jAZ
09-11-2004, 10:17 AM
:eek:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/0910hs8man0910.html
Wide-open football
Don Ketchum
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 10, 2004 12:00 AM
It's been a week since Seligman's 116-108 Class 1A football victory over Queen Creek Canyon State Academy, and most of those involved seem to still be catching their breath.
The teams had the second- and third-highest point totals in one game, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Seligman, the home team, had 1,001 yards total offense in the eight-man game and Canyon State 863 to combine for 1,864. Quite remarkable, considering the field in eight-man ball usually is 80 yards long and 40 yards wide, compared to 100 and 50 for the 11-man game.
Seligman running back Vince Alvarado rushed for 219 yards and six touchdowns, returned five kickoffs for 290 yards, four for touchdowns, and threw two scoring passes, to quarterback Hugh Campbell, for 70 yards.
Canyon State quarterback Garry Hall made his own mark by rushing for 287 yards and five touchdowns and completing 29 of 41 passes for 504 yards and six touchdowns.
"I've been playing the game since I was 8, and I've never played in or seen a game like that," Alvarado said. "I never thought it would happen.
"I was exhausted when I got home. We sat up talking about it until 12:30 (a.m.). People in town (75 miles west of Flagstaff) are still talking about it, and they still can't believe it happened. My sister works at a Footlocker in Phoenix, and she said some of the people there were talking about it."
Teammate Rocque Montoya was plenty busy, rushing for 130 yards and two touchdowns and four two-point conversions. He also played linebacker and nose guard, trying to stop Hall.
"He was just so fast," Montoya said. "We didn't wrap him up, and we couldn't catch him. It was crazy out there. I thought we might have a chance at some records, maybe end up on SportsCenter (ESPN). I left everything on the field."
Hall said he played the traditional 11-man style in Philadelphia. Coming to Arizona and playing eight-man was an adjustment.
"It's a lot of fun, though," he said. "It's such a fast pace. Every time the ball is snapped, something can happen. But I still didn't expect this. I broke a few tackles, and some people missed me. I had about an 80-yard run, I was so exhausted. I couldn't catch my breath."
Particularly since the team employs a no-huddle offense, according to coach Jay Reichenberger.
"We didn't win, but we can use it as motivation for the rest of the season," Hall said. "What we can try to do now is beat the record (of 118 points)."
Teams have a center and two guards. They sometimes have a pair of tight ends or two or three receivers with a quarterback and one or two running backs. Teams can run guard- or even center-eligible plays.
Typical defenses are 4-2-2, 3-3-2 or 4-3-1 formations.
Canyon State used a spread offense, which made it even harder to defend, Seligman coach Robert LaChat said.
"A couple of cuts, and he (Hall) was gone," LaChat said. "You dive at his legs and if you miss . . . or if the defense comes up to stop the run, he can dump it off (pass).
"Playing eight-man is exciting. If the teams are evenly matched, you're never out of it."
Said Reichenberger: "If you would have told me we would have scored 108 points and lost, I wouldn't have believed it. But that's not really the point, particularly in a game like this. It's having fun. We were back out this week and had probably our best defensive practices of the season.
"The officials, to their credit, let the kids play, not many flags. The kids showed good sportsmanship. One of our guys laid flat-out prone in the air to score, and the next time we had the ball, their defender stuck his hand out and said, "Good catch.' . . . That's the way it should be."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/0910hs8man0910.html
Wide-open football
Don Ketchum
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 10, 2004 12:00 AM
It's been a week since Seligman's 116-108 Class 1A football victory over Queen Creek Canyon State Academy, and most of those involved seem to still be catching their breath.
The teams had the second- and third-highest point totals in one game, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Seligman, the home team, had 1,001 yards total offense in the eight-man game and Canyon State 863 to combine for 1,864. Quite remarkable, considering the field in eight-man ball usually is 80 yards long and 40 yards wide, compared to 100 and 50 for the 11-man game.
Seligman running back Vince Alvarado rushed for 219 yards and six touchdowns, returned five kickoffs for 290 yards, four for touchdowns, and threw two scoring passes, to quarterback Hugh Campbell, for 70 yards.
Canyon State quarterback Garry Hall made his own mark by rushing for 287 yards and five touchdowns and completing 29 of 41 passes for 504 yards and six touchdowns.
"I've been playing the game since I was 8, and I've never played in or seen a game like that," Alvarado said. "I never thought it would happen.
"I was exhausted when I got home. We sat up talking about it until 12:30 (a.m.). People in town (75 miles west of Flagstaff) are still talking about it, and they still can't believe it happened. My sister works at a Footlocker in Phoenix, and she said some of the people there were talking about it."
Teammate Rocque Montoya was plenty busy, rushing for 130 yards and two touchdowns and four two-point conversions. He also played linebacker and nose guard, trying to stop Hall.
"He was just so fast," Montoya said. "We didn't wrap him up, and we couldn't catch him. It was crazy out there. I thought we might have a chance at some records, maybe end up on SportsCenter (ESPN). I left everything on the field."
Hall said he played the traditional 11-man style in Philadelphia. Coming to Arizona and playing eight-man was an adjustment.
"It's a lot of fun, though," he said. "It's such a fast pace. Every time the ball is snapped, something can happen. But I still didn't expect this. I broke a few tackles, and some people missed me. I had about an 80-yard run, I was so exhausted. I couldn't catch my breath."
Particularly since the team employs a no-huddle offense, according to coach Jay Reichenberger.
"We didn't win, but we can use it as motivation for the rest of the season," Hall said. "What we can try to do now is beat the record (of 118 points)."
Teams have a center and two guards. They sometimes have a pair of tight ends or two or three receivers with a quarterback and one or two running backs. Teams can run guard- or even center-eligible plays.
Typical defenses are 4-2-2, 3-3-2 or 4-3-1 formations.
Canyon State used a spread offense, which made it even harder to defend, Seligman coach Robert LaChat said.
"A couple of cuts, and he (Hall) was gone," LaChat said. "You dive at his legs and if you miss . . . or if the defense comes up to stop the run, he can dump it off (pass).
"Playing eight-man is exciting. If the teams are evenly matched, you're never out of it."
Said Reichenberger: "If you would have told me we would have scored 108 points and lost, I wouldn't have believed it. But that's not really the point, particularly in a game like this. It's having fun. We were back out this week and had probably our best defensive practices of the season.
"The officials, to their credit, let the kids play, not many flags. The kids showed good sportsmanship. One of our guys laid flat-out prone in the air to score, and the next time we had the ball, their defender stuck his hand out and said, "Good catch.' . . . That's the way it should be."