A first-round playoff game between two Illinois high schools set a state record for most points scored. Quincy Senior High School defeated Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy 88-84, in a game which started at 3:00 pm but had to be moved to another field when it became too dark to play, as the first venue has no lights.
That’s more track meet than football.
How did two teams with such shitty defense make it into the top ten seeds?
Generally 8 or 9 seeds in high school sports aren’t that good, especially since they’re 8 and 9 on their half of the bracket.
And what made the game take so long? The clock should still be running the same no matter how unopposed the offenses are. And with that much scoring, I’d be surprised if it was tied repeatedly for multiple overtimes.
The proximate cause was that the first half took two hours to complete. They actually shortened halftime to only six minutes to try to beat darkness. They made to 3:42 left in the fourth before they were forced to change venue.
Why the first half lasted two hours will perhaps forever remain a mystery.
This article has a detailed scoring summary. (It may make sense to those more familiar with football than me.)
Most of the scoring happened in the first half: there were five touchdowns in the first quarter, and eleven touchdowns in the second quarter. The game clock stops for a number of reasons, including after scoring plays, incomplete passes, runners going out of bounds, penalties, and turnovers. The clock also stops briefly whenever a first down is gained, to give the measurement crew time to get into its new position.
So, in the first half:
- Sixteen touchdowns (the clock stops each time a score occurs)
- Sixteen point-after attempts (the clock does not run on an XP, and does not resume running until the kickoff after the PAT)
- Some number of incomplete passes and runners going out of bounds
- Some number of first downs
- Some number of penalties
- Some number of turnovers (there were three lost fumbles and three interceptions over the course of the game)
There were no overtimes. Lots of passes by one team, and the clock stops on every incomplete pass.
Still, two hours to play one half of football in high school is not normal.
Lol, 322 yards rushing on 22 attempts is absurd. Goode had 3 different 100 yard rushers.
Interesting that Quincy was nearly 100% passing and Goode was nearly 100% running.
15 touchdowns on plays of at least 25 yards.
It must be disheartening to score 60 points in the first half, and only lead the other team by 1 point.
Dramatically different offenses: the winning team was pass-heavy with under 100 total rushing yards, the losing team was very successful on the ground but had something like 14 passing yards.
Did anyone keep score on how much the concession stands made?
No, it’s not normal, but sixteen touchdowns in a half isn’t normal, either.
And, it looks like, in Illinois, high school football quarters are 12 minutes long, not the 15 that is the norm in college and pro ball.
But, as I noted above, with sixteen touchdowns scored in that half, the clock isn’t running, at all, for sixteen periods of time between when the play is blown dead for the TD, the kicking team goes on the field, the XP attempt is made, the kickoff and kick coverage teams go on the field, line up, the kicker kicks off, and someone fields the ball (which is when I believe the clock finally restarts).
The play clock in Illinois high school football is 40 seconds long. If we assume that something like that 90 seconds passes between when a TD is scored, and the ensuing kickoff is fielded, that’s 24 minutes of stopped clock right there. Add in time stoppages for incomplete passes, out of bounds, penalties, turnovers, etc., and it adds up.
That sort of consistency of offense is common at the high school level, where you might have someone good at one, but probably not players good at both.
Also, neither team had any reason to change offensive tactics.