Jake Nardone knew he had a ton of rushing yards. After all, he had dashed through New Brighton's defense on runs of 50 and 79 yards.

But he didn't know he had that many yards.

"In the fourth quarter my center, R.J. Cook, said to me, 'You've got 280 yards. Let's get 300,' " said Nardone, a senior running back for the Beaver Bobcats. "I said, 'Yeah' and I'm thinking, 'Wow, that'd be pretty cool to get 300.' "

He got that ... and a little more.

Nardone finished with 343 yards on 23 carries in Beaver's 43-14 victory in a Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference contest at New Brighton's Oak Hill Field.

No one seems to know if 343 is a school record or not. It isn't even close to a WPIAL record.

That honor belongs to Connellsville's Marcus Furman who rushed for 455 yards in 2000. And in 1999, Matt Steve from Hempfield gained 446 in a game. The state record is 488 by Stephen Blose of Harbor Creek. So, the 343 doesn't seem like just a big deal except, it isn't every day a running back at any level goes for 343 yards.

"I've been keeping records for us since 2000 and we haven't had hardly anyone rush for 200 [yards] in a game," Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said.

As for whether 343 is a school record, Beltz just smiled and said, "Folklore."

What he was getting at was this: Beaver has produced a number of outstanding running backs over the years. Jerald Ingram, now an assistant coach with the New York Giants, Herb Ellis and Tom Reid are three who quickly come to mind.

The Beaver County rushing record was not available.

What is interesting is that Nardone, who is 5 feet 9 and 165 pounds, ran for only 400 yards all of last season as Beaver's fullback.

"In junior high I might have had 150 or 200 in a game, but nothing like that ... not even close," he said.

Beltz had no idea how many yards rushing Nardone had gained as the contest headed into the fourth quarter. All he knew was that New Brighton had scored two touchdowns, the score was 28-14 and the outcome was still in doubt.

"The joke was that it came over the headset that Jake had 270 [yards rushing], but the score was 28-14," Beltz said.

"My reply was 'If this keeps up he's going to have to go at least for 400.' "

So, did he buy his linemen gloves like Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino used to do or take them out for burgers?

"Well, actually, they're all coming up to my house today for steaks," said Nardone with a smile on Labor Day. "All the linemen who started and filled in, our two tight ends and the fullbacks. It was my dad's idea. We've practically killed a cow."