High school athletes do the darnedest things

Covered a QB in Ohio high school football this year who had 360 yards and 7 passing TDs in the first half. He sat the entire second half.

 

Michigan RB Mike Hart was probably the best I've ever seen when he played in high schooll. That kid could shake tackles like nobody I've ever seen play. He was so small too, I think I was taller than him or the same height.
He played for Indy for about five seconds, but he was always too small for the NFL.
Here's a clip from the Dome (sorry about the quality):
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=umDef_92fGc

 

I covered a game a few years ago that finished 63-49.

The winning team had 42 points by halftime and ran something like 2 plays on the offensive side of the 50. They finished with 600+ yards of total offense and ran about 35 plays the entire game.

Meanwhile, the losing team QB was 42-of-69 passing (they scored 28 points in the fourth quarter), set a national record for attempts. One of his receivers had 20+ receptions. The winning team's DC was later my broadcast partner, and if I ever wanted to get his dander up, all I had to do was mention that game. Still the most memorable game I've worked in 16 years of covering high school football every Friday night.

 

I covered a girls basketball state final where one player had 30 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block. She was a sophomore at the time.

I also had a running back I covered who would almost always go over 200 rushing yards, usually only playing three quarters because of blowouts. The only time in the regular season he didn't reach 200 came when he returned a punt and an interception for touchdowns.

 

I stand corrected then.

Adding to the legacy of this game, the opposing team was ranked No. 1 in the state and its coach set the state win record the week before. I got to the stadium 45 minutes early and, despite a steady, light rain, the home stands already were full. Yeah, I went a bit overboard with a 30-inch (or so) gamer, but man, what a game.

 

Unfortunately, he isn't. It's just a distant memory now. Not sure if his mom still works as a support staffer at the school.

 

Kim Jong-Il owns the Pyongyang High golf record with a round of 18.

 

Two weeks ago, I covered a game where the losing team (they lost 50-0) had no first downs, minus-100 rushing yards (can't remember the number of carries, but this included bad snap on a punt, sacks, etc.) and minus-75 yards total. They completed one pass for 25 yards to somewhat mitigate the rushing numbers.

 

So four field goals and a safety beats one field goal and two safeties?

 

Best game I ever saw in person was my brother. He threw for 400 yards and ran for nearly 200. Had 187 return yards. Scored 5 touchdowns (including a KO return, punt return, rushing TD and 2 pass TD). Didn't play the 4th quarter.

 

My Holy Grail of football remains the 5-4 final score.

 

I once covered a high school football state title game where one of the quarterbacks threw 10 TD passes. No joke.

And I also saw a kid clear 7 feet, 3 inches in the high jump at a state championship meet. That was incredible. Normally the field events happen without any fanfare, but the entire place stopped to watch this kid jump and everyone was cheering for him. Good kid, too.