CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Patrick Baynes admitted that the news surprised him. The former Murray County High School quarterback had no idea he still owns the Chattanooga-area record for career passing yards with 4,602. And, like the leader he once was on the field, Baynes deflected most of his achievement to his teammates.

“I was fortunate to play on some of the better teams we’ve had at Murray,” said Baynes, who graduated after the 1984 season. “I had two great receivers in Roger Rainey and Keith Swilling. We weren’t very big up front, but they were mean. I had a lot of fun and a lot of good players around me.”

Baynes, who went on to help lead Furman University to a Division I-AA championship, also still owns several Murray County records, including single-game completions (25) and yards (321); most completions (126), yards (2,288) and passing touchdowns (20) in a season; and career completions (291) and yards. The offense in his senior season, which ended at 12-2 with an appearance in the Georgia Class AAA semifinals, amassed a school-record 4,267 yards.

This was no gimmicky six-receiver, spread offense that ignored the run.

“The funny thing about that offense was that it was run out of the wishbone,” said Bill Napier, the Indians’ head coach from 1991 to 2006 and the offensive coordinator during Baynes’ time. “The thing was, if we were better than another team, we ran the ball, but when we played anybody any good we couldn’t run, so we had to throw.

“Patrick was just real competitive,” added Napier, now an assistant coach at Southeast Whitfield. “Winning games meant a lot to him, and his teammates meant a lot to him. Of course, having senior receivers like Rainey and Swilling didn’t hurt either.”

Baynes’ career numbers could have been much better if not for a bout of viral meningitis he suffered during his junior season.

“I lost 50 pounds and had to spend two weeks in the hospital,” he said. “When I got out I tried to play, but I never made it back to full strength that year.”

He more than made up for it the next year, leading the Indians to within one game of the state final. The team’s success through the air, he said, was more about good chemistry and confidence than pure talent.

“We had a little system where we could call many formations on any down, which was something most teams didn’t do then,” he said. “A lot of the things we did were maybe not in the playbook — not necessarily backyard ball, but situations where we did what we had to. Swilling and Rainey were a heck of a combination, and I could trust them to go get the ball if I threw it to a spot.”

Baynes, who owns Bay Outdoors, Inc., with his wife, is still as competitive these days, though he does his competing in a bass boat as a member of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Professional fishing, he says, hasn’t come as naturally as football.

“I’ve been so close to doing really well, but I haven’t turned the corner yet,” he said, laughing. “I just returned from Clarks Hill, where I was fishing real close to David Fritz, who won over $100,000. I was that close. There’s a lot to learn on that tour. The level of talent is really great. I guess fishing feeds the competitive edge in me.”

Baynes’ record is the second-oldest in the Times Free Press list. Ironically, another former Indian, Tim Beavers, holds the oldest mark for most receiving yards in a game, 190 yards in a 1978 contest. The records are a reminder of how football-crazy the Chatsworth community once was.

“It was a great time to play football there,” Baynes said. “People would line the field all the way around, and everybody knew you. It’s a lot different today. I think Murray had a lot of pride as a community then, and it’s not as strong as it once was. But I think it’s going to turn around.”