Local

Davidson Day coach, QB respond to 837-yard passing record that won't be counted

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — If you haven't heard about the amazing performance that Davidson Day and Harrells Christian put up Friday night, then listen up.

Davidson Day beat Harrells Chrisian 104-80, with both teams combining for over 1,600 yards of total offense.  WSOC-TV first reported on the performance Friday night during High School Football Extra.

Davidson Day junior quarterback Will Grier threw for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns, which would appear be a new national record.  Grier's yardage would well surpass the national record of 764 yards set by Pacific Palisades' David Koral in 2000 if it is upheld.

SLIDESHOW: Davison Day beats Harrells Christian 104-80

The story is gaining national attention by ESPN, The New York Daily News, and others.

But, as it turns out now, the passing record will never be counted.

Reports swirled Monday night that Grier's passing performance may never reach the record books. Because Davidson Day is a member of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, it would not be counted by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, which are separate entities.

WSOCTV.com went to the NCHSAA for comment on this and we received the following response from NCHSAA Associate Commissioner of Communications Rick Strunk:

"The performance by the Davidson Day quarterback is remarkable and obviously it was a tremendously unusual game with some amazing statistics. However, we maintain our record book to certify achievements by our member schools, and neither of the teams in this particular game are NCHSAA members. Usually the protocol on national records is that they are approved by the state association, but part of that is that the state association certifies that the game and the schools involved are playing by Association rules, which of course they are not since they are not members."
 
"We are not treating this any differently than other performances like this in the past involving games between non-member schools and in any sport," Strunk said.

For any high school football record to be considered for a national record, it would first have to be passed through as a state record, which probably will never happen.

WSOC-TV talked to Will Grier and head coach Chad Grier at the team's Tuesday practice about the game, and the fact that the record will not count.

"Record or not, I am just concerned about the win. It may happen or it may not. It doesn't really matter to me. Scoring 104 points and throwing for that many yards is just cool to say in itself," Will Grier said.  "It might not get as much credit as it need or it might get too much, but that doesn't matter. My goal is to win, and that's what we did," Grier said.

RAW VIDEO: Will Grier responds to record not couting

"In my opinion, most problems in youth and high school sports stem from adults whose focus is on themselves and their own egos and agendas as opposed to keeping the focus on the kids," Coach Grier said.  "It seems as if some people would rather hate on and even attack young athletes and their coaches when someone else has success that they feel should be reserved for their own kids, schools or egos."

Read coach Grier's full statement on the record and what his team is focused on for Friday's game here.