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 WACO - Even as the lights were being shut off at Floyd Casey Stadium, Garrett Gilbert was still an easy man to find. Gilbert, the Lake Travis senior quarterback, stood on the field, a rock star in football pads, celebrating a 48-23 win over Longview in the Class 4A, Division I championship game. Gilbert took pictures with a plethora of teammates and fans, and he autographed items ranging from baseball caps to posters to a cast attached to a young girl's last wrist. Finally, Gilbert had to be escorted to the sidelines by a couple of police officers who were trying to clear the football field. "It's cool, it's a lot of fun," Gilbert said of his postgame activities. In his final high school game, Gilbert set two state records, one for passing yards in a career and another for passing yards in a single season. Bot records were broken on the Cavaliers next-to-last drive of the game. After the game, however, Gilbert downplayed the significance of the records. "It's not about that, it's about the other guys out here and this celebration." With about 3 and 1/2 minutes remaining in the game, Gilbert stood 32 yards short of current Texas Tech quarterback and former Ennis High star Graham Harrell's record of 12,532 career passing yards. Longview gave Gilbert 34 yards to work with after a 15-yard punt gave the Cavaliers the ball at the Lobos' 34-yard line. Even though Lake Travis already held a commanding 41-16 lead, there was little doubt about what the play-calling would entail. "We were going to (throw) it, and I didn't care what play thought because that kid deserves it," Lake Travis coach Chad Morris said. After opening the drive with three straight incompletions, Gilbert connected with sophomore Michael Brewer for a 13-yard completion to give Lake Travis a first down. On the next play, Gilbert broke the single-season passing record of 4,827 yards he set last season with a 13-yard completion to senior running back Chris Adam. Then after an incomplete pass, Gilbert broke Harrell's record with a 7-yard toss to Adam. "We were just trying o enjoy our last drive together," Adam said. "I am proud of Garrett and what he accomplished and I am glad that I was a part of it." Aydam's catch took the Cavaliers down to the 1-yard line, and on the final throw of his prep career, Gilbert found sophomore Conner Floyd for a touchdown with 2:03 remaining. The touchdown pass was Gilbert's 55th of the season, giving him sole possession of third place on the state record chart for most touchdown passes in a single season. "I'll remember that for the rest of my life," Floyd said of the catch. "We knew he was 30 yards or so away (from Harrell's record) so we were going to throw. I was hoping to get a little bit of action and I said." Lake Travis got the ball back after a length Longview touchdown run, but a 7-yard run by Adam and two kneel downs by Gilbert ran out the remaining time on the clock. Harrell's name will remain atop the record books for now as Gilbert's stats from Saturday's game are unofficial. Lake Travis is in charge of submitting the official stats and will likely compile them in the next couple of days. Gilbert finished his career with 12,532 passing yards and 136 touchdowns. In addition to the unofficial records he established on Saturday, Gilbert also owns the records for single-season pass attempts and completions, which were set last season. The UT-bound quarterback also ranks second in Texas prep history for career touchdown passes, completions and attempts. |