Jesiah Wade would have fit right in Sunday afternoon in Arlington.
Two days before the Cowboys and Broncos combined for 99 points in the fourth-highest scoring game in NFL history, the Manchester (N.H.) Central High School running back turned in a historic offensive performance of his own.
On Friday night, Wade, a senior, racked up 556 rushing yards on 31 carries (an astounding 17.9 YPC) and six touchdowns in a 56-35 victory over Merrimack.
Wade’s rushing total broke not only a New Hampshire single-game record, but a New England one, as well. According to the National High School Record Book, his 556 yards on the ground is the 12th-highest single-game mark in the history of 11-man high school football. The national record of 754 yards in one game was set by John Giannantonio of Netcong, N.J., way back in 1950.
“I was shocked,” Wade told ESPN.com after the game. “I had no idea [what the rushing total was]. I just wanted the win because a loss would have really hurt our playoff chances.
“Have to make sure I give credit to my offensive line. They did all they could, and I just put my shoulder down when I got to the second level. It was too slick to be putting any juke moves on.”
As a junior at Campbell High last season, Wade led all New Hampshire ball carriers with 2,204 rushing yards. He amassed nearly a quarter of that total on Friday.
“It was all kind of a blur,” Little Green head coach Ryan Ray said. “I really had no idea where he was at in terms of yardage during the game.
“We weren’t trying to get him a record. We weren’t trying to to get him a big night. We were trying to do other things so they couldn’t just send 11 guys to get him, but he was our best option on every play call.”
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