GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Before Trevor Speights had been through his first practice at McAllen Memorial, he told coach Bill Littleton he would someday break all of Bradley Stephens’ rushing records.
Four years later, Speights finally toppled the loftiest of those marks: the Valley’s all-time career rushing record.
Speights ran for 336 yards on Thursday to push his career total to 7,856 — more than any other player in the history of Valley high school football. The record-setting carry was a 59-yard touchdown with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter of McAllen Memorial’s 55-20 win against Edinburg North at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“I feel extremely blessed,” Speights said. “This whole offseason I was working for this moment, so I’m glad the moment is finally here.”
Speights entered halftime with 245 yards and needed just one carry in the second half to seal the record.
After bursting through a hole on the right side of the line and cruising for the easy score, Speights jogged to the sideline and heard the news from offensive coordinator Marcus Kaufmann, who had been keeping in touch with the team’s official stats keeper. Speights knew he was closing in on the record coming into the night, but never asked for an update on his yardage total at halftime.
“I know he wanted it really bad, but he didn’t act like it after,” Kaufmann said. “He just ran, got there, and came to the sideline. When everybody came out, he started getting excited. Other than that, he was still business, just being Trevor.”
Speights shook hands with Stephens, the former record holder who ran for 7,803 yards with Memorial from 2003-06.
Stephens recalled seeing Speights and his family in the stands when he was in a Mustangs uniform and said he relished the opportunity to reverse roles on Thursday.
“It’s cool to see him now down here breaking records and having all the success that he’s having,” Stephens said. “He’s a great kid. I couldn’t think of a better person to do it.”
Speights’ mother, Alandra, and father, John, had been tracking Trevor’s total on pencil and paper in the stands before being invited down to the field.
After his handshake with Stephens, Trevor embraced his parents and younger brother Campbell as Alandra cried tears of joy.
John told Trevor congratulations and that he loved him.
“It was awesome. It was nice to see that spark in his eyes,” John said. “To me, it’s just an indication of how hard Trevor has worked over the years. Since Pop Warner football, he’s put a lot of time and dedication into getting stronger, better, faster and competing.”
Littleton and Kaufmann recalled how Trevor had his eyes on the goal from the moment he set foot on campus, and how a 73-yard touchdown on his first career carry got them to believe.
Trevor ran for 1,751 yards during his freshman season, setting the wheels in motion for what was to come. He ran for 2,267 yards as a sophomore and 2,655 as a junior, in the process breaking Stephens’ single-season school record of 2,633.
Through four games as a senior, Trevor has 1,183 yards, an average of 295.8 yards per game. If he can maintain that pace and win a playoff game, Speights could make a run at Mishak Rivas’ single-season Valley record of 3,306 yards, set with Weslaco High in 2007.
Speights also projects to finish his career as one of the most prolific rushers in Texas history, needing exactly 1,000 more yards to move into fourth place on the all-time list with 8,856. The Texas career record is 11,232 yards, set by Kenneth Hall of Sugar Land from 1950-53.
While such a lofty goal is likely beyond reach, Speights has firmly entrenched himself as one of the Valley’s all-time greats.
“He has to be considered one of the best,” Stephens said.
Added Littleton, Memorial’s coach since 2003: “No doubt about it. Since I’ve been down here, he has to be one of the greatest ones.”
Trevor, however, wasn’t ready to discuss his place in history. Standing on the field after the game with the record-setting football in his right hand — a memento likely to be put on display in his trophy room, he said — Trevor expressed pride in his accomplishment but kept an eye on the road ahead.
“I haven’t really looked into it,” Speights said. “I just want to win football games and win playoff games.”