Conway Springs quarterback Tanner Wood said he had no idea how many yards or touchdowns he was compiling.
All he knew was that his team needed another score.
Wood rushed for a state record 659 yards and nine touchdowns, but his team needed every yard of it in a 84-56 win against district rival Chaparral on Friday. That’s because Chaparral quarterback Zack Duwe and the Roadrunner offense was matching Wood and the Cardinals score for score into the third quarter.
Duwe passed for a state record 518 yards and six touchdowns in a game that was tied 35-all at halftime and 48-48 midway through the third quarter.
“No, I had absolutely no idea how many yards or touchdowns I had,” Wood said. “I just wanted to do whatever I could to help my team win.”
It was a classic battle between the run and the pass as neither defense could do much to stop the opposing offenses. Conway Springs used a combination of misdirection from its single-wing offense and straight-ahead runs by Wood, while Chaparral ran the spread formation to put the ball in the air 50 times.
“Basically, if you want to get into that classic or epic of run vs. pass, it’s probably better to have a good run game,” Chaparral coach Justin Burke said.
Burke said the loss continued to sting days later but that his team will likely eventually be able to understand that they were part of a game that will no doubt live on in state history.
“I had coached in 8-man, so I had seen track meets before,” Burke said. “But I had never seen anything quite like that. It was back and forth, back and forth.”
The first half included five touchdowns from Wood and five from Duwe (4 passing, 1 rushing).
Duwe completed 33 of 48 passes for 518 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions. He also ran the ball 19 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Duwe also had a 35-yard pass reception. The old 11-man single-game passing records was 491 yards, set by Cheney’s Matt Voth in 1994.
Three Chaparral receivers – Shawn Nulik (185 yards, 3 TDs), Major Weiss (166 yards, 2 TDs) and Trevor Copenhaver (137 yards, 1 TD) had more than 100 receiving yards. Five of the Roadrunners’ touchdown receptions were for 30 yards or more.
“I’m the defensive coordinator, so to see a team put up that many yards on us was tough,” Conway Springs head coach Matt Biehler said. “They made some great plays. I think Zack had a phenomenal performance.”
Wood, meanwhile, scored the Cardinals’ first seven touchdowns of the game. Seven of his touchdowns were runs of at least 20 yards.
“We couldn’t stop Wood,” Burke said. “We loaded the box, but we just couldn’t tackle him.”
Wood, who has verbally committed to play for K-State, broke the long-standing state record of 488 rushing yards in a game set by former Claflin star Kipp Connell. Wood needed only 36 carries to set the mark. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, Wood’s total was third all-time, 95 yards shy of New Jersey prep star’s John Giannantonio’s national record set in 1950.
Wood also recorded 15 tackles in the game.
“I’m extremely proud of him,” Biehler said. “I’m glad he’s on our side. He’s 6-5, 240 pounds and runs a 4.69 40. He was able to break out.”
But Wood and Biehler seemed more concerned about the win that secured a Class 3A District 9 championship. That means Conway Springs will be back in the playoffs to defend its state title.
Chaparral, meanwhile, dropped to 3-5 with the loss and needs a win against Belle Plaine to make the playoffs as the runner-up.
“We got to win to get in,” Burke said. “It’s been a frustrating year at times. We’ve had several leads in the fourth quarter that have slipped away. We need to take care of the ball and finish games off.”
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
