But, when Adams stopped hearing footsteps as the finish line grew closer, he realized that his dream of winning the state championship for the Chargers was about to come true.

Adams’ decision to break away from the pack after about two miles was not a spur of the moment ordeal, but a calculated move based on how he felt at that time, and how a bolder move by one of his top adversaries proved costly.

"My race stratgey helped out a lot," Adams said on Monday afternoon. "I didn’t want to lead if I didn’t have to. My strategy was to do what the pack was doing until the 2 1/4" mile mark at the big hill. Noah (Mace) got off to a quick start, running the first mile in like five minutes, but it took a toll on him. When I made my move, I thought Brandon (Pung) would go with me. I thought I would have to separate from him but, it was just me."

Pung was one of the competitors Adams was well aware of, being Pung showed the way on this very course last month, beating Adams by 45 seconds.

Another chance on the track Adams grew to love was the opportunity he needed to solidify an already solid final year.

"That’s why we run the race," said Adams. "The first time I ran here, I didn’t like it. I started warming up to it last year. It did help to run there three times as I got better every race."

Where have all the good football teams gone?

This is starting off as one of the stranger seasons in the NFL.

At the midway point of the season, there are only a handful of really good football teams.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New England Patriots are clearly the best teams in the NFL right now.

All three have 7-1 records with Pittsburgh recently handing the Patriots and Eagles their first lost of the year in successive weeks.

The New York Jets and the Atlanta Falcons are a step down at 6-2 with the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers sitting at 6-3.

What there is in the NFL is a lot of really bad teams.

The Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers all have one win.

Pretty much everyone else is hovering around .500, either 5-3, 4-4, or 3-5.

Welcome to the wonderful world of parity.

This is what the NFL wants and this is what the fans get.

It’s not so bad just as long as one of your teams doesn’t have to suffer through a horrible season that seems to happen to nearly every franchise every couple of years.

The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins have more combined Super Bowls – eight – than wins – six.

The Dolphins and 49ers, two teams that have a long history of winning and going to the playoffs, are horrible.

more- See Thursday, November 11  paper: Vol 84, No. 50