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“Best Game Os Year”
Hornets Crown Knights
26-11 To Stay Unbeaten
Flaying what their head
coach called “their best game
of the season”, the unbeaten
Westfield Hornets stretched
their victory string to seven
straight last Friday night by
crowning the Deerfield
Knights 26-11 in Albany. The
exciting game left the Hornets
atop SEAIS Region 1-AA with
a 4-0 region record. (All other
region teams have at least one
loss.)
Westfield Head Coach
Marvin Arrington said after
the game, “You put in the
Journal that our line
blocked we 11... extremely
well. And our backs ran hard.
Our defense just outquicked
their offense all night.”
The Hornets themselves
reported it this way. “We won
that one for Coach Arrington,
and for our great fans.” Make
no mistake about it, the
Hornets were clearly the
better of the (wo teams Friday
night. In fact, the Hornets
pulled their starters with 5:05
left to play, and played
defense with ten players. (Ten
were all on the bench who did
not start.)
The Hornets used a superbly
blocking line of Donnie
Fountain, Mayo Sexton, Stan
.Wills, Ken Simpson, Phil
'Gentry, Ross Tolleson, and
George Richerson - along with
fullback Jep Liipfert - to
hammer huge holes for Matt
Mellette, David Bryant, and
QB Tom Malone. Malone’s
wizardry at field general
befuddled the huge, but slow
Knights. As a result, Westfield
rolled up 310 yards over land.
On defense, gang tackling
was the order of business.
Junior tackle Johnny Clay,
senior Donnie Fountain, and
gimpy-legged Ken Simpson
anchored the “Mean Green”
defenders, who dominated the
200 pound Knight front wall.
George Richerson and Tom
Malone served as co-captains
for Westfield. For the first
time this year, the Hornets
kicked off to begin a football
game. And, Deerfield im
mediately utilized its weight
advantage to drive the pigskin
right at the heart of the Hornet
defense.
For fourteen plays the
Knights stormed Hornet
walls, piling up 58 yards and
using up almost eight minutes
off the first quarter clock
(which, it was later deter
mined, was working in
correctly). Powerful fullback
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“New " Matt Mellette (22) Hogtied
.... By Deerfield Defender
Cliff Shirah gained 25 yards on
three cracks, but as the
Knights neared the Hornet
goal line, the “Mean Green”
stiffened.
A FAST, FAST CLOCK
Good hits by Donnie
Fountain, then by George
Richerson, stopped the
Deerfield attack. On fourth
down Larry Watkins trotted in
for a field goal attempt. With
4:31 left on the first period
clock, he booted a 25 yarder
through the uprights, putting
Deerfield ahead 3-0.
Then Westfield got the ball
on offense for the first time.
Junior scatback David Bryant
took the kickoff and raced up
the left sideline for 39 yards,
breaking clear to the Knight 47
before being hauled down.
RIGHT UP THEIR GUT
In just nine plays, the
Hornets were ahead 6-3.
Eschewing the forward pass,
the “Mean Green” rammed
the ball at Deerfield, running
David Bryant on counter plays
against the grain, and
piledriving Matt Mellette
through entrenched defen
ders. The longest play was
seven yards.
On first and ten at the
Knight 13, Mellette broke off
right guard. Breaking a
tackle, then three more, the
180 pounder connonballed into
the endzone with 11:55 left in
the second quarter. The PAT
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The Houston Home Journal
PAGE 3-B
OCT. 17, 1974,
try was no good, but Westfield
led 6-3.
PHIL INTERCEPTS
Deerfield set up shop on
their own 18 and two rushes
gained five yards to the 23.
There QB Phil Deriso dropped
back to throw a fullback
screen pass. But Hornet Ross
Tolleson tipped the pass, and
stocky linebacker Phil Gentry
eagerly plucked the ball from
the air with 10:21 showing.
Gentry was mobbed by his
teammates.
Two plays later the 6-3 lead
had mushroomed. Bryant
gained four to the Knight 23,
behind good blocking. Then
Mellette took off around right
end. Three good blocks mowed
down defenders, then Mellette
hotfooted past two more to a
touchdown with 9:27 left
before intermission. Again the
PAT was no good. The score
now flashed 12-3 in favor of
Westfield,
On the Deerfield first rush,
Jep Liipfert came up fast from
his cornerback post, and
dumped Clay Gardner for a
three yard loss. Seemingly
disheartened, the Knights two
plays later punted to the
Hornet 34, with 7:42 showing.
GOOD LINE PLAY
A pass from Malone to
George Richerson netted nine
yards, then Matt Mellette
rambled 11 yards to the
Knight 44. On the next play,
Matt again traversed right
end, eluding a tackier to the
Deerfield 25, a gain of 19
yards. Jep Liipfert cracked
for 7 yards up the middle, then
Lil ’ Stingers Drop
14-6 Tilt To Ivey
Westfield’s “Lil Stingers”
traveled to Gordon last
Thursday to battle the Gor
don-Ivey Raiders. After a
hard-fought contest, the
Raiders avenged an earlier 12-
0 loss by turning the tables and
winning 14-6.
Things began in a
disasterous manner for
Westfield as the Raiders
returned the opening kick-off
70 yards for a touchdown. A
two point PAT upped the score
to 8-0 with the contest barely
underway.
The “Lil Stingers” could
an offsides against the
Knights moved the ball to the
14.
Tom Malone kept up the
middle to the 12, then Mellette
bucked behind great blocking
to the three yard line. A play
later David Bryant squeezed
over the goal line for the
game’s third TD, with 4:03‘
still showing on the clock.
Mellette got the two point PAT
and the Hornets led 20-3.
Several very questionable
calls by the South Georgia
referees kept Westfield off the
scoreboard the remainder of
the second period, but a
rousing ovation sent the
Hornets into halftime in
termission. Westfield had
smashed for 147 yards rushing
already in the contest.
FLAGS FLY OFTEN...
AND QUICKLY
The men in black stripes
made their presence felt,
some of the time, anyway, in
the scoreless third period.
Despite missing an obvious
facemask, the refs caught (?)
a Westfield illegal block,
stopping a Hornet drive. Then
George Richerson boomed a
high, spiraling 42 yard punt to
the Deerfield 32.
After the Albany boys
punted again, the men in black
stripes again halted a Hornet
advance... and wiped al2 yard
gain for Matt Mellette off the
books. So Richerson’s toe
again commanded center
stage, flying the ball up to the
Knight 33, with 3:44 showing
on the 3rd period clock.
have given up, but bowed their
necks and fought the Raiders
tooth and nail. A true defen
sive battle ensued, with the
pintsized “Mean Green’’
keeping their larger op
ponents in check. Gordon-Ivey
registered only two first
downs throughout the first
half.
Leading the “stinger”
defenders were; Owen Poole,
Donnie Arrington, Mike
Moore, Eric Griffin, Candler
Pritchett, Rex Ellis, Mike
Nipper, Press Hanna, Craig
Evans, Reid Meyer, Allen
Brown, Mike Stovall, Ken
Aldridge, and Wes Goodroe.
In the second quarter the
Stingers generated an of
fensive thrust, and with six
minutes remaining on the
second stanza clock, Bill
O'Neal dashed off his right
tackle and raced 35 yards to a
score. The PAT was missed
when Darryl Duckworth’s
rush fell short. So at halftime
the score was 8-6 in favor of
the Raiders.
As the third period got
underway, the “Lil Stingers”
were again dealt with harshly
by Lady Luck, An inopportune
fumble was recovered by the
Gordon-Ivey defenders on the
Westfield 23 yard line. From
there the Raiders negotiated
the yardage in seven plays for
six more points. The PAT was
no good, but G-l led 14-6.
A defensive struggle
gripped the game as neither
learn could put together an
offense. Finally, with three
minutes left to play, the “Lil
Stingers” recovered a Raider
booble at the Raider 29. Rusty
Thames picked up 15 yards to
the 14, but the Raiders stif
fened as the dock ticked
away.
The gun sounded as Bill
O'Neal was tackled two yards
short of a potential tying
score.
Offensive players for
Westfield were: Jeff White,
Kevin Rodgers, David
Washington, Matt Jerles,
Rusty Thames, Dale Thomp
son, Gene Beckham, Perry
Stanley, Bill O’Neal, Darryl
Duckworth, Paul Smallwood,
Tommy Thomson, and Jeff
Lasseler.
Deerfield made threatening
noises, moving for two first
downs by recovering two of
their own fumbles for hefty
gains, A 21 yard pass from
Deriso to Bo Johnson moved
Deerfield to the Hornet 27. But
three plays later George
Hicherson recovered a Cliff
Shirah bobble on the Westfield
17 yard line, ending the third
period.
83 YARDS IN 19
PLAYS
Despite having played 36
minutes of hard, rough
football, the Hornets then put
together a beautiful drive, all
on the ground, right at the
Knight strong point... its
defensive front and
linebackers. “Blow em out,”
yelled Coach Arrington, and
the Hornets followed his in
structions to the letter.
Mellette gained six, then
Malone three yards. Then
David Bryant swept left,
broke past a tackier and
rambled 24 yards to the 50
yard line. Bryant made four
off right guard.
Malone kept to the Deerfield
40, right up the middle. A play
later Mellette hauled five
tacklers for five yards to the
Knight 41, and a first down,
Two more cracks got 11 yards
added to Mellette’s total.
After an offsides call on
Deerfield, Mellette bulled to
the 17. An illegal procedure
moved the ball back to the 23.
So Bryant countered to the 17
again. Two cracks by Mellette
left the ball on the three. A
play later Tom Malone
sneaked over with 5 ;05 to play.
The PAT was no good, but the
Hornets led 26-3.
TEN MAN DEFENSE
At this point, Arrington told
Coach Lee Martin to find
everybody who didn’t start.
Rounding up the ten sub
stitutes, Martin sent them on
the field... and Westfield
played with that ten. “I
wanted my bosses to come off
as a unit,” told Arrington.
Forty seconds later a hard
hit by Stan Wills jarred the
ball loose, Mayo Sexton
recovering for Westfield. Into
the game went the ten, again.
After Westfield punted,
Deerfield drove 81 yards in
five plays for a touchdown.
Kern Cunningham went over
from 34 yards out with 0:46 left
to play. The PAT try for two
was good and the score was
now 26-11 in favor of Westfield.
Fisticuffs and lousy calls by
referees marred Ihe last 46
seconds of play, as a David
Bryant interception was
negated by a yellow flag. But
the Hornets walked off 26-11
winners and spoiled the
Deerfield homecoming.
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U A Mean Green Tackle”
.... Halts Clay Gardner
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Mellette Breaks Away
.... Leaving Part Os Jersey Behind
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STATISTICS 319 Total Offense 247
fOv\, fYiy~\ WESTFIELD DEERFIELD 25:36 Possession 22:24
17 First Downs ll HORNET RUSHING; Matt
- 185 yards on 24
1-7 Passing 4-12 carries; Jep Liipfert -7 on one
T,4£Hl£) 0 Had Intercepted 1 carry; Tom Malone -48 on 10;
kY piCT^ 9 Passing Yards 90 David Bryant -61 on 11.
Vi °-° Fumbles-Lost 7-2 PASS RECEIVING - George
-37.0 Punts-Avg. 3-35.0 Hicherson - one for nine yards
5-45 Penalties-Yds. 2-20 - from Malone.
V ———
David Bryant (21) Slides Past
.... On Hornet Counter Play