JaRon Toney, Alcoa
File photo by Randy Sartin
JaRon Toney completed a dominant career Friday while leading Alcoa to a record sixth consecutive Tennessee state championship with a 21-0 victory over previously unbeaten Milan. The Tornadoes, who moved to Class 3A this year after winning five straight 2A titles, finished 15-0 with a 28-game winning streak.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior running back powered his way to three one-yard touchdowns, finishing with 134 yards on 27 carries and earning MVP honors. He left a legacy of playing on four state champions who compiled an outstanding 56-4 record. He also set single-season state records with 50 rushing and 52 overall touchdowns.
Also named Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year, Toney finished with 262 carries for 2,358 yards this year. He had 90 tackles. In his career he ran 592 times for 4,775 yards and 82 touchdowns, while adding four more touchdowns on pass receptions.
Coach Gary Rankin, who has notched eight state titles (four at Murfreesboro Riverdale), calls Toney “a tough kid, great student who is popular at school and with his teammates. He got a lot of carries this year. Usually we spread the wealth. After two games he had 10 touchdowns. I don’t think it took a very smart coach to ride him.
“He fools everybody with his strength and power. He broke a lot of tackles. He’s a slashing type of runner and has breakaway speed. He benches 300 pounds and is one of the strongest kids we’ve ever had in our program.”
Rankin pointed out that Toney was only 145 pounds as a freshman and he gets all the credit for “building himself up.”
Toney, who has a 3.6 GPA, still is waiting for his first major Division I scholarship offer.
“I think he’ll be fine," Rankin said. "Some people are going to jump on him soon.”
* Mission Bay (San Diego, Calif.) senior quarterback Dillon Baxter (6-0, 205) set single-season state records for passing/rushing touchdowns (70) and points (438) during a 58-42 victory over Santa Fe Christian.
* Senior quarterback Dylan Favre (5-11, 192) passed for 369 yards and three touchdowns to spark St. Stanislaus (Bay St. Louis, Miss.) to its first Class 4A state title with a 35-16 victory over Lafayette County. He also set the pace with 17 tackles. He finished his brilliant career with numerous state records, including touchdown passes in a year (63) and career (144). Receiver Krisjon Wlkerson also set a state record with 25 touchdown catches this year.
* North Canton Hoover senior running back Erick Howard (5-11, 205) is only the second player twice named Ohio’s Mr. Football. Robert Smith of Euclid was the first. In 11 games, he ran for 2,056 yards and scored 27 touchdowns, in addition to making a team-high 112 tackles. During his career he rushed for 6,013 yards and scored 79 touchdowns.
* Senior running back Domonique Hayden led Lexington Christian to Kentucky’s Class A state title with a record 55-19 rout of Mayfield. He finished with career state records for touchdowns (138), rushing touchdowns (118) and points (837).
* Foreign exchange student Jorge Guerri, a native of Spain, kicked a 22-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to give Union City (Tenn.) a 31-29 victory over South Pittsburg and its first-ever Class A state title.
* White Station (Memphis, Tenn.) senior Julian Burton (5-10, 190) ran for 273 yards and four touchdowns and forced two turnovers to be named offensive and defensive MVP as the Spartans defeated 11-time champion Maryville, 37-27, in the Class 6A finals.
* Georgia officials have taken away one of the state passing records credited to Marietta Lassiter quarterback Hutson Mason. His eight touchdown passes are only second (tie) to the nine thrown by forgotten Ed Staten of North Whitfield during a game in 1962.
* In Arizona, Tempe Marcos de Niza severed Peoria Centennial’s 39-game winning streak with a 16-14 victory in the Class 5A Division II state semifinals.
* No. 2-ranked Kamehameha upset No. 1 Kahuku, 34-21, to win Hawaii’s Division I state title before a crowd of 21,661.
* In North Carolina, Edgar Herrera kicked field goals of 37, 35, 32 and 23 yards as South Johnston outlasted Southern Nash, 33-32, in three overtimes during the Class 3-AA state semifinals.
* Denton Ryan senior quarterback Scotty Young threw five interceptions – three in the end zone - during a 28-25 loss to Denton Guyer in Texas’ Class 4A Division I state quarterfinals. Young finished his senior year with 64 touchdown passes – three short of the state record – and 129 for his career.
* Unfazed by a coaching change, Raines (Jacksonville, Fla.) defensive tackle Louis Nix (6-3, 310) has committed to the University of Notre Dame.
McKnight wins No. 830
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) basketball coach Gary McKnight notched his Southern Section record 830th victory when the Monarchs crushed Norwalk, 116-53. The record of 829 was held by Lou Cvijanovich of Oxnard Santa Clara. Next in line is the state record of 843 by Mike Phelps at two northern California schools from 1971-90. Knight has won a sizzling 91.6 percent of his games.
* Turning in 50-point games were Brandon Moore as Carson (Calif.) nipped Morningside, 81-79, in overtime; Dwayne Gordon as Atherton (Louisville, Ky.) outlasted Brown, 89-81; and Kevin Olekaibe as Cimarron-Memorial (Las Vegas, Nev.) defeated Desert Oasis, 81-70.
* Dunbar (Fort Worth, Texas) senior Darius White not only is one of the nation’s premier wide receivers, he also could play Division I basketball. He scored 17 points, including the decisive free throws, during a 67-65 victory over Sam Houston.
* In Ohio, Perrysburg outlasted St. Francis, 88-85, in a four-overtime thriller.
* Indiana State University coaches must be smiling over their signing of 6-9 Jake Kitchell. He showed great versatility while amassing 20 rebounds, 12 points and 12 assists as South Central (Union Mills, Ind.) defeated Oregon-Davis, 82-66.
* Junior Wayne Blackshear (6-5) had 42 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks as Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) defeated East Aurora, 82-69.
* Fort Wayne Luers senior Deshaun Thomas (6-7) scored 43 points during a 96-60 rout of Mishawaka Marian and has taken over 10th place in Indiana career points (2,297). He has a shot at the record of 3,134 held by Damon Bailey of Bedford North Lawrence.
* Enes Kanter (6-10, 260) is averaging 32 points and 18 rebounds for Stoneridge Prep (Simi Valley, Calif.). He graduated from a high school in Turkey last year and is a fifth-year senior. Coach Derryck “Tank” Thornton declares, “There’s not a better player in the country. He is scary good.”
* Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) guard Bradley Beal, one of the nation’s premier juniors, announced recently that he will attend the University of Florida. That would pair the 6-4 standout with another superb junior guard, Austin Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.), in an absolutely dynamite backcourt.
* In California, Gardena Serra edged Compton, 66-64, to give Dwan Hurt his 400th coaching victory.
* Winter Springs (Fla.) defeated Orlando Christian, 62-52, to hand Travis Jones his 300th coaching victory.
Dinkins ties state record
Kaitlyn Dinkins drilled nine 3-pointers to tie the Georgia state record, but her Pace Academy team lost to Cedar Shoals, 65-62.
* The nation’s top-ranked girl, 6-3 Chiney Ogwumike, had 24 points, 19 rebounds, six steals and four blocks as Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) defeated North Shore, 49-34.
* Senior guard Courtney Moses (5-7) poured in a school-record 50 points to go with 10 assists and eight steals as Oak Hill (Converse, Ind.) routed Southwood, 89-43.
* In California, Lisha Elsenbach scored a school-record 46 points as Burbank Burroughs edged Simi Valley Royal, 79-69, in two overtimes.
* Steele senior guard Meighan Simmons (5-9), a Tennessee signee, set the San Antonio (Texas) city career scoring record with a 37-point effort which gave her 2,766 points.
* Fordson (Dearborn, Mich.) defeated Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 46-34, to give coach Guy Delgiudice his 400th victory.
Nike champs crowned
The Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.) girls scored a low of 74 points to win the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, Ore., for a record fourth consecutive year. Coach Bill Aris’ team placed all five runners in a pack which was separated by a mere 17 seconds. The individual girls champion was senior Katie Flood (17:47.2) of Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa).
In the boys division, Boerne, Tex., captured the team title with 195 points. The individual race was won by Craig Lutz of Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), who was clocked in 15:09.20. Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) junior Elias Gedyon was on his heels with a 15:09.50 clocking.
Potpourri
Westfield’s girls soccer team (21-1-2) posted 20 shutouts this year and finished No. 3 in New Jersey state rankings by the Newark Star-Ledger. Its only loss was, 1-0, in overtime, to Lenape in the Group IV state championship game. The Blue Devils, who allowed only four goals all year, were led by seniors Meg Brody and Rebecca Kape.
* The Parkland wrestling team defeated Lake Norman, 49-16, to set a Pennsylvania state record with 141 consecutive dual-meet victories. The record of 140 had stood since 1965.
* Chris Sheff of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) has been named National Coach of the Year by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association. He led the Gaels to a 40-4 record and the 2009 national championship. His six-year record is 192-41-2, including 81-7 the last two seasons.
