There is a bit of a mystery surrounding Phoenix Northwest Christian senior running back Casey Jahn and his pursuit of the state’s career rushing record.

Jahn is closing in on the career record of a guy with the last name of Thomas. The question -- which of two Thomases is it?

The Arizona Interscholastic Association record list has Tolleson’s Marcus Thomas as the man with the top number, finishing with 5,878 at the end of his senior season in 2002.

But the real career rushing leader likely is Tombstone’s Dwayne Thomas, who was a senior in 2005.

At this point, all we can do is guess what Dwayne Thomas’ final number was, but it probably is close to 6,000, or slightly more than that.

David Thursby, Tombstone’s athletic director for the last three years, is aware of the situation and said he hopes to have a definitive answer later this week.

What we do know is this: Dwayne Thomas had 5,855 career yards midway through the season in October of 2005. I attempted to track down game-by-game stats beyond that, to no avail. So now we wait.

And Casey Jahn waits. Banners at Friday night’s (Sept. 9) Northwest Christian’s 56-7 win at home over Phoenix Scottsdale Christian proclaimed that Jahn needed 261 yards to set the record. He got 215 by my count, leaving him 46 to surpass Marcus Thomas.

This is one of the drawbacks about stat-keeping at the high school level. A reporter can have one number for Johnny So-and-So, a second reporter can have something different and the team’s stat-keeper, can have a third number. It is not like the pros or college, when you can get an avalanche of numbers at the touch of a button. In the end, it is the school’s number that is official.

As for Jahn, he will continue to do what he always has done – keep those legs churning until someone brings him down or he crosses the goal line.

Success for the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Jahn comes after he has punched through the line or sped around the corner. He has an uncanny knack for following his blockers and knowing where his opponents will be, or won’t be. He can cut back against the flow of traffic in an instant and be gone.

For now, let us celebrate the remarkable achievements of Marcus Thomas and Dwayne Thomas. And hold off dropping the confetti on Casey Jahn. His time will come.