The Caleb Schaffitzel Watch — The final edition

Most careers and seasons end with a thud, unless you win a state championship. Fair Grove tailback Caleb Schaffitzel’s season ended back on Nov. 14 with a 42-14 Class 2 quarterfinal loss to Lamar.

What it did do was allow us to officially tally his eyepopping career numbers and officially cement his legacy amongst the state’s best football players of all time.

What records does he hold? Schaffitzel is currently the state’s all-time touchdown leader with 141 and points leader with 921. He’s second in career rushing yards, second and third in most TDs in a season and fourth in rushing TDs in a season. I’ve spelled out all of his numbers in the remainder of this post.

Also, I sat down with Schaffitzel for a question-and-answer session, asking him about what it’s like to break the state’s most hallowed record, what his college plans are and what made him such a good tailback.

The final tally:

The interview:

Allen Vaughan: What did it feel like when you broke the state touchdown record?

Caleb Schaffitzel: Felt pretty good. Felt really good, actually. A lot of Pleasant Hope guys came over actually and congratulated me. It was really nice and I was surprised by that. My team, they were really excited. During the game, I think they were more excited than I was. We still had more time to play, but we were all excited.

AV: What happened when you broke the record?

CS: Actually, they did nothing. I scored the touchdown and we kicked the field goal. One of our coaches took the ball and set it aside and we played with a different one.

AV: Leading up to it, everyone was talking about it. Did it affect you at all down the stretch.

CS: I wasn’t too worried about it at the beginning of the season. I really wasn’t. Toward the end, if I had a good game here and here, I might be able to get it there. Toward the end, I had a pretty good game against Strafford after the first half. It got me right there. I knew after that, we beat Strafford, so I knew we were going to have a game after Pleasant Hope, so that was pretty cool.

AV: The record must have been a huge elephant in the room. How did the team and the coaches treat it?

CS: We just played our normal ball. Not much changed.

AV: How did (Fair Grove coach Jason) O’Neal handle it?

CS: When I broke it, he came over and said congratulations. That’s how he is though, pretty straightforward.

AV: How did the school handle it afterward?

CS: I help tutor an A+ class with elementary kids. They loved it. They thought I was a superstar. Even in the middle of school they’d come up to me.

AV: How do you treat having the record?

CS: It means a lot now, but it might not when I’m older. It wasn’t my goal, but I’m happy to have it. Hopefully I’ll play college ball and then I’ll have to get a whole new set of goals to achieve. It might hit me a little bit when college is over, but now I’m trying to focus on playing college football.

AV: Before we get to college stuff, any funny stories along the way.

CS: Since I broke it on Halloween, my dad actually carved a pumpkin with the number of touchdowns I had. Each new number I had, he’d carve another one.

AV: They’re probably dead now, right?

CS: Oh yeah, they’re gone.

AV: What does it feel like to be the focal point of the offense like that? Everyone knew you were getting it most of the time.

CS: It makes me glad I did work hard in the offseason. It makes me look back and see how much I’ve improved since I was a freshman.

AV: Who was your toughest opponent?

CS: Probably Strafford. They always came out and played us tough. They beat us my freshman and sophomore years, but we got them the last two years. If you asked anyone around here, that’s what they’d say.

AV: Many people are confused by your college recruitment. What schools are actually recruiting you?

CS: Evangel is looking at me. Lindenwood is recruiting me as are Missouri State, SBU, Benedictine. I’ve received letters from others.

AV: How serious is all or any of that?

CS: Evangel offered me a scholarship with baseball and football combined. They’re the only school that’s offered me anything, but hopefully there will be more.

AV: What position would you like to ideally like to play?

CS: Somewhere on defense. I’d like to go hit some people. If colleges want me to play on offense, I’d be happy doing that, too.

AV: Would you be OK if you never had another carry?

CS: Yep. I’d be alright.

AV: Here you hold many of the state’s most hallowed offensive records. Are you disappointed that larger schools aren’t recruiting you?

CS: There are a lot of people out there that are better me. They probably play at a tougher level than me and they don’t stand out as much. It’s mixed emotions, really. Part of me is frustrated, but another part is frustrated.

AV: Would you walk on at a larger school if they asked you to?

CS: No, I wouldn’t. I don’t want to pay for college and if someone out there can pay for me, I’ll go that route.

AV: Remind me of your 40 time again:

CS: (To Coach O’Neal, who just entered room?) What was it?

O’Neal: 4.52

CS: You going to run it again?

O’Neal: If we get a nice day, we may try soon, but if not, we’ll wait until the spring.

AV: You’re not really going to just play baseball in college?

CS: Not really. I’m looking to just play football and if they do offer baseball, it will probably be with both. Plus, football scholarships offer more money.

AV: Do you want to stay local?

CS: My parents want me to. I don’t really care where I end up.

AV: What about the academic side of it? What do you want to be when you grow up?

CS: Not really. I haven’t really narrowed anything down yet.

AV: What kind of advice do you have for future high school football players?

CS: When you’re tired, just keep working. It’s not all football. It’s the weights and the summer training, too.

AV: What made you so successful as a running back?

CS: We always look at other films. I can see on film what other defenses are good at and I can find a way to use that against them. I’ve developed different styles of running along the years. Freshman year, it was please don’t tackle me, so I’d try to make them miss. Sophomore year, I started to hit people a little bit more. Junior and senior year, I tried to put them together.

AV: Last question, how big are you right now?

CS: 6-foot, 205 (pounds)

AV: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

CS: I think my relationship with Christ has helped me a lot through the years. I need to give credit where credit is due.

TDs needed to break record in regular season: 38

TDs scored in regular season: 41

TDs scored in postseason: 9

TDs per game: 3.84

Week 13

Lamar 42, Fair Grove 14

11 carries for 61 yards and a TD

1 reception for a 55-yard TD

Week 12

Fair Grove 33, MV-BT Liberty 23

32 carres for 166 yards and 3 TDs

1 reception for a 12-yard TD

Week 11

Fair Grove 42, Willow Springs 12

23 carries for 221 rushing yards and 3 TDs

Week 10

Fair Grove 34, Pleasant Hope 13

16 carries for 167 yards and 3 TDs

30-yard punt return for TD

Week 9

Fair Grove 38, Strafford 30

22 carries for 300 rushing yards and 5 TDs

Week 8

Fair Grove 48, Ash Grove 0

8 carries for 271 rushing yards and 4 TDs

1 reception for a 62-yard TD

Week 7

Fair Grove 45, Marionville 7

19 carries for 222 rushing yards and 5 TDs

1 for 1 passing for a 47 yard TD

1 interception returned for a 40-yard TD

Week 6

Fair Grove 32, El Dorado Springs 13

32 Carries for 278 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs

Week 5

Fair Grove 34, Stockton 0

28 carries for 221 rushing yards and 1 TD

5 receptions for 40 yards and 2 TDs

Week 4

Fair Grove 33, Reeds Spring 12

25 Carries for 192 yards rushing and 2 TDs

Week 3

Fair Grove 34, East Newton 1

31 carries for 243 yards rushing and 2 TDs

1 reception for a 57 yard TD

1 interception returned for a 60-yard TD

Week 2

Fair Grove 33, Skyline 6

16 carries for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Week 1

Fair Grove 46, Buffalo 0

12 carries, 195 yards rushing and 5 TDs

1 Reception for an 85 yard TD

Here are the leaderboards:

Career touchdowns

1. Caleb Schaffitzel, Fair Grove, 2006-09, 141

2. Brad Hocker, Archie, 1988-91, 129

3. (tie) Patrick Cashmore, St. Pius X (Kansas City), 2003-06, 108

3. (tie) Lee Flood, Marionville, 2004-06, 108

5. Robbie Allen, Butler, 1986-89, 96

Career points

1. Caleb Schaffitzel, Fair Grove 2006-2009, 935

2. Brad Hocker, Archie, 1988-91, 884

3. Lee Flood, Marionville, 2004-06, 698

4. Patrick Cashmore, St. Pius X (Kansas City), 2003-06, 648

5. Dan Kneeshaw, Branson, 1987-90, 625

Rushing TDs (season)

1. Lee Flood, Marionville, 2005, 49

2. Dan Kneeshaw, Branson, 1989, 47

3. Lee Flood, Marionville, 2006, 45

4. Caleb Schaffitzel, Fair Grove, 2008, 44

Total TDs (season)

1. Lee Flood, Marionville, 2005, 54

2. Caleb Schaffitzel, Fair Grove, Fair Grove, 2008, 52

3. (tie) Caleb Schaffitzel, Fair Grove, 2009, 50

3. (tie) Dan Kneeshaw, Branson, 1989, 50

4. (tie) Ricardo Rhoades, Hazelwood East, 1995, 48

5. Lee Flood, Marionville, 2006, 45

Career rushing yards

1. Brad Hocker, Archie, 1988-91, 9,193

2. Caleb Schaffitzel, Fair Grove, 2006-09, 8,551

3. Zach Sherman, Platte County, 1998-2001, 7,827

4. Robbie Allen, Butler, 1986-89, 7,258

5. Lee Flood, Marionville, 2004-06, 6,925

Here are Schaffitzel’s stats per season:

CAREER

Rushing — 1,016 carries for 8,551 yards and 119 TDs

Receiving — 47 receptions for 927 yards and 15 TDs

Passing — 7-for-11 for 189 yards and 2 TDs

Punt returns — 20 for 192 yards, 1 TD

Kickoff returns — 40 for 842 yards, 2 TDs

Total offense (passing and rushing) — 8,740 yards and 133 TDs (doesn’t include passing)

All-purpose yards — 10,512 yards, 137 TDs

Defense — 11 interceptions with 2 TD returns, 6 fumble recoveries with 2 TD returns

Tackles — 432

141 total TDs

Extra points — 43

Two-point conversions — 46

Total points — 935

SENIOR

Rushing — 275 carries for 2,711 yards and 40 TDs

Receiving — 11 receptions for 336 yards and 7 TDs

Passing — 1-for-3 for a 47-yard TD

Other — 2 interception returns for TDs, one punt return for TD

Total offense (passing and rushing) — 2,758 yards

All-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and kick returns) — 3,302 yards

51 total TDs, 50 TDs scored

JUNIOR

Rushing — 263 carries, 2,759 yards, 44 TDs

Receiving — 15 receptions, 277 yards, 6 TDs

All-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and kick returns) — 3,380 yards

Other — 2 kickoff returns for TDs

52 total TDs

SOPHOMORE

Rushing — 260 carries, 1,779 yards, 20 TDs

Receiving — 11 receptions, 180 yards, 1 TD

Passing — 1-for-1, 14 yards

Total offense (passing and rushing) — 1,793 yards, 2 TDs

All-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and kick returns) — 2,149 yards

Other — 2 defensive TDs

23 Total TDs

FRESHMAN

Rushing — 218 carries, 1,302 yards, 15 TDs

Receiving — 10 receptions, 134 yards, 1 TD

Passing — 5-for-7, 128 yards, 1 TD

Total offense (passing and rushing) — 1,430 yards

All-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and kick returns) — 1,681 yards

17 total TDs, 16 TDs scored