HISTORY! McLaughlin runs into record books with win over Griffith
Indiana Preps NWI No. 3 and 3A No. 4 Knox 50, NWI No. 5 and 3A No. 8 Griffith 35
By Paul Honeycutt

KNOX – Peyton McNeal, Gage Craig, Nigel Thompson, Tucker Burns, and Keyston Dickson.

Those are the names of the five offensive linemen for the Knox Redskins.

If you see them around town, buy ’em a burger because on this Halloween night, Knox senior QB Myles McLaughlin dressed up as something extremely obvious – Indiana’s best-ever running back.

Those are the first names McLaughlin mentioned.

“Peyton is a really good guy and one of my good friends, Gage and Nigel are some real big dawgs up front, and Tucker and Keyston have been playing with me for three of four years now, so we have a lot of good chemistry,” the record-breaking running back said.

He wasn’t done.

“My tight ends, Easton Minnix and Hunter Anderson, and my H-backs, Keagen Everage and Cain Weber, dawgs, all of ’em, dawgs!” McLaughlin exclaimed.

Coming into Friday’s Class 3A Sectional 25 semifinal against 3A No. 8 and Indiana Preps NWI No. 5 Griffith, McLaughlin needed 272 rushing yards to break former New Palestine RB Charlie Spegal’s career mark of 10,867, which was a tall task.

Then on his 26th carry, a QB sweep to the left side, he dashed for 16 yards and into the record books as the top rusher in IHSAA history.

On top of that, he also broke the mark for career scoring, which came on his third carry of the night, a 1-yard score that put 3A No. 4 and NWI No. 3 Knox (11-0) up 6-0 just 76 seconds into the game.

McLaughlin scored six touchdowns on the night, with none more important than that first one, propelling him over Spegal’s total 1,054 career points.

The senior quarterback, who’s the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 408 yards on 53 carries and added a TD pass in his team’s 50-35 win over the visiting Panthers.

Knox will host Mishawaka Marian (4-7) next week in the Sectional 25 final after the Knights beat Calumet 43-8 in the other semifinal.

For anyone keeping track, after his 42 points scored Friday, McLaughlin has racked up 11,004 rushing yards and 1,092 career points, both good for first all-time in the state of Indiana.

There are two more records left he may be able to break, but it will take a dominant run to Lucas Oil Stadium and the state finals on Thankgiving weekend.

McLaughlin has scored 374 points this year and with 80 more points, he could eclipse former Sheridan RB Brett Law’s mark of 453, which has stood since 1988. McLaughlin is now 4th all-time in single-season scoring.

The second one might be more difficult. Back in 2012, the national high school rushing record was set by Baltimore Ravens star rusher Derrick Henry, which stands at 12,124 and McLaughlin needs 1,121 yards in the next four games, if his team makes it to the state finals.

McLaughlin reached the top five all-time nationally in rushing from Friday’s effort after passing the mark of 10,930, belonging to Alvin Henderson, a back out of Elba High School in Alabama.

“It (the pressure) carries with the account of how much they put forward, so you better expect a lot of it,” said Knox coach Russ Radtke, whose 424 wins rank first amongst active coaches in Indiana and second all-time. “We were at 64, 32, and now 16, so we have to stay positive since our opponents are good because we play in a conference that’s fantastic and makes us tough, and Griffith made us tougher.”

On the first play from scrimmage, McLaughlin busted one for 64 yards, setting up that first score.

Griffith (9-2) trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, McLaughlin notched a 34-yard score.

After Griffith turned the ball over on downs, the host Redskins faced a fourth down, but McLaughlin connected with junior Ashton Walker for a 37-yard score on his only pass of the night to make it 28-0.

The Panthers picked up the pace on their next drive, though, going no huddle, which worked out for them after Desmond Neylon hauled in a 10-yard TD pass from QB Ryan Bullion for Griffith’s first score.

After McLaughlin added his fourth rushing score of the night on a 42-yarder, Griffith ripped right back down the field, with Neylon scoring on a 4-yarder, as Knox took a 36-14 lead into the half.

The third quarter was slow-moving until McLaughlin racked up his fifth score on a 1-yard run.

Griffith responded in a big way to make it 44-28 with back-to-back scores from Neylon on a 34-yard run and a 35-yard run, which sandwiched a Griffith fumble recovery from an onside kick.

McLaughlin added his sixth and final rushing score on a 5-yarder with 5:57 left.

Neylon rushed for 198 yards on 20 carries and accounted for four of Griffith’s touchdowns, while Bullion added a 17-yard TD pass to Jason Quillin.

McLaughlin’s main focus is the number one, which is what he wants to hold up if his team can go all the way.

“I honestly wasn’t even worried about the record, I was just looking to get the win,” said McLaughlin. “The goal is one at a time and to get to the state championship game.”



Knox 50, Griffith 35

Griffith; 0 14 14 7 – 35

Knox; 14 22 8 6 – 50

K – Myles McLaughlin 1 run (run failed), 10:44 1st

K – McLaughlin 2 run (McLaughlin run), 5:40 1st

K – McLaughlin 34 run (McLaughlin run), 11:51 2nd

K – Ashton Walker 37 pass from McLaughlin (McLaughlin run), 8:50 2nd

G – Desmond Neylon 10 pass from Ryan Bullion (Kyle Hornyak kick), 4:12 2nd

K – McLaughlin 42 run (run failed), 2:57 2nd

G – Neylon 4 run (Hornyak kick), 0:41 2nd

K – McLaughlin 1 run (McLaughlin pass to Cain Weber), 3:55 3rd

G – Neylon 34 run (Bullion pass to Jason Quillin), 3:03 3rd

G – Neylon 35 run (run failed), 1:53 3rd

K – McLaughlin 5 run (run failed), 5:57 4th

G – Quillin 17 pass from Bullion (Hornyak kick), 3:50 4th



Griffith;Knox

First Downs;20;19

Total Yards;344;445

Rushes-Yards;28-180;54-408

Passing;164;37

Comp.-Att.-Int.;16-26-0;1-1-0

Penalties-Yards;13-105;4-50

Fumbles-Lost;2-0;3-2



INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – GRIFFITH, Desmond Neylon 20-198, Ventris Tetter 1-0, Ryan Bullion 7-(-18). KNOX, Myles McLaughlin 53-408, Cain Weber 1-0.

PASSING – GRIFFITH, Ryan Bullion 16-26-164-2-0. KNOX, Myles McLaughlin 1-1-37-1-0.

RECEIVING – GRIFFITH, Ventris Tetter 4-64, Jason Quillin 3-43, Jalen Wilson 6-29, Desmond Neylon 2-20, Logan Andree 1-8. KNOX, Ashton Walker 1-37.