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Lumpkin may be best ever to play in cityBy BOB SNIDERIn trying to assess Joey Lumpkin’s ability, it might be best to resort to one conclusion:He may be the greatest high school football player ever to play in Scottsdale.That might take care of it nicely, but there are some statistics that should be mentioned about the awesome senior of Scottsdale High.Offensively, he was the city's leading rusher with 814 yards on 116 carries, an excellent average of 7.0 yards per carry. He scored 114 points, second only to Wayne Mattingly’s 128 (Saguaro 1969) for points in a season by a Scottsdale player. He also caught four passes for 61 yards and ran back kickoffs for 123 yards.Defensively, he was the city’s best again, at least in impact on the opposition. No player commffiided more respect or struck more fear in other players. As middle linebacker he made 69 tackles and 43 assists while teams made it a point to run away from his position. When he got a clear shot on a ball carrier he didn’t just stop him, he pulverized him. When he lumbered off the field during one of his brief moments of rest, the opposition sighed relief.He also boomed punts, although not always so far as they were so high, averaging 40 yards a punt. He also kicked off and booted extra points and field goals, tasks which helped keep him on the field almost the entire game. He booted four field goals, tops in the city this season. Most of his kickoffs sailed into the end zone.It's no wonder he was the unanimous choice by the city’s coaches and by the Scottsdale Quarterback Club selection committee as the 1977 Scottsdale City High School Football Player of the Year.The other nominees for Player of the Year were Richard Woerth of Saguaro, Mike Poth of Coronado and Reid Bracken of Arcadia.Some years the city has not produced any bonafide Major college prospects but Lumpkin certainly fills that distiction. Listed among the nation’s top 50 high school seniors by nearly every college in the country, there is talk that Lumpkin might be a college starter at linebacker as a freshman.AAmong those who have suggested such a thing is Arizona State, one of three major colleges Lumpkin said he is leaning toward. His-other considerations are Oklahoma and Nebraska.“I’d like to play someplace close so my parents can watch me play,” Lumpkin told the Progress. But there’s also a reason to choose the Midwest. He lived in Oklahoma nine years and all his relatives reside there.Lumpkin combines size, streghth and speed with a perfect package for a collegiate linebacker. He runs a 4.8 40-yard dash, although he says he can get it down to 4.7 with some practice. He can squat lift 430 pounds and he suggests his 6-2,225-pound frame is not through growing yet.As such an offensive and defensive threat this season, he was a marked man when he took the field. But he never got hurt and more than oneplayer who tried to maim him suffered injury in.the process.“If you go out and try not to get hurt, you’re going to get hurt,” said Lumpkin. “You’ve got to go out and play as hard as you can.”The Scottsdale senior said he got tired once in awhile, but he didn’t want to stop playing both ways. He said he realizes that his ball-carrying days will be over when he gets to college, but he said I can live without it. In college I’ll probably be able to perform better on just defense.”Lumpkin said he’s like to play pro ball, but first he must improve in a couple of areas so that he can play at the college level. “I’m going to have to work on my reading ability on defense and my pass coverage.’’He added that he hopes to continue with his punting and place-kicking, with work needed in those areas as well.Lumpkin said he’s gotten over the disappointment of playing on the state’s best team NOTTo make the playoffs.“I know that in my mind we should be therfr,” he said. “We should have beaten Westwood and we should have beaten McClintock, too. We just weren’t ready for Westwood. When we played McClintock, I though they were overrated. Our offense just didn’t have a good game.”SCOTTSDALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THYEAR1972 Keith Sobraske OT-DT Coronado1973 Rob Wilson QB-DB Coronado1974 Rick McClelland LB-FB Saguaro1975 Bob Pitre QB Arcadia ’ 19(76 Greg Brady QB Coronado1977 Joey Lumpkin RB LB PK ScottsdaleR EC—Keith Wilson C—Paul Keener OL—Tim Taber OL—Craig Roos OL—Brent Wiblin OL—Brian Berry PK—Harry OrtegaScottsdaleChaparralScottsdaleScottsdaleSaguaroChaparralCoronadoLB—Dan Martin LB—Pat Sullivan DB—Eric Anderson DB—Jay Prechel DB—Jeff Anderson DB—Frank Scarcello P—Joey LumpkinSaguaroChaparralScottsdaleCofonadoCoronadoArcadiaScottsdaleJoey Lumpkin, 1977 Scotfstiale Football Player of the Year
Newspaper Details
Scottsdale Progress
Scottsdale, Arizona, US
Fri, Dec 09, 1977
Page 9
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