Less than a week after making national news by breaking Derrick Henry's Florida single-game high school football rushing record, inspiring
Baker junior
Kayleb Wagner made more headlines Thursday night. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound running back rushed 34 times for 426 yards and five touchdowns in another wild victory, this time 43-42 in overtime over
Northview (Bratt).
Wagner, who was
born without a left hand and part of his forearm, scored on runs of 43, 69, 23, 11 and 62 yards, the latter giving the Gators a 35-28 lead late in the third quarter. See the touchdown runs in the video.
Northview tied the game late in regulation and took a 42-35 in overtime. Baker coach Matt Brunson used Wagner as a decoy, helping
Ryan Fleming reach the end zone on a 10-yard run.
Brandon Moss added a two-point conversion for the win.
Baker, the defending state Class 1A state champion, improved to 3-0.
"I enjoy us winning and me being involved, but I don't enjoy all that tension at the end," Wagner told MaxPreps Friday. "It's frankly been a little nerve-racking."
On Sept. 17, Wagner rushed 25 times for a state record 535 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-48 win over South Walton. He broke the 2012 mark of Henry, who rushed 45 times for 502 yards in a 2012 win over Jackson.
Kayleb Wagner during his state-record 525-yard performance against South Walton.
File photo by Matthew Christopher
On Monday, Henry reached out on Instagram to Wagner to congratulate him and offered him cleats and game gloves.
At the Tennessee Titans weekly press conference, Henry recognized Wagner's accomplishment.
"It was incredibly cool to see," Henry said. "Hopefully he breaks (more records). It was definitely an inspiration to me and I'm sure he's an inspiration to his team and everyone in his community."
Wagner said Friday the national attention he's received this week is a bit overwhelming. His teammates jokingly now call him "Little Derrick."
The Jacksonville Jaguars reached out this week and offered him a sideline pass for their Oct. 10 home game with the Titans. "Hopefully I'll get to meet up with (Henry) then," Wagner said.
He's now got Henry's single-season state record of 4,261 on his radar. After Thursday's win, he's up to 1,228 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Like after his record-breaking performance the previous week, Wagner deflected his big numbers.
"It's still the offensive linemen who give me all the holes to run through," Wagner said. "I just try to get to the end zone."
He opened the season with a remarkable 267-yard, four-touchdown effort in a 49-13 win over Rocky Bayou Christian. In that one he only carried the ball four times. For the season, he's averaging 19.4 yards per carry.
"I'd definitely like to break that record, but I'm not sure we'll have enough games to do it," Wagner said.
With only eight regular-season games scheduled, it will be tough. At his current rate of 409 yards per game, the Gators need to play 11 games to break Henry's single-season mark. But Baker, a small-school power which has won five state titles, will need to play in more close games.
The Gators play at Lighthouse Private Christian Academy on Oct. 1. The teams have played the last two seasons, with Baker winning 35-12 and 35-6. Wagner rushed 15 times for 128 yards and a TD against LPCA last season.
