Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 17, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 30, 1984 Page: 6 of 19
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Pegs 4A - VAN ZANDT MM,
1*M
Rita Rodgers Of Grand Saline
Winner of Football Contest
No. 3 in the Van Zandt News
Three Edgewood Bulldog defenders stopped Eustace fullback Armondo Rodriquez (24) on this run, and held
him to 63 yards rushing in 11 carries as Edgewood won, 18-6. The Edgewood defense caused four Eustace
fumbles, getting one. Edgewood defenders visible are David Prestidge (60), Wayne Crisler (31) and Glen
Baxter (22), along with an unidentifiable Bulldog. (Photo by Kerry Yancey)
Bobcats forfeit game
FRUITVALE - The
teams were there, the band
was there, the parents were
there, but the officials were
not there. Unfortunately,
the hosting team is respon-
sible to provide officials,
and Fruitvale was forced to
forfeit its six-man football
game to Covington Friday
night.
After a flurry of
telephone calls and quick
consultations with the
district superintendents, it
appeared that the Fruit-
vale Bobcats would travel
down to Covington to play
Saturday night, but one of
the superintendents called
back to change his vote
from yes to no, forcing the
forfeit.
The game would have
been the tirst district con-
test for both teams, and
the forfeit puts Fruitvale in
a difficult situation.
"Abbott is still the team
to beat." Bobcat Coach
Ray Miller said. Covington
will probably lose three or
four loop games, he
predicted, and if Fruitvale
can win five of its next six,
"We still have an excellent
Offensive Standouts
Patrick McFarlin
Van
DeWayne Dickerson Steve Oltman
Grand Saline Canton
Wayne Crisler
Edgewood
Mike Murphy
Wills Point
Jeff Lewis
Fruitvale
Defensive Standouts
Byron Carroll
Canton
Jay Helms
Van
Lee LaPrade
Grand Saline
Glen Baxter
E^ewood
Rodney Partin
Fruitvale
Keith Lyon*
Will* Point
shot at making the playof-
fs," Miller said. "We can
still control our own
destiny."
The officials just did not
show up, Miller said. "I got
in touch with the official
about 12:30 (a.m.),”
Miller reported Saturday
morning. “The official jqst,,
flat blew it. He had it on
his schedule and
everything, and he told me
‘I just screwed up’."
If the district executive
committee (the superin-
tendents) feel that the
situation was out of the
hands of the hosting
school, he explained, and
the game can be
rescheduled, “Most of the
time they will allow it to be
replayed," Miller said.
However, the one superin-
tendent changing his vote
cancelled out any possible
rescheduling for Saturday
night. "We had three yes
votes, but we had to have
at least four,” Miller ex-
plained.
"It’s sickening," Miller
said. "I’d like to see the
kids determine who wins
the game. It's just one of
those things where you got
to put it off and go on to
the next game."
Fruitvale will host Blum
Saturday in its annual
homecoming contest. Pre-
game ceremonies start at 7
p.m., with the kickoff
following at 7:30 p.m.
Kid sports
questions
answered
Children love to be active,
and the earlier they develop
good exercise habits the bet-
ter. These questions and an-
swers will help you to better
determine which sports are
right for your child.
Q My eight year old is un-
derweight, but he wants to
play football Should I let
him?
A. There’s no reason not
to even at his age It is more
important to learn the skills
and enjoyment of a sport first,
and worry about the muscle
building later. Let your child
have fun with the sport-
leach him how to throw and
catch—and when he's older
and real competition comes
into play, then endurance and
conditioning will play u more
vital role.
Q What aports are best
for young children to play?
A. The safest sports for
young ‘athletes* are indi-
vidual sports, such aa tennis,
swimming and running,
where there is no physical
contact and therefore less in-
jury potential. Team sports
are fine, and Ain for the child,
providing he or she wears the
proper equipment
Edgewood bumps off
visiting Eustace 18-6
EDGEWOOD - The
Edgewood Bulldogs kept
the football for 15 minutes
of the second half while
grinding out an 18-6 upset
victory over the mistake-
prone Eustace Bulldogs
Friday night.
Edgewood kept the ball
for 19 plays, driving from
its 17 to the Eustace 17
before turning the ball
over on downs at the
Eustace 24. “We knew we
had to keep it away from
them,” Edgewood Coach
David Whiting said after-
ward. “That’s why we tried
to get some points on the
board early...we knew we
had to play a heckuva
game to beat them.”
Eustace entered the
game unbeaten, while the
hosting Bulldogs had suf-
fered two blowouts in a
row. Eustace showed its
superior speed whenever it
had the ball, as the visiting
Bulldogs wishboned down
the field, taking large
chunks of yardage, but the
Edgewood defense and
Eustace's own mistakes cost
the visitors at least two
touchdowns.
Junior tailback Wayne
Crisler and the front wall
of the Edgewood Bulldogs
proved to be the critical
factor, however, as Crisler
toted the ball 38 times for
144 yards arid two touch-
downs. He lost yardage on
only three carries.
After an inital first
down, Edgewood punted,
and Eustace swept right
and left back up the field.
“We ganged up in the
middle to stop number 24
(Armando Rodriquez),
and they went outside on
us," Whiting said. “Then,
we shut them down outside
and they started going up
the middle. We ended up
just going back to our
regular defense, and the
kids got after them.”
Eustace went to the
Edgewood 39, but a
motion penalty and an in-
complete pass forced a
punt. Eustace quarterback
David Tapp got off an ex-
cellent effort, hitting the
comer at the Edgewood 4.
After Crisler failed to get
two yards in two carries,
Whiting called a quick
kick, and it paid off. The
ball rolled to midfield, but
Eustace began to drive
right back. Rodriquez
bulled for a first down at
the Edgewood 27, and on
the next play, Gary Smith
slashed up the middle for
11 yards to the 16.
However, on second
down, Tapp waited until
he was past the line of
scrimmage to tow a pass
that went to the Edgewood
1. The penalty wiped out
the gain and the down,
and two other passes were
(1) dropped by Keith
Hambrick and (2) dropped
by Hambrick in the end
zone after a struggle with
defender Stephen Adkins,
a sophomore brought up
from the junior varsity this
week.
On first down, Crisler
took a pitchout, shrugged
off a would-be tackier, and
fired a left-handed miasle
into Adkins' numbers. The
speedy sophomore turned
the play into a 37-yard
gain to the Eustace 44.
CrialeT carried twice, but
a third down pass by quar-
terback Chad Morris was
just a hair too long for a
wide-open Chad Foster.
On fourth and four. Crisler
gained six.
Morris hit Adkins on a
sideline pass for six, and on
the next play, Eustace was
flagged for spearing
Crisler, giving Edgewood a
first down on the Eustace
13. Crisler got 11, but a
morion penalty moved the
ball back to the 7. On
second down. Morris rolled
out and dose over a defen
der at the flag for a touch-
down. Jeff Meister’s point-
after kick was blocked,
however, leaving the score
6-0 with 2:50 left in the
half.
After the kickoff, a good
gain by Rodriquez was
wiped out by a holding
penalty. On the next play,
Eustace was hit with a
clipping penalty, moving
the Bulldogs back to their
20. Rodriquez got nine,
and on third down, Tapp’s
screen pass hit a very sur-
prised George Dotson right
in the hands, and the
defensive lineman dropped
the sure interception. On
fourth down, Tapp tried to
run instead of punt, and he
was caught at the line of
scrimmage.
It took Crisler only one
play to cover the 29 yards
to the end zone, but he
only had 58 seconds left in
the half to play with.
Whiting called the
"Stephen Special," a rever-
se play designed
specifically for the speedy
sophomore, on the point-
after attempt, but Adkins
was tripped up just short of
the goal to leave the score
at 12 0.
Eustace opened the
second half with a fumble,
which Edgewood turned
into a 10-play, 47-yard
scoring drive. After three
carries by Crisler, Morris
passed to Foster, who
fought off two defenders
for the ball and a 20-yard
gain.
Morris got the ball to the
Eustace 4 with a six-yard
sneak, and after a fumbled
snap on second down,
Crisler got his second
touchdown from three
yards out. His run for two
points failed, leaving the
score 18-0, Edgewood.
Eustace wishboned down
the field, as Kevin Shaffner
gained 22, Rodriquez 22
and Smith eight tor the
touchdown on successive
runs. Tapp's run for two
was stopped short,
however. Things looked
bleak when Crisler fum-
bled on the first play after
the kickoff and Eustace
recovered on the
Edgewood 21.
The hometown Bulldog
defense rose to the
challenge. On fourth and
one at the 13, Tapp fum-
bled the rollout, and
Edgewood recovered on
the 17.
Nineteen plays later, the
Bulldogs gave up the ball
at the Eustace 24. Crisler
gained nine in two carries,
but had to leave the game
because the back of his jer-
sey had been ripped off.
(He later returned wearing
number 14.) On third
down, Glen Baxter coun-
tered for six yards, giving
Edgewood a first down at
its 32.
An offsides penalty
against Eustace moved the
ball to the 35, and Crisler
gained 10 in two carries to
cross the midfield stripe.
On third and eight at the
49, Maderral Dunn,
carrying in place of Crisler,
gained eight yards and a
foot, giving the hometown
'Dogs a first down at the
Eustace 43.
From there, Crisler
carried nine straight times,
getting the ball to the
Eustace 17 before a loss
and a delay of game
penalty moved the ball out .
to the 24. On fourth down,
a pass to Baxter was no
good, and Eustace took
over.
However, Eustace only
had 3:10 left to play by
that point. Tapp tried to
pass on second down and
was sacked for a five-yard
loss by Dotson and Baxter,
but on third down, he hit
Rodriquez on a rollout,
and Rodriquez turned the
play into a 24-yard gain.
A second pass to
Rodriquez was good for 21
more yards, moving
Eustace to the Edgewood
31. However, Tapp missed
three straight passes. On
fourth and 10. Tapp
scrambled for 10 yards,
hurdling an Edgewood
defender at the sticks.
However, he was hurt on
the play and did not play
another down.
Backup quarterback
Joey Fraze fumbled his first
snap, and was replaced by
James Lookabough.
Lookabough missed his fir-
st pass and his second, on
fourth down, was batted
down at the line by Jimmy
Troutman, another
sophomore brought up
from the junior varsity for
the game.
Morris fell on the ball
once, and the final seconds
ticked off the clock, ending
the game.
Edgewood ended with
237 yards offense, 174
rushing with 144 of that
from Crisler. The
hometown Bulldogs were
three of six passing for 63
yards.
Eustace finished the
game with 249 yards offen-
se, 209 on the ground and
two of 13 through the air.
Edgewood fumbled twice
and lost one, while Eustace
fumbled four times and
lost one. Edgewood was
penalized seven times for
40 yards, while Eustace
had nine penalties for 85
yards in losses.
Next week, the
Edgewood Bulldogs travel
to Tyler, where they will
face the T. K. Gorman
Crusaders, who lost 21-16
to Dallas First Baptist
Acadamy Friday night.
Gametime is 7:30 p.m.
Eustoce Bulldog Keith Hambrick (30) juggled and dropped the boll in the enc
zone due to the defensive efforts of Edgewood Bulldog sophomore Stephen
Adkins (24) late in the second quarter of Edgewootfs 16-6 upset of previously-
unbeaten Eustace Friday night. The incompletion come on fourth down, and
Edgewood took over to stort an 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive. (Photo by Kerry
YonceyjP
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Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 17, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 30, 1984, newspaper, September 30, 1984; Wills Point, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth990501/m1/6/?q=green+energy: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Van Zandt County Library.