Mickey runs for 420 yards against Odessa

By Dakota Morgan

Newspaper  Class

When the Holden Eagles traveled to Odessa to take on the Bulldogs on Sept. 14, they were expecting to have a good game and come out with a win, but no one could have predicted that senior tailback Max Mickey would run all over Odessa’s defense quite like he did.

With a little under two minutes left on the clock, Mickey put the game on ice, by breaking off a 20 yard run for a first down. With the win, Holden improved to a 3-1 record and handed Odessa its first loss of the season. That, however, wasn’t even the biggest story of the night.

It was Mickey finishing with 420 rushing yards on 32 carries with four touchdowns.

After the game, Mickey was “in total disbelief… it didn’t feel like I had that many (yards), at all.”

So how was he able to have such a tremendous performance? Mickey credits the offensive line -  tackles Dakota Tillotson and Ryan Stout, guards Jake Hoffman and John Sullins and center Gabe Hubbard -  “without a doubt,” for his most memorable performance as an Eagle.

 “The blocking was excellent, it was a team effort and I couldn’t have done it without them,” said the senior.

Mickey’s next best game was against Lexington last year, when he had 303 yards and four scores.

If you weren’t at the Odessa game, you’ll most likely still be hearing about it for a long time to come. Coach Hedrick believes it is a Holden High School rushing record for a single game.

“I’ve never had a kid run for that many; I’ve also never had an o-line block that good,” said Coach Hedrick. “It was one of those crazy team effort things.”