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| Head Coach Wilbur Lofton |
By MIKE FOWLER
Commercial Sports Editor
Daily Commercial
October 5, 1969
Alice stepped through the looking glass and found everything backwards. And thus did Leesburg High's Yellow Jackets scored the most points they've scored all year, pass for the most yardage, hold their opponents to the fewest yards they've given up yet find many people agreeing they'd played their worst game of the year.
It was 32-12 Yellow Jackets over Osceola of Kissimmee. Quarterback Mike Napier and end Greg Williams detonated the passing explosion Jacket fans had been waiting for. The Jacket defense put on a truly awesome show throwing Kowboy runners for losses on more plays than they allowed even tiny gains. Not content with this, the defenders had big hands in all five Jacket touchdowns, scoring one themselves and directly or indirectly setting up the
Commercial Sports Editor
Daily Commercial
October 5, 1969
Alice stepped through the looking glass and found everything backwards. And thus did Leesburg High's Yellow Jackets scored the most points they've scored all year, pass for the most yardage, hold their opponents to the fewest yards they've given up yet find many people agreeing they'd played their worst game of the year.
It was 32-12 Yellow Jackets over Osceola of Kissimmee. Quarterback Mike Napier and end Greg Williams detonated the passing explosion Jacket fans had been waiting for. The Jacket defense put on a truly awesome show throwing Kowboy runners for losses on more plays than they allowed even tiny gains. Not content with this, the defenders had big hands in all five Jacket touchdowns, scoring one themselves and directly or indirectly setting up the
Yet it was the sort of game that could have been maybe 50-12 or 44-6 or a shutout or something like that. Far from happy as the game ended, Coach Wilbur Lofton talked about the three touchdowns the Jackets should have scored but didn't, and the two they shouldn't have given up, and the fumbles and interceptions.
"They let down after last week's game," said Lofton.
And he had a point. Osceola scored both touchdowns after intercepting passes. Fumbles stopped three Jacket drives into Kowboy territory, a penalty nullified a 35-yard pass to Osceola's end of the field, another penalty stymied one drive at the two-yard line.
"They let down after last week's game," said Lofton.
And he had a point. Osceola scored both touchdowns after intercepting passes. Fumbles stopped three Jacket drives into Kowboy territory, a penalty nullified a 35-yard pass to Osceola's end of the field, another penalty stymied one drive at the two-yard line.
But if the list of mistakes was long, the list of heroics was longer, as the Jackets passed for 397 yards and riddled and muddled the Kowboy offense.
Napier was tremendous, He threw 29 passes, completed 18 for 330 yards. He threw two touchdown passes to Tony Hart before everybody was settled in his seat. He tossed another one to Williams.
Williams broke his double coverage to catch a dozen passes, for 186 yards, a touchdown and two almost touchdowns, one in the opening minutes of the second half, when the Jackets drove to the Kowboy five-yard line, found themselves on the 20 after a penalty, and Napier threw a desperation pass, trying to salvage the touchdown on fourth down, one which Williams caught in the middle of four defenders on the five, and almost carried across.
And he caught three from Andy Carlton, who quarterbacked the final and guided the Jackets to a cool final touchdown, the big play a fifty-yard pass to Williams who almost made it in.
The Jacket defense was awesome nothing less than that defensive guard Kenny Hicks played a game defenders dream about. He scored the Jackets first touchdown, in the opening minutes of the game, after the defense held Osceola's first series to four yards again, Rushing hard as Ralph Collabella dropped back to punt, he leaped, blocked the kick, then stood and waited for it to come down behind the goal line, where he caught it for a touchdown.
Than minutes later, after the Kowboys capitalized on a long kickoff and a penalty return after Napier hit Hart for the first of their two touchdown hookups, Hicks raced through the line, grabbed a tipped pitchout from the air and fell on the Leesburg 45 yard-line. This set up the Jackets third touchdown, as six plays later, Napier hit Hart again with a 17-yard scoring pass.
The Jacket defense was awesome nothing less than that defensive guard Kenny Hicks played a game defenders dream about. He scored the Jackets first touchdown, in the opening minutes of the game, after the defense held Osceola's first series to four yards again, Rushing hard as Ralph Collabella dropped back to punt, he leaped, blocked the kick, then stood and waited for it to come down behind the goal line, where he caught it for a touchdown.
Than minutes later, after the Kowboys capitalized on a long kickoff and a penalty return after Napier hit Hart for the first of their two touchdown hookups, Hicks raced through the line, grabbed a tipped pitchout from the air and fell on the Leesburg 45 yard-line. This set up the Jackets third touchdown, as six plays later, Napier hit Hart again with a 17-yard scoring pass.
Hicks, along with Greg Johnson, Jim Mackey, David Osborne and Lynn Gilbert, led a defensive line that stopped the Kowboys fine running combination, brothers Wally and Calvin Brown, cold.
In the first half, the Kowboys ran 18 plays on the ground, all but two by one or the other of the Browns. The Jacket line made 12 of them losses. The Kowboy running yardage in the first half was 48 yards gained, 56 lost, a minus eight total.
Letting up slightly in the second half, the line threw the Kowboys for losses nine times for 33 yards a total loss during the night of 21 losses for 89 minus yards.
Wally Brown carried the ball 28 times during the night, broke loose twice in the second half for long runs of 17 and 18 yards, the first a touchdown, the second almost. Yet his total yardage for the night was eight yards.
With little to do, the Jacket pass defense still intercepted a pass - that by Williams to set up the final touchdown drive. The Kowboys attempted only six passes, completed four for 31 yards.
Missing from action last night was fullback-linebacker Sam Rixie, who suffered a knee injury against DeLand last week. Rixie was in uniform and at one point warmed up, but Lofton decided to keep him on the sidelines
Injured were Gilbert and Osborne. They were banged up in the rugged line play. But it isn't known yet how seriously.
With Rixie, the Jackets' main running threat, out of action, Lofton went to the passing game almost exclusively. The Jckets ran on only eight plays, for 37 yards.
Mike: 18 completions for 330 yards, 3 TD's
Greg: 12 receptions, for 186 yards, 1 TD
The Fearsome Five-Jackets' Defensive Line
DAVID OSBORNE, LYNN GILBERT. JAMES MACKEY, GREG JOHNSON, KENNY HICKS
HERE WHAT THEY DID:
-Held Osceola runners to 31 yards.
-Threw them for losses 21 times, for minus 89 yards
-Intercepted a pitchout
-Scored a touchdown (Hicks did that, too) by blocking a punt in the end zone.
Wally Brown carried the ball 28 times during the night, broke loose twice in the second half for long runs of 17 and 18 yards, the first a touchdown, the second almost. Yet his total yardage for the night was eight yards.
With little to do, the Jacket pass defense still intercepted a pass - that by Williams to set up the final touchdown drive. The Kowboys attempted only six passes, completed four for 31 yards.
Missing from action last night was fullback-linebacker Sam Rixie, who suffered a knee injury against DeLand last week. Rixie was in uniform and at one point warmed up, but Lofton decided to keep him on the sidelines
Injured were Gilbert and Osborne. They were banged up in the rugged line play. But it isn't known yet how seriously.
With Rixie, the Jackets' main running threat, out of action, Lofton went to the passing game almost exclusively. The Jckets ran on only eight plays, for 37 yards.
Mike: 18 completions for 330 yards, 3 TD's
Greg: 12 receptions, for 186 yards, 1 TD
The Fearsome Five-Jackets' Defensive Line
DAVID OSBORNE, LYNN GILBERT. JAMES MACKEY, GREG JOHNSON, KENNY HICKS
HERE WHAT THEY DID:
-Held Osceola runners to 31 yards.
-Threw them for losses 21 times, for minus 89 yards
-Intercepted a pitchout
-Scored a touchdown (Hicks did that, too) by blocking a punt in the end zone.
Resources
MIKE FOWLER
Commercial Sports Editor
Daily Commercial
October 5, 1969
Commercial Sports Editor
Daily Commercial
October 5, 1969
Leesburg Public Library
100 East Main Street
Leesburg, Florida 34748
Leesburg Public Library
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