Football’s passing attempts and completions records set — by different players
It’s that time of the week where we rewrite the state football record book.
Longmont Christian quarterback Luke Puchino broke the state record for pass attempts in a loss to Justice last week when he threw the ball 71 times.
Two days earlier, Fairview quarterback Johnny Feauto tied the state record for completions with 39.
And those were just two of the record-book-worthy performances this week.
Puchino, a sophomore for the 8-man team, broke the previous record of 65 attempts set by Plainview’s Robbie Parker on Oct. 26, 1990. Puchnino’s record came on Saturday, nearly 24 years to the day of Parker’s performance.
“When I looked at the stat book (after the game), I was baffled,” said first-year Longmont Christian coach Josh Mendenhall. “When you’re in the middle of the game, you don’t think about that type of stuff.”
Puchino was 31-of-71 on Saturday for 505 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. The seven scores are now tied for the second-most in state history, the 505 yards are tied for the tenth-most, and the 31 completions are tied for No. 14 all-time.
Mendenhall has implemented a pass-first system in his first year.
“He’s perfect for that,” Mendenhall said of Puchino. “He’s got a great head for the game. He’s only a sophomore, but I think he has the mind of a senior. … He set pretty much all of our school records this season, as far as single-season.”
Justice won the game, 70-50.
“They were in our boat – small and they like to throw, too,” Mendenhall said. “We matched up well with them. The past few games, pretty all season, we’ve been outsized and pretty much gotten dominated on the line. We were both passing teams, so the clock wasn’t moving as much.”
Longmont Christian tight end Cameron Jauregui caught 17 of Puchino’s passes for 290 yards and five touchdowns. The five scores are tied for No. 3 all-time, while the 17 catches are No. 7, and the yards are No. 8.
“We weren’t always trying to look for him, but he just gets open,” Mendenhall said of Jauregui. “If he’s open, we’re going to throw it to him.”
Feauto, meanwhile, had already etched his name into the state record book with his 536 yards of total offense against Grand Junction on Aug. 30. Last Thursday, he added a few more entries in going 39-of-56 with 544 yards and five touchdowns in Fairview’s 5A win against Legacy.
The completions tied a state record held by former Fairview quarterback Taylor Tharp (2002) and former Smoky Hill quarterback Robert Felberg (who set his record against Fairview in 2007).
The senior’s 56 attempts are tied for the seventh-most in state history, while the 544 yards are the fifth-most.
Though the game was completed on Thursday, we had to wait to confirm all the marks with Fairview until Sunday, as that’s when the Knights take official stats off the game film.
For a few hours on Sunday morning, Feauto’s yardage total sat 535, but later the coaching staff realized they missed a nine-yard completion which resulted in a fumble. So his mark is officially 544.
Fairview ended up with 572 passing yards as a team because wide receiver Tim Ryan also had a 28-yard completion. That’s the second-most in state history.
More could be on the way for Feauto during this crazy year, especially playing in the explosive Knights’ offense which averages a Class 5A-best 44.3 points and 497 yards per game.
Elsewhere last week:
- Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig was 21-of-26 on Friday. His 80.8 completion percentage is now No. 7 all-time.
- Lyons wide receiver Austin Myers caught 14 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns on Friday. The receiving yards are No. 4 all-time, the 14 catches are tied for ninth.
- Between Feauto, Helbig and Air Academy’s Adam Brown, the state’s season record of 4,184 passing yards may fall. Brown sits at 3,316 yards (which is already No. 6 all-time), Feauto has 2,901 and Helbig is at 2,849. D’Evelyn’s Owen Burke also has 2,701 passing yards. Trouble is, Brown will need to throw for 868 yards this week as Air Academy won’t make the 4A playoffs. Feauto is in the 5A playoffs, Helbig and Holy Family are likely to make the 4A playoffs, but it doesn’t look like D’Evelyn will make the 3A field. So it may be up to Feauto and Helbig.
