Larry Johnson is one of the best college football players in America. The Penn State running back is so good, he is one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy, college football’s highest honor. In a November 23 game against Michigan State, Johnson became only the ninth player in NCAA Division I-A history to run for at least 2,000 yards in one season.In his milestone-reaching game, Johnson had already piled up 279 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as Penn State raced to a 48-0 lead. When the Nittany Lions got the ball back with a minute left in the half — plenty of time for another score — Johnson strapped on his helmet and headed back onto the field. But longtime Penn State coach Joe Paterno, one of the most respected figures in college sports, called Johnson back and told him he was done for the day.
One more run could have put Johnson over the 300-yard mark and padded his stats in his Heisman campaign. But not if it meant humiliating an opponent.
Chris Leak is one of the best high school football players in America. The Independence High School quarterback is so good, he is considered by many to be the most valuable college football recruit in the nation.In a November 8 game against Vance High School, with his team already dominating by a 42-13 score with just two minutes left in the game, Leak was one touchdown short of breaking the national high school record for most touchdowns in a career. The record would be there for the breaking the next week, or the week after that, but Independence coach Tom Knotts decided the time was now, regardless of what the scoreboard – and athletic decorum – dictated.
Leak threw a touchdown pass to break the record, then raced to the sideline with the ball, which he presented to his coach.
By all accounts, Chris Leak is a great guy, an excellent student, and is uncharacteristically humble for a teenager who has enjoyed so much success at such a young age. But he never should have broken the high school passing touchdown record. Or, to be fair, his coach never should have pushed him to reach the mark. But he did push — hard.In an October 18 game against North Mecklenburg High, with his team already leading 63-6 late in the second half, Knotts still had Leak throwing the ball, as his quarterback tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to put the Patriots up 70-6. A week earlier in a game against Harding High, with Independence already leading 56-0 late in the second half, Knotts still had Leak airing things out as he hurled an 18-yard touchdown pass to add a little cushioning and extend his team’s lead to a much more comfortable 63-0.
Independence is 14-0 so far this season and has won 44 straight games over the last three seasons. Many, if not most, of those victories have been by lopsided scores, with Knotts still calling Leak’s number late in the game.
So when did winning stop being enough? Why is simply being the best no longer the standard? Would Independence not be one of the best high school teams in America if it stopped throwing the ball in the fourth quarter of blowouts? Would Chris Leak not be the most heralded, highly recruited quarterback in the nation if his coach sat him down in the fourth quarter of games that were out of reach? And what is the message being sent to those student athletes on the opposing sidelines as they watch a rabid opponent devour them?
In the wake of recent corporate scandals, Americans have begun to look with new perspective on the role that greed and power play in our lives. But they needn’t look to oak-paneled board rooms and executive suites to find examples. Closer to home, the same unquenchable thirst for utter dominance can be found on the Bermuda grass of high school football fields.
When I look at Independence’s opponents, already losing by seven touchdowns with just a few minutes left in the game and watching the Patriots’ quarterback hurl yet another touchdown pass, I can’t help but see Enron and WorldCom investors who’ve been humiliated for the sake of the same kind of power and greed.
Life lessons start early. We need a few more Joe Paternos teaching them.
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2002.
