Just hearing mention of “Colonels Football” evokes so many memories. We all have our own special memories; mine seem to be quite blended. I often remember what it was like to be a fan cheering on my heroes. At other times, my memories are from those times when I was on the team. Whatever the case, my remembrances seem to be vivid. I was fortunate to have a brother five years older than I. Although he was too young the first year the Colonels came into being, within two years, Bobby was being coached by Coach Cain on the junior high team. I then had a vested interest in the Colonels from lower elementary school. Bobby helped to give me insight that others may not have had.
I mentioned the Oil Bowl in Magee in an earlier story. It took place on November 22, 1963, the day JFK was assassinated. All of us can remember where we were when we were given the tragic news. I was in sixth grade and learned of it in Mrs. Gee’s classroom. I seem to remember there was an announcement over the intercom, but almost forty-eight years later, I’m not so sure. However, the football team didn’t hear the news in quite the same way. I remember “the rest of the story” because of Bobby. He was a junior and had driven home to have lunch that day. He heard the news on the radio while driving back to school. When he got back to the gym, he told Coach Mullins about what he had heard. Of course, the coaches already knew, but Coach told Bobby not to tell the other players. The coaches would tell the players later on the bus, in route to the game.
The weather that night brought torrential rains; it would have been more appropriate to call it the Mud Bowl instead of the Oil Bowl. As I recall, the field was so messy the bands couldn’t perform on the field during halftime. There was even discussion about canceling the game. The assassination of a President is a tragic and traumatic event. However, it was decided that they would still play the game. That night, the Colonels lost to Mendenhall 12 - 14. We had been penalized during the game several times when our defensive players failed to stop when the official blew the whistle. How ironic that Mendenhall scored the winning touchdown when one of our defensive players had the runner in his grasp and released him. This time, our player heard a whistle and stopped. It turned out that the sound of the whistle came from the stands. At least that is how an eleven year old boy remembered it.
Another memory I have comes from the 1966 season. Cleveland was supposed to be our toughest opponent. They came to Our Field to play. There was a lot of excitement for the game because of the anticipated showdown. The stands filled early. I was standing along the fence near the entrance. It may have been 8:10 when a couple from Cleveland arrived a little late. The game had just started at 8:00 pm. The wife looked up and said, "Oh, their scoreboard must be broken." It read 21- 0. I had a huge grin on my face. The scoreboard was working just fine. The Colonels had scored three touchdowns in the first two minutes on our way to a 55 - 7 blowout over the second best team in the conference.
Unfortunately, the 1967 season had been a disappointment for the players, the school, and the community. A record of 5 wins, 3 losses, and 2 ties is not a Colonels-style season. However, there is promise for the 1968 season. That new season begins with spring training. At this point, the ninth graders move up. There was a very good crop of ninth graders that year with guys like Bill Marshall, Jim McNeely, and Robert Waldon. They were undefeated on the junior high team. Everyone pulled together to contribute to the team. I worked hard and was elevated to Second Team during the spring. The function of the Second Team is to practice against the First Team to make them better and to be ready if needed due to an injury to a member of the First Team. I was proud of this accomplishment. Sometimes, a member of the Second Team could improve and be elevated to the First Team. We were all optimistic that we would be much improved in the fall.
I have only one specific memory of spring training that year. We were playing the Spring Game – as we did to complete every spring training session. The clock was winding down; there were only 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter. One more play and we would head to the showers -- spring training would be over. I don't remember if I was on offense or defense, but I do remember that I was blocking, or being blocked, when I went down to the ground. My right hand lay flat on the ground when someone stepped on it. A cleat from a shoe penetrated the top of my hand and ripped a two-inch gash in between the little finger and ring finger. No bones were broken, just a very wide and deep gash. It was unbelievable that this could happen on the very last play of the Spring Game! Of course, there was a trip to the hospital. Dr. Lynch sewed up my hand -- I don't remember the number of stitches. It was a wicked gash with severe bruising, but fortunately no damage was done to ligaments or tendons. I couldn't use my hand for a week. Because I am right-handed, I told my teachers I couldn't do homework, write papers, or take tests. Certainly, I needed to milk this injury as much as possible.
During the summer when we were supposed to be lifting weights, I went to summer school in New Hampshire. The first week I was there, while playing basketball, I tore a ligament in my knee; it was the anterior cruciate ligament which is underneath the kneecap. My knee swelled up like a balloon. The doctor thought it was just a sprain. It was very hard to walk, and I used crutches for several days. After a few days I was able to walk and function with it. Over the next several years, I would reinjure the knee several times. This always involved tearing the cartilage in the knee and caused me to be on crutches for a few days each time. During that summer of 1968, I was not able to run for conditioning due to my injury, and I was not at home to lift weights. I did not improve over the summer and was therefore demoted to the "Other Team". Of course, this is really the Third Team, except we didn't really have a full Third Team, just players who were on neither the First Team nor the Second Team.
My junior year on the football team was very disappointing to me. I rarely played. I did not letter that year. I reinjured my knee once during the season which caused me to miss dressing out for at least one game. Then I got the flu and Dr. Lynch decided it was the Hong Kong Flu -- kind of exotic, I thought. I was in the hospital for several days and was too weak to even consider playing for another game once I got home. Being a Colonel in the hospital did have its benefits. I received a visit from some of the cheerleaders; we had the most amazing cheerleaders! That year Rebecca Carter, Marilyn Pippin, and Mary Beth Blanchard were part of the group. Their visit brightened my stay in the hospital. They cheered me up. I assume it must be part of the job description of a cheerleader. On top of my knee injury and the Hong Kong Flu, I got my right hand stepped on once again. This time a cleat ripped a gash in my hand along the old scar, requiring a trip to the emergency room to get stitches. These injuries and illness made this a forgettable season for me, personally. However, the team was on the upswing after the previous year. We were rebuilding the dynasty!
The success Rolling Fork had in football would not have occurred without the support of the community, our fans and other students. The Colonels Band always set the standard for school spirit. During the 1968 football season, the Colonels Band was led by Drum Majorette Fern Carter. Fern was also Homecoming Queen and Sweetheart Parade Queen. The majorettes were Anne Spivey, Martha Carter, Anne Fields, Maryanne Weissinger, Libby Jones, and Pam Perry. That year, the Colonel Band received "All Superior" in the State Band Contest. They made us proud that they were Our Band.
The fortunes of the Colonels were much better in the fall of 1968. Our dynasty had been rebuilt. We opened our season with Noxubee County again, but this time on Our Field. It was a hard fought game which we won 6 - 0. Those boys from Macon were tough. They didn't score against us in the two years they played us, but we didn't score much against them either. We had two hard-fought and low-scoring victories against them. Our next game was against Leflore County on their field. We were in store for another hard-fought game, but we came out with a 14 – 13 win. Thank goodness for making both extra points!
Next, we played Cleveland and won 27 – 7, our first easy victory. For our fourth game, we went to Leland. The Colonels were looking forward to avenging last year's loss on Our Field. We started the season with three wins, and if we can beat Leland, an undefeated season would be likely. Last year just had to be a fluke. The game began. Leland was strong and fast. Watching from the sidelines, with tears in my eyes, I concluded they were just better than we were again this year. For Colonels, losing was not easy On this night, we let our fans down. The final score was a respectable 14 - 26, but it was a loss nonetheless.
After the loss to Leland, we embarked on a four game streak where we would allow no points to be scored against us. Our defense was playing inspired football. We would defeat both Indianola and Drew by the score of 13 - 0. We played South Panola on Our Field and romped 47 - 0. And then, we played St. Aloysius and finished with a 27 - 0 victory. Our next to the last game of the season was against Grenada. We went into their back yard every year for football camp. The Colonels were the ones who ran the hill at Grenada Lake, not the Grenada football team. WE should have an advantage. I recall this being a cold and wet night. Not much offense was generated by either team. The final result was a 7 - 7 tie. We ended the season, as we generally did, with a game against Belzoni. This game was at Belzoni, and we tossed another shutout and won 27 - 0. The 1968 Colonels finished with a respectable 8 - 1 - 1 record. We won all our home games. There was no blemish on Our Field this year. This was a good season, not a great one, but one we could build upon for the next season. The rebuilding was well on its way.
After the season, we had our football banquet. We had one every year. Awards were given to leaders on the team. Frank Prewitt won the "Best Blocker" award. He played center -- my position. He would be gone, and I would be expected to step up -- there was no one else for the position. H.J. Winslow received the award for "Best Defensive Player." The “Leadership" award went to Bubba Lee while Randall Atchley received the "Best All Around Player" award. They were great leaders for a successful season. Next year they would be off in college, others of us would need to step up to the plate. After all, we were Rebuilding a Dynasty.
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