Best Prep Game I Ever Saw

The start of the 2007 high school season brings back thoughts of some of the best Tennessee football games I have ever seen. Many come to mind but the best game I've ever seen was on Oct. 19, 2001.East Ridge running back Charles White willed the Pioneers to a 40-38 Region 4-4A win over Red Bank and superstar Gerald Riggs. Never have I witnessed two running backs put on a better show on one field in the same game.White had a season-high 299 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns. Riggs was blessed with more God-given talent, size and speed than White. But, the Pioneers dynamo refused to be outdone. It wasn't about ability that night.White and his East Ridge teammates won the game on what old-time football coaches used to refer to as guts and heart.The effort allowed White to rush for 1,964 yards and break the Chattanooga single-season rushing record set by Ooltewah's Patrick Flanigan two years prior.Riggs was just as impressive as he always was. Anytime Gerald touched the ball he was one step away from paydirt. With Tyler Rich and Jimbo Thurmond taking turns blocking at fullback, Riggs amassed 247 yards and two touchdowns.Neither team could stop the other one. But, after East Ridge scored late in the game to take the lead at 40-38, a rare occurrence happened.Riggs fumbled the ball and an East Ridge defender fell on it to save the game for the home team.Later that night White appeared on Stump On Sports. I will never forget when he walked into the studio and stood behind the camera where the television audience couldn't see him.Earlier that year the newspaper ran a picture of Riggs dressed in a Superman outfit. To me that was appropriate because he is the best high school back I have seen in person.White waited to the next commercial break to tell me he had found something outside of the fieldhouse where Red Bank had dressed. He raised his sweater and there was a Superman shirt. White wouldn't show the shirt on camera, but there's one thing I will always remember more than the shirt. It was the smile White had on his face.One day I want to sit down with Charles White and talk to him about his childhood. That night, and the paths he followed to get there makes up a story worthy of publication, and maybe even a made-for-television movie.It was simply the best single performance and the best high school football game I ever saw.