1970
Project 70

Judson began the new decade with a brand new Stadium that replaced the original one located on the east end of the campus. The new facility was built with a full view toward eventually supporting a Rocket Program that in all likelihood would be a 4A (the highest classification) in a few short years. The Rockets’ overall Launch, Training and Mission Support Facilities were on the verge of undergoing a quantum leap in size and capacity, and an all-around radical transformation that would soon include a two-story building (the first at Judson and one of the few anywhere in Converse) that would serve as a state-of-the art Math and Science Building, and a new Cafeteria to replace the existing one built only in 1965 and which would soon be converted to the Administration Bldg. Those and other upcoming additions would essentially be analogous to the Kennedy Space Center moving from the smaller, somewhat primitive facilities used for the Mercury and Gemini Programs to the large, advanced structures and facilities built to support the Apollo Moon Missions.

The new Stadium in which the Rockets would eventually make history was built initially for 5000, which was much more than a 2A and even most 3A and perhaps some smaller 4A/5A programs had at that point. It should have been obvious to anyone in the San Antonio area willing to pay attention that this tiny school located on the edge of Converse meant business and fully intended to eventually launch some big, powerful Rockets from there that would "pass all others by." With that in mind Roy Wallace, who had spent recent years as an assistant principal at Highlands and who previously had success as Head Coach at 4A Burbank, was brought in to help raise the Rocket Program to some new heights during this time of breath-taking growth and dramatic change.

Southwest
September 11, 1970: Converse
The 1st game of the decade for the Rockets remained scoreless through the 1st Half and for that matter the first half of the penultimate period as well. Midway through that period, Emilio Soliz, who picked up 90 yards rushing for the day, put the Dragons on the board with a 10-yard dash. In the final period the Dragons got another 10-yard run for the TD. QB Charlie Guzman ran it in for two (2) points and the Dragons had a 15-0 lead. With time running down, the Rockets got their first points in the new decade with a pass INT and a 2-point conversion. The flame of the Dragons was nevertheless too hot and it caused the sound suppression and cooling system on the Rockets’ launch pad to engage prematurely, and overall this glitch helped scrub the launch for the day.

Medina Valley
September 18, 1970
18 months earlier the launch of Apollo 9, the first manned test of the Lunar Module (LM) and the only time a crew would fly a LM in earth orbit, was scrubbed for three (3) days due to all three (3) astronauts coming down with colds. Judson’s Rocket launch was scrubbed for the 2nd time, this time due to a case of ‘cat scratch fever’ courtesy of the Panthers. The Panthers got on the board first with a 5-yard run and 1-point PAT in the 2nd Quarter. The Rockets responded thereafter when John Green went around right end and sprinted in from the 5-yard line. A pass for two (2) points, however, failed to produce the intended result and the cats maintained the advantage. In the 3rd Quarter the cats extended their lead when Gary Boehme hit Ricky Keller in the endzone for the score. Keller nailed the PAT, and the 14-6 advantage was sufficient to get the Panthers the win and the Rockets that case of ‘cat scratch fever’ we talked about earlier.

Luling
September 25, 1970: Converse
The Eagles got on the board in the opening period and maintained a 6-0 lead through three (3) Quarters to extend the Rockets’ hold. Finally, however, in the final period the Rockets mounted an 80-yard drive that culminated in Clayton Irey’s 13-yard pass to Leroy Jordan. The PAT was no good, and the score remained knotted at six (6). A few minutes later, however, the Rockets were at it again, mounting a 45-yard drive that Irey polished off with a sprint around right end. The pass for two (2) points was no good, but the score held up to give the Rockets liftoff.

East Central
October 2, 1970
The Hornets stung the Rockets in the 2nd period when Melvin Dove snatched an INT to set East Central up at the Rocket 43-yard line. Three (3) plays later Larry Causey raced in from 38 yards out, and Harold Lamascus thereafter tacked on two (2) additional points with the conversion run. The Rockets failed to produce on their subsequent drive, and a short punt put the Hornets in business at the Judson 32-yard line. On the first play QB Tommy Yeates hooked up with Causey, who took it down to the 4-yard line, and from there Lamascus zipped in to give EC a 14-0 advantage for the intermission. The penultimate period was scoreless, but late in the game Bernard Pieniazek snapped up a Rocket fumble at the Judson 46-yard line, from there the Hornets milked the clock with short gainers, and Causey finally polished off the 13-play drive with an 8-yard dash. Jack Chance took the ball in for two (2) points, and that was the ball game.

Clemens
October 9, 1970
The Buffs ran their record to 4-1 by bombing the Rockets for 13 points in the opening period, 20 in the 2nd and one (1) TD apiece in the final two (2) Quarters. Contributing to the damage was Harold Sinclair, who in a later life as a Rocket Baseball Coach would help Judson make some history in 1981. For now, however, he was more than happy to kick four (4) PAT’s, snare a pass for eight (8) yards and the score in the 1st Quarter, and punch in from four (4) yards out in the 3rd Quarter on behalf of his alma mater.

Randolph
October 16, 1970: Ro-Hawk Stadium: Randolph AFB
The Rockets, at least to those on the outside, probably had that "dead on arrival" look going into the matchup with the Ro-Hawks. The Ro-Hawks entered with a District winning streak dating back to 1965. Given the Rockets' record going in, there was no indication whatever that the result for the Rockets would be any different. What no one counted on, however, was just how much the Rockets were actually improving on Defense and perhaps more importantly on Special Teams in pinning opponents deep at times and subsequently getting good field positions on punt exchanges. Nevertheless, the Ro-Hawks started off as if they would blow the Rockets away just as they had since the second time they met the Rockets in 1964. Randolph took the opening kickoff and efficiently and effectively executed a 65-yard drive that Mike Krebsbach finished off with a 36-yard dash for the score. The 2-point conversion run, however, was no good, giving the Ro-Hawks a 6-0 lead. In spite of Randolph "taking it down the field like a jet-mobile" on the opening drive, the Rockets blunted the subsequent Randolph drives, helped by the punts provided by John Green, who averaged 43.4 yards on his seven (7) kicks. This, mixed with a "bend but don't break" Rocket Defense, enabled the Rockets time and again to eventually cause even long, time-consuming Ro-Hawk drives to die out before they could go the distance. Another thing that helped was turnovers. One (1) of those came the Rockets' way in the 2nd Quarter when Joe Morton stepped in front of Ro-Hawk QB Mike Chauret's pass and returned it 20 yards for the score. The PAT, however, was dead on arrival when the snap was high, thus leaving the score knotted a 6-each, and this was the case through the Half.

Coming out of intermission, however, the Ro-Hawks seemed primed to have one (1) of those "2nd-Half surges" that premier programs tend to execute after having a slow 1st Half. On their play of the 3rd Quarter, the Ro-Hawks opened up a hole that a Saturn V laid sideways could have gotten through, which facilitated Sam Fuller's 66-yard run to regain the lead for Randolph. Once more, however, the 2-point play failed to produce. The Rockets responded to this adversity by undertaking their only real drive of the day. Starting from their 44-yard line following the kickoff, the Rockets executed an 18-play drive that took a lot of time off the clock before Paul Hambrick punched in for the score. The snap on the PAT once more was DOA, which kept the score knotted at 12-12. In the final period, the Ro-Hawks reached the Rockets' 29-yard line but got stuffed for an 8-yard loss on 4th Down similarly, the Rockets reached the Randolph 21 where a FG attempt was blocked. Eventually, the clock said "four zeroes," and the Rockets had pulled off a monumental upset in forcing the tie. As can be seen below, a key statistic that helped make the difference was turnovers: The Ro-Hawks had four (4) but the Rockets experienced NO turnovers whatever.

Boerne
October 22, 1970: Converse
The Rockets made up for their turnover-free game the week before by losing four (4) fumbles---and consequently the game---to the Greyhounds. In the 1st Quarter the Rockets fumbled in the endzone and Ron Edge recovered to put the 'Hounds up 6-0. The 6-0 advantage remained until the 4th Quarter, when Ron Coward crashed in for a 3-yard run to make it 12-0. Twice in the final period the Rockets reached the Boerne 8-yard line, twice they fumbled and twice the Greyhounds were there to recover. With a minute to go, Bobby Horton appeared to have cracked the plane for the score, but he apparently did it after the ball came loose. This set up the final Boerne drive, which Coward capped off with a 33-yard dash.

Hays Consolidated
October 30, 1967: Buda
The winless Rebels received a rather rude visit from the Rockets, fresh off the previous week's debacle. The opening period was scoreless, but in the 2nd Quarter Paul Hambrick got things going for the Rockets with a 5-yard run. A 2-point play put the Rockets ahead 8-0. The Rebels also scored in the 2nd Quarter when QB Larry Armstead went in for a 10-yard score. The Rockets nevertheless scored another TD and 2-point conversion in the 2nd Quarter to grab a 16-6 advantage at the Half. The Rockets, however, quickly iced this thing away with three (3) more TD and 2-point combos. In addition to Hambrick's score in the 2nd period, the following participants put points on the board for the Rockets:

• Hambrick again to start the 2nd Half
• Clayton Irey connecting with Donald Matlock for a 25-yard TD play
• John Green zipping in for a 3-yard TD run
• Howie Thompson pouncing on a Rebel fumble in the endzone
• Irey hooking up twice with Tom Staudt, and once with Bobby Horton on 2-point plays
• Horton and Hambrick each registering runs for two (2) points

This was by far the most solid Offensive performance for the Rockets thus far, as they picked up 240 yards on the ground and 150 through the air. They did, however, leave the ball on the ground four (4) times for the Rebels to snatch up, but they experienced no INT's whatever during the 10-of-15 passing effort.

Southside
November 6, 1970: Converse
Midway through the opening period, the Cards got the early lead when Tony Trevino took off on an 88-yard dash and thereafter drilled the PAT. Shortly thereafter Lute Espinosa fell on a Rocket fumble in the endzone and the Cards were up 13-0. The Rockets nevertheless successfully responded to this adversity and the effort paid off when Clayton Irey fired a pass to Donald Matlock, who took it to the house for a 33-yard score. In the 2nd Quarter, the Rockets were at it again with another impressive drive that Bobby Horton polished off by zipping in from eight (8) yards out. Southside nevertheless still led by dint of the unsuccessful conversions, and they maintained this advantage through the Half.

In the penultimate period, the Cards and the Rockets traded scores, with the Rockets' TD coming on a Clayton Irey pass to Tom Staudt for 13 yards. In the final period, the Rockets reached paydirt again with the Irey-Staudt connection, this time for an 11-yard score. Butler caught Irey's pass on the concomitant 2-point play to give the Rockets a 26-19 advantage, and from there the Rockets held on for the win. The Cardinals out-gained the Rockets 315 to 208 in total yardage, but the Rockets' bend-but-don't-break Defense no doubt came through again in spite of the fact the Defense lost two (2) fumbles and experienced one (1) INT as part of a 1-of-8 passing performance. That Rocket Defense was nevertheless able to snatch one (1) fumble and snare one (1) Cardinal INT that came as part of Southside's 8-of-16 effort that netted 143 air yards.

Cole
November 13, 1970: Cougar Field, FSH
The 1st Half ended with a double goose-egg for both teams, but the Rockets undertook a 74-yard drive early in the penultimate period that Clayton Irey finished off with a 3-yard pass completion to Paul Hambrick for the score. Bobby Horton ran it in on the 2-point play. The Cougars then came back to knot things up once more when Ray Paschall---son of future Rocket HEY! HEY! Man William Paschall---punched in from four (4) yards out and Mike Kramer ran it in for two (2) points. The final period, however, belonged to the Rockets. Irey scored on a 1-yard QB sneak and thereafter hit Tommy Staudt for two (2) points. Seven (7) minutes later, Irey carried into the endzone again, and the Irey-Staudt combo worked once more on the conversion play. The Rockets picked up 199 yards on the ground and 110 through the air on a 7-of-11 passing performance. All told, it gave Judson reason for hope that perhaps, just perhaps, it had finally turned the corner with its Class 2A Rocket Program.

The 1970 Class 2A Playoffs
NOTE: Given in RED is the team representing the District Judson was in

Semifinals
Iowa Park 14 Haskell 13
Refugio 26 Friendswood 7
Final
Iowa Park 7 Refugio 7