Thomas Tyner, the one-time Oregon commitment and remarkable Oregon state record holder for most rushing yards and touchdowns in a game, saw his high school career come to an end with his Beaverton (Ore.) Aloha High team's 59-46 loss to West Salem (Ore.) High. While the departure from the playoffs might have been a disappointment, Tyner made sure that he didn't go quietly, setting one final state record and scoring six touchdowns.
Now that is one heck of an exit.
As reported by the Oregonian, Tyner rushed for 161 yards against West Salem, pushing his total to 3,402 yards on the season. That broke the previous mark of 3,335 yards by Cory McCaffrey of Sisters (Ore.) High in 2006. Yet even that total belies just how impressive Tyner's total is. Unlike McCaffrey, who reached the prior record total in 14 games, Tyner achieved the new record in just 11 games.
In the end, Tyner averaged an incredible 309 yards per game.
Yet, in his final game, Tyner wasn't the only back to dominate an opposing defense. Rather than be awed by his record, West Salem running back Ambrose Soh also ran for six touchdowns. In fact, Soh even outgained Tyner, 193 yards to 161.
All of that made accepting his new all-time mark tough for Tyner, despite the cap it put on an all-time great statistical campaign.
"Oh man, it's just not even real right now," Tyner said, helmet still firmly on his head. "Your high school career is just over. At the end of the game, just looking at everyone, and everyone's crying, and looking at all the seniors. It's devastating. It's nothing you want to feel. You always want to end on a good note."
Given his exploits at the prep level, it seems likely this isn't the last we'll hear of Tyner, even if it really might be the last time he runs for six touchdowns. Even with his talent, hitting that kind of a threshold at a major NCAA program seems a stretch.
Then again, 10 touchdowns and 634 yards in a game probably seemed like a stretch before Tyner came along, too.
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