The sky opened Friday night at Silverdale Stadium.
So, too, did the record books.
Under heavy rain and with his team in the midst of a tight playoff race, Larry Dixon rushed for 253 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries to break the West Sound career rushing record, lifting the Olympic Trojans to a 43-7 victory over Port Angeles in Olympic/Western Cascade League action on Homecoming Night.
Dixon, who broke the record midway through the second quarter on a 40-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 20-0 lead, has now piled up 4,756 career rushing yards, including 1,282 this season. The previous record was set by Ryan Cole of South Kitsap, who amassed 4,654 rushing yards between 1999 and 2001.
“If you would have told me my freshman year that I would have been the record holder, I would have laughed in your face and just told you, ‘You’re crazy,'” Dixon said.
It was nothing short of a fairy tale night for Dixon, who was crowned Homecoming prince during halftime and enjoyed a fireworks display with his teammates following the game. His five touchdowns came from 23, 70, 40, 6 and 64 yards, giving him 26 on the season.
That total figures to grow over the next two weeks, with the Trojans wrapping up the regular season against North Kitsap and Bremerton.
“He just works hard, he comes out fighting every day,” coach Tim Allbee said. “Hats off to him.”
It was the second must-win scenario in as many games for the Trojans (4-3 overall, 2-3 league), who are battling with Yelm and North Kitsap for the fourth and final playoff spot out of OWL. NK and Yelm have identical 2-3 records in league play. Timberline, North Thurston and Capital have sewed up the top three spots.
The Trojans, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Yelm by virtue of last week’s 34-13 victory over the Tornadoes, control their own destiny entering the final two games. The team faces NK on Friday in what most likely will determine which team lands the No. 4 playoff spot.
“We’re starting to get better in all phases of the game,” Allbee said. “That’s what it’s supposed to be about at this time of the year, to put things all together.”
