Shattuck sets national eight-man record in win over Goodwell
Shattuck 40, Goodwell 14

By Ryan Aber, Staff Writer Comments 0
Published: October 31, 2009

SHATTUCK — The outcome was never in question.

It rarely has been for Shattuck for much of the last seven football seasons.

Friday night at home, the Indians beat Goodwell 40-14 to win their 91st straight game and set the national eight-man football record for consecutive wins.

Shattuck coach Troy Bullard, center, talks to his team after it defeated Goodwell and won its 91st consecutive game. The scoreboard reflects the 91-0 record. AP Photo

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"There’s a sense of relief,” Shattuck coach Troy Bullard said. "Just getting to this point is such an accomplishment. It’s exciting.”

After the game, all of Shattuck’s players from 2003 to the current team were honored in an on-field ceremony.

The Class C team was given several proclamations as Shattuck’s mayor and Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins attended the game.

The scoreboard was quickly changed to read 91-0 after the game ended.

"It’s an amazing feeling,” Shattuck junior Connor Babcock said. "My freshman year, I didn’t know what the record was. I didn’t find out about it until the end of last year.”

Last week, the Indians beat Sharon-Mutual 46-32 for No. 90, tying Morrison’s national record set from 1989-95.

Shattuck lost to Pond Creek-Hunter in the 2002 playoffs, then beat Waukomis 56-22 to start the next season and begin the streak that is headed for the record books.

The closest game of the streak came just a few weeks later, when Shattuck trimmed Forgan 22-14.

Since then, Shattuck has played few close games.

The majority of them, though, have been like Friday night’s win over Goodwell — blowouts where the only question was whether or not the game would see the third quarter.

Shattuck scored quickly on each of its five first-half drives Friday night, building a 34-0 lead by halftime. Shattuck had a chance to end the game early in the third quarter, with a first-and-goal from the 5 while the Indians led 40-0. A touchdown would’ve given the Indians a mercy-rule win. Instead, the game went the distance.

Babcock, starting at quarterback after moving from wide receiver, scored three times. Brent Starbuck scored three touchdowns.

"I can’t imagine a better way to go out on senior night,” Starbuck said. "This takes some pressure off of us now that we’ve finally got the record. But this isn’t all for us. We’ve still got more to win.”

Shattuck finishes the regular season next week at Buffalo before starting the playoffs looking for a seventh consecutive state title.

While the Indians talked of pressure being taken off of them with the record out of the way, Babcock said the streak isn’t close to ending.

"Every year, someone has to step up,” he said. "We’ve been through some adversity this year losing Kade (Young, Shattuck’s expected starting quarterback) before the season, and someone always steps up. Every week, we always know exactly what we’re going to see from the teams we play. If we keep working hard and preparing like that, who knows how long the streak can go?”

Since the streak began, 32 teams have fallen victim to Shattuck’s dominance.

Friday night was the Indians’ seventh win over Goodwell during the streak. Three other teams — Balko, Tyrone and Sharon-Mutual — have lost to Shattuck seven times during the run. Next week, Buffalo could become the fifth to fall to the Indians in each season of the streak.