By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
One of the week's most interesting questions is whether or not Corey Robinson can finish the football season with a mind-boggling 100 touchdown passes. The senior quarterback from Paducah Lone Oak fired four more on Friday during a hard-fought 38-35 victory over Bowling Green Warren East in Kentucky's Class 4A state semifinals. That extended his national record to 90 during a 14-0 campaign.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Robinson, who threw for 484 yards, needed some extra magic to stay alive as he guided the Purple Flashes to 10 points in the final 3:31 - including the winning 18-yard field goal by Jack Coorts with five seconds left. He now has passed for a state-record 5,610 yards this year. Lone Oak will play Lexington Catholic (12-2) for the state title this weekend. The Kentucky phenom needs 10 more TD strikes to reach the century mark. It seems insurmountable, but who ever expected him to have 90?
More Football Notes
* Abilene ended Southlake Carroll's tremendous winning streak against Texas teams at 58 games with a 22-21 victory in the Class 5A state playoffs. The three-time defending state champs held a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter when senior quarterback Riley Dodge suffered a season-ending separated shoulder following a hard hit by linebacker Chris Williams. Dodge had completed all eight of his passes for 126 yards and both touchdowns.
* In another Texas Class 5A thriller, Sugar Land Hightower nipped Houston Cy-Ridge, 24-21, on a spectacular 50-yard field goal by sophomore Jake Kane with no time remaining. Kane had missed on a 55-yard attempt seconds earlier, but a five-yard penalty gave him new life and no overtime was needed.
* Turning to Connecticut, Ansonia rode workhorse Alex Thomas - the nation's leading rusher - to a 35-0 victory over previously unbeaten New London to win the Class S state championship. Thomas, who has committed to Yale, carried on 54 of Ansonia's 63 plays for 240 yards and three touchdowns. He finished his brilliant career with four state rushing records: 3,578 yards and 47 touchdowns in a season and 8,261 yards and 114 touchdowns in a career. The Chargers will carry a 27-game winning streak into the 2008 season.
* Twenty-four degree wind chill failed to faze senior quarterback Terrelle Pryor as he led Jeannette (14-0) to a 35-6 victory over previously undefeated Karns City in the Pennsylvania Class AA state quarterfinals. The 6-6 superstar had an average night with a total offense of 270 yards and three touchdowns. Still, Karns City coach Ed Conto told Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "I have never seen a guy hurdle people like that or break tackles like that. He just does things that other high school football players can't." After the game six men holding footballs and other items waited patiently outside of the locker room to get the already-legendary teen's coveted autograph.
* In a battle of Virginia unbeatens, Chantilly Westfield edged Chesapeake Oscar Smith, 24-21, during the Division 6 state semifinals. The losers, who reportedly have 11 Division I college prospects, set four state playoff records: sophomore quarterback Phillip Sims had 26 completions for 480 yards and senior receiver Todd Harrelson, who is committed to North Carolina, had 15 catches for 354 yards.
* Cincinnati St. Xavier (15-0) wrapped up its bid for the national championship with a convincing 27-0 victory over Mentor to win Ohio's Division I state title before a crowd of 12,442. It was only the second Division I title-game shutout in the tournament's 36-year history. Senior Darius Ashley carried 36 times for a Division I title-game record 271 yards through snow and freezing rain. The Bombers also held Ohio's Mr. Football, Bart Tanski, to 19-of-38 passing for 179 yards.
* Senior Darius "Tig" Barksdale ran for a career-high 399 yards to spark Batesville South Panola to a 43-28 victory against Olive Branch before an overflow crowd of 8,000 during Mississippi's Class 5A state semifinals. He also scored on runs of 82, 53 and 40 yards and on a 45-yard interception. It marked the Tigers' 74th consecutive victory, the longest active streak in the nation.
* Duncan Byrnes (15-0) routed Summerville, 48-9, to win its fifth South Carolina Class AAAA-Division I state title in the past six years. Sophomore quarterback Chas Dodd passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns to deny 81-year-old Summerville coach John McKissick his 11th state title. McKissick has won a national-record 556 games.
* Jenks avenged its only loss with a 42-24 victory over arch rival Tulsa Union to win Oklahoma's Class 6A state title before a crowd of 16,723. It was the 12th state title for Jenks, which was nipped, 43-42, in overtime by Union in the second week of the season.Longmeadow (13-0) ran its winning streak to 37 games with a 21-0 victory over Leominster to win the Division I Central/Western Massachusetts Super Bowl.
* King High (14-0) was the first Detroit public school to win a state championship in the 32-year history of Michigan's current state football playoff system. The players and coaching staff were honored by over 2,000 people during ceremonies at Cobo Hall, with Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick serving as emcee. King's James Reynolds was honored as Michigan's Coach of the Year. Chest pains sent Reynolds to Providence Hospital the morning of the title game, but he arrived at Ford Field 30 minutes before kickoff.
* Wahiawa Leilehua nipped previously undefeated Honolulu St. Louis, 20-16, to win Hawaii's Division I state championship before a crowd of 15,583 at Aloha Stadium. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Manley hit Edieson Dumlao with a 15-yard touchdown pass to win the game with 36 seconds left. Manley was moved up from the JV team at mid-season after the top two varsity quarterbacks were injured.
Football Recruiting
* Jason Ford has made a commitment to the University of Illinois after earlier announcing he would attend Iowa. The 6-0, 220-pound Althoff (Belleville, Ill.) senior led the St. Louis, Mo., area in rushing this fall with 1,773 yards and 22 touchdowns. He completed his four-year varsity career with a record 6,415 rushing yards and 75 touchdowns. The previous St. Louis-area career record was 6,143 yards by Hazelwood Central's Tony VanZant from 1982-85.
* The University of Washington has received commitments from two of the state's finest senior high school players: Kavario Middleton and Jermaine Kearse of Lakewood Lakes. Middleton, a 6-7, 255-pound two-way end, made 45 catches for 503 yards and eight touchdowns, while also making 115 tackles - 25 for losses. The 6-1, 180-pound Kearse is a defensive back and wide receiver. He had 55 catches for 903 yards and eight touchdowns and also had 89 tackles and six interceptions.
Boys Basketball Notes
* Former Artesia (Lakewood, Calif.) star Renardo Sidney already is making a major impact with his new team. The nation's No. 1-ranked junior used his 6-10 frame to score 25 points and grab 15 rebounds - earning MVP honors - as Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) defeated Gardena Serra, 64-47, to win the Redondo Pacific Shores Tournament. Fairfax dominated the boards, 33-14.
* Marion defeated Indianapolis Lawrence North, 71-63, in an early-season collision of potential Indiana Class 4A state champions. The crowd was limited to an estimated 3,000 by an ice storm which caused a 45-minute delay and necessitated substitute referees. Mr. Basketball candidate Julius Mays, a 6-2 senior guard, paced the winners with 26 points - including 16-of-16 from the free throw line. Junior Scott Wood (6-5) added 21 points and 6-4 senior Jay Edwards had 16. The Giants shot 28-for-33 from the foul line. Lawrence North, which has nine players between 6-7 and 7-0, forged a 33-16 advantage in rebounds. Stephan Van Treese, a 6-9 junior, paced the losers with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
* Renton (Wash.) shot 57 percent from the field (28-49) to edge Covington Kentwood, 72-69, in the championship game of the Les Schwab Tip-off Classic. Kentwood's Josh Smith, a 6-9, 305-pound sophomore, had 30 points and 15 rebounds, stamping himself as a star of the future.In California, 6-10 senior twins David and Travis Wear sparked Santa Ana Mater Dei to a 76-56 victory over Canyon in the championship game of the Taco Company Invitational at Anaheim Loara. David had 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Travis had 17 points and nine rebounds to share MVP honors. Veteran guard Jerime Anderson paced Canyon with 25 points.
* American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) junior guard Kenny Boynton exploded for 44 points during an 83-77 victory over Davie Westlake Prep.Kendall Williams, a promising 6-3 sophomore point guard from Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), has made a commitment to UCLA.James Paleno recorded his 300th victory when Palisades (Pacific Palisades) defeated Glendale Hoover, 70-53.
* High school basketball in Detroit, Mich., has a distinctly different look this year with the closing of Mackenzie, Murray-Wright, Redford and Northern. The players scattered to other schools and one coach called the past summer "a meat market" for recruiting.
Girls Basketball Notes
* Julianne Mitchell, a 5-10 senior from Edison (Minneapolis, Minn.), is making a big splash during her first prep action since she was a freshman. Playing AAU in the summer obviously kept her in top condition, however, because she erupted for 35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 steals and seven assists in her first game, a 73-41 rout of Minneapolis Breck. She followed that up with 40 points, 29 rebounds, nine steals, five assists and five blocked shots in a 96-41 romp past St. Paul Arlington.
* Alexis Jenkins poured in 45 points as Chicago University High defeated Willows Academy (Des Plaines, Ill.), 75-45.Seagoville (Dallas, Texas) coach Melvin Reynolds recorded his 700th victory with an 83-29 rout of city foe W.T. White.Dan Purcell of Badin (Hamilton, Ohio) posted his 200th coaching victory as Dayton Carroll fell, 42-30.
* If opponents want to beat Forward High (Elizabeth, Pa.), they better keep the ball out of Paige Pearce's hands in crunch time. She beat Bethel Park, 52-51, with a short baseline jumper and earlier scored the decisive buzzer beater in a 39-38 victory over Pittsburgh North Catholic.Kiki Brown pumped in 40 points as Ambridge (Pa.) edged Hollidaysburg, 58-54.
Cross Country Notes
* The Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.) girls scored a low of 83 points to run away with the Nike Team Nationals on Saturday in blustery, snowy Portland, Ore. Saugus, Calif., was a distant runner-up with 171 points. Fayetteville-Manlius - with just one senior - placed four runners among the top 19 in winning its second consecutive title. The individual crown went to freshman Madeline Morgan of Mountain Brook (Birmingham, Ala.), who surprised the field in 18:54.5.
In the boys division, Neuqua Valley (Naperville, Ill.) won the title by a paper-thin 125-127 margin over the Albuquerque (N.M.) Academy. The champs also captured the individual title as senior Chris Derrick led the pack with a clocking of 15:39.8.
* The Western Regional individual races, which completed the field for Saturday's Foot Locker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif., were won by Jordan Hasay and German Fernandez. Hasay, a junior from Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), won the girls title for the third straight year, this time in 17:17. Fernandez, a senior from Riverbank, Calif., captured the boys title in 14:53. Muddy conditions at Mt. San Antonio College forced runners to compete on an alternate 3.1-mile course.
Tennis Notes
* Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., defeated Katarzyna Piter of Poland, 6-1, 6-4, to win the girls 18 singles title at the prestigious Eddie Herr International Junior Championships in Bradenton, Fla. It marked her fourth consecutive victory in an ITF event. She also teamed with Mallory Cecil to reach the doubles finals where they lost, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, to Kristy Frilling and Asia Muhammad.
* In boys 18, Gastao Elias of Portugal captured the title with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Alex Domijan of Wesley Chapel, Fla.. It was Elias' ninth victory in the tournament, because he had to go through the qualifying draw.
* Stanford has signed Logan Hansen of Brentwood (Los Angeles, Calif.), who was the Los Angeles Times' Player of the Year in 2006 when she compiled a 59-2 record en route to the Southern Section singles title.
Wrestling Notes
* Dak Adamson traveled around 1,400 miles last week just to get a shot at Jason Chamberlain at the star-studded Layton (Utah) Invitational. Adamson, a senior at Bishop Lynch (Dallas, Texas), has won a pair of state titles. Chamberlain has compiled a dominating 153-2 record with three state championships at Springville, Utah. He also is the No. 1-ranked 145-pounder in the nation, according to Wrestling USA Magazine.
* As expected the dynamic duo met in the finals. Despite suffering an unexpected takedown early in the match, Chamberlain upheld his lofty ranking with an 11-5 victory.Wasatch (Heber City, Utah) produced three individual champions and easily took the team title with 219 points.
Potpourri
* Four Arizona girls teamed for Sun Devil Aquatics to set a 15-18 national age-group record during the USA Swimming Short Course Nationals in Atlanta, Ga. Traycie Swartz (Mesa Dobson), Christine Olson (Gilbert Mesquite), Whitney Lopus (Scottsdale Desert Mountain) and Haley Krakoski (Phoenix Xavier Prep) teamed to place fourth - behind three college teams - with a time of 3:41.29 in the 400-yard medley relay. The previous record was 3:44.42.
* The U.S. National under-18 hockey team nipped Yale University, 2-1, before a crowd of 2,240 in New Haven, Conn. Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored the winning goal on a power play, with the other goal being scored by Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Kristo has two game-winning goals with the under-18 team and had one earlier with the under-17 team. Goalie Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) stopped 23 of 24 Yale shots.
* Four members of the U.S. national gymnastics team have received college scholarships. Natasha Kelley (Katy, Texas) has signed with Oklahoma; Ashley Priess (Hamilton, Ohio) and Geralen Stack-Eaton (Horsham, Pa.), both have signed with Alabama; and Amber Trani (Richlandtown, Pa.) has signed with Georgia.
* South Broward senior track star Christal Washington has made a commitment to Florida State. Washington has won the last two Florida Class 4A state titles in the 800-meter run. In addition, she placed third at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., with a personal-best time of 2:05.83. She also is a standout in basketball and cross country.
* One of the nation's premier volleyball players, Rachael Adams, has made a commitment to the University of Texas. Adams, who has a tremendous 36-inch vertical jump, paced Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame to Division I state runner-up honors in Ohio this fall. She also considered Southern California, Florida and Penn State.
