52-GAME SKID ENDS: Ameer Hayes threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns as Cheyney ended a Division II-record 52-game winless streak with a 40-13 rout of Mansfield in a match of winless teams on Saturday.
Cheyney (1-8) also snapped a 39-game losing streak, previously the longest in the nation, with a 34-point second half. The half featured a 66-yard touchdown pass from Hayes to Bobby McRae and Nate Floyd-Ingram's 70-yard interception return.Cheyney last won in 1993, against Kutztown.
PREP RUSHES FOR 525 YARDS: One day later, the feat looked as impressive on film as it did live.
When Irving (Texas) High School football coach Jim Bennett watched the videotape from Friday's 45-29 victory against L.D. Bell Saturday morning, it was like watching a Mother Goose nursery rhyme and fairy tale with junior tailback Tyson Thompson as the main character.
"I've had a running back before who rushed for 318 yards one week and 387 the next, but I've never had one like this. It's unheard of," Bennett said. "Friday night was just wild. We'd call a play and I would really think, `We have a chance to score on this one and we were only 30 yards out of our end zone."
Thompson rushed for 525 yards on 32 carries, scoring all seven Irving touchdowns.
What kind of a night was it for Thompson? His seven touchdown runs alone totaled up 464 yards. He didn't have a single touchdown of fewer than 50 yards. On consecutive carries, he scored from 80 yards and again from 89. He averaged more than 16 yards each time he carried the ball. Of 38 total offensive plays run by Irving, 32 of them went Thompson's way.
Not bad for a tailback who, a few months ago, was running with the third-team offense because Bennett doubted his commitment.