The Estero (Fla.) High football staff gathered in head coach Rich Dombroski's office late Friday, almost in stunned silence. Earlier that night, Estero lost to Naples High by 13.
Not by 13 points. By 13 touchdowns. That's right: Naples 91, Estero 0.
The rout fallout has been growing since the game ended.
“Hey,” offered Estero defensive line coach Pat Hayes after the one-sided affair, “I didn't even know 91 was a multiple of seven.”
With that, the coaches all got a much-needed laugh.
Naples coach Bill Kramer looked at the scoreboard late in the game, saw 91-0, and said he felt sick to his stomach. Kramer's team ran only 31 plays and he kept most of his best players on the sideline – for the entire game in some cases.
“There's only one way to describe it,” Kramer said. “Just bizarre.”
The national record books are incomplete, but a score like 91-0 won't register a blip on the list of all-time defeats. It wasn't even the most lopsided score in the country this weekend – in Ohio, Beechcroft beat Centennial 96-0, taking knees on plays in the fourth quarter to avoid triple figures.
TRIVIA TIME
What is the most points scored in a high school football game?
SEAU GETS RING ON A PLATTER
Football fans who visited Junior Seau's Mission Valley restaurant Sunday got more than what was on the menu.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft stopped by to present Seau, the former New England linebacker, with his AFC Championship ring from last season, according to reports from New England.
Seau, who played 13 seasons for the Chargers through 2002, became a free agent after last season, and he said in August he would only play for the Patriots if he returned. He repeated that Sunday.
“The only reason why I would come back is to finish what we didn't finish last year,” Seau, 39, said. “That's the only purpose. There is no other reason for me to come back.”
Seau joked that if the Patriots called to ask him to return, his answer would depend on the surfing conditions on the San Diego coastline.
“The journey right now is packing coolers, going to football games, volleyball games, and really just taking it one day at a time,” Seau said. “That's where (my) life is. I'm surfing every day and enjoying it.”
TRIVIA ANSWER
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the record is believed to be 256 by Haven (Ky.) High in 1927.
PARTING SHOTS
Dan Daly of the Washington Times, on key points in O.J. Simpson's appeal of his robbery conviction: “Judicial errors, insufficient evidence and the lack of an opportunity to try on a bloody glove.”
Bob Molinaro of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, suggesting a name change after overhyped Mixed Martial Arts star Kimbo Slice got beaten in just 14 seconds: “Slice and Diced.”
Rick Chandler of Deadspin.com, on reports O.J. planned to make Nevada his home: “Mission accomplished, I guess.”
– COMPILED BY TOD LEONARD
FROM NEWS SERVICES, ONLINE REPORTS