By the Numbers: Carried Away

Mishak Rivas will forever be a household name in Rio Grande Valley high school football.
During a sparkling high school career for Weslaco from 2004-07, Rivas turned heads and set standards by running the football like few had before him.
And one night last October served as the epitome of Rivas' greatness.
Against San Benito Oct. 26, the runner simply known as ‘Shak' set a single-game Valley rushing record by sprinting for 431 yards on 25 carries.
The number of Rivas totes (25) is the focus of the latest installment of the Star's "By the Numbers" series.
Rivas' super game broke the previous mark of 418 yards by La Joya's Juanito Martinez in a playoff game against Laredo Alexander in 2006.
"It's pretty good. I felt great," a humble Rivas said after the record-breaking game. "Glory to God, I was really patient, and for it (record) to come in the best game of the season, you can't ask for anything more."
While the Panthers still had a bigger game left on the schedule, the San Benito contest was arguably the most pivotal at that point.
So the focus was on Rivas.
But early on, San Benito's defense had the speedster in check.
Carries 1-5 went like this: -4, -2, -1, 7, and -3, totaling negative 3 yards.
Then-junior quarterback Dylan De Leon ran the offense to perfection while the 'Hounds rightfully keyed on Rivas, giving the Panthers the lead.
"I think early on, it was Dylan DeLeon," Weslaco head coach Tony Villarreal said. "Dylan kept the tempo and took all the pressure off. He did what he did and he made plays.
If Dylan doesn't do what he does, we're in for a long game," Villarreal continued. "With all the pressure, he made it happen. And then Shak does what he does."
So sooner or later, ‘Shak was bound to break loose.
His next three carries went for 15, 9, and 18 yards before the floodgates opened.
"Coach told us in the beginning not to be worried because they (San Benito) were going to come out aggressive and it was a dogfight," Rivas said. "But God graced us with a lot of patience, and we came out in the second quarter and things started opening up."
That's exactly what happened.
In the second quarter, carry no. 9 went for an 88-yard jaunt down the right sideline to give the Panthers a 21-7 lead.
After three more carries of 13, -2 and 5, Shak finished the first half with 143 yards and a score on 12 total touches.
To open the second half, Rivas picked up where he left off: Literally.
On the first play from scrimmage, Rivas took a handoff and breezed for an 80-yard score.
Then two carries for zero yards led to a Panther punt (15 carries, 223 yards at this point).
But on Weslaco's next possession, Shak darted 78 yards for another touchdown (16-301 at this point).
An 11-yard carry preceded his final TD of the night, a 60-yarder.
After carries 19 (42 yards) and 20 (1 yard), Rivas was at 415 yards, three away from tying Martinez's mark.
The record came on carry no. 21, a six-yarder to put him at 421 yards for the night. He rounded out his historic evening with carries of 1, -1, 5 and 5 for the total of 431.
Astonishing numbers especially against a perennially stout defense of San Benito's.
"I told our defense they couldn't give Mishak an inch, because he'll take a heck of a lot more," San Benito head coach Mario Peña said that night. "Mishak makes the offense open up for other players because you're so concerned about him."
Rivas went on to become the Valley's first-ever 3,000-yard rusher (3,300 yards in 13 games) and was once again the All-Valley Most Valuable Player. He later signed on with Texas State University in San Marcos, where he'll be on the field this fall.

By the Numbers is a periodic series that corresponds the number of days until the start of the 2008 Valley high school football season with a memorable athlete or moment. Today marks 25 days until kickoff.