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Van Sickle, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, is just 83 yards away from breaking the state's all-time single-season rushing record, currently held by Interlake's Jordan Todd (2,681 yards) from the 2011 season. According to the Capital's official season stats from coach J.D. Johnson, Van Sickle has 2,599 yards on 316 carries and 38 touchdowns through 11 games (he did not play in the Week 2 game vs. Olympia). Van Sickle currently sits No. 6 all-time -- one spot ahead of Timberline graduate Jonathan Stewart -- in state history.
This season, Blaine running back Mario Gobbato ran for 2,821 yards, but part of his yardage came during a Northwest Conference Kansas Tiebreaker. According to David Maley, a well-known state statistician who keeps track of football stats and records in Washington, stats from 48-minute games are counted toward season and career stats, so Gobbato's official rushing total on the season is 2,661 through 10 full games.
Single-season rushing totals
(numbers courtesy of David Maley)
Jordan Todd, Interlake (2011), 2,681 yards, 12 games
Matthias Wilson, Ferndale (1997), 2,676 yards, 14 games
Johnie Kirton, Jackson (2003), 2,675 yards, 12 games
Mario Gobbato, Blaine (2011), 2,669 yards, 10 games
Mario Gobbato, Blaine (2012), 2,661 yards, 10 games
Kai Van Sickle, Capital (2012), 2,599 yards, 11 games
Jonathan Stewart, Timberline (2003), 2,566 yards, 12 games
Jerod Moore, Wahkiakum (1999), 2,538 yards, 11 games
Bishop Sankey, Gonzaga Prep, (2010) 2,522 yards, 10 games
J.R. Hasty, Bellevue (2004), 2,519 yards, 13 games
Matt Hadley, Connell (2010), 2,516 yards, 14 games
Van Sickle is keeping pretty humble about approaching the record, but the team-oriented senior feel it is a team record, should he achieve it Friday.
"I want to put my offensive line on that record, if we do get it," Van Sickle said. "It's not Kai versus 11 people. Everyone is pitching in and doing their part to get those yards. They're my success."
