CLAYTON— A running back for Durham’s Riverside High School had a huge night on Friday night to earn a performance listing in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Record Book.
Joel Evans of Durham Riverside rushed for a whopping 419 yards and scored six touchdowns to lead the Pirates to a crazy 63-49 high school football victory over Cleveland. The 419 yards is tied for 16th on the individual single-game rushing list, and there are 28 performances which have been documented of 400 yards or more.
Evans carried the ball only 12 times and his shortest rushing touchdown was 36 yards, along with TD scampers of 66, 44, 81, 66 and 56 yards. However, Riverside didn’t take the lead for good until it was 49-42; Cleveland led 35-20 at halftime after jumping out to a 14-0 advantage.
The victory lifted Riverside to a 4-2 record, the first time the school has had four football victories in a season since 2009.
Our thanks to the Chapel Hill News and to Riverside coach David Hackney for reporting the achievement and providing documentation.
