The final scoreboard after Thursday night’s offensive attack. (Courtesy @PalmerRidgeAD on Twitter)
In a year of ridiculous offensive outputs, Palmer Ridge continued the trend on Thursday night.
The Bears beat Air Academy 88-54, racked up 816 total yards of offense, 41 first downs, and had running back Eben Martin score six touchdowns.
The 142 combined points is the ninth-most in state history. It is now officially the third-highest scoring 11-man game, supplanting a 130-point affair which also involved Air Academy earlier this season.
Palmer Ridge’s 816 total yards are No. 5 all-time by one team.
CHSAA’s record book doesn’t yet track individual scoring outputs, but based on the combined scores, Palmer Ridge’s 88 points could be as high as the seventh-most in history.
The game itself was actually a back-and-forth affair much of the way. Air Academy led 14-10 after the first quarter, and 27-22 at halftime. The Kadets pushed that lead to 41-29 in the third quarter before Palmer Ridge began to mount its comeback.
By the time the third quarter ended, it was Air Academy 54, Palmer Ridge 51. The two teams accounted for 56 total points in the frame, the fourth-highest total ever.
Then fourth quarter started — and Palmer Ridge scored the game’s final 37 points. Palmer Ridge accounted for 66 of its 22 points in the second half. That mark is the third-most in history.
Palmer Ridge sophomore quarterback Cooper Weiss was 11-of-14 with 254 yards and four touchdowns. Martin, a senior, rushed for 231 yards and the six scores.
As of Friday morning, Air Academy hadn’t entered its stats on MaxPreps. There may yet be more record-book-worthy performances to come. Air Academy quarterback Adam Brown already set the state passing record earlier this season.