Flynn Heald took an official recruiting trip to Indiana University last weekend. While there, his hosts wondered how he did in his game for Cedar Rapids Washington on Friday night.

"Well, we lost," Heald told the IU coaches.

"That's too bad," they said. "How did you do in the game?"

"Oh, I did all right," he replied.

"Catch any balls?" they wondered.

"Yeah," he said. "Twenty-one."

"Twenty-one!," they exclaimed. "Are you kidding? Twenty-one receptions in one game?"

Yup, 21.

"That's almost the exact conversation," Heald said Tuesday, grinning at the memory.

Heald caught 21 passes for 292 yards in a 41-28 loss to Cedar Rapids Kennedy, breaking school and Mississippi Valley Conference records for most receptions in one game.

The Hoosiers asked Heald to bring a game film with him when he visited Bloomington, so they could study his moves and see how he plays the game. They made the request before Washington played Kennedy, but they picked the right one.

"They wanted the game film from the Kennedy game, actually," he said. "I handed that to Debbie."

Heald wasn't sure of Debbie's exact job title at Indiana, but he's confident she gave the film to the proper authorities.

Indiana isn't the only team with that video. Washington Coach Tony Lombardi received a phone call from Iowa State after the Cyclones learned Heald had caught 21 passes in one game.

"Courtney Messingham is their recruiter," Lombardi said. "He called me the next day. He said, 'Who is this guy?,' and I'm like, 'He's a good player.' "

Messingham is the receivers coach at Iowa State. When he wondered if the 21 catches for 292 yards were a fluke, Lombardi told him about the opening game of the season when Heald caught 9 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

"I said, 'I've got DVDs if you want to see them,' " Lombardi remarked. "So I sent those out."

Heald was listed among the national leaders in receptions this week by MaxPreps, a national recruiting website. He also got a nice writeup in the Des Moines Register. The word is spreading.

Heald has caught 36 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns in three games. He leads all receivers in the state with 12 receptions per game, according to the IHSAA. Blane Cullen of River Valley has caught 42 passes, but he's played four games and is averaging 10.5 per game.

Heald missed tying the state record for most catches in a game by a single reception. Joe Audlehelm of Leon Central Decatur caught 22 passes in a game in 2006.

"If Flynn was any good, he would have caught two more balls and he would have broken the state record," Lombardi said, clearly joking.

Heald is a good receiver. He's also smart. The Hoosiers said he could bring a buddy with him on the official visit last week, so he asked Washington quarterback Braedon Tovey to tag along. After all, Heald would not have set the record without him.

They got a guided tour and prime seats for Indiana's game against Virginia last Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, a thriller that ended with IU losing 34-31.

"Awesome campus, awesome coaching staff," Heald said. "Beautiful weight room, beautiful everything."

Indiana Coach Kevin Wilson invited Heald back for another visit, but had not offered a scholarship as of Tuesday night.

Heald also plans to visit Kansas University and would like to visit William & Mary. Drake, Upper Iowa and Illinois State called early this week, and more calls could be on the way.

"We'll see," Lombardi said.

Heald said he'd gladly trade his 21 receptions for a victory, but he's proud of the accomplishment. He said he had no idea he'd caught that many passes against Kennedy.

"Honestly, during the game it didn't even feel like it," he said. "It really felt like it was just playing the game.

"Obviously it's my job to catch the ball. I just did what I have to do. I think I dropped one or two. They were tough catches, but I should have caught them."

Washington trailed 28-7 in the first half against Kennedy, so they became the Air Warriors trying to catch up. By the time it ended, Heald had 21 grabs.

"Honest to goodness, when somebody said that to me after the game, you could have knocked me over with a feather," Lombardi said. "I did not realize Flynn did that.

"It was the quietest 21 catches you'll ever see. Kennedy did a really nice job, so we spent the whole game just scrambling to try and get ourselves back in the game.

"We were doing that, and I didn't realize it was all Flynn. I don't think I have ever seen anybody catch 21 balls. I haven't seen anything close to that."

The old school mark for most catches in a game was 16, set by current University of Iowa receiver Keenan Davis. Heald smashed that mark by five balls.

"The more I look at it, that's actually a huge number. Twenty one," Heald mused. "I thought nine was big in the first game.

"Braedon was just giving me the ball," he said. "He was throwing perfect passes, and that's what we're going to keep doing for the rest of the season."

Washington hosts Dubuque Wahlert Friday night at Kingston Stadium.