From the archives: Demetris Summers the marvel to behold

—This story originally published in The State on Oct. 11, 2001.—

At some point, you run out of adjectives to describe the accomplishments of Lexington junior tailback Demetris Summers, who last week tied Derek Watson’s record for touchdowns in a high school career with 88.

I’ve already gone out on a limb by saying that he is not only the best player this year, but he was the best player in high school football last year when he posted more impressive numbers against more impressive competition than Union’s Roscoe Crosby.

Crosby was a good wide receiver and kick returner, but so is Summers, not to mention his rushing and even passing (2-for-3, one touchdown this season) abilities.

I also have said that if Summers does what he did last year (44 TDs, 2,700 yards) this season and next, he’ll not only be the best running back in South Carolina history, but also can claim to being the best running back to play high school football in the U.S. history.

Think that’s far-fetched? Think again.

The numbers don’t lie. Summers is on pace to finish with almost 9,500 career rushing yards, which would put him second all-time nationally. He likely will pass Watson’s career yardage mark of 6,766 eight games from now.

Summers also is on pace to finish with approximately 154 touchdowns, which would be a state record by a whopping margin of 20 scores. Summers already is scoring more times per game (3.14) than he did last season (2.99), and that’s despite a slow start and being keyed upon by opponents.

And keep in mind that Watson’s gaudy numbers came against Class A competition, not Big 16 foes.

“I’ve been in this game a long time, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one as good as him,” said Airport coach Barry Avant, whose Eagles face Lexington in a region showdown Friday night.

Neither has Lexington coach Jimmy Satterfield.

“He’s obviously tremendously talented, and we knew that early on,” Satterfield said. “But he’s not concerned about the records he’s breaking.

“He just wants to win. I don’t think he ever believes he should be tackled. He’s focused on getting better, and few people on the team take losing as hard as he does.

“Not only that, but he’s had some of his best performances against the better competition. In games against Spartanburg, Fort Dorchester and Dorman last year he really excelled. That’s impressive to me.”

The bottom line is that whether you’re a Lexington fan or not, one of the best high school football players ever to suit up here or anywhere else is right in our backyard.

I suggest strongly that you watch him play Friday night if not only to say, years later, that you saw the best that ever played break the state record for touchdowns in a career.

The game should be well-played, as the resurgent Wildcats look to remain unbeaten in region play against an Airport team that’s not nearly as bad as its 3-4 record indicates.

If you’re a fan of watching high school football, amazing athletes or witnessing history in the making, you won’t have a better chance to do all three at once than Friday night at District 2 stadium.

Game time is 7:30 p.m., and I hope to see you there.

This story was originally published October 11, 2001 at 8:53 AM.