The 6-0, 233-pound running back from North Babylon
(N.Y.) High School has rewritten the record book for Long
Island. With 371 rushing yards in a 62-
7 win over Newfield, Gwaltney became the all-time leading
rusher in the history of high school football on Long Island,
which encompasses Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Before you dismiss Gwaltney’s achievement as a nice,
little local achievement, you should realize that the
population in Nassau and Suffolk counties is a combined
2.7 million, about a million more people than the entire
state of West Virginia, and that the two counties that make
up Long Island are the home to 107 football-playing high
schools. There are 125 in all the Mountain State, by the
way.
With that as a reference, Gwaltney’s name is now at the
top of most of Long Island’s records. He is the leader in
career rushing yards (6,140), career touchdowns (108),
single-season rushing yards (2,601 yards in 2003 in 10
games), single-game rushing yards (467 on 43 carries vs.
East Islip in 2003). He also has more 200-yard rushing
games (nine) in his career than anyone else in Long Island
history, as well as more 300-yard efforts (six).
Gwaltney’s accomplishments have certainly gotten a
lot of attention. Stories on his pursuit of the records are
constants in the local Long Island papers.
“It’s hard not to pay attention to it (the record), but I try
not to let it go to my head, though,” noted Jason. “I think my
linemen are more excited about the record than I am, but
they should be, because they’ve helped me get every
yard.”
Having verbally committed to WVU in February along
with Scooter Berry, his teammate at North Babylon and
also his half-brother, Jason started this season in much the
same fashion as he finished the last. He churned out 196
yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries in the opener
against Centrech. He followed that with 257 yards and two
TDs on 28 attempts against East Islip and 214 yards and
three touchdowns on 23 carries against Bellport.
North
Babylon, which was 8-2 in 2003, finishing as the runner-up
on Long Island’s Division II, easily won its three first
games. That streak came to an end on Oct. 16, when rival
West Babylon (4-0) rallied from a 19-0 third quarter deficit,
winning 29-27. Jason had 184 yards and two touchdowns
on 24 carries in that game, but the numbers meant nothing
to him after the loss.
“I only care about the wins,” Gwaltney told Newsday
after the defeat. “The records are for the stat guys. I’m
furious that we lost. I’m furious that I was forced from the
game during a crucial drive, and we threw an interception.
If I’m on the field, we don’t throw the ball, and we score.
This is my fault. I’ll take the blame for the loss.”
| Mountaineer fans travelling to the Rutgers game have a chance to make it a full WVU football weekend, as Gwaltney, Berry and North Babylon play Copiague on Friday, Oct. 29th at 7:00 p.m.
Directions to Copiague are available via the Suffolk County Athletics website.
Simply search for the football schedule of North Babylon, then click on the map icon for directions to the school.
|
North Babylon was holding what seemed like a
comfortable 19-7 lead when Gwaltney dashed 31 yards to the
West Babylon 25 with 3:03 left in the third quarter. But he
had to come out after the play with leg cramps. Without
him, North Babylon tried to go to the air. West intercepted
the pass, sparking its furious comeback.
Gwaltney and the Bulldogs bounced back from their
lone loss with an impressive performance, with Jason accumulating 371 yards and seven
touchdowns on 31 carries. He had 269 of those rushing
yards and five TDs in the first half alone, before shutting it
down completely in the fourth quarter.
Having eclipsed the 6,000-yard barrier in his career
with the Bulldogs, who are 4-1 on the season, Gwaltney
will have to be content with bettering his own records for
now. The New York State record is held by Michael Hart of
Onondaga (2000-03). Now an impressive true freshman at
Michigan, Hart rushed for 11,045 yards in his career at
Onondaga, which is a Central New York
school near Syracuse. Hart’s career
rushing total is the second best mark in
U.S. history, trailing on the 11,232 yards
posted by Ken Hall of Sugar Land, Texas
(1950-53). Hart’s 204 career touchdowns
do stand alone at the top of both the state
and national list.
Jason has had to deal with a couple of
setbacks this year. The loss to West
Babylon was the most upsetting to him,
but his career rushing stats also took a hit
a few weeks ago. As Gwaltney was
approaching the Long Island career
record, which was held by Jerone Pettus
(5,841 yards set from 1996-99), it was discovered that his
freshman numbers weren’t accurate. When his stats were
compiled at the end of his rookie year, the assistant coach
who was keeping track combined his 696 rushing yards
and 194 receiving yards. For the past couple of years, his
freshman stats inaccurately read 890 rushing yards, but
the mistake was discovered a few weeks ago, and the
correction was made. It obviously didn’t stop Gwaltney
from reaching the top of the chart, but it did add another
week to the pursuit.
Gwaltney and North Babylon have had a couple of
small setbacks, but Jason also did receive a big honor
recently when he was invited to the U.S. Army All-American
Bowl, which is now sponsored by our parent network, Scout.com. The All-American Bowl is a national high school all-star
game, which features 39 of the best prep players in the
East against 39 from the West. This year’s game, which is
the fourth annual event, will be played on Jan. 15 in San
Antonio. WVU has never had one of its recruits participate
in the game in the past, but not only is Gwaltney headed to
San Antonio but so is Parkersburg (W.Va.) South receiver
Ryan Dawson, who has also given the Mountaineers a
verbal.
“Of course it’s an honor,” said Gwaltney of being picked
for the all-star game. “I thank Tom Lemming of ESPN for
selecting me. I think when I went to the Nike Camp (this
past summer), I turned a lot of heads, because there were
a lot of ohhs and ahhs, and everybody seemed to be
doubting a kid from Long Island. But that’s one of the things
that drove me and made me work harder in the offseason.
I think on Jan. 15 when that game comes about, I plan on
showing the nation who the best running back is.”
Jason is a player built for the North Babylon offense,
which relies heavily on the ground game. A combination of
power, speed and balance, Gwaltney has averaged over
26 carries a game the past three seasons.
“Coach (Terry) Manning is an old school kind of guy,”
explained Gwaltney of his veteran Bulldog head coach.
“He likes three and a half yards and a cloud of dust. He likes
to pound away, and we don’t look to pass unless we really
need it and our backs are against the wall.”
North Babylon foes know what is coming their way;
stopping it is usually a different story.
“We see every defense imaginable. When we played
Bellport, they only had one defensive back; everybody
else was in the box,” noted Jason, who already bench
presses 400 pounds and squats 405. “It was strange.
We’ve seen defenses where they’ll put seven on the strong
side and four on the weak side. They do whatever they can
to stop us. By me still running for all these yards, it just
shows that my team is ready, and I’m doing what I need to
do to find room in these defenses. It can be tough, because
it seems like they have 32 people in the box sometimes.”
With defenses stacking the box, Gwaltney enters every
game with a huge X on his chest. The mantra is that if you
can slow down Jason Gwaltney, you have a chance at
defeating NB. That makes Jason’s job even more difficult,
but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I live for that,” said Gwaltney of being a
marked man. “I definitely enjoy it. It makes me
work harder than an average player. If nobody
cares about what you do this week, you don’t
have that same inspiration to work hard. I think
that gives me the drive and the energy to get
going.
“I know I’m the focus of most defenses, but
that just goes with the territory. I look at it as a
compliment. Last year against Riverhead, I
ran for 190 yards, but we lost. Most people
wouldn’t consider 190 yards really stopping a
running back, but last year it was enough to
beat us. But this year, we have other players
and other weapons that if I’m held to 190
yards, when there are six people tackling me at a time, I
think we can still find a way to win.”
Jason and Scooter, who is a 6-3, 270-pound fullback/
linebacker, have been to WVU several times in the past
year, including a couple of days at Rich Rodriguez’s
Summer Camp in June. The brothers’ most recent visit
came in September when they watched the Mountaineers
hammer East Carolina in the season opener. Gwaltney
was impressed with the team to whom he has committed.
“It was a lot of fun. West Virginia went off, and Kay-Jay
(Harris) did his thing,” said Jason, who has 1,222 yards
and 18 TDs through the first five games this season. “I
really think in a couple of years, that could be me filling that
spot in the Blue and Gold. I like the coaching scheme, the
people and the fans, especially the fans. Those are the
things that have steered me towards West Virginia.”
Jason may be committed to the Mountaineers, but that
doesn’t mean other schools have stopped recruiting him.
When asked if he is still being hounded, Gwaltney breathes
a sigh of exasperation.
“Please don’t ask me that question. Yeah, it’s still going
100 miles per hour. Everyone is still calling. I look at it like,
if a coach wants the best players in the program, they’re
going to keep recruiting no matter what, even if you’ve
already committed. A coach is going to keep recruiting as
hard as he can, because he wants the best players in his
program. That’s what a lot of coaches are doing. I don’t
know if I’m a great player or not, but they must see
something in me to make them want to recruit me. The nice
thing is that West Virginia saw that first.”
Jason insists that his heart is still Blue and Gold, but he
admits that he’s listening to what other schools have to
say, and he explains that he does plan on taking a couple
other official visits, besides one to WVU in early January.
“My uncle tells me that everybody is still going to recruit
me, and that I should listen, because you never know what
they are going to have to offer,” said Jason. “Maybe they’ll
have something to offer that West Virginia doesn’t, so I’m
willing to listen to other schools. But when it comes down
to it, I just like the way West Virginia has gone about
recruiting me, and I don’t think any school can compare
with what Coach (Herb) Hand and Coach (Calvin) Magee
and Coach Rod (Rich Rodriguez) have to offer. (All three coaches took in Jason's game this past weekend.) I’m taking a visit to USC. I might be going to Ohio State
and Nebraska, and obviously West Virginia.”
For a player of Gwaltney’s stature, there are always
going to be doubts until his name is finally on the National
Letter of Intent. The early commitment last February was
very nice for the Mountaineers, but it doesn’t bind Jason,
and obviously he’s still getting plenty of attention from the
national powers. The powerhouse programs aren’t going
to quietly give up on a blue chipper like Gwaltney until the
very end, but for West Virginia fans still sweating, he has
a one-word answer when asked if his commitment is still
solid for the Mountaineers.
“Yeap.”
Small word, but for WVU, it has a huge meaning.