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High School NotesAFM Top 5 Power Rankingsby: Jamie DeMoney © More from this issue 1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) , Coach: Bob Ladouceur 2. Jenks (Okla.) , Coach: Allen Trimble 3. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) , Coach: Raul Lara 4. Lincoln (Tallahassee, Fla.) , Coach: David Wilson 5. Joliet (Ill.) Catholic , Coach: Dan Sharp Early Season Top Performers Quarterback J.P. Shelly of Ezell-Harding (Antioch, Tenn.) wasted no time before writing his name into the record books this season. On opening night, Aug. 17, the 6-foot, 195-pounder tied a national high school record with 10 touchdown passes during a 76-21 thrashing of Loretto. Operating out of a no-huddle offense, Shelley completed 23-of-32 passes for 397 yards on the night. Nine different receivers caught passes in the game. National career high school passing leader J.R. House (Nitro, W. Va., 1998) and Clifton Davis III (North Panola, Miss., 1990) are the only other prep quarterbacks to pass for 10 touchdowns in a game. Ironically, last season Shelly started the season in much shoddier fashion, throwing six interceptions against Nashville Christian. Running back Maurice Clarett of Warren G. Harding (Warren, Ohio) started the season with a performance that few will ever top. The 6-0, 230-pound power back scored touchdowns on five of his first seven touches - three on rushes and two on punt returns - in a 76-0 drubbing of Cleveland South on Aug. 24. Clarett added an 85-yard touchdown run on his only touch of the second half to finish with 221 yards on just six carries with six touchdowns. Clarett has verbally committed to Ohio State. Brian Calhoun is making a habit of breaking school records on opening night. Calhoun, a 5-10, 185-pound running back from Oak Creek (Wis.) rushed for a club-record 286 yards and scored four touchdowns during a 26-6 win over Muskego. Last season Calhoun set a school record by scoring seven touchdowns in a win over Racine Horlick. Calhoun is being recruited hardest by Purdue, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. After just two weeks into the season, nationally ranked Indianapolis Ben Davis had left little doubt as to who the top football team in Indiana was. The Giants opened the season Aug. 17 with a 33-0 blowout win over Class 4A No. 1-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral. The next week, Ben Davis traveled to 5A No. 1 and defending state champion Mishawaka Penn. This one was a little tougher, but the Giants prevailed again, winning it 13-6. Early Verbals of Note The leaves have barely started to turn and already there are a substantial number of top recruits from the Class of 2001 who have already given a verbal commitment to the school of their choice. The early commit list includes more than a dozen PrepNation.com Top-100 national recruits including running back Ciatrick Fason (Neptune Beach-Fletcher, Fla.), who committed last spring to the University of Florida, and exciting dual-threat quarterback Reggie McNeal of Lufkin, Texas. He committed this summer to Texas A&M. PrepNation.com's Top 100 verbals: QB Reggie McNeal , 6-3, 180, 4.4 , Lufkin, Texas , Texas A&M QB Christian Olsen , 6-4, 215, 4.9 , Wayne Hills (Wayne, N.J.) , Notre Dame QB Tyler Palko , 6-3, 215, 4.5 , West Allegheny (Imperial, Pa.) , Pittsburgh QB Justin Zwick , 6-5, 215, 4.6 , Wash. (Massillon, Ohio) , Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett , 6-0, 230, 4.5 , Warren Harding (Warren, Ohio) , Ohio State RB Ciatrick Fason , 6-1, 200, 4.5 , Fletcher (Neptune Beach, Fla.) , Florida RB Jerious Norwood , 6-0, 190, 4.4 , Brandon, Miss. , Miss. State RB Justin Vincent , 6-0, 200, 4.4 , Barbe (Lake Charles, La.) , LSU OT Doug Datish , 6-5, 295, 5.1 , Howland (Warren, Ohio) , Ohio State OT Chris Felder , 6-6, 275, 5.2 , Oelwein, Iowa , Iowa DL Derek Landri , 6-3, 265, 5.0 , De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) , Notre Dame LB Berkeley Hutchinson , 6-3, 230, 4.6 , Long Branch, N.J. , Rutgers LB Brian Robison , 6-3, 240, 4.6 , Splendora, Texas , Texas S Brian Leonard , 6-2, 200, 4.5 , Gouverneur, N.Y. , Rutgers S Eric McNeal , 6-2, 200, 4.5 , Serra (Gardena, Calif.) , UCLA Other verbals of note: QB Drew Stanton , 6-4, 205, 4.7 , Harrison (Farmington Hills, Mich.) , Mich. State RB Kenneth Darby , 5-10, 190, 4.4 , Butler (Huntsville, Ala.) , Alabama WR Roy Hall , 6-3, 200, 4.5 , Brush (Cleveland) , Ohio State WR Josh Hannum , 6-0, 170, 4.3 Strath Haven (Wallingford, Pa.) , Notre Dame WR Akieem Jolla , 6-2, 175, 4.4 , St. Augustine (New Orleans) , Florida State WR Montavis Pitts , 6-0, 180, 4.3 , Loachapoka, Ala. , Va. Tech Former AFM managing editor Jamie DeMoney of Prepnation.com compiles the National Prep Poll for the Associated Press/World Features Syndicate. He can be reached by email at jdemoney94@aol.com |
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