With national attention starting to focus on Florida with not one, but two running backs who have been the thick of the national rushing yards record chase, things are getting more interesting with only a few remaining games left before the playoffs roll into the forefront.
For Yulee’s Derrick Henry and Glades Day’s Kelvin Taylor, running has been key components for each of their teams over the last few seasons, which has only fostered the moments we are seeing each week on the field.
Derrick Henry after this weekend now has 10,003 yards pushing him into the 7th spot in the National Federation of High Schools National Record Book for football.
Kelvin Taylor now has 9,673 yards pushing him into the 8th place spot among the all-time leading rushers. However Taylor has 11,217 yards that includes his numbers from 8th grade which are not counted towards the National Federation of High Schools record book for football.
Right now Henry needs 1,229 yards to break the record of 11,232 while Taylor needs 1,559 yards to accomplish the feat himself. Glades Day has one less game now due to Miami Archbishop Carroll forfeiting this week’s matchup. However, Glades Day expected to go deep in the playoffs so the chances still exist for Taylor to break the record. Yulee still has three games left on the season and is expected to go deep this year in the playoffs as well. For Henry, his chances are much better to break the record at this standpoint.
Here is how the Top 10 looks in the National Rushing Yards record section according to the National Federation of High Schools:
1. Ken Hall – 11,232 – Sugar Land, TX (1950-53)
2. Michael Hart – 11,045 – Nedrow Onondaga, NY (2000-03)
3. Kevin Parks, Jr. – 10,895 – Mount Ulla West Rowan, NC (2006-09)
4. Johnathan Gray – 10,889 – Aledo, TX (2008-11)
5. Traylon Shead – 10,298 – Cayuga, TX (2006-09)*
6. Toney Baker – 10,241 – Jamestown Ragsdale, NC (2001-04)
7. Derrick Henry – 10,003 – Yulee, FL (2009-Present)
8. Kelvin Taylor – 9,673 – Belle Glade Glades Day, FL (2009-Present)
9. Terrance Wilkes – 9,668 – Jamestown Ragsdale, NC (2001-04)
10. Toby Gerhart – 9,662 – Norco, CA (2002-05)
*Traylon Shead’s placement into the National Record Book should be finalized by the end of today (Monday), according to Christopher Lyke at TexasHSFootball.com. Both Shead’s and Gray’s record book placements were left off inadvertently, but Gray’s placement has already been added in as of this morning.
