1974
New Frontier

As for me (Giles Babb), the 1974 football season would coincide with the beginning of my Freshman year. My family got here, as did numerous others, by way of the military. We arrived 16 months earlier from the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg and, although my older sister (Becki) had attended the home games that following Fall, the first one I actually attended was the Gonzales game (the last home game of '73). I was in the Band, but was not slated to actually be in the Marching Band until my Sophomore year; nevertheless I jumped head-first into my new life as a Judson Rocket and was able to make all the games except the San Marcos and Seguin road games. Let's just say the road games I did make were true experiences that I'll always wear as badges of honor for actually having been there.

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Clemens
September 6, 1974: Converse
The Class 3A Buffs started the game as if they would do to the Rockets what they had done on all but one (1) occasion as they took the opening kickoff and quickly drove downfield and deep into Judson territory. The Rockets, however, shut them off. The Buffs threatened once more in the 2nd Quarter, but once more the Rockets shut them off. The Rockets also threatened in the 2nd Quarter, but the Buffs likewise shut them off, and the teams retreated to the locker room with a double goose egg. Early in the 3rd Quarter, the Rockets began a drive that muttered and sputtered in reaching the Clemens 36-yard line. Finally, the Rockets sprung to life when QB Doug Wingate connected with Ronald McFadden, who took the pass reception in for the score. The PAT, however, fell short, and the 6-0 score that the Rockets forged proved to be sufficient. Overall, it wasn't pretty. The Buffs had only 115 yards split almost evenly between air and ground, and they lost four (4) fumbles. The Rockets meanwhile picked up 61 yards on the ground and 105 through the air, they lost four (4) fumbles and experienced three (3) INT's.

East Central
September 13, 1974: Converse
The Rockets got on the board first in the opening period when Doug Wingate zipped in from 15 yards out. The Class 3A Hornets nevertheless grabbed a 7-6 lead for Halftime, and they extended that lead in the penultimate period. In the final period, the Rockets narrowed the gap to 20-13 with a 6-yard run by Ronnie Holder and a PAT, and thereafter with an 8-yard pass from Wingate to Bobby Staudt. The 2-point try, however, was unsuccessful, and the Rockets would have to settle for a 1-1 record as they approached the rendezvous with their 4A destiny.

Burbank
September 20, 1974: Converse
Judson's first varsity football game as a 4A school was Homecoming for the Rockets. The Bulldogs grabbed the early lead in the 1st Quarter with a 13-yard pass for six (6). The Rockets thereafter knotted the score with a 3-yard hookup from Wingate to Staudt. In the 2nd Quarter, the Bulldogs ripped off three (3) scores

• A 72-yard pass play
• A 72-yard pass INT
• An 11-yard pass

In the 3rd Quarter a 78-yard Bulldog dash set up a 3-yard TD run on the first play of the 4th Quarter. The Rockets got back onto the board with a 9-yard run by Ronnie Holder. There were certain aspects of this game that, in spite of the outcome, gave great hope that the Rockets could hold their own and eventually get liftoff for some deep space missions.

San Marcos
October 4, 1974: San Marcos
The Rockets held their own through the opening period, but in the 2nd Quarter the Rattlers bit the Rockets for 22 points, and one (1) TD each in the final two (2) periods. The Rockets picked up only 28 yards on the ground and 69 through the air, only four (4) First Downs, and lost four (4) fumbles and experienced one (1) INT. Another thing that probably didn't help much was a 6-punt average of only 24 yards.

Seguin
October 11, 1974: Matador Stadium, Seguin
David Brothers got the Matadors out front first in the opening period with an 18-yard run. The PAT, however, was no good. A little later in the 1st Quarter Bennie Bowers recovered a Mat fumble at the Seguin 31-yard line. Mike Roberson thereafter took it up the middle to knot the score, the PAT was good and this gave the Rockets a startling 7-6 lead. This, however, woke the Mats up and they scored two (2) TD's in the 2nd Quarter to forge a 20-7 lead at the Half. In the 3rd Quarter the Mats extended their lead with a TD, a 2-point play and a Safety when Wingate got taken down in the endzone. One (1) final Quarter and 15 final points later, the rout was complete. The Rockets experienced only one (1) turnover in this particular meeting which, unfortunately, led to a 4th-Quarter Seguin score. Once gain, the Rockets' offensive production was minimal: 84 yards split almost evenly between air and ground. The one (1) other consolation, perhaps, was that in a future life David Brothers would be on the Rockets' side of the field.

Highlands
October 19, 1974: Alamo Stadium
2038 witnesses converged on Alamo Stadium for this Saturday afternoon massacre. The Owls, who would go on to capture the 29-4A title with a 9-0-1 record, scored 28 points in the opening period and 14 in the second period to soar to a 42-6 advantage at Halftime. Nevertheless, early in the 2nd Quarter Ricky Hohensee snatched QB Elvis Hartsfield’s pass, and the Rockets undertook an 11-play, 48-yard drive. Doug Wingate took it in on a 2-yard bootleg with 6:46 remaining in the Half. A little later in the Half, however, Tommy Robey blocked one (1) of Allen Heider’s ten (10) punts, Willie Zotz recovered for the Owls, and shortly thereafter Hartsfield hooked up with James Matheny for a 13-yard pass play for the score with 241 seconds remaining. In the 2nd Half, Owl Coach Paul Martin elected on numerous occasions to go easy on the Rockets, partially perhaps because Coach Satcher went to Highlands and Coach Wallace (Judson AD) also had some Highlands ties. On 1st-and-goal at the Rocket 1-yard line in the penultimate period, for example, the Owls attempted an unsuccessful 16-yard FG. A little later, a 2nd-Down FG from the 12-yard line was good. The Rockets only lost one (1) fumble, and experienced no INT’s as part of the passing effort that netted 119 yards. The Rockets, however, netted only 38 rushing yards on 34 carries, and this masked somewhat the 48 yards that Randy Debacker picked up on 15 carries. Significantly for the Owls, Hartsfield was good on 15-of-26 passes for 308 air yards.

MacArthur
October 24, 1974: Blossom Athletic Center
The Rockets’ first-ever Thursday evening varsity football game was memorable---not necessarily for the score (another blowout, this one favoring the Brahmas), but the weather. The game began with a slight drizzle that nevertheless got heavier as the game progressed, the Bands and other Support Teams had long since pulled out, and there were probably fewer than 100 people other than the teams on both sides of the field as this game degenerated into a full-scale downpour that, if you didn’t have an umbrella (or even if you had an umbrella, which I unfortunately didn’t), would allow the rain to totally drench you and cause the water to feel as if it was running straight down your pant leg and into your shoes. The Brahmas scored one (1) TD apiece in the opening two (2) periods to grab a 14-0 lead for the Band-less Halftime featuring instead the constant roar of rain falling on near-empty stadium seats. In the 3rd period, the Brahmas scored three (3) additional TD’s, mostly following Judson turnovers. The second turnover-aided score came when a wet ball went through the punter’s hands and into the endzone. Somehow in the scramble to recover for either a Safety or a TD, the ball bounced back out to the Judson 6-yard line, where Mac recovered. In the final period, the Rockets reached the Mac 21-yard line, but Kirk Hooper snatched the INT for the Brahmas. Mac’s possession nevertheless ended in a turnover on a bad pitchout that Brian Stone recovered to put the Rockets back in business at the Brahma 34. Aided by some pass interference calls in the drive, the Rockets got on the board with 47 seconds remaining when Randy DeBacker punched in from five (5) yards out. As a testimony to the dedication of parents that will do practically anything for their kids if they see it’s for a worthy cause, my mom (my dad was out of town on TDY) drove me out to the game, dropped me off and returned to Woodlake after driving through slow traffic on slick freeways (took about an hour to get back to the house), only to turn around after half an hour or so to come pick me up.

New Braunfels
November 1, 1974: Converse
The Unicorns jumped on the Rockets with two (2) TD’s in the opening period and one (1) in the 2nd Quarter to grab a 21-0 advantage at the Half. Compounding the pain for the Rockets was the pain suffered by Doug Wingate, who left the game with a concussion in the 2nd Quarter. The Unicorns extended the advantage with an additional TD in the final period, and the Rockets got on the board with a 49-yard dash by Ronnie Holder for six (6).

Sam Houston
November 8, 1974: Converse
The Rockets lost only one (1) fumble and experienced no INT’s whatever in this matchup, while snatching one (1) Cherokee fumble and snaring two (2) INT’s. This was nevertheless insufficient in preventing Sam Houston from jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the opening period. The Rockets did, however, cut the deficit in half with 57 seconds remaining in the 1st Half with a 9-yard hookup from Brian Stone to Scott Cochran---who caught it after the pass bounced off another Rocket receiver and a Sam Houston defender----followed by a 1-point PAT by Jim Smajdek. All this came at the end of a 9-play, 62-yard drive. The Cherokees, however, retaliated quickly. Anthony Green was stuffed for a 1-yard loss, but on the next play QB Gary Walters collaborated with Floyd Richardson for an aerial that Richardson caught at the 47, bounced off the Judson defender and went to the races from there. The PAT restored a 14-point advantage with 29 seconds remaining. In the 2nd Half, The Tribe’s Quest to get out of the 29-4A cellar and keep the Rockets there instead was complete, and they iced the game away with one (1) TD each in the 3rd and 4th Quarters, respectively. The Cherokees featured a balanced attack of 354 yards split almost evenly between air and ground. The Rockets picked up only 92 yards on the ground and 55 through the air. They were only penalized once for thirteen (13) yards, while in contrast The Tribe was penalized ten (10) times for 141 yards.

Roosevelt
November 16, 1974: Blossom Athletic Center
There was a time in the mid-to-late 70’s when Judson and some other schools used an academic calendar using a Trimester concept. The 1st Trimester for Judson wound down in the week leading up to the Rockets’ historic first football meeting with TR and the Riders. My sister and her friend Jean Rindeikis were part of a small group at the time called Judson Rocket Student Boosters. Because it was Exam Week, the schedule for groups of any kind getting together to make things like a breakthrough poster for the start of the game was put out of whack, and somehow the only people in a position to make the breakthrough poster for the game was my sister and a couple of her friends. They put it together on our dining room floor, with the slogan "Give Roosevelt a Rough Ride," showing Teddy Roosevelt trying to ride a bucking bronco-looking Rocket with a snarl on its face. We took it to the game and, since we didn’t have passes to get it onto the track, we had to take it through the turnstiles with our game tickets, and then find some of the Rocket cheerleaders to get permission from the NEISD folks to finally let us onto the track so we could take it down and leave it in the endzone. Well, after the full 30 seconds of artistic fame before it was rendered to the same fate that the nine (9) previous breakthrough posters had received, the kickoff for the actual game commenced. The Riders jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the opening period, which came on a 54-yard drive that took 7:27, and thereafter on a 28-yard FG with 30 seconds remaining. In the 2nd period, Wayne Pritchard recovered a Rocket fumble and drove 36 yards for TR’s final score of the day. The Rockets were unable to really get anything going in this matchup, although they did reach the Rider 18-yard line. The drive died, however, with an INT at the TR 5-yard line. Judson netted only six (6) yards on 29 carries, and lost yardage on nine (9) of their 28 snaps, and thus ended the first season of its 4A Rocket Program.

Finally, it is perhaps worth making mention of one (1) of the more unique developments in the history of Judson High School support and spirit groups, and that is the presence, during the 1974-75 school year, of stuntmen that collaborated with the cheerleaders. This is one (1) of those things---similar to Mr. Paschall and the HEY! HEY! a few years later---that you simply had to be there to see in order to fully appreciate. Freeze-frame photos do not do justice in showing the moves that this group put on in collaboration with the cheerleaders in supporting the team on the field. The members of the stunt team were:

Nigel Delgado
James Driver
Homer Garcia
Jerry Kennedy
Randy Miller
Tony Saurman
Bill Yang

The 1974 Class 4A Playoffs
NOTE: Given in RED is the team representing the District that Judson was in

Semifinals
Mesquite 14 Carter 12
Brazoswood 14 PNG 7
Final
Brazoswood 22 Mesquite 12