(This story has been updated to add new information.)
In more ways than one, sophomore Xander Edwards ran into Northeast Florida’s high school football history books on Sept. 26.
The Bolles running back rushed for eight touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 73-49 win at Baldwin, the most single-game rushing scores in known records for Florida in 11-man high school football.
Edwards crossed the goal line on runs of long yardage and short: 44, 22, 32, 41, 77, 59, 35 and 1.
Even Heisman Trophy winner and all-time national rushing king Derrick Henry never attained eight rushing scores in a game during his sterling career at Yulee.
In an improbable statistical twist, Edwards is the second Jacksonville-area runner in eight days to score seven or more rushing touchdowns, after D.J. Alderman of Hilliard scored seven in a 49-48 loss to St. Joseph on Sept. 19.
While records are not complete for all games, the National Federation of State High School Associations had never recorded an eight-touchdown rushing game in Florida before Edwards’ feat.
Xander Edwards surpasses Derrick Henry’s record
That’s not the only milestone for Edwards.
A Times-Union review of game video credited Edwards with 39 carries for 522 yards, thus surpassing Henry’s 502-yard achievement from Sept. 21, 2012 against Jackson as the highest single-game total in Northeast Florida history.
Edwards started quickly and built even more momentum through the evening: 12 carries for 137 yards in the first quarter, six for 85 in the second, eight for 146 in the third and 13 for 156 in the fourth.
He moves to second on the state’s all-time single-game list. The only Florida high school back on record to gain more than 510 yards in a game was Baker’s Kayleb Wagner, who ran for 535 yards against South Walton on Sept. 17, 2021.
Who is Xander Edwards?
Even before his Friday feats, Edwards was already firmly on the recruiting radar for the 2025 class.
The son of former Notre Dame and NFL fullback Marc Edwards, who won Super Bowl XXXVI with the New England Patriots of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, he was already leading Northeast Florida in rushing yardage through five weeks. The elder Edwards also lined up for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003 and 2004 during his nine-year professional career.
Xander Edwards has also competed for Bolles in lacrosse, and ran for 558 yards and eight touchdowns as a Bulldog freshman last fall.
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Which colleges are recruiting Bolles RB Xander Edwards?
Expect the list to grow fast.
Edwards has received numerous college offers, with Memphis, Pitt, SMU, Syracuse and South Florida among the early programs interested.
Xander Edwards’ 522-yard, 8-TD night, play by play
The following carry-by-carry tally is based on a Times-Union review of the Sept. 26 Bolles-Baldwin game video.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Xander Edwards shattered high school football records. Inside Bolles RB’s amazing night
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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