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CATCH UP ON THE COUNTDOWN BY VISITING: ARIZONA’S TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Only 54 days separate us from the start of Rich Rodriguez’s fifth season, when the Arizona Wildcats football team plays Brigham Young on Sept. 3 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
As is customary on this Web site, we will count down the days with an interesting element associated with each day. This year the topic is the top 100 individual records in Arizona’s storied football past.
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Max Zendejas holds the Arizona record for most points scored overall in a career at 360.
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Compiling the list was no easy task, but it was feasible to do with the information provided in the record books by the Arizona media relations department, and we appreciate that.
In past years, we have counted down the top games and highlighted players and some of the top plays in Arizona Wildcats football history. A couple of years ago in our top 100 countdown, we showcased the 1914 team that was responsible for Arizona becoming the “Wildcats”.
Back to this year’s countdown of the top 100 individual records in the 117 years of Arizona football:
No. 54
Most Points Scored, Career: 360, Max Zendejas, 1982-85 (79 FGs, 123 PATs)
Pac-12 record: 413, Ka’Imi Fairborn, UCLA, 2012-15 (68 FGs, 209 PATs)
MCAA record: 466, Dustin Hopkins, Florida State, 2009-12 (88 FGs, 202 PATs)
Max Zendejas’ legendary game-winning field goal at Notre Dame in 1982 accounted for three of his school-record 360 points (YouTube video capture)
Art Luppino’s scoring record at Arizona stood 29 years until Max Zendejas eclipsed the mark with 360 points during his senior season of 1985.
Zendejas’ total was third in the Pac-10 (at the time) only behind his cousin Luis Zendejas of ASU (380 from 1981 to 1984) and UCLA’s John Lee (377 from 1982 to 1985). The mark now ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with UCLA’s Ka’Imi Fairborn the record-holder at 413 points from 2012 to 2015.
Zendejas broke Luppino’s record on Nov. 16, 1985, in a 20-8 victory over Oregon at Arizona Stadium. Symbolic of how his kicking impacted Larry Smith’s offensive execution, Zendejas accounted for eight of the points against the Ducks with a pair of 23-yard field goals and two extra points.
The Arizona player to come closest to Zendejas’ record since was Ka’Deem Carey, who scored 312 points on 52 rushing touchdowns from 2011-13. Carey skipped his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
ARIZONA CAREER INDIVIDUAL SCORING LEADERS
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Other Zendejas records at Arizona listed in this countdown:
74. Field Goals Made, Career: 79, 1982-85 (attempted 107)
90. Most Consecutive Games Kicking Field Goal, Career: 18, Max Zendejas, 1982-84
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
