The Arizona Republic
TC VARSITY
ODEEN DOMINGO
The Arizona Republic
AVONDALE – This is a warning.
To whichever team wants to defend a close lead in the waning seconds, make sure you don’t leave the ball in Jeremiah Cornist’s hands.
With 34.1 seconds left and his team down 6 points, Cornist, Avondale La Joya’s senior quarterback, ran the ball 66 yards in five plays and scored the game-tying 1-yard touchdown in his team’s 42-41 win over visiting Surprise Valley Vista on Friday night.
It was Cornist’s fifth rushing touchdown (sixth overall), his 24th carry and his 380th rushing yard of the game, giving him the state record for Class 5A.
With no time left, La Joya kicker Joseph Astudillo made the extra-point attempt to give his team a 42-41 win over Valley Vista in a nonregion Class 5A Division II game.
Cornist’s 380 yards bested the 367 yards Chandler Hamilton’s Terrell Suggs piled up in one game in 1999. Suggs played defense for Arizona State University and is with the Baltimore Ravens.
Cornist scored on runs of 19, 61, 85, 57, and 1 yard. His lone pass completion went for a 38-yard score.
Avondale QB’s 380 yards on ground sets 5A record