Leading off today: Peyton Houston gave it his best shot on Thursday, but the Louisiana sophomore's amazing passing performance came up short in a 77-76 loss in overtime.
Houston threw for 817 yards and eight touchdowns for Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian Academy in the loss to Captain Shreve High. He completes 53 of 68 passes.
Houston's total fell 20 yards short of the national record according to MaxPreps. Still, he easily topped the Louisiana state record of 639 yards.
The 6-foot, 195-pound quarterback, who has thrown for 300 or more yards in five consecutive games, also ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns.
New York refs cracking down on uniform rule
Whether it's bat flips following home runs or yanking off jersey tops after scoring goals in soccer, high school athletes have a long history of imitating what they see in the college and pro ranks. Now, however, a line has been drawn in the sand in football.
Robert Zayas, executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, sent a memo to sectional executive directors this week to advise them that football officials are stepping up enforcement of a National Federation regarding the length of pants.
Under rule 1-5-1e of the National Federation of High Schools rule book, pants must completely cover the knees, thigh guards and knee pads and any portion of any knee brace that does not extend below the pants. However, compliance has become increasingly spotty across the country even though violations are supposed to require the removal of players from the game until the knees are no longer exposed.
The fix might not be as simple as it seems.
Liverpool coach Joe Sindoni told Syracuse.com that uniform manufacturers have recently been designing football pants that are tighter and harder to stretch down below the knees.
"It's a constant battle in the game with the way pants are designed," he said. "Naturally, it does slide up a little bit. That's just how the uniform is put together."
California schools take enforcement into their own hands
Four teams in a California league are forfeiting games against the fifth member, the
Los Angeles Times reported.
The decision by San Pedro, Gardena, Carson, and Banning is aimed at Harbor City Narbonne High. Their letter to Los Angeles City Section Commissioner Victoria Lagos alleges Narbonne has created an uneven playing field based on the Gauchos' "practice of fielding All-Star teams."
Narbonne is off to a 4-2 start, with its four remaining games against the four Marina League opponents.
"Reports in the past of players being flown in from out of state to join an already stacked roster reinforce the belief that this is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader strategy," the letter to Lagos states. "We believe Narbonne's practices undermine the level playing field that athletics are supposed to offer, and if allowed to continue, these actions will create lasting damage to the reputation and integrity of our league."
Passings
Longtime Port Jefferson track and cross country coach Rod Cawley passed away recently, according to the
Section 11 website.
Cawley's cross country teams -- he coached the boys from 1994-2020 -- earned 18 league championships and 16 Suffolk County sectional titles.
His coaching career, which began in 1981, included stints in charge of the school's girls indoor track (1987-89), boys indoor track (1990-2021), and boys outdoor track (1987-2021) squads.
Cawley was named league coach of the year 44 times and county coach of the year 24 times.
