Cecil Langston knew exactly what he needed.
Rivercrest's senior running back needed only 114 yards to break Arkansas' single-season rushing state record, and he had that by halftime thanks to 70-yard sprint down the right sideline in the first quarter of the Class 3A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
In the books
• Rivercrest senior Cecil Langston broke Arkansas’ high school single-season rushing record Saturday, surpassing Kenneth Dixon’s mark of 3,153 yards set in 2011 with Strong. Langston finished the season with 3,202 yards after gaining 162 in Saturday’s Class 3A state championship game against Harding Academy:
YARDS;PLAYER, SCHOOL;YEAR
3,202;Cecil Langston, Rivercrest;2015
3,153;Kenneth Dixon, Strong;2011
3,090;Derek Lawson, Nettleton;1996
3,001;Logan Best, McCrory;2011
2,863;Madre Hill, Malvern;1993
SOURCE Arkansas Activities Association
The rest of the day wasn't as easy.
Langston had 162 yards and two touchdowns Saturday to finish the season with 3,202 yards, breaking the state record set by Strong's Kenneth Dixon in 2011, but Harding Academy made Langston work for just about everything else in the Wildcats' 33-18 victory over Rivercrest.
Langston may not have won a state title, but he managed to leave with a nice consolation prize.
"It makes it a little bit better, breaking the record," he said.
Langston was somber as he and his teammates accepted the runner-up trophy, but a few minutes later he managed a smile when he was reminded of what he had accomplished over 15 weeks this season.
Langston averaged 8.9 yards over 358 carries this season and scored 35 touchdowns. His 3,202 yards make him just the fourth Arkansas high school player to top 3,000 yards in a season. Five times he rushed for more than 300 yards, and he broke 400 yards twice.
"I didn't even know I could run for 3,000 yards until that first 400-yard game," he said. "Then I started thinking, 'I could do something here.' "
Langston rushed for 435 yards and five touchdowns in an Oct. 30 victory over Melbourne, then had 300 yards and two touchdowns two weeks later against Osceola. He added 437 yards and seven touchdowns in a second-round playoff victory over Episcopal Collegiate.
It was enough to make Saturday's 162 yards and two touchdowns look almost pedestrian.
Rivercrest Coach Kelly Chandler was blunt when asked what Langston had meant to Rivercrest's run to the state championship game, its first since beating Harding Academy in the final in 2010 and its third appearance.
"Offensively, he's about the whole thing," Chandler said. "Either they key on him and it opens up other things, or he gets yards himself."
Langston was a key on defense, too. He played most of Saturday's final at defensive back, where he has played most of the season. He made a momentum-turning play in the first quarter when he was trailing a receiver down the sideline, then turned and intercepted a pass by Alex Francis.
Two plays later, Langston was sprinting down the right sideline to give the Colts a 6-0 lead.
"I saw the gap, and I went on and hit it," said Langston, who has spoken with coaches from Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist and Arkansas-Monticello.
The interception and the long touchdown run provided momentary hope for the Colts, who later took a 12-6 lead but trailed 13-12 at halftime. It was the type of hope that only Langston could have provided, Chandler said.
"He's a special kind of kid," Chandler said. "We had to rest him some, but on fourth downs he plays defense. And you saw him intercept the pass. With anybody else out there, we couldn't have done that.
"He's the only one we have on team that can do that. He's just a great player."
Sports on 12/13/2015