Prep Football | Marysville-Pilchuck's Austin Denton challenging state rushing record

Austin Denton has been tearing up WesCo North football fields for two seasons in a sport that's not even his best.

Denton, an honorable-mention all-state baseball center fielder, has 2,055 yards on 174 carries and 26 touchdowns going into Marysville-Pilchuck's first-round Class 4A playoff game at Auburn Friday night. He is questionable, however, because of a high-ankle sprain.

Denton is only 622 yards from the state record for rushing yards in a season, set by Ferndale's Matthias Wilson in 1997.

"With Austin, he's not great at one thing. He's just kind of good at everything," said third-year coach Brandon Carson of seventh-ranked M-P (10-0). "He has a solid combination of speed and power. He makes you miss and he can run through you."

Denton, who had 1,565 yards in 2008, has rushed for more than 200 yards in every game he's played, except the Tomahawks' 49-24 throttling of Graham-Kapowsin last week. He suffered the injury in the first half of that game after rushing for 136 yards.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior has been undergoing physical therapy this week in an attempt to practice today, which would give him a chance to play in the school's first state-playoff game in exactly 20 years.

Just two weeks ago, in the regular-season finale against Oak Harbor, Denton set a school record with 323 yards on 20 carries.

"I didn't have a clue that I went over 300 yards, said Denton, who also broke M-P's season rushing mark that game. "Someone told me and I was like, 'What?' I couldn't believe it."

It was, not coincidentally, the first time since Week 1 that he felt 100 percent. In the Tomahawks' second game, he suffered a neck injury that worsened throughout the season and kept him out of a 14-3 win over Kamiak on Oct. 16.

"I actually felt like a normal person would, without any bumps or bruises, against Oak Harbor," Denton said.

He hopes he can say the same thing Friday night.

Auburn trying for three 1,000-yard rushers

It's not so rare for a high-school team to have a 1,000-yard rusher these days.

Occasionally, a team might even have two — as Auburn did last year with Jeff Gouveia and Chris Young.

But three? That's rare.

Yet the third-ranked Trojans (10-0) can accomplish that feat Friday night. Austin Embody needs just 34 yards to join Young (1,424) and Alphonse Wade (1,241) in the club.

Embody ran for a career-high 214 yards last week against Kamiak to give him 966 for the season. Wade had 136 yards. Young did not play and is done for the season after an athletic-code violation.

Trojans linemen step up for parade

It was a wet, soggy morning after a big playoff victory, and a lot of high-school football players were sleeping in last Saturday.

But 20 linemen from Auburn were up early and marching in the city's annual Veteran's Day parade, carrying banners in support of the Gold Star Moms — mothers who have lost loved ones in military conflicts.

"It was a really cool deal," Trojans line coach Dan Irwin said.

The linemen got involved when former teammate Jonathon Wilson, who did not turn out this season, asked for their support as part of a community service project.

"They all responded right away," Irwin said.

Coach shows faith in Interlake QB

When Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception on the first play of the game in the Seahawks' win over Detroit on Sunday, Interlake coach Sheldon Cross turned to Saints quarterback Matt Malos in the Qwest Field stands and said, "You see that, watch how he carries himself the rest of the game."

The Seahawks' quarterback went on to throw for more than 300 yards against the Lions.

On a rainy Tuesday night in University Place, Malos was faced with similar adversity.

He started 1 of 7, but his eighth pass went for an 18-yard touchdown, the first of three to Dylan Amell during a 47-23 victory over North Mason.

"You can't dwell on the bad, you have to move on," Cross frequently tells his quarterback.

The Saints (8-3) gamble often, but with Malos leading the offense it's more of a calculated risk. The odds seem to tilt in their favor.

"We go for it," Cross said. "That's what we've done all year."

Soph QB already in Islanders' record book

Mercer Island quarterback Jeff Lindquist finished the season in record-setting fashion. The sophomore holds the school's season mark for touchdown passes with 13.

He threw for a pair of scores during the Islanders' 49-0 victory over Chief Sealth in the last game of the season. He broke the record shared by Mark Stillwell (1973) and Sam Hale (1999), who is now Lindquist's quarterback coach.

Going into next season, Lindquist will be two TD passes shy of the mark for touchdown strikes in a career. The record of 26 is held by Matt Hale, Sam's older brother.

Bellevue back hopes for doctor's clearance

Bellevue running back David Nguyen had one more doctor's appointment Wednesday to determine if he could return for Friday's first-round 3A playoff game against Mount Si. Nguyen suffered a foot fracture early in the season.

If he does play against the Wildcats, it won't be much because of the long layoff, but he is expected to be ready to go if the Wolverines advance to the quarterfinals.

Bellevue also expects have to have Kendrick and Brayden Van Ackeren back to full strength against Mount Si. The brothers were limited to playing on offense in last week's win over Rainier Beach.

Note

• Fourth-ranked Jackson (10-0) and No. 7 Marysville-Pilchuck (10-0) are a combined 38-3 the past two seasons. They haven't met since a WesCo crossover game matching 4-5 teams in the 2007 season finale, when the visiting Tomahawks prevailed 40-0.

Times staff reporters Sandy Ringer

and Mason Kelley contributed to this report.