Teams go wild in 8-man

It hit him at the end of the first quarter. That was when Seligman coach Robert LaChat finally made sense of the numbers staring back at him on the scoreboard.

“It was 38-32 then,” he said. “I said, ‘My God, what have we got ourselves into?’ “

What they were involved in was not only the highest-scoring 8-man football game in Arizona history but also a game believed to be the highest scoring in national prep history.

Seligman beat Canyon State Academy 116-108 on Friday night in a Class 1A game.

Seligman fell short of the single-game team total of 118 points scored by Almena Northern Valley (Kan.) on Nov. 1, 1985, according to records compiled by the National Federation of State High School Associations and posted on NFLHS.com.

But Seligman’s 116 qualify as the second-highest total and Canyon State’s 108 slots in at No. 3.

LaChat called it the most bizarre experience of his 15-year coaching career.

“And we actually had three stops on defense,” he said.

LaChat said Seligman could have scored again with about three minutes left but chose to run out the clock.

“We were afraid to score,” he said. “We knew we couldn’t stop them and they might come back, score, and then kick an onside kick.”

Vincent Alvarado, Seligman’s running back, accounted for more than 500 yards of total offense (219 rushing, 255 return, 70 passing) and had a hand in 12 touchdowns. He scored six times on the ground, four on kickoff returns and threw for two more TDs.

The game was played in Seligman, located 75 miles west of Flagstaff.