One thing we’ve always had in the back of our mind at Scrimmage Play is trying to become a source of record, a living and evolving showcase for the history of Central Virginia high school sports.
And one place where we have the ability to get things right regularly is with the numbers. That’s why we built our statistics engine online for football and basketball, and with football season coming up why we’re ready to unleash the first ever Scrimmage Play area record book for football. Through a variety of sources and research that started with the VHSL Record Book and ended with team-reported statistics from the 2012 season, we’ve compiled what we believe is a definitive record book of Central Virginia prep football. While some names may have been left out and will gladly and quickly be added, this is a pretty well-researched look at the history — and in a few cases, the present — of Central Virginia football, particularly on the offensive end of the game.
This is a living document of course, and will surely see additions, changes and . But we’ve certainly gotten the ball moving. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you think something is missing. We definitely want to know.
A special thanks to a few folks who likely don’t even know they’ve helped. Monticello’s Dan Heuchert who’s kept a meticulous record of Mustangs football. The VHSL’s Mike McCall and Marshall Johnson who’s work over the years on the record book was instrumental to pulling this together. The Sabre’s Kris Wright who pulled together a lot of information from over the years in his previous stop at the Daily Progress. And coaches like STAB’s John Blake who were able to track down any arbitrary numbers to help us flesh out the lists. Thanks a ton for all the assistance.
Career total offense
The current all-time leader in career total offense in the area is Blue Ridge product Chad Byers, another player who finished his career in 2007 and amassed 8,057 total yards. Close behind is Bradley Starks, the Orange County star who went on to play at West Virginia, with 7,179 yards. That’s where the present intersects the list for the first time too, where Kent Henry, just three years into his playing career, is third all-time with 7,063 yards. We’ll come back to Henry later, but it’s worth noting that his 2012 total of 4,223 yards was the 7th-best total-yardage campaign in state history according to the VHSL record book. He also did it in just 12 games — everyone in the state’s all-time top 10 played at least 14. Those names above him are pretty impressive too. There’s Vic Hall up there twice for his 2003 and 2004 campaigns. Just behind him? Brandon Hogan, a fourth round NFL draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2011. To get on the VHSL’s career list, Henry needs to total more than 2,000 total yards as a senior.
Career Rushing
Takeem Hedgeman of Monticello, who wrapped his career as a Mustang in 2007, is the area’s career rushing leader (6,383 yards). He’s also 15th all-time in the state in career rushing, with names like Terry Kirby and Thomas Jones above him and Evan Royster just below him. That’s a pretty amazing career by any measure, Hedgeman is far and away the most productive running back in area history. He went on to rush for 1,509 yards in his four year career at Norfolk State, including a 698-yard junior year. His high school career mark doesn’t appear to be in any immediate danger, with rising junior tailback Kyree Koonce, perhaps the only probable threat, and he’d need to nearly double his production from his first two years of high school over his last two as he sits with 2,135 yards currently.
Behind Hedgeman is Buckingham’s John Perkins (1999-2002) with 5,384 yards. Then there’s Raymond Kirkley of Madison who went on to play at Pittsburgh and finished with 5,331 yards at Madison. There’s Charlottesville’s Terrell Mulford at fourth with 5,061 yards, now the Black Knights’ offensive coordinator after his career at Ferrum.
Career Passing
Byers is the all-time passing leader, with his 6,472 passing yards still topping the list. Starks is second, and Fork Union’s Christian Hackenberg is third all-time with 5,474 yards and 53 touchdowns. Hackenberg, while lauded largely by national recruiting analysts for his size and other measurables, was, clearly, an incredibly productive prep quarterback, the third best in the area’s history based solely on yards while playing most of his career in a run-first attack for the Blue Devils that slowly evolved around his strengths. He also played against an absurd schedule that included the likes of Hermitage and Georgetown Prep his senior year. Byers, by comparison, threw the ball all over the place in a spread attack under current Albemarle coach Mike Alley up at Blue Ridge.
What’s perhaps more intriguing is that in sixth place on the career list sits Henry. Behind Mark Jordan and Joe Sanford, Henry’s 4,710 yards already ranks sixth all-time. Yeah, it’s been a pretty good couple of years for the Western signal-caller. That’s pretty incredible, because Henry is also the area’s all-time leader in touchdown responsibility in a season (a VHSL metric that combines passing, rushing, receiving and return scores). He edged out Hedgeman’s VHSL-record 51 rushing touchdowns in 2007 with 52 total TDs.
Career Receiving
The top all-time pass catcher in Central Virginia is Alex Asher, who in his career at Western Albemarle and St. Anne’s-Belfield, totaled 2,658 yards through the air. Asher’s career was interrupted by a severe knee injury that led to him reclassifying at St. Anne’s-Belfield and picking up the extra year to rehab. Second place all-time is Daniel Lieb of Monticello, who piled up 2,517 yards at Monticello.
What’s interesting is that despite the explosion of prolific quarterbacks of late — last year’s group of Jhalil Mosley, Hackenberg, Jack Morris, Zack Jackson and Henry specifically — receivers haven’t exactly followed suit. Nic Drapanas is the lone current player on the career receiving list at 19th with 1,340 yards. That’s actually pretty impressive considering how much Henry has spread the ball in his three years as the signal-caller, but he’s the only current player that’s presently in position to vault himself into the top 10 all-time, and he’ll need a monster senior season to get that done.
