Mason has been building toward state records

By Sheldon Shealer

Records are meant to be broken. But usually not this quickly!

Georgetown Prep senior Marcus Mason is less than 150 yards away from breaking the state's career rushing record, a mark that was set in the very last game of the 2001 season. Prep faces Ballou (D.C.) on Saturday, and considering Mason has rushed for at least 175 yards in every game this season, Terry Caulley's record of 5,540 yards seems doomed.

Here's the story of how we've reached this milestone point.

In 1990, Raphael Wall of Wilde Lake became the first Maryland running back to top 5,000 career rushing yards with 5,095. Wall had a brief career at the University of Maryland. Wall's public school state record stood until 1997, when Oxon Hill's Walter Cross capped a four-year varsity career with 5,227 yards. Cross went on to the University of Michigan.

In between Wall's 5,095 and Cross' 5,227 was a then little-known running back Olandis Gary. Between 1991 and 1993, Gary racked up 5,374 yards while attending Riverdale Baptist. In high school, Gary's first name was often misspelled as Orlandis or even Orlando. Gary bounced around a few colleges before finishing at the University of Georgia. Of course, now there's no mistaking his name as Olandis plays for the Denver Broncos.

Gary's mark of 5,374 appeared pretty safe, even though Caulley, of Patuxent, had gone over the 5,000 mark during last year's state playoffs. No serious thought was given to Caulley eclipsing the record because he went into the state final almost 200 yards behind the mark. Given the fact Urbana, Patuxent's state final foe, had allowed only two 100-yard rushers in four years, it seemed unlikely Caulley would get close to the mark, so his numbers were not officially tallied heading into the final. Then, amazingly, Caulley uncorked a 306-yard performance in a state final loss to Urbana. Caulley had become the state's career rushing leader in such surprising fashion, it took a few months before his official career numbers were tallied. Caulley is now seeing substantial playing time at the University of Connecticut as a legitimate freshman.

Entering the 2002 season, Mason and Meade's Hassan Muhammad were in striking range of the state mark. Mason had nearly 4,300 yards. Muhammad had more than 3,600 yards. Mason's career numbers, through last week's win over Landon, are 533 carries for 5,393 yards. If he stays healthy, and gets enough carries, Mason has the potential to clip 6,000 career yards. What is amazing regarding Mason's pursuit of the record, he's done it at a school that does not have the benefit of playoffs -- restricting him to 10 games a season. Wall, Cross and Caulley, at some point or another, had their seasons extended thanks to playoffs. In addition, Prep's dominance in recent years -- which includes an ongoing 25-game win streak -- has left Mason on the bench for a lot of second halves.

Interestingly, the rushing record is not the only mark Mason could break this week. He has 80 career touchdowns, two shy of record set by Tyree Foreman of Sherwood between 1994-1996. In addition, Mason could also top the mark of 503 career points -- one of the state's longest-standing records -- set by Herschel McLeod of Charlotte Hall between 1959-1962.

RECORD SETTERS

Chesapeake-AA literally ran wild on South River, rolling up a staggering 577 yards of offense -- ALL rushing in a 53-20 win. Chesapeake's performance clips the former state record of 565 rushing yards in a game set by Eleanor Roosevelt last year. ... Calvert Hall posted 590 yards of total offense in a 56-22 win over Mount St. Joseph. While that number was nowhere near a state record, it does make the all-time Top 20 list.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Nick Bowen, Chesapeake-AA. Usually not mentioned among a flock of elite runners in the Class '03, Bowen is proving he belongs in the top class. Last week, Bowen rushed for 303 yards in Chesapeake's 577-yard rushing performance in a 53-20 win over South River.

IN CASE YOU WHERE WONDERING

Charles Flowers entered the A.P. Top 25 for the first time in the program's brief history this week. The Jaguars accomplished the feat after only their 13th varsity game, however, they are not the quickest new school to reach the state poll. That distinction belongs to North County, which cracked the AP State Poll in the preseason of 1991 after the program had played only 10 games. Here are the rest of the fastest new schools to crack the rankings (Each team is listed with how many varsity games it played leading up to its first state poll appearance): Northwest, 17 in 1999; Urbana, 21 in 1998; Westlake, 23 in 1996; Watkins Mill, 25 in 1991; Patuxent, 26 in 1999.

STREAK BUSTERS

Joppatowne's 14-game regular-season undefeated streak ended in a 30-12 loss to North Harford. ... Friends School ended a seven-game losing streak with a 28-19 win over Cardinal Gibbons. ... South Carroll's seven-game win streak has snapped by Urbana, 40-7. ... Elkton's seven-game regular-season win streak is over following a 32-22 loss to Rising Sun. ... Calvert's six-game win streak ended in a 27-21 loss to Largo. ... Damascus' six-game regular-season win streak was halted in a 12-0 loss to Sherwood. ... Howard ended a six-game losing streak with a 27-26 victory over Mount Hebron. ... North Hagerstown snapped a six-game slide with a 40-0 victory over Williamsport. ... Glen Burnie ended a five-game losing streak with a 39-14 win over North County.

AROUND THE STATE (Week 5 Notes)

Edmondson and Patterson meet this week, pitting Baltimore City's winningest two coaches -- Patterson's Roger Wrenn and Edmondson's Pete Pompey. Oddly, both enter the game with 203 career wins. ... The key to defeating Blair, apparently, is to simply score. In one of the state's oddest facts this year, Blair is 3-2 with three shutouts. It has lost both games in which it has allowed points. ... Bishop Walsh (4-2) has scored 27 or more points in all six games this year. The only other teams to score 27 or more points in a game this season are: Aberdeen, Edmondson, Georgetown Prep, Hereford, Richard Montgomery, St. John's at Prospect Hall, Thomas Stone and Wilde Lake. Those teams are a combined 37-1. ... Simply staggering is the only way to describe C.M. Wright's 0-5 start. Several coaches expected the Mustangs to challenge for the Harford County League title following last year's strong JV showing. Instead, the team is one loss away from matching the worst record the program has posted under long-time coach Steve Harward. ... The next two weeks should sort out the MVAL 1A picture. Right now, South Hagerstown and Catoctin are 4-1. Boonsboro and Brunswick, two teams capable of stringing together win streaks, are 2-3. Catoctin faces Boonsboro this week and South Hagerstown next week. South plays league frontrunner FSK this week. Brunswick faces 2A rivals Walkersville and North Hagerstown the next two weeks. To bottom line it, if Catoctin can win its next two games, it has a strong shot at 1A playoff spot. As long as South Hagerstown can win at least two of its next four games, the Rebels should go into Week 10 with a chance at a first-ever playoff appearance. ... Georgetown Prep has the state's longest win streak at 25 games. Hereford has won 18 straight. Dundalk is next with nine in a row.

LOOKING AHEAD

Walt Whitman at Damascus, Friday. Damascus is eager to bounce back from its first loss -- a 12-0 setback to Sherwood. Whitman, like Damascus, is 4-1. The winner of this game should be in good position to make a run at a playoff spot. The loser quickly could find itself in fourth place in the league.

Largo at Northwestern-PG, Saturday. Largo is coming off an impressive 27-21 win over previously undefeated Calvert. Northwestern, meanwhile, suffered its first defeat -- a 26-12 setback to No. 3 Suitland. Both teams need a win to stay in the thick of the 4A playoff race.

Loyola vs. Gilman, Saturday. Loyola stung Gilman last year, knocking the team from its perch as No. 1 in the Baltimore area. Gilman had three other losses last season, but those were all against teams outside of the Baltimore area. Loyola, under new coach Brian Abbott, is 3-2 and its most notable win is over Urbana. Abbott inherited the program from legendary Joe Brune, who stepped down after 2001. It's the second Baltimore legend Abbott has followed. He took over the St. Paul's program from Mitch Tullai, who coached the school for 40 years.

Other Games of Note: Friday: Bohemia Manor at Easton; Carver Vo-Tech at Dunbar; DeMatha at Good Counsel; Edmondson at Patterson; Francis Scott Key at South Hagerstown, Richard Montgomery at Northwest; Seneca Valley at Magruder; South Carroll at Linganore. Saturday: Long Reach at Glenelg; Randallstown at Dundalk.