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PAGE 4-C
—Sports
Panthers Surprise Dublin
13-7 In ’79 Curtain Closer
By Phil Byrd
HHJ General Manager
With nothing at stake
but pride, Coach Dave
Crockett unleashed
Perry’s "offense of the
future” Friday night as
the Panthers turned
region 3-AAA upside
down with a 13-7 win over
the sixth-ranked and
conference champion
Dublin Irish in Shamrock
Bowl. In winning, the
Panthers finished the
season with a 4-5 record
and 3-4 in region play.
Down 7-0 at halftime to
a team that had shutout
five straight opponents,
Crockett completely
changed his game plan.
The Panthers switched to
the veer offense in the
second half and had the
Irish at their mercy the
remainder of the evening.
"This (the veer) is our
offense for next year, but
we decided to unveil it a
little early,” an elated
Crockett said about the
Panthers fourth victory
of the season. The loss for
Dublin was only their
second in ten games.
For the emotion
packed Panthers it was
their finest performance
of a season that has been
plagued with untimely
injuries, inexperience
and a new coaching
system. It was a win well
worth savoring.
Stars abounded for the
Panthers Friday night.
David Arnall, a gifted
athlete who was tran
sferred to the defensive
unit due to injuries in
Perry’s secondary late in
the season, stabbed
Dublin twice with pass
interceptions. He also
directed Perry’s veer
offense in the second half
as the Panthers took
complete control. Ar
nall’s performance
Friday night could be
wrapped up in one word:
superb.
Another standout was
Louis Wallace, a so-so
running back for much of
the season. The 5-9 160-
pound senior assaulted
the proud Irish defense
for 120 yards rushing (all
in the second half) in
cluding a 54-yard ex
cursion to start the third
quarter that excavated
Perry's initial score of
the game.
Greg Bogan, who can
be as good as he wants to
be, recorded another fine
outing against the Irish.
The solidly-built 180-
pounder ran over Dublin
defenders for 94 yards in
21 carries and kept three
Perry drives alive via his
legwork on third down
situations.
By aw jp^fc
Keith Fleming Throws Over The Middle
...To Wideout Dan Wright For 11 Yards
an
“Come On, Man, Get Open!”
....Panthers’ Porter Tries Bomb
Perry’s offensive line
also reaped praise Friday
night, especially in the
second half when the
Panthers switched to the
veer. In the first half,
Perry collected only 39
yards on the ground, but
it all changed after
halftime. With Perry’s
line taking control of the
line of scrimmage, the
Panthers clawed out 155
yards rushing in the third
and fourth quarters.
Perry’s running game
in high gear, they threw
the ball only seven times
all night, with Fleming
and Arnall each con
necting on one for 11
yards apiece.
Defensively, it was one
of Perry’s foremost ef
forts of the season.
Dublin's normally potent
offensive attack was
limited to 156 yards on the
ground and only 53
through the air.
Perry also “cleaned
up" their act with the
officials as the Panthers
were charged with only
two penalties all night.
They had been averaging
over eighty yards per
game.
When it was all over,
Perry’s jersey switch, the
new veer and a team jam
packed with deter
mination had pulled off
one of the biggest upsets
of the season.
Downing a Giant
With a huge Dublin
homecoming crowd on
hand to “witness another
Irish win,” the green
and-gold-clad region
champs won the toss of
the coin. Dublin took the
opening kickoff and
immediately ran into
difficulty against a fired
up Panther squad.
Unable to gain a first
down the Irish punted to
the Panthers at the Perry
44.
Coach Dave Crockett’s
crew sustained the same
troubles as the Irish and
punted right back to the
Irish after a set of downs
at the Dublin 25.
Perry was the recipient
of the first break of the
game three plays later
when David Arnall
picked off a deep
Clarence Reynolds pass
and returned it 13 yards
to the Panthers' 30.
Perry cranked up the
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1979
first offensive movement
of the night by driving to
the Dublin 31, but a bad
pitchout - the first of
seven Panther fumbles -
resulted, killing the
drive. During the march
the Panthers racked up
first downs on three
straight snaps; an ll
yard pass to Dan Wright,
a 10-yard run by Keith
Fleming and a 14-yard
scamper by Bogan.
Later, Fleming kicked
the Irish in a hole at the
six.
Perry’s good fortune
continued on Dublin's
first snap when their
great tailback Clint
Hampton fumbled on the
13. Bogan jumped on the
loose ball for the Pan
thers.
Perry’s good fortune
continued on Dublin’s
first snap when their
great tailback Clint
Hampton fumbled on the
13. Bogan jumped on the
loose ball for the Pan
thers.
Perry failed to cash in
on the golden opportunity
when a pitchout again
went awry - losing nine
yards - and a holding
penalty cost 15 more.
Fleming punted into the
end zone.
Dublin immediately
made their first offensive
noises of the evening. On
first down, Hampton got
away down the sidelines
and shot 40 yards before
Doug Holmes made a TD
saving tackle at the
Perry 40. Finding th
yardage tougher to get on
each play, the Irish ran
out of downs on the Perry
26 as the first period
expired.
Perry could not solve
the Irish defense, so
Fleming punted 40 yards
to the Irish 34.
Aided by a 15-yard
penalty against the
Panthers, the Irish drove
66 yards in ten plays or
the initial score of the
evening. The march, all
on the ground, ate up 4:38
of the clock and was
climaxed when Hampton
dived over from two
yards out. Scott Henry
tacked on a soccer-style
extra point to put the
heavily-favored Irish on
top 7-0 with 5:24 left til
intermission.
After the kickoff, the
Panthers gave the ball
right back to the Irish on
a fumble at the Perry 45,
but Perry’s proud
defense - led by Tim
King, Stanley Bass,
Drennon Everette and
David Green - drove
Dublin backwards.
As both defenses
continued to control the
game, the half ended with
Dublin still owning a 7-0
lead and 24 straight
scoreless quarters to
their opponents.
A New Look
After Dublin’s
elongated halftime
festivities were over, the
Panthers hit the field
with a new look. Starting
the game with maroon
jerseys, the Panthers
switched to white ones in
the second half and a new
offense ... the veer.
On Perry’s first of
fensive play in the second
half, Dublin knew they
were in trouble. Starting
from their own 32, after a
12-yard kickoff return by
Bass, the Panthers struck
like lightening. On first
down, junior signal caller
David Arnall handed off
to fullback Louis
Wallace, who shot
through a gapping hole
for 54 yards to the Irish
14.
In just four additional
snaps the Panthers were
on the scoreboard,
breaking Dublin’s
phenomenal scoreless
streak. Bogan, on a wide
right pitch, did the honors
from four yards out.
Perry missed the two
point conversion, but with
10:10 to go in the third
period, Dublin had a fight
on their hands, 7-6.
With Perry’s defense
now sky high after the
TD, the Irish could not
handle the situation and
punted the ball away.
Curtis Dugger returned
the pigskin into Dublin
territory at the 44.
From there, the
Panthers struck again. In
ten plays - and five
minutes of the clock -
they drove for the
eventual winning score.
Arnall ran the veer to
perfection and Bogan.
Wallace and Porter
provided the yardage.
The only pass of the
excursion was a vital 11-
yard toss to Danny Rush,
who made a great catch
at the Dublin 3. Two plays
later, Arnall snuck in for
the score to put Perry on
top. Bert Harvey added
the PAT and with 3:54 left
in the third period, Perry
was in the lead for good
13-7.
Dublin tried
desperately to avoid the
upset, but Perry’s
combination of a time
consuming offense and an
unbending defense in the
final period spelled
victory for the Perry
Panthers, 13-7.
The season of 1979 had
been a learning ex
perience for the young
Panthers, and last Friday
night they graduated.
THE
STATS
Rushing: Wallace 15 for
120, Bogan 21 for 94,
Dugger 2 for 2, Arnall 2
for minus-12, Fleming 8
for minus-12, Porter 2 for
6.
Receiving: Wright 1 for
11, Rush 1 for 11.
Passing: Fleming 2-1-11
yards, Arnall 4-1-11
yards, Porter 1-0-0.
Tackles: Bass 15, Bogan
5, Collins 6, Everette 8,
Norwood 9, Rawls 3,
Glover 12, David Green
13.
Interceptions: Arnall (2)
Recoveries - Bogan
Perry Dublin
12 First Downs 10
50-194 Yds-Rushes 43-156
22 Yds-Passing 53
7-2-1 Att-Comp-Int 13-3-2
7-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-1
5-32.4 Punts-Avg 3-32.3
2-30 Penalties-Yds 3-14
62 Offensive Plays 59
216 Total Offense 209
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A.„„ r> , _, PHOTOS BY FRANK RUSSO
Perry s Greg Bogan Loses The Handle
....Marty Caffee (54) Saves It For Panthers
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Perry’s David Arnall Runs The Veer
....Pitches To Tailback Greg Bogan
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
■ ■
i'Voifßm Pouae'j
, By Dave Crockett S
« 4VI Perry High
Head Football Coach ■
■
“Inspired Football”
Win Over Dublin
■ i ;;
One To Remember
Friday night, Nov. 9,
will be a night we will
never forget. Our Perry
Panthers played inspired
football for 48 bone
jarring minutes, ending
the season with a 13-7
victory over the 3AAA
Region leader, the Dublin
Irish. It was
Homecoming in Dublin,
so our team felt obliged to
do to the Irish the same
favor the West Laurens
team did to our
Homecoming -- Spoil it!
The Irish brought a
high state ranking into a
game that would finish a
great season for them.
However, our football
team would not accept
defeat and simply out
played the Irish. The
offense, sparked by the
running of Greg Bogan
and Louis Wallace,
scored twice in the third
quarter against a defense
that had not been scored
on in 23 quarters.
Sophomore Keith
Fleming played a good
half of football before
giving way to junior
David Arnall. Keith was
injured in the first half
and could not continue.
DaVid came on and did a
super job directing two
Panther scoring drives.
David scored the go
ahead touchdown himself
from a yard out.
The Panther defense
led by Captain Tim King
played the way they
played early in the year.
David Green, Drennon
Everett, Anthony Rawls,
and Rodney Norwood
anchored a tough
defensive front. Backers
Bass and Glover sup
ported the line well. The
secondary, led by Ar
nall’s two interceptions,
helped to keep the Irish
out of the end zone.
We would like to pay a
tribute to the 1979 Pan
ther Seniors who helped
us finish the season in a
such a great way. On
offense we salute Louis
Wallace, Dan Wright,
Danny Rush, Tony
Carter, Tony Miller,
Allan Brunson, Greg
Porter, Keith McClain,
and Sinclair Lester.
Defensively, we will miss
Drennon Everett, Darryl
Collins, Stanley Bass,
Henry Jackson, Skip
Grantham, and Dennis
Lane. These young men
have contributed a great
deal to our program, and
we appreciate very much
the great effort that they
gave us.
We deeply appreciate
the coaches’ hard work
this season. The staff put
in many long hours
preparing each week, and
we do appreciate it. We
would also like to thank
the Panther Boosters and
all the work they have put
in so far. They have
helped us so much. We
also would like to express
thanks to Phil Byrd and
the Home Journal for
giving us this space to
talk about Perry High
Athletics. Most of all we
thank the parents of our
players and the fans who
have supported Panther
football so faithfully this
season. We feel like our
team ended on a great
note. This should be a
building block for a good
future. Please share it
with us. Thanks for
following the Panthers.
Without you, we’re
nothing.
We also would like to
express thanks to Mr.
Curtis Riner for a job well
done. He does a super job
for our athletes, and we
deeply appreciate all his
time and effort. Thanks
Mr. Riner.