By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Elliott Mathieu fired a Minnesota state-record eight touchdown passes as Minneapolis Southwest crushed city foe South, 53-6. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior completed 26-of-41 passes for 452 yards and has thrown 30 scoring strikes this fall. The previous record of seven had been shared by six players, including current Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer.
Manchester Clay County senior Zach Lewis broke Tim Couch’s Kentucky state record for career passing yardage during a 39-25 victory over Hazard Perry County Central. The 6-2, 210-pound senior ran his total to 12,489 by completing 21-of-29 for 391 yards and three touchdowns…Another Kentucky state record fell when Jason Dolly kicked his 75th consecutive extra point during Russell’s 34-0 rout of Vanceburg Lewis County.
Nick Finger recently left his mark on the New York record book when he scored a state-record 58 points as Millbrook outlasted Grahamsville Tri-Valley, 66-57. He also rushed for 485 yards (41 carries) for No. 2 in state history and scored eight touchdowns (plus five two-point conversions) to tie for No. 2 in state history. The record of 54 points had stood since 1929.
More Football Notes
* Other Kentucky feats: Ryne Least had two fumble recoveries and two interceptions as Lexington Catholic routed Nicholasville East Jessamine, 55-6…In Somerset, Pulaski County edged Southwestern, 38-35, as sophomore Alex Abner exploded for 88- and 84-yard touchdowns on kick-off returns…Pikeville crushed Hi Hat South Floyd, 62-0, behind Daniel Harmon’s school-record seven touchdowns (on 14 carries).
* Another big New York effort was turned in by Seamus Kelly, who scored seven touchdowns and amassed 448 all-purpose yards to lead Xavier to an 86-42 rout of Bronx Cardinal Hayes. A 5-11, 190-pound senior, Kelly scored five touchdowns on eight carries while adding scores on an 85-yard kick-off return and a 72-yard pass reception.
Employing a single-wing attack, Xavier rolled to a 57-30 halftime lead and coasted.
* Turning to Texas, powerful Chris Whaley (6-3, 232) ran 28 times for 418 yards and six touchdowns to spark Madisonville to a 48-32 victory over Taylor…In Ohio, Twinsburg overcame a 28-6 deficit to nip Parma, 56-55, in overtime. Parma quarterback Kevin Wenzl was the individual standout, drilling 23-of-30 passes for 461 yards and five touchdowns…In Louisiana, Shreveport Evangel Christian raced past Vivian North Caddo, 68-0, behind the near-perfect passing of Dez Duron, who drilled 24-of-27 for 445 yards and seven touchdowns.
* Switching to Arkansas, Spencer Keith completed 36-of-42 passes for 433 yards and five touchdowns as Little Rock Pulaski Academy defeated Hot Springs Lakeside, 49-28…Fort Smith Northside edged Fayetteville, 42-35, behind Dax Dupire, who completed 31-of-42 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns…Pine Bluff outlasted Searcy Lake Hamilton, 70-66, with Claude Johnson passing for 366 yards and six touchdowns and running for 134 yards. Kelsey Collins chipped in with a pair of 95-yard kick-off returns and two other touchdowns on pass receptions. For Lake Hamilton, Phillip Butterfield passed for 525 yards and ran for three touchdowns, while Josh Proffit had four touchdown catches and 288 yards.
* In his first varsity start, sophomore Austin Ebertowski carried 41 times for 451 yards – No. 2 in Iowa history – to spark Council Bluffs Lincoln to a 56-42 victory over Sioux City West. The record of 455 yards has stood since 1954…In Nevada, junior Nolan Kohorst kicked a 50-yard field goal and senior punter Jordan Miller twice pinned Liberty inside its own five-yard line as Henderson Green Valley posted a 17-0 victory…Swampscott scored 21 fourth-quarter points to end the longest winning streak in Eastern, Mass. (17 games) with a 28-20 triumph over Gloucester.
* Moving to Arvada, Colo., West defeated Pomona, 30-24, aided greatly by Justin Castor’s field goals of 53, 43 and 20 yards….In Littleton, Colo., Heritage junior Mitch Griebel scored on punt returns of 70 and 69 yards during a 50-0 romp past John F. Kennedy…In Oregon, Portland Jesuit defeated Beaverton Aloha, 42-7, to give Ken Potter his 200th coaching victory…In Cincinnati, Ohio, Bo Cordell completed 27-of-37 passes for 425 yards and five touchdowns as Indian Hill rolled past Finneytown, 47-20.
* Turning to California, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame quarterback Ryan Kasdorf continued to rise among the nation’s elite juniors by completing 27-of-37 passes for a school-record 418 yards and four touchdowns during a 31-24 victory over Anaheim Servite…In Northern California, junior linebacker Chris Martin (6-4, 230) made 14 tackles to lead Oakland Bishop O’Dowd’s 35-6 win against San Lorenzo and hand Paul Perenon his 200th coaching victory.
* Now that he’s starting at running back as a sophomore, Ronnie Daniels is making big news weekly in Albuquerque, N.M. Last week Daniels played little more than a half, but still scored four touchdowns on a mere 10 carries as La Cueva whipped Santa Fe, 49-7.
In Florida, Naples set a school record with a 91-0 rout of Estero, which lost for the 18th straight time. Though criticized greatly, Naples coach Bill Kramer did everything he could to hold the score down. He didn’t even use his No. 1 running back and kept many of his other top players on the sidelines. Naples ran just 31 plays….In Ohio, Beechcroft whipped Centennial by an even wider margin, 96-0, despite taking knees throughout the fourth quarter.
Boys Basketball Notes
* Some big-time college commitments were made last week. California scoring machine Jordan Hamilton declared for the University of Texas. The 6-7 small forward averaged 27.6 points and 11 rebounds as a junior at Compton Dominguez…Duke landed a smooth, versatile big-man, Ryan Kelly. The 6-10 Kelly averaged 24 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks as a junior at Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.)…The University of Kentucky was equally pleased to hear from powerful Daniel Orton (6-10, 260), a senior at Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City, Okla.).
* The University of Louisville continues to build its program under Rick Pitino, who just received a pledge from one of the nation’s premier juniors, Jeremy Tyler. The 6-10 Tyler averaged 23 points, 15 rebounds and 8.0 blocks as a sophomore at San Diego High…Other recent commitments: 6-9 Shawn Kemp Jr. (Cherokee, Canton, Ga.), to Alabama; 6-8 Thomas Robinson (Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, N.H.), to Kansas; and 6-8 junior Nate Lubick (St. Mark’s, Southborough, Mass.), to Georgetown.
* Derrick Taylor has an especially wide smile this fall because he is anticipating a big year as coach at Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.). In addition to several talented returnees, Taylor is the beneficiary of at least five transfers. He has been told by at least one college recruiter that he has an incredible 13 Division I prospects.
* Retirement has claimed Dennis Seddon, one of the best coaches in Philadelphia, Pa., history. In 22 years at Roman Catholic, Seddon compiled a 516-128 record with a record 10 Philadelphia Catholic League titles. Even more important, he sent four players – Marc Jackson, Rasual Butler, Lari Ketner and the late Eddie Griffin – to the NBA and 32 have become coaches. He also is a 30-year employee of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and now holds a supervisory position.
Girls Basketball Notes
* Joy Burke has made a commitment to Arizona State University. The 6-5 standout averaged an impressive 19.5 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.3 blocks as a junior at Marcos de Niza (Tempe, Ariz.) as a junior. She also carries a 4.0 average in the classroom…Nebraska has received a commitment from 6-2 Meghin Williams, who averaged 13.8 points and 9.1 rebounds as a junior at Summit Prep (Fontana, Calif.).
* Virginia has received a commitment from 5-6 point guard China Crosby, who averaged 17.9 points and 5.3 assists as a junior for Manhattan Center (N.Y.)…Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, a 5-6 senior who averaged 29.3 points last year for New Leadership Charter School (Springfield, Mass.), has made a pledge to Memphis. She has 2,184 points in her career, just 526 short of the state record.
* Other recent commitments: 6-2 Jasmine Hassell (Wilson Central, Lebanon, Tenn.), to Georgia; 5-8 Brooke Bisping (Morton, Ill.), to Bradley; and 6-1 Kassie Hooten (Moorhead, Minn.), to Detroit. Hassell averaged 21.9 points and 9.0 rebounds while leading her team to the Class AAA state title and earning AAA Miss Basketball honors. Bisping averaged 21.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Hooten averaged 15.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.
Cross Country Notes
* The first collision of national champions took place over the weekend during the Great American Cross Country Festival in Hoover, Ala. Defending Foot Locker national champion Ashley Brasovan of Wellington (Fla.) won the girls title in 17:17 – eight seconds ahead of 2007 national champion Kathy Kroeger of Independence (Thompson Station, Tenn.). Emily Sisson (Parkway Central, St. Louis, Mo.) and Stephanie Morgan (Barnesville, Ohio) also broke 18 minutes in the star-studded race…The boys champion was Bill Matthews of the Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tenn.), who was clocked in 15:34.
* At New York City’s famed Van Cortlandt Park, Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.) senior superstar Solomon Haile broke the 2.5-mile course record by winning the boys E Division title in a sizzling 12:06.61 during the 36th Manhattan Invitational. Voorhees (N.J.) senior Melanie Thompson won the girls Eastern States Championship over the same course in a time of 14:12.79. The boys Eastern States Championship was won by rising New Jersey sophomore star Joe Rosa (West Windsor-Plainsboro North), who broke a 25-year-old sophomore course record with a 12:20 clocking.
* Turning to Fresno, Calif., Chris Schwartz of Bakersfield Foothill nipped Zack Torres of La Crescenta Crescenta Valley and Jonathan Sanchez of Clovis Buchanan in a near dead heat to win the boys sweepstakes division of the 30th annual Clovis Invitational. Schwartz was timed in 15:09. Torres and Sanchez were an eyelash back in 15:10, but Sanchez earned runner-up honors by lunging at the finish line.
* And then, out of nowhere comes a runner from Alaska. Three-time Alaska state champion Trevor Dunbar of Kodiak ran a blazing 14:47.7 – the fastest 5K in the country this fall – to win the elite varsity boys race during the Adidas Cross Country Classic in Portland, Ore. It also was a record for the Fernhill Park course. Annamarie Maag of Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) captured the girls crown in 17:57.
* The 13th annual Walt Disney World Cross Country Classic drew over 4,100 runners from 15 states to Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Over 3,100 were high school entries. Mandy Perkins of Spruce Creek (Port Orange, Fla.) won the girls elite race in 18:28.90 and the team title was won by Mountain View (Stafford, Va.) with 61 points. In the boys elite division, Mountain View’s Thomas Porter placed first in 15:22.70, while New Jersey’s Toms River North was the team champ with 34 points.
Golf Notes
* Little Rock Arkansas Baptist captured its fourth consecutive Class 3A Arkansas state title with a score of 3-under-par 213, led by the talented Carpenter brothers. Senior Alex Carpenter won medalist honors in a four-way, four-hole playoff. Tying for regulation honors with a 1-under-par 71 were Carpenter and his twin brother, Adam, along with teammate Corbin Renner and Andrew Flesher of Episcopal. The third brother, Luke, is just a sophomore and also a standout.
* Though just a freshman, Caldwell County’s Emma Talley set a Kentucky state record by winning the girls state title with a 10-under-par score of 134. Included were 12 birdies and one eagle. The previous record of 139 was set in 2002 by Leah Wigger, who now is on the LPGA Tour. Glasgow won its fifth state team title to send retiring coach Mike Harris out in style…Moving to Ohio, Ariel Witmer of North Lima South set a state record with a medalist score of 139 in the Division II state finals.
* Jake Spencer of Anthony, N.M., shot even-par 144 to win the boys division of the Texas Junior Tour’s Sooner Invitational by a single shot. Chelsey Cothran of Springdale, Ark., won the girls division by five shots with a 2-over-par 146.
* Jordan Spieth of Dallas, Texas, overcame a four-shot deficit on the final day with a 4-under-par 68 to win the boys division of the prestigious PING Invitational in Stillwater, Okla. He carded 217 for 54 holes to edge previous leader Cory Whitsett of Houston by two shots. In the girls division, Victoria Tanco of Bradenton, Fla., claimed the title with a score of 224 to win by a single stroke over Kristina Wong of Bradenton.
Potpourri
* No. 1-ranked La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) defeated Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22, to win the 15th annual California Challenge Volleyball Tournament at Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.). The 19-0 Mavericks were led by senior Natalie Hagglund, who earned MVP honors with 21 kills and 14 digs. For the losers (15-3), 6-4 junior Falyn Fonoimoana posted 22 kills…Shelly Nibarger recorded her 500th volleyball coaching victory at Circle in Towanda, Kan.
* Columbia (Maplewood, N.J.) senior soccer star Johnny Exantus has given up the remainder of his high school eligibility to play for Royal Racing Football Club Montegnee in Belguim. Exantus, who has 55 career goals, has signed an agreement – not a contract – which would allow him to play college soccer in the USA if his professional career does not soon develop…The St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.) boys soccer team, ranked No. 2 in the nation, was handed its first loss of the year by Rancocas Valley (Mt. Holly, N.J.) in a stunning 2-1 upset.
* Ringling’s Hope McLemore struck out 16 and scored the only run during a 1-0 victory over Ada Latta to win Oklahoma’s Class 2A state softball crown. She ended with a flourish by striking out the side in the sixth and seventh innings. She fanned 18 in the semifinals and 17 in the quarterfinals. Ringling won its last 32 games…Oklahoma’s Class B title went to Sasakwa, which blanked two-time defending champion Red Oak, 2-0, as freshman pitcher Marissa Shaffer fired a one-hitter and struck out 14. The Vikings – who claimed their first state title – scored both runs on a sacrifice bunt and three-base error.
* Bicknell Wayne routed Panguitch, 17-4, to win its 51st consecutive game and third consecutive Utah Class 1A state baseball championship. Senior shortstop Carson Bray led the way with two singles and a double on a frost-bitten field…Draper Juan Diego senior Paige Miles won her fourth consecutive Utah Class 3A state tennis title and completed her outstanding career with a perfect 72-0 record.
