Why Week 5 was prep football’s best ever for individual stats

Calling anything "the greatest ever" is always hard to quantify, but at a certain point one reaches a critical mass of data and opinion that can sway one to cross over and declare, "You know what? That really was the best [insert noun here] ever!"

After combing through remarkable statistical achievements for a full seven days, Prep Rally is ready to declare that last weekend -- officially Week 5 in national scheduling terms -- most likely provided more remarkable individual statistical performances than any other in history.

Before anyone freaks out, just consider some of the stunning performances in terms of records they set (or came near) alone:

• In Southern California, a receiver set a state record with 28 catches … in a single game!
• In Nebraska, a quarterback accounted for 10 -- yes, 10 -- touchdowns in his team's 88-40 victory. Eight of those came on the ground.
• In Texas, a running back accumulated 522 yards and six touchdowns in his team's 62-55 shootout, good for fourth most all-time
• In Oregon, a quarterback somehow had a direct hand in all 52 of his team's points, contributing on the ground, through the air and with his foot as a placekicker.
• In Massachusetts, a running back scored 6 touchdowns and set a new Western Massachusetts record with 421 yards.

While those performances qualified as the week's Top 5, they were hardly the only great individual games turned in. Just up the road from Camarillo (Calif.) High, where receiver Jake Maulhardt (pictued above) was pulling in those 28 catches, Vista del Lago (Calif.) High receiver Logan Smith finished with 24 receptions in his school's 41-33 victory. That's the third highest single game receptions mark in state history, but was only the second highest that night.

And in Utah, a familiar name turned heads again when Lone Peak (Utah) High quarterback Chase Hansen passed for 381 yards and six touchdowns in his team's 45-24 victory over Bingham (Utah) High, the two-time defending state champions. Of course, that's not even the most touchdowns Hansen has scored in a single game this year; he famously had an 8 TD performance against Highlands (Utah) High earlier in September.

If all these marks came over the span of a season -- or even a month -- they could have been viewed as part of a traditional pattern. That they happened across a single two-day span, however, is too much to overlook.

We're also hardly done with football, which gives scores of stars nationwide plenty of time to outdo the incredible feats turned in last week. For a player like Gehrig Dieter alone, that's a scary prospect. After all, he's already set a state and national receiving record this year, and we're not even in October.

You know what that means football fans? It means there's more to come. Buckle your seat belts, because Week 6 is about to kick off.

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