were Tom Mach (Catholic Central, Novi, Mich.) and Bernie Barre (Wyoming, Cincinnati, Ohio). Steve Ellison (Petaluma, Calif.) notched his 200th victory.
* Forty-three athletes at Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) have been declared ineligible either due to violation of transfer rules or academic requirements. The sports involved were football, softball, volleyball and cross country in which forfeits resulted. Five school officials were reprimanded and principal Micheal Johnson was reassigned.
Brophy Prep streak at 22
Brophy Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) won its 22nd consecutive (28 of last 29) Class 5A-Division I boys swimming state title as MVP John Wojciechowski captured two firsts and swam a leg on the state-record 200-yard medley relay team.
Cheshire (Conn.) extended its national-record girls winning streak to 265 dual meets during this year’s 12-0 swim season. The Rams had to hold meets outdoors until early October due to indoor pool renovations.
Kalt has record 43 shutouts
Cleveland St. Ignatius senior goalie Joe Kalt (6-1, 170) posted his Ohio state career-record 43rd shutout during a 2-0 Division I regional victory over Massillon Jackson. He has allowed just four goals this year to help the unbeaten Wildcats hold onto the nation’s No. 1 ranking by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
“He’s got a tremendous amount of focus. He has great hands and commands the penalty box,” Coach Mike McLaughlin says. “We play a lot of top teams and he’s done this against the best teams in Ohio.”
USA hockey teams win
The USA National Under-18 hockey team edged Switzerland, 3-2, to win the Four Nations Cup in Pori, Finland. Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) led the way with two goals
The USA National Under-17 team rolled past Switzerland, 8-2, to win the Four Nations Cup in Trnava, Slovakia as Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) had a goal and two assists.
Tyler riding the bench
Jeremy Tyler’s first two games with a professional basketball team in Israel have produced one point in about 14 minutes of action. The 6-foot-11 center passed up his senior year at San Diego High for a $140,000 contract.
* Tennessee has received a commitment from one of the country’s top juniors, 6-foot-2 Cierra Burdick of Butler (Charlotte, N.C.).
Potpourri
* Robert Kanaby plans to retire next spring as executive director of the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations. Over the past 17 years, Kanaby took the federation from near bankruptcy to where it now has a $3 million endowment.
* Mt. Pleasant Wando (24-0) defeated Mauldin, 4-2, to extend its South Carolina-record girls tennis winning streak to 99 matches and tie the record with its sixth consecutive state championship.
* The Harwich (Mass.) field hockey team nipped Dennis-Yarmouth, 1-0, to give Cheryl Poore her 600th coaching victory.
* Keira Goerl, who pitched UCLA to national championships in 2003 and 2004, has been named head softball coach at King (Riverside, Calif.).
