Posted by Bobby Mills Jr. (1000 Yard Guy)
Some things in life just absolutely knock your socks off, open your eyes like you’ve seen a ghost, or are just plain and simple, difficult to grasp. OK, most everybody knows I’m a High School Football lover beyond belief. Yes, that’s me, the 1000 yard Yard Guy…..the man that wants to have his final services on a football field at night under the lights. A man so into the sport, it seems like going to Heaven just to stand on a sidelines and witness a game………….that would be me, and I just talked to a Running Back that may be something just short of “Hard-To-Believe”. In this era of lightening fast events, sometimes people just don’t slow it down long enough to comprehend what a young man like this accomplished in his career, especially this past season.
Schuylkill Haven is a school in Eastern Pennsylvania with around 155 boys in high school, around the size of say, an Aurora (Nebr.), but they compete in Pennsylvania’s smallest class (A). Although the town is only 100 miles from Philadelphia and a mere 3 hour drive away from New York City, it has that “small town” feel like so many Nebraska towns have. That feeling of being safe, and raising a family without the fear of being swallowed up by the thought of what the “big city surroundings” can create. And from this setting in the Appalachian Mountain, coal mining area of Pennsylvania, lives a RB like none I have seen for a ton of Friday Nights!
Let me lay some stats on you that the 5-11, 205 lb. Zack Barket has pasted in the Record Books, and I’m not talking just Pennsylvania Record books. Check these out, football wizards:
4,187 Rushing Yards in 2008 – LEADS THE NATION IN HIGH SCHOOL
4,187 in a Single season – 3RD ALL-TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HISTORY
66 Touchdowns in 2008 – TIED 4th BEST IN HISTORY NATIONALLY
Most TD’s/pergame/per season – 4.7 – TIED FOR 5TH BEST IN HISTORY NATIONALLY
299/per game Rushing in 2008 – TIED FOR 5TH BEST ALL-TIME NATIONALLY
8,325 Career Rushing Yards – 19TH BEST IN HISTORY IN THE U.S.A.
Not even the legendary Ken Hall of Sugarland, Tx., who rushed for 11,232 yards in his career could match Barket’s Single Season output of ’08. He is rubbing elbows on the National Record Charts with legendary players like Emmitt Smith, is well ahead of Oklahoma’s Billy Sims in career yards and backs like Gale Sayers, Barry Sanders, and Adrian Peterson are not even on the radar near his totals from this past season or his career.
No sir, and to boot Zack Barket started on Schuylkill Haven’s varsity the 7th game of his Freshman season and every game after that and NEVER missed finishing one of them. The kid is just the Energizer Bunny, just keeps going and going and going….. The pieces I have watched on Barket are nothing short of amazing. Long Touchdown runs in every game, runs that make him looks like he is almost impossible to stop one-on-one, far above the competition. His Schuylkill Haven team played in 14 games this past fall, advancing to the State Final before falling to Steelton-Highspire 20-9. His Coach, Mike Farr, said he is one of the most durable, football smart, runners he has ever coached. When I asked Coach Farr about his running style, his answer was “Zach is never concerned about the first defender he encounters. “He is always looking ahead (downfield) for the next player and how to avoid him.” One catchy phrase brought me to full attention. I’m thinking “he’s NOT concerned about the first tackler? WHAT! When I questioned Barket he simply stated “I know I will get by the first tackler, I KNOW it.’ ” I average 10 yards a carry, and I WILL get past the initial contact”
Raising children in the right way requires a combination of factors, including discipline, guidance, and nurturing. It is evident from Zack Barket’s remarkable football journey that hard work and dedication play a significant role in achieving success. However, it is equally important to have mentors and coaches who can provide the necessary guidance and point young individuals in the right direction. Just as a servant leader empowers and guides their followers towards growth and success, a coach who embodies the principles highlighted in kurtuhlir.com/definitive-guide-to-servant-leadership/ can shape the character and skills of young athletes. By instilling values such as perseverance, teamwork, and a strong work ethic, these coaches become catalysts for personal and athletic development. Zach Barket’s story serves as an inspiration for young athletes and a testament to the positive impact that mentorship and servant leadership can have in nurturing their potential.
The rest is so evident on film. This kid’s vision and football sense is uncanny. He is always cutting back against the grain after he gets past the line of scrimmage, yet always running towards the goal posts. Barket is continually looking for ways to keep the “D” off balance, and looking at his 4,187 yards in ’08, he must about found a way – BIG TIME. Cut to the post, Coach Farr alays teaches his Backs, and Zach illustrated that to a degree that very few backs have reached. Zach Barket is one One-Of-A-Kind to say the least. I asked him what it would take for a young guy to reach the heights he has reached. He said simply “Hard Work, dedication, and a Coach that can point you in the right direction and show the way, skill-wise.”
And now the kicker, and fasten your seat belts for this one…………………..NO MAJOR COLLEGE OFFERS! You heard it right. Is it his 4.7, 40 speed? Is it the fact he is from school that is in Pennsylvania’s smallest class? This 60 year old football guy has watched so many games and film I lost count 20 years ago and I have no answer for this one. Is it the fact most college teams are implimenting the “spread” offense and need blinding 4.3 speed? Has me baffled, friends.
Barket is a whiz academically though, so he’ll probably take a full ride to a Patriot league school like Lehigh, or some IVY League school. Is he disappointed? Zach says no, just wants to play a little more football and get a quality education. But, I’ll tell you something. If some D-1 facility fails to give this young phenom an opportunity, it will be one of the most humongous oversights in many years of Friday Nights, remember where you heard that.
Oh yes…………………just in case your curiosity is aroused, I just happen to have some footage of this Super Runner, The National Rushing Leader evidently not enough souls know about, and I can direct you to a Coach who has a lot more! Just remember the name…. Zach Barket-Schuylkill Haven High School, Pa.
3 Responses
This is a well deserving article. Zach went above and beyond this season. Those numbers are truly amazing, and for him to get no big looks just really surprizes me. I wish Zach the best of luck with his future endevours, and to know that people all over the state of PA feel the same way.
I agree with you. Does not make any sense. In college with a little work that 4.7 could turn into a 4.5 or better. With all the bad recruiting decision most of the major colleges make you wonder why quality players like this never get the chance they deserve! Makes you wonder what they are thinking when they watch film. Does not matter how big or small the school is 4187 yards is a chunk! 2000 yards is amazing and this kid did it twice in the same season plus some. WOW!
he is right, that no major schools have looked at him is just ludacris.