On September 9, Prep Rally wrote about the unfortunate case of Dallas (Texas) Jefferson High, which suffered the indignity of losing 73-0 to Keller (Texas) Timber Creek the night before. It turns out that the pain of that loss has been magnified three times for one Georgia school, which enters its fourth game of the season at 0-3, having been outscored by a whopping 213-0.

Murray County football team

Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. Chatsworth (Ga.) Murray County High has lost each of its first three games by an average score of 71-0. After falling 70-0 to Dalton (Ga.) Southeast Whitfield County High, 73-0 to Dalton (Ga.) High and 70-0 to Ringgold (Ga.) Heritage High, the Indians enter Friday night's game against LaFayette (Ga.) High in an unenviable position. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Georgia High School Football Daily, Murray County has already tied the Georgia state record for most 70-point losses in a season.

One more brutally rough game among the six remaining on their schedule, and Murray County will have the ignominious mark all to its own.

"I've been on teams that were 0-10 to 14-0 and state champions," first-year Murray County coach John Hammond told Georgia High School Football Daily. "You'd like to say you've seen it all. It's something you've got to go through, and you're becoming a better person, coach and team because of it."

The reasons for Murray County's struggles are widespread. The school is in just the third year of dealing with a much smaller student body, the result of a second high school opening within its district. That has taken a formerly robust and successful program -- the Indians had an impressive aggregate record of 29-8 between 1999 and 2001 -- down to the bare bones. Murray County's varsity program reportedly fields just 40 players this season, and some also spent time competing with the school's junior varsity team.

Want more proof that Hammond needs more players? With just two returning varsity seniors on the roster, the veteran coach is starting three freshmen, and has played as many as 12 in a game.

For the Indians, the hope is that the rough edges that come from current development lead to longterm success. Until then, Murray County will have to find a way to overcome drastic disadvantages in size and experience to avoid ending up in the Georgia record books for statistics that its players wouldn't want to be associated with.

In the first week of August, Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari gave a radio interview in which he appeared to take a pot shot at Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose questionable contact with a prospect had been reported by Prep Rally and then other sources just days earlier. Though Calipari denied that his "Other guys can make phone calls and it's not that big a deal," comment was in reference to Krzyzewski and his scholarship offer to Alex Poythress, few seemed to believe him.

Kentucky coach John Calipari at the ScoutsFocus Super 60 event

Well, if Calipari was trying to make light of Krzyzewski's teflon reputation, such criticisms will seem even more withering this week after it emerged that Calipari appears to be guilty of an even more egregious contact violation just weeks earlier in July. What makes the near-certain violation all the more shocking is the recipient of Calipari's adoration: A rising junior prospect who almost certainly won't reach the pinnacle of recruits who are likely to attend Kentucky.

The player in question is Aiken (S.C.) High center Austin Kyles, a 16-year-old dual citizenship hoopster who happens to be en route to play for his father's native New Zealand junior national team over the forthcoming weekend. Kyles is an impressive player -- he's nearly 6-foot-7 already and is surprisingly strong with a wide frame -- but no one would watch him play and target him as a future Kentucky Wildcat. Rather, he appears to be a good fit for a team with a more standardized system of offensive motion that could take advantage of his incredibly reliable 12-foot jumper.

Yet that disconnect from Calipari's direct recruiting interest didn't keep him from walking over and shaking Kyles' hand during the ScoutsFocus Super 60 Showcase at Butler High School in Augusta, Ga. on July 15. The picture of Calipari you see above was during Kyles' most impressive performance at the event. More poignantly, the showcase is smack dab in the middle of the NCAA's no-contact period, and Prep Rally can confirm that the handshake and conversation happened because both Kyles and his father, Dr. Tony Kyles (who was at the camp) confirmed that it occurred.

"After the game, Calipari shook his hand and said, 'Great game,'" Dr. Kyles told Prep Rally. "I think he was just acknowledging, 'Hey, this kid is holding down my senior.'"

Austin Kyles also confirmed that the handshake occurred to a Prep Rally source who could only comment on the condition of anonymity. Calipari's handshake and brief conversation with Kyles was first reported by the Aiken Standard, though the newspaper misattributed the tournament at which it occurred (the Standard said that it came at the Peach State Summer Showcase, though Kyles or Calipari was not in attendance at that event, which occurred at the same time as the Super 60 Showcase).

While a number of NCAA bylaws directly spell out how Calipari's contact was impermissible, the most direct explanation of his rule violation comes in bylaw 13.02.4, as spelled out below.

Any face-to-face contact by a Division I coach will constitute an impermissible contact during the July evaluation period if the encounter is prearranged or if the coach positions himself in a location where contact is possible (e.g., near gym entrances, designated paths for prospects, etc.).  A coach, who is innocently approached by a prospect, parent or someone associated with the prospect, will not be charged with a violation of the contact rule provided the encounter is not prearranged, the coach does not engage in any dialogue in excess of a greeting and the coach takes appropriate steps to immediately end the encounter.

Division I coaches are expected to sit in designated sections reserved for NCAA coaches.  Any face-to-face  encounter that occurs after a coach has placed himself in a location where contact with a prospect is possible will be deemed to be an impermissible contact or "bump" regardless of whether conversation occurs.

As both Dr. Kyles and Austin Kyles indicated that Calipari was the one who sought out the prospect, it would seem unlikely that Calipari could claim that Kyles had directly searched him out for a conversation, which would be the only way his conversation would not be a violation. Whether or not a handshake would be interpreted similarly is a matter for interpretation as well, though it seems highly unlikely that such physical contact could be brushed off as anything less than an impermissable "bump" ... at the very least.

University of Ketucky Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations DeWayne Peevy told Prep Rally on Friday that the university planned to fully investigate the incident internally.

"The University of Kentucky considers all compliance inquiries with great importance," Peevy told Prep Rally via email. "Our men's basketball staff is very knowledgeable in regards to NCAA rules and regulations and we will promptly look into this matter."

The senior attributed to Calipari by Dr. Kyles in his comments above is Devonta Pollard, an uncommitted small forward who has expressed significant interest in attending Kentucky and playing for Calipari. In a game at the Super Showcase, Austin Kyles limited Pollard's productivity inside, as well as the offensive game of Gavin Ware, a rising senior Mississippi State commit who was frustrated inside throughout the game by Kyles' aggressive defense.

You can see footage of Kyles' impressive defensive performance in that game above.

Naturally, Calipari's likely violation would be a minor one; after all most contact violations in July don't land significant bans or other sanctions, and some even go unpunished (Krzyzewski has yet to hear from the NCAA regarding his questionably-timed scholarship offer to Poythress). Still, the fact that he made physical contact with a recruit while he knew full well that he was not allowed to even talk to him is puzzling at best, and flaunts disobedience at worst (which we can hope it was not).

A Philadelphia-area coach has resigned after coming under fire for allegedly offering up a bounty for knocking an opposing team's star out of his team's football game.

According to the Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, MyFoxPhilly.com and other Philadelphia area sources, Morrisville (Pa.) High assistant football coach Jason Bresnen offered $100 to any of his players who could knock out the star running back for New Hope-Solesbury (Pa.) High during New Hope's 29-6 victory on Saturday. Though the player on whom Bresnen placed the bounty has not officially been revealed, New Hope running back Julian Kaminoff scored three touchdowns before Bresnen allegedly loudly declared to his players on the sideline that he would give $100 to anyone who knocked the player out of the game.

Bresnen resigned from his position as defensive coordinator on Thursday amid pressure from both the Morrisville School District and outside sources. Yet Bresnan also refused to admit that he placed an actual "bounty" on the head of an opposing player in an interview with The Courier Times.

"I told them that if you continue to hit [the player] and gang tackle him, I'll bet you $100 that we will wear him down," Bresnen told the New Jersey newspaper. "I would never tell them to hurt a player. I've been around sports all my life, coaching youth football and such. I would never do anything like that.

"Never would I tell a kid to deliberately hurt another player -- ever. I would never jeopardize that. I would never do anything to jeopardize a kid or his future."

It's far too early to definitively declare a miraculous touchdown as the high school football play of the year, but this particular score on the opening weekend of the 2011 season in New Jersey has to be a prime contender when everything shakes out.

In the truly miraculous play you see above, Chatham (N.J.) High used multiple backward scrambles, a recovered fumble and enough broken tackles to send any defensive coordinator into a fit to score a key second-quarter touchdown in Chatham's 28-14 victory at Hackettstown (N.J.) High.

Amazingly, the play might not have happened if the Chatham coaching staff's headsets were working correctly. Because they weren't, the Cougars' offense was constantly adjusting at the line and dealing with general confusion in the huddle. On the miraculous touchdown, that confusion translated to an unblocked Hackettstown rusher, who nearly sacked Chatham quarterback Thomas Guida as soon as he got the shotgun snap.

Instead, Guida wriggled free on the first of five remarkably eluded tackles. After retreating farther into his backfield, Guida was again met by a linebacker, but he ducked below that attempted Hackettstown tackle. An instant later he eluded a trio of would-be tacklers, though one dislodged the ball and sent Guida scrambling farther back toward his own end zone to recover the fumble.

While some players would have simply pounced on the loose football and killed the play, Guida picked it up and coolly connected with Cory Heidaran, whose ability to elude tacklers proved no less impressive than Guida's. After pulling in the pass at the 26-yard line, Heidaran backtracked directly into the teeth of the Hackettstown defense only to find a slippery seam that helped him elude three tackles himself and earn a clean sprint to a touchdown.

Afterward, Hackettstown coach Tony Villante made clear that he couldn't understand how Guida had avoided being sacked, insisting to the New Jersey Herald that his team would go back to the drawing board in practices to keep another quarterback from pulling off a similar feat.

"When you have a quarterback who's trapped 10 yards in the backfield and fumbles the ball and then is able to pick it up and throw the ball and get it to somebody, in practice you've got to go back to technique and fundamentals," Villante told the New Jersey Herald. "We go over [fundamentals] a thousand times and we'll keep on going over."

One of the more disturbingly violent on-field incidents in recent high school sports history may be settled in a courtroom, after Acworth, Ga., native Adam Chumley was charged with misdemeanor battery for attacking an opponent with that player's own football helmet in a game on Friday.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CBS Atlanta and a variety of other Georgia sources, Chumley's in-game attack came during Loganville (Ga.) Christian Academy's 33-0 pasting of Chumley's Woodstock (Ga.) Northside Christian Academy team. On a play in the middle of the second quarter, Chumley -- who was playing on Northside's offensive line -- ripped the helmet off LCA offensive lineman Jarrett Briscoe, then proceeded to beat the lineman with his own protective headgear.

Unsurprisingly, Briscoe was deeply disturbed by the seemingly unforeseen attack.

"He's still shaken up that anyone would be so severe on the field," Briscoe's mother posted on LCA's Facebook page, which also noted that her son was afflicted with headaches and nausea after he was attacked. "He's never seen, much less experienced, anything like it."

The game was immediately forfeited in LCA's favor after the attack, though Chumley was not immediately taken into custody. He later turned himself in to the Walton County Sheriff's Office, where he was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery. He was released after posting a $2,500 bond.

Only two weeks have passed since the community of Burlington, North Carolina first came to grips with the news that Williams (North Carolina) High School quarterback Harry Cohen had died suddenly, just days after he led his school to a big victory in its home opener.

harrycohen

Cohen's death was a shock to everyone in the community, and it left people wondering what had caused such a tragic turn of events. The quarterback had appeared to be in good spirits when he left the field, but many still wondered if a hit in the game had set something off in his body.

On Wednesday, the Burlington Times News obtained the medical examiner's report, which stated Cohen had not died from a blow to the head, but instead from taking his grandmother's methadone prescription. The medication, usually taken by patients to treat fibromyalgia, is lethal in small doses.

"There was nothing to absorb the medicine," Richard Kaffenberger, Cohen's stepfather, told the Times News. "It caused him to stop breathing, and he

Because of the great variety in high school sports, it's exceedingly rare that a statistic pops up that is nearly unfathomable. Yet, in a much ballyhooed Arkansas matchup between perennial power Little Rock (Ark.) Pulaski Academy and Cabot (Ark.) High, one figure in particular jumped off the page: Pulaski led the game 29-0 before Cabot ever ran a play.

If you're anything like Prep Rally, this is where you stop and say, "Wait, what? That's impossible!"

Using conventional football wisdom, such a scoreline absolutely would be impossible. For Pulaski head coach Kevin Kelley, whom this Sports Illustrated feature calls one of the least predictable thinkers in high school football, a 29-0 scoreline before a foe gets to possess the ball only requires thinking outside the box and a whole lot of onside kicks, all of which you can see above.

"That game the other night, they were just stunned," Kelley told Sports Illustrated about the early lead. "Emotionally, it takes so much out of you when the other team goes for it successfully or recovers an onside kick -- or three of them in a row."

Against Cabot, here's how Pulaski Academy pulled off the aforementioned demoralization of its opponent:

After winning the opening coin toss, Pulaski drove down the field for a touchdown. Immediately following the score, the Bruins lined up to kick off … and used an onside kick. Moments later, the team was back in the end zone, celebrating another touchdown. As Pulaski lined up for another kickoff, it would have seemed almost unthinkable that it try another onside kick. It did, and it recovered it again, and scored again.

Guess what happened next? Another onside kickoff, another recover and another touchdown. After only 4:25 had elapsed, the then-No. 99 team in the RivalsHigh 100 led 29-0.

If you thought the onside kicks would stop with a near 30-point lead, you're wrong. Pulaski actually attempted a fourth straight onside kick, but Cabot finally recovered. Yet the plays immediately following Cabot's recovery were hardly more successful, as Pulaski used an 11-man rush to fluster Cabot's quarterback, who promptly fired off incompletions instead of hitting wide-open receivers.

Of course, the receivers were wide open because Pulaski was leaving them uncovered; after all, that's the only way a team could manage an 11-man rush.

As one might expect, the Bruins racked up some truly gaudy stats in their 64-34 victory, buoyed by the surprising 29-0 opening edge. Most notably, quarterback Fredi Knighten passed for 456 yards and six touchdowns in a 24-for-28 performance. He also added 100 yards on the ground and two more rushing touchdowns. That's eight total scores, the highlights of which you can see in the video directly above.

Just in case you don't spend significant time taking note of the latest trends in high school sartorial splendor -- and statistically, most of the readers in this blog can't possibly fall into that category -- then you should be informed that there's a burgeoning new practice of girls wearing feathers in their hair. Some might blame Ke$ha for the practice. Miley Cyrus and fellow teen queen Selena Gomez have sported them. So has Drew Barrymore, as you can see below. Heck, even Steven Tyler has supported the hair feather team.

Ke$ha and Drew Barrymore wear hair feathers

With all that celebrity hype in mind, perhaps it isn't surprising that feathers woven into hair are starting to pop up all over American high schools. Where that becomes an interesting proposition is when it interferes with existing uniform standards for scholar athletes, like volleyball players in Texas, for instance.

As pointed out by the Dallas Morning News, Texas' governing body for school sports, the University Interscholastic League, found the issue to be troublesome enough that it deemed it necessary to rule on whether or not a player could legally wear a hair feather during a game. The verdict was that she could, but only if it attached to a wearer's hair correctly.

Don't worry if you're confused. We'll let UIL's official announcement about hair feathers clear everything up here.

The question has arisen as to whether or not the wearing of a feather(s) in the hair would be in compliance with NFHS Volleyball Rules 4-1-5 and 4-1-6. First, the feather must meet all the material and dimension requirements in 4-1-5. If requirements are met, the feather could be worn if it is affixed to the hair by braiding or woven method. It may be worn if affixed by a soft yielding material. However, if the feather(s) is attached with a hard, unyielding or metal material it would not meet the requirements in 4-1-5 or 4-1- 6. The metal would be similar to jewelry and is not of a soft material.