Gautier’s Kaden Irving is now in a rare ranking with two St. Stanislaus legends
Gautier quarterback Kaden Irving made Mississippi history Friday night.
Facing Pearl River Central in the first quarter of what would be a 35-0 win, the senior delivered a pass made only four other times in state high school football history.
Irving dodged a blitzing defender, rolled out and stepped into a rocket of a throw downfield and into the hands of his younger cousin, Trey Irving, who sprinted into the end zone.
The 59-yard touchdown pass was enough to move the elder Irving beyond the 10,000-yard mark in his career. It’s a significant milestone that only a few other known players have accomplished in the state.
“It’s a huge blessing, I really can’t wrap my head around how I feel about it,” Irving told the Sun Herald.
Irving joins St. Stanislaus products Dylan Favre and Myles Brennan, the latter the state’s all-time leader at 15,027 yards, as the only three Coast players to eclipse the 10K mark, according to the Clarion Ledger’s records and the MaxPreps.com leaderboards.
Former Oxford and Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham and Laurel grad Keon Howard are the only non-South Mississippi players in the exclusive club.
“He’s a very humble young man,” Gautier head coach Marc High said of his quarterback. “We talked about this, it’s a whole team, program thing. If the lineman don’t block, the receivers don’t catch, defense doesn’t get the ball back in his hands, then that never comes about. He’s very humble with that.”
Irving, who is an Ole Miss baseball commit, has over 2,500 passing yards this season with at least two guaranteed games left to play. The next milestone in his sights is triple-digit passing touchdowns. He enters this week with 99 career scoring tosses.
His 96th was the pass that eclipsed the 10,000-yard mark and it was made sweeter thanks to who was on the receiving end.
“It was a real special moment,” Irving said. “He looked at me, smiled and gave me a big hug. Told me he was proud of me. Throwing it to my little cousin is something I’ll never forget.”
Irving’s Gators must turn the page quickly as they face the reigning 5A state champions and undefeated Picayune Maroon Tide with the district title on the line this Thursday.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
