Holy Family’s Joe Golter. (Pam Wagner)
Holy Family wide receiver Joe Golter set the state’s receiving record with 336 yards in a wild 64-60 win over Discovery Canyon on Friday night.
Golter made 18 catches, four of which were touchdowns for the 336 yards, according to Holy Family coach Mike Gabriel. That figure breaks the old mark of 329, set by Adam Williams of Cortez in 1999.
“It’s pretty exciting right now,” Gabriel said. “It’s pretty crazy.”
It was the second straight week the Tigers had a record-breaking performance. Quarterback Chris Helbig set the state passing record with 607 yards against Mountain View last Friday.
Against Discovery Canyon, Helbig threw for 463 yards on 31-of-48 passing, according to Gabriel, with seven touchdowns. Through two games, he now has 1,070 yards passing and 13 touchdowns. Those 13 touchdowns are tied for the most a player has thrown in consecutive games.
Other entries into the record book on Friday:
- Helbig’s seven touchdowns are tied for the third-most in state history.
- Golter’s 18 catches are tied for the fourth-most in state history.
- Golter’s four touchdowns are tied for the 13th-most in state history.
- Helbig’s 31 completions are tied for the 15th-most in state history.
As for the game itself, well, it was nuts.
The two teams combined for 124 points. And this thing came down to the wire.
They were tied or traded the lead 13 different times, including twice in the final minute.
Holy Family, ranked No. 3 in 3A, led 56-53 with 5:36 to play, and got the ball back with a chance to run some time off the clock.
But Discovery Canyon forced a three-and-out, and promptly marched down the field to take the lead. The Thunder took up five minutes of game time, scoring with 35.3 seconds remaining.
The ensuing kickoff was a touchback, Gabriel said, and so Holy Family was staring at 80 yards for a win.
“They were playing prevent and we just took what they gave us,” Gabriel said.
The Tigers drove down the field, and scored the winning touchdown with 3.7 seconds left. Yes, it was Helbig who hit Golter for the score.
“The way that the two of them took over on that last drive, it was quite a thing to watch, for sure,” Gabriel said.