The Colonels finished the 1969 regular season undefeated and untied -- a season marred by the tragedy of the death of an opposing player and an uncertain future for the Colonel. We were invited to play in the Red Carpet Bowl in Vicksburg, a game that would pit us against Jackson’s St. Joseph Rebels. They were also undefeated but had one tie, according to the "Official Souvenir Program" for the game, which by the way, sold for fifty cents. The game was scheduled for November 21, 1969, one week after our final regular season game against Belzoni.
The bowl game had caused us to postpone our end of season party, and we began to realize that it would not be so easy to have a party after the bowl game, either. We would get home too late at night. Our big end of the season bash might not happen. What a disappointment to a bunch of high school boys!
Another minor glitch in our plans was that there would be basketball practice the day after the game. Basketball practice!?!? It seems that when the coaches were scheduling games, they did not consider the possibility of a bowl game. The plan had been that we would finish the football season, practice basketball for a week, and play our first two games on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The bowl game was on a Friday night, and we would have our first basketball game on Monday night followed by another on Tuesday. We practiced that weekend. I looked back at the team photo for the basketball team and there were fourteen players -- thirteen of whom were on the football team. We lost the first four basketball games of the year. It wasn't easy to adjust from playing football to basketball in less than 72 hours. We did, however, win six games in a row to finish the December schedule before Christmas. And after Christmas, things would be different, very different.
We were excited to be in a bowl game against such a highly respected team. St. Joe and RFHS had one common opponent -- St. Aloysius. We had beaten St. Aloysius 28 – 8 while St. Joe routed them 34 - 12. I remember the coach from St. Aloysius being interviewed on one of the Jackson stations about the game. He seemed to think St. Joe was the better team. Whether he really thought that or was just tweaking Coach Robertson, I'm not sure. However, it surely helped to fire us up. St. Joe's defense had allowed only 25 points in their eight victories listed in the program. For some reason, the game they had tied was not listed. We had allowed 54 points in our ten games, with 20 of those coming in the South Panola game. It appeared to be a very good matchup. We looked forward to the challenge. Our coaches had looked at game tape, and we practiced against the schemes that St. Joe would most likely run against us. We made no adjustments in our offensive or defensive schemes. Our attitude was that any adjustment necessary would be for St. Joe to make and not the Colonels. We would run our offense and defense and they would have to adjust and get ready for a butt-kicking. We were ready.
The first Red Carpet Bowl was played in 1962. This year would be the eighth time the bowl was played. The 1964 Colonels had played in the third Red Carpet Bowl against Forest Hill. The Colonels won 6 - 0. The only score was a one-yard run by John Schimmel. There were trophies given each year to the outstanding back and lineman from each team. John Schimmel and Danny Martin were the Colonels who received those trophies in 1964. St. Joe had not played in the Red Carpet Bowl previously.
St. Joe was a small school, as well. It was one of the few opponents who played the Colonels with roughly the same number of players in uniform for the game. Most of the time, the other team had many more players than we did. The Red Carpet program had team photos. We had thirty-four players on the Colonels. St. Joe also had thirty-four players in their team photo. Their roster listed thirty-eight players. I noticed they had several ninth graders listed on the roster. I checked their jersey numbers and the ninth graders were not in the team photo. Without the added ninth graders, the two teams had the same number of players -- a first for the Colonels.
St. Joe did have the Colonels outnumbered nine to six when it came to cheerleaders. Plus, Charlie Darden was our mascot, and they had nothing to compare to him! They may have had more cheerleaders than us, but with Renee Heigle, Denice Heigle, Mary Beth Blanchard, Janice Smith, Libby Jones and Gail Heigle representing us, we had the prettiest cheerleaders. You could really tell that when comparing the pictures in the program. We were very proud of our cheerleaders -- they helped provide the spirit that is necessary for a championship team. The Colonels were also proud of the fact that they had an award-winning band to impress and stir the fans. The sound of the band in the auditorium and the cheerleaders pumping up the student body provided us with the most electric atmosphere for that final Colonels pep rally.
We went through our pre-game warm-ups and before we knew it, it was game time. I don't remember being as nervous as I was for the South Panola game. I think our whole team was calm, cool, and ready. Something unusual happened at the coin toss. We lost the toss for the first time all year!!! Was this a bad omen? We kicked off to start the game. St. Joe took the ball methodically down the field and scored a touchdown. This was only the second time all year that we had been behind. South Panola scored against us on long touchdowns -- fluke plays in part. South Panola had not been able to march down the field against us. It looked like we would be in for a heck of a battle with St. Joe. They missed the extra point. Score -- 6 - 0, St. Joe's favor. They kicked off to us. We had the ball on the 30-yard line. It was time for us to answer them and drive the length of the field for a score. I was wrong about that. First play was either our swing play to the left or option left -- I don't remember which. Both plays would involve Tom Griffing going around left end. Our coaches expected St. Joe to be bunched up inside to try to stop Doss on our bread and butter plays, Drive-4 and T-2. They were right. I slipped through the line headed downfield looking for a St. Joe player to block. There didn't seem to be any. Tom and I were there alone with only an open field ahead. I slightly bumped a St. Joe player who was racing to catch Tom and knocked him off stride; Tom ran 70 yards untouched for a touchdown. Extra points were generally routine plays. The kicker made it or missed it and that about sums it up. St. Joe came at us like kamikazes and blocked the extra point try. I had a great deal of respect for these Rebels from St. Joe. I remember thinking that we could still be in for a real battle. The game was then tied 6 - 6.
We kicked off to them and our coverage team did a good job. The Rebels had the ball on the 20-yard line, or so. Would they be able to drive the ball down the field again against our defense? No! They fumbled on the first play, and we recovered. Coach Robertson had a habit of calling the same play over and over and over -- most of the time it would be Doss running up the middle on Drive-4 or T-2. He called Tom's play around left end again. Same result! Touchdown! We had run two offensive plays and scored two touchdowns. St. Joe blocked the extra point again. Colonels were ahead 12 - 6. I'm not sure, but Tom may not have carried the ball again that game.
Although I came away with tremendous respect for that St. Joe team, we simply dominated the game after their initial score. The game was never in doubt after our first offensive play. Doss started carrying the ball on our bread and butter plays, and we drove the ball against them up the middle chewing up the clock and scoring touchdowns. I also remember Jim McNealy throwing a couple perfect passes to Brooks. Brooks made those catches even though St. Joe players were hanging all over him.
St. Joe fought hard all game, but they were no match for us. They had not run the hill in Grenada at football camp; they had not lifted weights all summer with the intensity and focus that we had; and they weren't Colonels. I salute them for a valiant effort. We won the game 38 - 12. We had scored more points against them than all their regular season opponents had combined. I must give them credit; they did score two touchdowns against us. South Panola was the only other team to score more than once against us.
There were after-game ceremonies. The trophy for outstanding back was awarded to Doss. The one for outstanding lineman went to Brooks. We were on the field after the game for quite a while receiving congratulations. It went on and on. Any hope for a party after the game was evaporating with each passing minute. We finally got to the locker room, dressed, and loaded the bus for a jubilant trip back to Rolling Fork. A few of us decided to get together for a couple of beers when we got back. It was a good thing that my mom had a grocery store that sold beer. I grabbed a few six-packs and met some of the other guys. It was our first beer since at least August!! The Colonels’ Football Team had just played their last game -- EVER! The era of the Colonel was over. The era ended with a bowl victory over another undefeated team. The 1969 Colonels finished with an 11 - 0 record- the PERFECT ENDING!
Once a Colonel, always a Colonel. Being a Colonel will live on in our hearts, in our minds, and in our memories.
I AM A COLONEL!
by Kenneth Burns
by Kenneth Burns
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