Grant’s Aymaud Sykes delivers 420-yard, 10 Touchdown effort in opening win
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
How did Grant junior running back Aymaud Sykes celebrate the game of his life?
With food options scarce in the Dry Prong area, Sykes and friends drove 20 miles to Pineville for Raising Cane’s.
They had plenty to talk about during their round trip from a game that produced Grant’s staggering 76-50 season-opening win over Montgomery.
Sykes was also a topic of conversation, compiling the kind of evening in which legends are made, especially around the rural Grant Parish area, which witnessed something it had never seen before. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder carried the ball 25 times for a career-high 420 yards (16.8 yards a carry) and 10 touchdowns – both easily school records, according to third-year coach Jarvous Felton.
“It was very crazy,” Sykes said. “I didn’t know I would be able to do that.”
He came pretty close to such achievements during the 2024 season with seven touchdowns in a 46-8 victory over Bolton Academy.
“I had a lot of people coming up to me and talking about it,” he said. “With the game I had, they were talking about that. I got phone calls and text messages. I just work hard every day and try to accomplish things.”
Unlike last year’s runaway win against Bolton, Grant needed every yard and point from Sykes’ legs to shake free of Montgomery. The Cougars finally gained separation in the fourth quarter, parlaying a couple of turnovers into touchdown runs from Sykes to cap his incredible evening.
“When we were 20 ahead, all of a sudden we were six ahead,” Felton said. “I looked up and we’re 20 ahead again, and it went back and forth. It was an offensive battle, and defensively we struggled. It was a long game. We were gassed on defense. Both teams played with heart and passion, and we kind of put on a show.”
The tennis match on grass had the heads of the football faithful on a swivel.
Grant opened with a 21-14 lead in the first quarter, which grew to a 44-22 advantage by halftime.
Sykes was just getting started.
He scored on consecutive runs of 10 yards following a lengthy kickoff return, and his 29-yard score–in which he was untouched–enabled the Cougars to rally from an early 6-0 deficit for a 14-6 lead. His 31-yard score made it 21-6 – all in his opening act.
“We’re running a fast and wide system,” Felton said. “We try to put our guys in the best positions to be successful. This offense is kind of catered to not just him, but a couple of more of our athletic guys that are fast, really go downhill and get into space to be successful.”
Montgomery stopped Grant’s 21-point run and grabbed a 22-21 lead when the Cougars rattled off another 21 unanswered points to lead 42-22 at halftime.
Sykes had second-quarter scoring runs of 15, 55, and 18 yards for six touchdowns in the first half, giving Grant a 20-point lead at the break. His finale was a show of force, driving a defensive back from Montgomery, the last seven yards into the end zone.
The first 24 minutes of play were an indication of the type of production Felton envisioned for Sykes, who gained more than 900 yards last season. Sykes created early momentum this season with a 4.42 laser time at LSU’s camp, followed by a 4.4 clocking at Grambling’s camp, which helped him to land his first scholarship offer from the Tigers.
“He has a bright future for us,” he said. “He’s an all-around athlete. He goes from football to basketball, baseball, and track. He’s come out of his shell and shown what he’s truly capable of doing. We’ve always known what type of talent he had, but it took some of these camps to finally see what he’s truly capable of doing.”
Montgomery climbed back into contention in the third quarter with a touchdown on its opening possession. The Tigers recovered the ensuing kickoff and added a second touchdown within the first 50 seconds of the quarter, drawing to within 49-42.
Montgomery came all the way back, taking its first lead since 6-0 in the first quarter, with a 50-49 lead with just under five minutes showing in the third.
“The goal is to score fast, but we struggled defensively,” Felton said. “We got to the point where we had to run it up.”
With the team’s offensive coordinator, Christian Adams, having Sykes’ number on speed dial, the running back continually delivered to give his team some breathing room.
Before Sykes’ closing kick to help distance Montgomery, Grant quarterback Myles Futrell kept around left end for a 7-yard touchdown on second down for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
Sykes’ eighth touchdown – a 27-yarder over the right side – made it 62-50 with his offensive line of right tackle Madden Blalock, right guard Kaleb Firment, center Cameron Swanson, left guard Owen Stokes, left tackle Dionte Pennington, and tight end Jaiden Moore leading the way.
“They had a great week of practice, and then they were locked in Friday,” Sykes said of his offensive line. “They did what they had to do.”
The Cougars’ defense played a part in the team’s ability to pull away, forcing a pair of turnovers that led to touchdown runs from Sykes.
Dante Rubin’s interception led to Sykes’ 10-yard TD on first-and-goal, keyed by a big 27-yard gain, which pushed the score to 69-50, and Kendrick Brown’s fumble recovery gave the ball back to the offense with 4:11 remaining.
Sykes took a simple dive over the left side on first down and turned it into gold. He went untouched for a 35-yard touchdown, flipped the ball to the official, and came off the field with both hands extended, signifying his 10th rushing touchdown.
“I never did that before,” said Sykes, who also played cornerback and safety. “My team was in a battle, and I had to come through for the team. I had to be a person that stepped up.”
Sykes’ record-setting night for Grant High provided entry into the National Federation of High Schools’ record books for touchdowns scored in a game. He became the fourth player to score that many rushing TDs in a game, and first since D.J. Foster of Saguaro High in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2011.
John Cook of Beatrice, Neb., is credited with 13 TDs in 1912.
“Our focus wasn’t on the scoreboard, but to be zoned in and focused on the mission,” Felton said. “Here we are midway through the fourth quarter, and one of the coaches said he had scored his eighth touchdown or something like that. We didn’t know exactly, and realized later he scored 10 touchdowns until afterward. It was a surprise for all of us.
“This year, he has taken on the leadership,” Felton said. “He’s a totally different player this year. He’s mature enough to fully understand what he’s capable of doing when that time comes. He’s going to be special.”