Ostin McPherson gained 205 yards and three touchdowns — and he's an eighth-grader.
Photo courtesy of M&A Studios
Eighth-grade tailback
Ostin McPherson was thrown into the fire Friday night and responded like a veteran, leading once-beaten
St. Paul's Episcopal (Mobile, Ala.) to a resounding 36-6 football victory over arch rival UMS-Wright Prep (Mobile, Ala.).
Starting his first varsity game, McPherson ran 27 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He is listed at 5-foot-7, 156 pounds.
Ostin McPherson is listed at5-foot-7, 156 pounds.
Photo courtesy of M&A Studios
Asked to verify his young tailback's size, coach Jimmy Perry quipped, "On a good day with two bricks in his back pocket. He's not our featured back. Jordan Huff (a 5-9, 200-pound junior with more than 4,000 career rushing yards) tore his knee up in our eighth game."
Previously, McPherson had been used only in spot duty. He has appeared in eight of the Class 5A Saints' first 10 games and now has carried 100 times for 657 yards and eight touchdowns.
"I hated to put a 14-year-old in against 17- and 18-year-old kids," Perry conceded. "I alternate him with two others, but he will get the majority of totes. (After a short rest) he's got that new burst and fresh legs. He's always been a tough little runner in practice, but his mental state was the most surprising. Even when he gets lit up, it doesn't faze him."
Perry says it's too early to tell how good the youngster will be down the road, but he does have great vision and runs 40 yards in an excellent 4.5 seconds.
"He's not going to be a big kid," Perry projected. "He may be a punt or kick returner. He's not big enough to take that pounding, but right now he's all I've got."
St. Paul's has another eighth-grader, though he does not start. He's quite the opposite of McPherson. Even though he's still growing, nose guard Darius Whitfield already is 6-4, 255 pounds.
* In a battle of unbeatens, Kenton (Ohio) finished strong to defeat Wapakoneta (Ohio), 52-32, as senior quarterback Maty Mauk continued his assault on national career passing records — most of them previously held by his older brother, Ben. It marked the 199th victory for coach Mike Mauk. Maty completed 28 of 40 passes for 341 yards and five touchdowns while running 21 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns, plus a pair of 2-point conversions. He broke a tie for most attempts and now has 1,945. He extended records for most completions (1,245), touchdowns (199) and total offense (20,448). He has 17,263 passing yards and should break that record (17,364) this weekend.
* Lakehill Prep (Dallas) poured in 66 points, but still wound up on the short end of a 94-66 score against once-beaten Garland Christian Academy (Texas).
* Johnathan Gray ran 31 times for 265 yards and seven touchdowns as Aledo (Texas) defeated Birdville (Texas), 67-42. That gave him a Texas-record 44 career rushing games of at least 100 yards, topping a record that had stood since 1995. He also has 1,100 points, No. 2 in national history.
* McKinley (Canton, Ohio) edged Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 23-20, before a crowd of nearly 20,000 in one of the nation's great rivalries and one of MaxPreps' Top 10 Games of the Week.
* Preston Peglow tied the state record with five touchdown catches as Kimball (Minn.) defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (Grove City, Minn.), 39-21.
* Romeo (Mich.) outlasted Athens (Troy, Mich.), 34-31, in five overtimes. It was 7-7 at the end of four quarters.
* Norbert Ralph IV passed for 400 yards, but it wasn't enough as Miller-McCoy Academy (New Orleans) suffered a 58-34 loss to Lakeshore (Mandeville, La.).
* Bart Williams completed 33 of 54 passes for 413 yards and five touchdowns as Grand Blanc (Mich.) nipped Holt (Mich.), 59-52, in triple overtime.
* Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) senior receiver Josh Orsino (6-1, 190) has established Broward County records for most single-season catches (76) and yardage (1,496).
* Prosper (Texas) returned three kickoffs for touchdowns - two by Darius Hunter - in the first quarter en route to a 76-39 victory over Farmersville (Texas). Christopher Stanley led Farmersville with 404 passing yards and six touchdowns.
* Plano West (Texas) defeated Flower Mound (Texas), 55-42, despite the passing of Connor Wanhanen, who had 491 yards and six touchdowns.
* Manor (Texas) posted an incredible 52-49 victory over Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas) after trailing by 31 points in the second quarter. Quarterback Jacorey McQueen passed for 466 yards and five touchdowns, including the winning 43-yard flea-flicker play with no time left.
* Pflugerville (Texas) nipped Round Rock (Texas), 42-41 in overtime, despite a school-record 402 passing yards by Garrett Gerds.
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