High School News & Notes

The Streak lives!

The Game of the Century. A high school football contest finally took a turn at carrying that all too often used adjective when California powers Concord De La Salle and Long Beach Poly met before 17,321 fans at Long Beach Veterans Stadium on Oct. 6.

Prep football historians say the matchup was the first ever between two teams ranked so highly in the national rankings. De La Salle - winners of a national record 116 straight games - versus Poly - winners of 57 of its last 59 and the alma mater of more future NFL players (39) than any other school - were ranked 1-2 and 2-1 by two national polls and 1-3 by the National Prep Poll.

It seemed that the streak De La Salle had been building since the 1992 season was finally in legitimate jeopardy.

Some felt that the talent and speed of Raul Lara's Poly Jackrabbits would be enough to counter the discipline and conditioning of Bob Laudoceur's De La Salle Spartans.

But Maurice Drew became the keeper of The Streak.

Drew, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound junior running back who had scored only once in De La Salle's first three games, rushed for 81 yards on eight carries, caught three Matt Gutierrez passes for 79 yards and accounted for all four of the Spartans' touchdowns in a 29-15 win.

Blue chip running back Hershel Dennis found plenty of room to run behind Poly's massive offensive line, gaining 157 yards on 20 carries. The Jackrabbits also racked up more total yardage than De La Salle (322-298), committed three fewer penalties and did not turn the ball over a single time.

With these statistical advantages and a roster full of Division One prospects, the makings of a Poly upset were certainly present. But "The Streak" - all 117 games and 10 years of it - lives on.

AFM Top 5 Power Rankings

1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) , Coach: Bob Ladouceur
A fourth National Prep Poll title and a 125-game winning streak to start 2002 appear imminent with the toughest part of its schedule already in the books.

2. Jenks (Okla.) , Coach: Allen Trimble
The Trojans matched the state record for consecutive wins (31) to start October and are favored to win their sixth straight 6A state title.

3. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) , Coach: Raul Lara
The Jackrabbits did not have quite enough to dethrone De La Salle, but proved they were good enough to beat about anyone else.

4. Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) , Coach: George Smith
The Raiders are loaded again, and were off to a 6-0 start that included blowout wins over Broward County powers Ely and Dillard.

5. West Monroe (La.) , Coach: Don Shows
Despite losing a number of offensive starters from last season, the Rebels had enough firepower to blast nationally ranked Evangel Christian (Shreveport), 37-13, on Sept. 28.

Mid-season Top Performers

Quarterback Brian Kaufman of Hill-Murray (Maplewood, Minn.) set a national record for passing attempts in back-to-back weeks. Kaufman attempted 76 passes in a 47-27 loss to Waseca one week before throwing 83 times with 34 completions and a Minnesota-record 555 yards in a 53-41 loss to Minnetonka.

According to Student Sports National High School Football Record Book, the previous record for attempts in a game was 74, set by Todd Harings of McDonnell (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) in 1984.

Kicker Dustin Griffiths of Eaglecest (Aurora, Colo.) couldn't have picked a better time to set a state record. Griffiths boomed a 64-yard field goal to beat previously Fairview (Boulder), 9-7, as time expired. The boot was 1 yard better than the NFL record, but still 4 yards short of the national high school record of 68 yards, set by Dick Borgognone of Reno (Nev.) in 1985.

Josh Bainum of Williamsburg (Ohio) gave new definition to the term "running quarterback" by establishing a new single-game state rushing record in a 48-0 win over Clermont, Northeastern. Bainum's 532 yards on 56 carries broke the previous Ohio record of 529 yards, set in 1959. The national record of 739 yards came in 1950.

Jackson (Mo.) running back and University of Missouri recruit Mario Whitney set a new Show-Me State record by rushing for 460 yards in a 56-22 win over Parkway North (Creve Coeur).

Tim Shaw of Clarenceville (Livonia) has surpassed the Michigan state record for career touchdowns. As of Sept. 29, Shaw had 105 TDs. The old record was 98.

Mid-season verbals of note

The following members of American Football Monthly/PrepNation.com's nationalcTop 100 prospects made verbal commitments since the last issue of AFM was published.

WR Marquis Johnson , Texas
6-3, 195, 4.4, Centennial (Champaign, Ill.)

DL Gabriel Watson , Michigan
6-4, 320, 5.0, Southfield (Mich.)

S Darren Williams , Miss. State
6-3, 205, 4.4, Clarksdale (Miss.)

CB Michael Hawkins , Oklahoma
6-1, 170, 4.4, Turner (Carrollton, Texas)

The rest of QBs from AFM/PrepNation.com's Top 100 verbals:

QB Reggie McNeal , Texas A&M
6-3, 180, 4.4, Lufkin, Texas

QB Christian Olsen , Notre Dame
6-4, 215, 4.9, Wayne Hills (Wayne, N.J.)

QB Tyler Palko , Pittsburgh
6-3, 215, 4.5, West Allegheny (Imperial, Pa.)

QB Justin Zwick , Ohio State
6-5, 215, 4.6, Wash. (Massillon, Ohio)