In 1958, a mere 54 years ago, the Grand Valley High School and Ashtabula County boys basketball career scoring record belonged to Jim Dodd. The ACBF hall of famer scored 1,377 points in his career as a leading post player for the Mustangs.

“I was fortunate, I had very good teammates and a real good coach in Mr. (William) Searcy, he made it fun,” Dodd recalls. “I was in the pivot, a true center and that’s what I played primarily. Coach gave me some leeway to roam at times, but I was mainly in the pivot. I loved to rebound and took great pride in that.

“It was never much thought about the points back then, though. I didn’t think much about it.”

While Dodd might not have been thinking about it, he set a record that lasted 30 years, when Conneaut’s Matt Zappitelli set the record in 1988 with 1,454 points.

Zappitelli benefited from being in the first class of Spartans that was allowed to start on the varsity team as a freshman. He also got one season with the 3-point line, his senior year, and that probably would’ve sounded like Chinese during Dodd’s era. Both are members of the Ashtabula County Basketball Hall of Fame.

“A lot of luck goes into (setting the record), you have to have four years with no injuries and unfortunately we didn’t have extra tournament games when I was there,” Zappitelli said. “I think I made 30-some 3-pointers my senior year. It may have been a big help to me but I also had the advantage of playing my freshman year, the first year a freshman could play varsity. That certainly made a difference.”

Now, 23 years after Zappitelli graduated, the scoring record has come full circle and returned to Orwell as Grand Valley senior point guard A.J. Henson broke the record with a 22-point performance against Lordstown. Now, several games later, he has 1,531 points, and counting.

“It was exciting, I’m lucky that I got put in the position to do this, not many people do, I’ve been blessed with so much and so many great people in my life,” he said. “Obviously, (setting the record) has a lot to do with who you play with and a lot of guys I’ve been able to play with since my freshman year have been able to help create (scoring) for themselves and me.”

It came as no surprise to Dodd that Henson was the one to not only break his school record, but the county record.

The ’58 graduate, who is a the grandfather of Grand Valley senior girls basketball player Bailey Holmes, said he knew from the first time he saw Henson play that he was special.

“Goodness, yes,” Dodd said when asked if he thought Henson would catch his record. “I watched him and his teammates since junior high and certainly knew he was the one that was going to do it. He should set a high mark.”

Dodd admits having the record back in south county gives him a sense of pride. He also said he’s pleased a player of Henson’s talents was the one to set it.

“It’s very meaningful, because in south county, sometimes they don’t think about us down here, honestly,” he said. “A.J. is marvelous. He makes his other teammates so much better, that’s what a good player does. He’s a great passer his teammates have to be alert because he can shoot some passes in there you don’t expect to see.”

Henson’s abilities as a complete player are something Dodd appreciates as he contends he would’ve been able to set a high rebounding record had those stats been kept in the ’50s.

The respect Dodd has for Henson’s game is equaled in the younger players admiration for the former GV center.

“It’s kind of neat that someone from my school had a record and kind of nice to keep it in the area; it’s crazy he did it without a 3-point line,” Henson said. “It’s real nice (to know Dodd). We sat down and talked a little bit about how it was when he broke the record and just a bunch of stuff. It’s cool how we compared it.

“We both said it just kind of happened. It wasn’t something that we tried to get, it just happened.”

While Henson played in a totally different era and position than Dodd and a slightly different one than Zappitelli he has a unique characteristic that neither player faced — his hair.

Anyone who has seen the speedy guard play can’t help but recognize Justin Bieber-styled haircut.

Opposing student sections certainly took notice to it, sending sing-song taunting chants of “Bieber! Bieber! Bieber!” Henson’s way, something the senior said he has come to embrace.

“It’s fun,” he said of the chants he hears on the road. “There’s so many things that you get from different places. In some ways, it’s a good thing. If they’re saying something, then you’re doing something right. It’s kind of fuel for me.

“I have a lot of fun going into other places and feeling a different atmosphere than your place.”

While Henson maintains a relationship with Dodd, Zappitelli has never seen the new record holder play.

“I don’t know him at all,” Zappitelli said. “It’s a neat thing (to break the record). I may give him a call, if I got his number, but I know it’ll be fun for him. The record stood for 20-some years and to have it for that long was cool. It’s a lot of points for that era.

“Eventually, you realize it’ll get broken, so I’m just happy for him. It’s something to talk about. I have nothing but good memories about it.”

Zappitelli, who now lives in Concord, said he hasn’t seen any games in the area in years.

He’s been a little busy, though, as he is the father to two daughters, McKenna (14) and Katie (11). Following in her father’s footsteps, the oldest of his two daughters played in her first basketball game last week.

“Due to time constraints, I don’t get to games, but I hear what’s going around in town,” he said. “You always look at your alma mater, but with the kids and time constraints, I don’t get to games.

“I haven’t seen (Henson), but I’ve heard he’s a good player from some of the people I’ve talked to. Hey, I was happy to have the record while I did, now that it’s going to go to him and I’m happy for him.”

Dodd shared in Zappitelli’s satisfaction in having Henson break both of their records.

“I’m certainly pleased to see it go to a fine, young athlete from Grand Valley,” he said. “A.J.’s a good kid, he’s going to go to college and he told me today he’d like to be in sports management and I think he’ll do well with whatever his future endeavors are. He’s a good kid and I just want to congratulate him and wish success in the future.”

What the future holds as far as college is concerned is still unknown to Henson.

He is certain he’ll be playing basketball over football (he was the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year in 2010 and the Star Beacon Offensive Player of the Year in 2011) and that it will be a Division II or III school.

But, the future is now for Henson as he is past the scoring record and focusing on finishing out his senior season strong.

Coming of a 20-1 season last year, the Mustangs have struggled out of the gates this year sitting at 8-5 after a loss at Maplewood on Tuesday.

“It’s nice. Now (that the record is broken), we can just get back to thinking about winning games and no more extra stuff,” Henson said. “We have to close out a little better than we started. It’s hard to live up to the regular season we had last year. We’ve been a little sloppier this year than last year and we know teams are giving us their best game. No one is rolling over.

“It’s up to us to match that intensity and play the way we should.”