When he scampered across the goal line for his fifth touchdown Friday night, Lanett quarterback Kristian Story got closer to etching his name in the Alabama record books.

Story entered his senior year with 125 touchdowns, just 36 touchdowns shy of Auburn starting quarterback Bo Nix’s state record of 161. In Lanett’s 11 games this season, Story has 35 touchdowns (22 in the air and 13 on the ground), putting him just one shy of Nix’s state record for career touchdowns.

Story is also closing on another Nix record. Nix also has the record for most yards in a career with 12,497, and Story has 12,256 yards. Both records could fall on Friday night when Lanett hosts Isabella in the quarterfinal round of the 1A playoffs.

“It’ll [breaking the state record] be crazy to me because in my eighth-grade year when I first started playing, I wouldn’t have imagined that I would have done as well as I have,” Story said.

Story and Lanett coach Clifford Story, who is also Kristian’s father, didn’t know how close they were to breaking the record until the AHSAA told them.

“I didn’t realize his numbers were so close to what they are,” Clifford said. “I was sending out information to the Alabama High School Association at the end of the year when he had his stats, and then they sent back then he was this close. I couldn’t believe it. To be mentioned in the same breath with some of those guys and Bo Nix, it means a lot, and I’m elated for him, and I pray that we can perform well.”

The Alabama commit has a chance to break both records in the third round of the playoffs when Lanett takes the field against Isabella on Friday night, but his time record-breaking career actually started at wide receiver.

Growing up, Kristian had always been a quarterback, until he was a freshman at Lanett. That year, his older brother, Tre Story, was the starting quarterback.

Tre led the Panthers to an 11-3 recorded and Lanett reached the 1A semifinals. During that season, Kristian was one of Tre’s favorite receivers, finishing with 530 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

At the time, Tre was a first-team all-state selection, and the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns in a career. He also owned the single game and a single-season records for passing touchdowns. Tre Story’s play led to him earning a scholarship to play football at the University of Richmond.

Those are tough shoes for anyone to step into, but Kristian took it in stride. As a sophomore, Kristian led the Panthers to their first 15-win season and first state championship. He also threw for 3,312 yards and 42 touchdowns.

“It put a big chip on my shoulder because I knew what I could do, but it has made me work so much harder because people were doubting me and telling me that I wouldn’t be able to do what I knew I was capable of doing,” he said. “So, it just made me go that much harder and take my game to another level. It’s paid dividends for me and for my team.”

As a junior, Kristian threw for 2,434 yards with a torn labrum, an injury that usually costs an athlete the entire season. In his final year as a Panther, Story has accounted for more than 3,000 yards.

When Kristian steps foot on the Valley Sportsplex field Friday night, he will be just one touchdown and 243 yards away from tying both of Nix’s records. If he breaks either or both of the records, Clifford already knows how his son will react.

“If he’s able to get in there, he just going to run back and hand the ball to the official, and jog back. He won’t show any emotions,” Clifford said. “But what I do like, when somebody else scores or he throws the pass at them, he’s the first one to meet them in the end zone and jog to the sideline with them. But he doesn’t give himself enough credit, which is good because I’ve always told him to be humble. If you’ll be humble and do good, good things will follow you.”