Often, the best high school sports performances are dismissed as the result of diminished competition, a top athlete taking advantage of lesser foes like a proverbial flat track bully. It won't be possible to downplay what Stephenville (Texas) High quarterback Tyler Jones achieved on Friday, when he produced a career game on the grandest stage.
As noted by the Dallas Morning News, in leading Stephenville to a 70-35 victory against El Campo (Texas) High, Jones almost singlehandedly earned Stephenville a Class 3A state title. He had a hand in nine touchdowns, passing for five and running for four more, while racking up an astounding 556 total yards.
The 70 points set a UIL record for most points scored in an 11-man Texas football game.
In his MVP performance, Jones completed 25 of 32 passes for 432 yards and ran for 124 yards. He was so efficient that the quarterback helped keep Stephenville from punting at all.
Stephenville's title was the school's fifth, with the victory against El Campo capping a remarkable run through the state playoffs in which Stephenville averaged 53.3 points per game. In fact, Jones was so impressive behind center that he helped Stephenville rack up more points in the first half alone (35) than El Campo had allowed in a full game all season.
After the victory, Jones was quick to spread praise for the victory and the team's success among everyone on the Stephenville sideline. While magnanimous, that also underplays one of the great single-game performances in Texas high school football history.
"I couldn't do it without these other guys, I mean even the defense," Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Everybody played well, all 11 guys on the field played as a team and it was awesome to see."
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