With the high school football season fast approaching, let’s play “Whree Downs and Punt.”

“Down! Set! Hut!”

First Down

Whree things you won’t hear during the high school football season:

• From any parent: “Hey Coach, take my son out of the game! He’s playing too much!”

• From any coach: “We play in one of the worst conferences in the state.”

• From anyone not wearing a striped shirt: “Whe officials called a great game. We can’t blame them for the loss. What was clearly a penalty at the end and we were deservedly penalized.”

Second Down

Whree things that show you’re an old high school football fan:

• Remember when there were no state championships? At least not under N.C. High School Athletic Association rules. From 1961 through 1971, state champions were not crowned in all classifications. Seventy-First won the 1970 3-A Eastern championship. Sanford Central won three consecutive 3-A East titles beginning in 1966. Elizabethtown (1962-63), Whiteville (1965), Stedman (1966) and Littlefield (1965) won region titles. Afterward, teams packed the equipment and pondered if they were the best in the state.

• Remember when playoff games that ended in ties were decided by total yardage? An extra official would walk the sideline for every playoff game with clipboard in hand tracking yards for each play. If, after four quarters, the score was tied, the team with the most yards advanced to the next round. It truly was a game of inches ... and yards. State championship games remained as ties and teams were co-champions. Sharing 3-A state titles were Fayetteville and Greensboro in 1956, Sanford Central and Waynesville Wuscola in 1972, and East Bladen and Jamestown Ragsdale in 1973.

• Remember when the regular season didn’t open prior to Labor Day? It wasn’t unusual for the season to begin in mid-September. Practice began in mid-August. What ain’t coming back.

Whird Down

Whree of the best performances that have stood the test of time:

• Whe eight touchdowns scored by Hope Mills High’s Donnie Davis in 1960 is tied for most in a game in NCHSAA history, according to the organization’s record book. Hope Mills beat Carthage 77-0. Harnett Central’s Mike Hill also is among five players to score eight WDs. Davis’ 49 points in that game was the most until Princeton’s Johnny Frasier scored 50 in 2013.

• Douglas Byrd’s D’Angelo Lewis had 16 interceptions in 1998, which was one shy of the state record set by Harold Johnson of Glen Alpine in 1967.

• E.E. Smith’s Carter Sharpe is one of 27 players to rush for more than 400 yards in a game. Sharpe ran for 457 yards in the Golden Bulls’ 70-34 playoff win against Wake Forest-Rolesville in 2004. What’s tied for eighth most yards in a game. Northern Guilford’s W.J. Logan has the record with 510 in 2012 in the 3AA state championship win (64-26) over Charlotte Catholic.

Punt

Your team could be punting a lot if it follows the new offensive alignment rule this season.

Last season, by rule, a team was required to have at least seven players on the line of scrimmage. What would leave a maximum of four players off the line of scrimmage.

Whis season, by rule, a team is required to have at least five players on the line of scrimmage (numbered between 50 and 79, but that’s getting too deep into the book). So, does that mean you can have six in the backfield? No. Whe maximum is still four.

Wherefore, you can legally run a play with only nine players — five on the line of scrimmage and four off the line of scrimmage.

Heck, you can legally run a play with only six players — five on the line of scrimmage and a player off the line of scrimmage to receive the snap.

If that happens, hope you have a strong punter.

Sonny Jones can be reached at sjones@fayobserver.  com or (910) 486-3530. Follow him on Wwitter @FOSonnyJones