‘I never expected this’: Halstead senior rushes for 533 yards in historic performance
There was a time this summer when Lakin Farmer was hesitant about moving from quarterback to running back for the Halstead football team.
The Halstead senior had no regrets about finally accepting the switch after last Friday’s game when Farmer rushed for 533 yards and scored six touchdowns in Halstead’s 48-34 win over Hesston. Farmer’s 533 rushing yards is the second-most in a single game in Kansas high school football history, only behind Conway Springs’ Tanner Woods’ 659 yards against Chaparral in 2012.
“It was pretty crazy to hear the final numbers, but I guess I don’t see it as (historic),” Farmer said. “Maybe when the season is over and I can look back on it. But it’s still kind of shocking. I never expected this and I couldn’t have done it without my guys up front.”
After rushing for 734 yards last season at quarterback, Farmer has thrived with more than double the carries his senior season at running back in Halstead’s veer option offense. After six games, Farmer has averaged 10 yards per carry, rushed for 1,507 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.
Halstead coach Jason Grider is glad he was able to convince Farmer of the position change.
“He wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but we knew once we got him in a game and he saw how many times he’s going to touch the ball it wouldn’t take long,” Grider said. “Lakin is a team player and he’s going to do whatever is best for the team. We felt like he could be a phenomenal tailback for us.”
Farmer has never been more phenomenal than he was last Friday, as he rewrote nearly the entire program record book in one game. He turned 35 carries into 533 rushing yards for a 15.2-yard carry average, scored 40 of his team’s 48 points, while Halstead rushed for 671 yards and had 681 total yards — all school records.
But that’s not what was on Farmer’s mind after the historic performance.
“It was all pretty crazy, but honestly I was just happy we won,” Farmer said. “That was a big game for us, playoff-wise, and I really want us to make the playoffs. I kind of realized (my senior season) is all coming to an end. So it was an emotional win.”
Halstead entered the game on a three-game losing skid and a loss to Hesston would have sunk the Dragons to 0-3 in district play, all but guaranteeing Halstead would not be one of the four teams from Class 3A District 7 to advance to the playoffs.
That’s what makes Farmer’s performance all the more impressive. When Hesston rallied to knot the score at 34 with seven minutes left in the game, Farmer came up clutch. After mishandling the kickoff and being pinned at Halstead’s own 5-yard line, Farmer sprinted down the sideline on the very first play for a 95-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
“One of my tight ends came up to me right before the drive and said, ‘Just do what you do and you’re going to take it to the house,’” Farmer said. “I just said, ‘Alright.’ When I got the ball, I found a hole and bounced it to the outside and just kept running.”
Just for good measure, when Halstead got the ball back, Farmer ripped off an 86-yard touchdown run to seal the victory. Farmer’s six touchdown runs alone totaled 352 yards. He gave credit to his offensive line of Doug Grider, Cole Herman, Matthew Schmill, Nathan Darbe and Kaden Hill, as well as blocking tight ends like Chandler Drake, Kaleb Wise and Jackson Swift.
Farmer, a 6-foot senior who remains uncommitted for college, will try to continue his momentum this Friday at home against undefeated Collegiate (6-0) in another district game.
“I’m super excited for Lakin and I’m super proud of the guys up front,” Grider said. “He’s got great vision and he’s got great feet. You think you’ve got him, but then you don’t. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to have great speed. He doesn’t slow down when he puts on the shoulder pads. The best way I can describe it is that he runs very, very angry. His feet are always pounding and he’s always trying to grind out extra yards.
“Hopefully we can continue improving and take full advantage of his abilities and make some noise here down the stretch.”
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