1981: On The Verge of Greatness

The previous Spring, the Judson baseball team demonstrated their version of "Rocket Pride," making it all the way to the State Tournament in Austin for a 5-0 loss in the Semi-final meeting with defending champ Pearland. Truly another "Rocky"-like effort throughout the season, the team had come back numerous times from way down late in the games to win. As Coach Harold Sinclair said in a newspaper interview, their philosophy was to simply put the ball in play and let the other team make the mistakes. The poise and the patience demonstrated was a major source of hope for how Judson could do overall in the new district. And, Judson would need all the confidence and "HEY!! HEY!!" it could get, in view of what lay immediately ahead come the following September.

It was no big surprise that Holmes and Churchill were at the top of the preseason polls for the San Antonio area. Since they had pretty much "performed" to expectations the previous season and finished in the middle of the pack in 32-5A, had experienced somewhat of a late-season drop-off, and furthermore were fielding a Sophomore-laden team, the Rockets were pretty much off everyone’s radar screen going into the season. The season opener with East Central also promised to be rather perilous for Judson, what with the growing appetite of the Hornets for a second visit to the post-season, combined with the hiring, as Head Coach, of Raymond Rapp, who had coached Churchill to an 8-0-2 season in 1971 and the 7-7 tie with Lee in which the Volunteers advanced, based on penetrations, and finally passed (and, with Ferrara, Kramer and Co. passed a lot at) their Final. Furthermore, it was the Hornets’ turn to play host.

East Central (9-1; 6-1)
September 4, 1981: Hornet Field
Sure enough, Judson got stung early and, for a time, it looked like often. The Hornets took the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards on nine (9) plays, with Ronald Hicks punching in from a yard out. Scott Williamson booted the PAT, and EC led 7-0 with only 237 seconds gone in the game. Shortly thereafter, Carlton Byrd intercepted Judson’s Sophomore QB Allen Dear and returned the ball to the Rocket 28-yard line. On the first play McHorse hooked up with David Padalecki, who was ready and waiting in the endzone to make the catch by going airborne to snatch the ball from the Rocket defender right at the goal line. The PAT was good and the Rockets were already in a 14-0 hole in the opening period. It was not looking very good for the Rockets. The Judson Defense, however, started clamping down, in the 2^nd Quarter it made the airways likewise perilous, and Corey Linscombe snatched the INT at the EC 37-yard line. Three (3) plays later, David Malesky carried in from the 5, Ricky Balderas drilled the PAT, the deficit had been narrowed to 14-7, and this score stood up entering the Half. In the 3^rd Quarter, the Rockets gave evidence that they were progressively getting untracked, and the final piece of said evidence manifested itself when Mike Fisher got loose on a 41-yard dash for the score. Balderas was good once more on the PAT, and the game was now knotted at 14-each. The Hornets regained the earlier initiative, but the Rockets stiffened and forced a 33-yard FG by Scott Williamson, and EC now led at 17-14 with twelve (12) seconds gone in the final period. With time getting short the Rockets made their move to try and snatch this game away. Judson reached the Hornet 27-yard line. On 3^rd Down Scott Williamson sacked Phillip Thompson back to the 31, and on 4^th Down Thompson’s pass fell INC and the Hornets had secured the victory with 1:59 remaining, thus handing the first season-opening loss to Judson since the "bad old days." Of course, at this point there were several people starting to wonder if those days, like an old "friend," were about to return for a visit or even take up residence, at least for a while. Especially since, even if Judson beat Burbank the next week, the Rockets stood a good chance of dipping to 1-2 shortly, given the game with Churchill at Northeast Stadium in Week Three. And, if they didn’t get past Burbank……..

Burbank (0-9-1; 0-6-1)
September 11, 1981: Converse
I came down to see the Burbank game in Converse in what, similar to the season before, would probably be one of the few games I would see. Unlike my first two years at TAMU in which it was easy to stagger visits every 3-4 weeks to alternate between games at Kyle Field and Judson home games, the new district and schedule threw all that out of kilter. Oh, well, I guess I needed to try to wean myself of the Rockets anyway, since at that point I still figured I’d be moving out of state after finishing at TAMU. Either way, I came to see if Judson could redeem itself with Burbank. What I saw, instead, had me really wondering. Burbank, which had never since come even close to duplicating its 10-0 performance in 1978, held Judson to a 3-0 Halftime advantage. The only good thing about it was the fact that Ricky Balderas was pretty impressive in kicking the 42-yard FG in the 2^nd Quarter (he was just short on a 37-yard attempt in the 1^st Quarter). The Rockets exited the locker room for the 2^nd Half and seemed to be clicking a little better on Offense. They drove to the Bulldog 31-yard line, where Allen Dear handed the ball off to a Judson back, who then threw the ball downfield and into the Endzone---right into the hands of a Burbank "receiver." The "receiver" was immediately hit with a tackle by Chip Lambert that jarred the ball loose, and Ray Cucero---the originally intended receiver----pounced on the ball for the points. You know the saying---if it weren’t so serious (relative to football, at least), it would have been funny. But, at least they got to add to the lead (although the PAT failed). Judson forced another Burbank punt [one of Burbank’s nine (9) in the game)] Judson clipped on the return, but the Rockets still had good field position to start the ensuing drive from their own 42. This time the ‘Dogs forced a punt for one of the few times in this game, they blocked the punt but in the process also ran into Ricky Balderas big time, and the Rockets retained possession. On the very next play, Allen Dear hit Chip Lambert with an aerial, and Lambert went in untouched for the 39-yard score with 76 seconds remaining in the penultimate period. Balderas, who only 30 sec earlier was writhing on the field, apparently in pain, was then sent out limping, ostensibly to "try" the point after. The ‘Dogs should have picked up on this kind of cue, but they didn’t, and holder Chris Agisotelis got away for two (2) off the fake (the very hardy Balderas nevertheless did a good job of blocking on the 2-point play). In the final period, Freddie Nickson sacked the Burbank QB for a 12-yard loss, and on the next play pushed him back for another four (4) yards. The ensuing punt went for only 19 yards, and Judson went to work from the Bulldog 43. Dear kept for five (5) yards, and on the next play he threw to JJ Lewis for a 38-yard score with 8:11 left. The PAT pushed the lead to 24-0.

For the game, Burbank was held to minus-28 yards rushing and only 31 passing for a net 3 yards. This in turn netted only three (3) First Downs. The ‘Dogs were successful on only 3-of-9 passes, with one (1) INT, and they were penalized eleven (11) times for 92 yards. The Rockets didn’t do much better w/r penalties. They were flagged twelve (12) times for 95 yards. They lost three (3) fumbles and experienced two (2) INT’s, which came as part of a 6-of-17 passing effort that netted 138 yards through the air. On the ground they picked up 143 yards. As can be seen from the Bulldogs’ offensive output, the Judson Defense played well enough, but then again, this was Burbank---a team Judson demolished 53-0 the year before en-route to a 6-4 finish. The Rockets would have to step up their game big-time with Churchill. Otherwise, they were looking to be on the receiving side of a possible "Saturday Night Massacre."

Churchill (10-0; 8-0)
September 19, 1981: Northeast Stadium, Blossom Athletic Center
In spite of the problems with the Offensive Propulsion System, this Saturday evening match-up got off to a hot start for the Rockets’ Defensive Propulsion System, and Judson was pretty much able to hold its own against the Chargers. Nevertheless, the Chargers were still able to grab a 7-0 Halftime advantage. Early in the 2^nd Quarter Pat Tollar stole Allen Dear’s aerial at the Judson 13-yard line. Soon thereafter Cody Carlson hooked up with Wally McCampbell on a 2-yard TD toss, John Sivek booted the PAT and Churchill led with 8:55 remaining in the 1^st Half. Overall, Cody Carlson would have only 33 yards through the air in the 1^st Half. Production would pick up in the 2^nd Half, however, and this in addition to a fairly stingy Charger Defense pretty much kept Judson in check. This was further facilitated early in the 2^nd Half when David Baker zipped in from 15 yards out for another Churchill TD. Sivek’s PAT was good and the Rockets were now in a 14-0 hole. This is how things ended. Although Judson came out looking much better against Churchill than it maybe looked going in, the Rockets were nevertheless now 1-2 for the first time since the "bad old days" of 1975, and unless they wanted to finish at 5-5 or worse, they needed to pick up an extra game somewhere along the way. The prospects at this point weren’t all that encouraging considering that Roosevelt and Madison were getting off to very good starts.

MacArthur (0-10; 0-8)
September 25, 1981: Converse
Judson Offense extended its goose-egg streak to five (5) quarters against a Brahma team that had a disproportionate number of people playing both ways. The yellow flag would once more play an integral role in hindering the Rockets [nine (9) infractions for 95 yards for the game], but finally, in the 2^nd Quarter, Chris Pryor crashed in from a yard out, Balderas was good on the PAT, and the Rockets were able to take a 7-0 lead into the intermission. Judson, which largely had the upper hand, stretched the lead to 10-0 at the 7:09 mark of the 3^rd Quarter when Balderas’ 41-yard FG bounced over the cross bar for the points. The Rockets continued to wear down the overworked Brahmas, and this soon allowed JJ Lewis to get away for a 50-yard dash for the TD. Balderas was good with the PAT and the Judson lead was up to 17-0 with 4:37 left in the 3^rd period. On the ensuing kickoff, the Mac return man fielded it at the 4-yard line and went back into the endzone. The zebras ruled that momentum did not carry the return man into the endzone, and Judson was awarded a Safety to give the Rockets a 19-0 advantage. Judson, however, was unable to produce on the ensuing possession following the Free Kick, and on Mac’s ensuing time on offense Harold Dupree sprung loose for only Mac’s 3^rd First Down of the game, this coming on a 76-yard sprint for six (6). The conversion run failed, but with 134 seconds remaining in the 3^rd Quarter the gap had been narrowed to 19-6. This helped revitalize the Mac spirit, and in the 4^th Quarter the bulls pushed their way to another score, this one on a 10-yard run by Jose Torres. Once gain the 2-point play failed but the score was now 19-12 with 4:47 left. Karl Winkfield recovered the ensuing onside kick for the Rockets at the Judson 35. From there the Offensive Propulsion System chipped away little by little on the clock and reached the Mac 3-yard line. The Rockets were unable to punch it in, and this gave the Brahmas one final shot with 38 seconds to go. On 1^st Down Judson picked off the Brahma aerial, but an Offside penalty on Judson nullified the INT with 25 tics remaining. On the final play of the game, Mike Friesenhahn came through to pick off the pass, this time there was no associated laundry, and Judson had the win to even both its District record and season record.

Mac was able to finish with eight (8) First Downs as a result of 123 yards on the ground and 55 through the air. The air yardage came as a result of a 4-of-12 passing performance. Mac had to punt eight (8) times for a 38.6-yard average, and lost one (1) fumble an experienced one (1) INT. Judson, meanwhile, lost three (3) fumbles, although there were no INT’s. The Rockets passed 19 times but were successful with only three (3) of them for 30 yards. On the ground, they picked up 304 yards, with Chris Pryor contributing 144 of those and JJ Lewis turning in 136. This led to a pickup of 16 First Downs. These chain-movers meant that the Rockets had to punt only four (4) times for a 40.8-yard average. Nevertheless, the paltry point yield in spite of the excellent offensive and defensive output had to be a point of great concern for the Flight Crew, the Flight Operations Directorate and the various ground support teams.

Seguin (4-6; 4-4)
October 2, 1981: Matador Stadium, Seguin
The Judson Offense was slow in getting started once more, and this combined with a stout Matador Defense caused the Rockets to have a net total of only 34 yards offense in the 1^st Half. Meanwhile, Seguin grabbed a 3-0 lead by virtue of a 24-yard boot by Scott Roessing at the 8:34 mark of the 2^nd period, and the score stood up at the break. Things didn’t improve for the Rockets at the outset of the 2^nd Half, and in fact got a little bit worse. A fumble at the 10-yard line set the Matadors up for an easy TD and a 10-0 lead, this coming on a 1-yard plunge by Jay Voss and Roessing’s PAT with only 116 seconds gone in the 3^rd Quarter. A little later the Rockets finally got going, undertaking a 10-play, 90-yard drive. Mike Fisher finished the drive off with a 2-yard run, and Chris Agisotelis narrowed the gap further with a 2-point play with approximately two (2) minutes left in the penultimate period. The Rockets continued to accelerate, and they grabbed their first lead of the day on a 23-yard FG by Ricky Balderas early in the final period. The Mats immediately regained the initiative by fashioning a 75-yard drive that culminated in Ronald Jones’ 1-yard penetration for the points. Scott Lang contributed a 2-point conversion to reclaim the lead for Seguin at 18-11. The Matador defense was not very cooperative with Judson’s attempts at pulling this one out, and time was starting to get short. The Rockets were even less cooperative, and they recovered a Seguin fumble at the Matador 30-yard line. From there they moved in a little at a time, conserving the clock with a few time-outs and "chain-gang" stops, but things were getting critical timewise, and soon it was 4^th-and-long at the 10-yard line. This is when Allen Dear hit Keith Marbach for a 9-yard pickup for Judson’s only air yards of the day to get 1^st-and-Goal. On Judson’s 2^nd attempt, JJ Lewis got in with eight (8) seconds remaining, and the Dear-to-Marbach combo came through again, this time on the 2-point play for the lead. The Rockets hung on from there, and in doing so they were once more out of a sub-.500 situation----at least for the moment. For the game JJ Lewis had 150 yards rushing on 18 carries, with 145 of that on 15 totes coming in the 2^nd Half alone. You will note, however, that the Rockets continued to have some major "mixed-species" penalty issues which seemed to underscore the development and testing phase that the new Rocket Systems were being subjected to.

Madison (7-3; 5-3)
October 9, 1981: Converse
The Mavs paid their 2^nd-ever visit to Converse, but this time it wasn’t to "borrow" the Rockets’ Stadium in order to blow out Southside, but rather to be hosted by the Stadium’s owners as part of homecoming. The Rocket Defense was red-hot in the 1^st Half, limiting Madison to only 25 yards passing, minus-1 rushing, and two (2) First Downs. Meanwhile, the Offensive Propulsion System fashioned a 7-0 lead as a result of Allen Dear’s 13-yard toss to Keith Marbach, and Ricky Balderas’ PAT. The Rockets were once more hobbled by penalties, though, and were flagged ten (10) times for 80 yards in the 1^st Half alone. The lost opportunities as a result of all these yellow flags would prove to be their undoing. The Mav’s came out of the break revivified, and they flawlessly executed a 6-play, 75-yard drive that ended successfully with David Montgomery’s 14-yard aerial to Greg Hagan. The PAT was good and the score was knotted at 7-each. The Mavs continued to pour on the horsepower. Late in the 3^rd Quarter, Montgomery----who would complete 8-of-10 passes in the 2^nd Half----completed a critical 39-yarder. Then, in the final period, the Mavs grabbed the lead on a 1-yard run and a 1-point PAT kick. Judson came right back, but was turned away on Downs at the Madison 17-yard line midway through the final period. Judson had still another chance with less than two (2) minutes remaining, but Steve Cooper snared the Rockets’ pass at the Judson 5-yard line. The Rockets continued to attack defensively and also did a fairly good job of conserving what was left of the clock with some key timeouts, and this forced a Madison punt. The Mavs chose to take a Safety rather than risk having the punt blocked deep in their own territory, and this narrowed the gap to 14-9. This is when things got interesting. Chris Agisotelis returned the Free Kick 11 yards to the Madison 34-yard line, and a Personal Foul penalty on Madison moved the ball to the 19 with 53 seconds left. This would be as close as the Rockets would get, unfortunately. On 1^st Down QB Phillip Thompson was corralled by Randy West for a 5-yard loss, and on the next play Mike Hayes drove him back for a 6-yard loss. The next pass was INC, the Rockets were thereafter flagged for a Delay of Game, the 4^th Down pass was also INC, and the Mavs got the ball back with 13 seconds remaining and claimed the win. And Judson once again found itself at .500, both in district and for the season.

San Marcos (5-5; 3-5)
October 16, 1981: San Marcos
In the week leading up to this match-up, the Flight Operations Directorate instituted some major modifications to the Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System by scrapping the Split-Back Veer and installing the Power I Formation instead. It also changed out a few of the Rocket booster engines by moving Sophomore Allen Dear into the starting role at QB, and by moving JJ Lewis into the Tailback position. It was a risky move coming in the middle of the season, but the Rockets had been kind of bogged down offensively, so it was worth trying as part of what was basically a development and testing program anyway. The good thing, at least, was that the Defensive Propulsion System had been sitting pretty for the most part in this particular campaign, as were the Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) Systems’ Special Teams. Special Teams would indeed prove key in this game. The Rattlers took the opening kickoff and proceeded to fumble it at the San Marcos 21, where Jeff Mechler recovered for Judson. The reprogrammed and retooled Offensive Propulsion System was unable to move, but Ricky Balderas and the "GNC" Special Teams came back on and kicked a 30-yard FG. Neither teams’ offense could move thereafter, and the 3-0 score remained at the break. The Rattlers gained somewhat of the initiative in the 3^rd period, conducting a 12-play, 77-yard drive that culminated in a 35-yard FG by Wallace Fennel that knotted the score with 3:34 left in the 3^rd Quarter. The Rocket Defense resumed its attack thereafter, and at the outset of the final period had the Rattlers backed up at their own 17. The ensuing punt put Judson in business at the San Marcos 49-yard line. The Rockets chipped away little by little, but finally JJ Lewis got two (2) major pickups off the sprint draw that came as part of the new Rocket Propulsion System package. The 2^nd of those went for 23 yards and the score to complete a 9-play drive. Balderas nailed the PAT, and Judson had regained the lead at 10-3 with 5:43 left. The Rockets’ defensive attack continued, and they held on for the win to get back above .500 once more. As you can clearly see below, the Defense did a pretty good job, limiting the Rattlers to only 150 yards for the game. The potential problem was that Judson picked up only 57 yards on the ground---most of which came on the winning drive---and only five (5) through the air (I’ve often wondered how they can even detect that kind of air yardage). Judson nevertheless won the turnover battle and had a good punting average in spite of being extremely busy in that regard (refer to red-fonted statistic below) .

Roosevelt (8-2; 6-2)
October 23, 1981: Converse
I came down from College Station to see this particular match-up. The Rough Riders were coasting along still-undefeated overall. Nevertheless, in view of their tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, and this being their first visit to Converse since the 15-14 heartbreaker in 1978, combined with the fact that Judson, although mired somewhat in an offensive backwater at the moment, was at least maintaining its "Rocket Pride," I sensed that a very interesting transaction was in the works. Judson opened the game with a time-consuming 56-yard drive to the TR 11-yard line, aided by Roosevelt penalties. The drive stalled out, but Balderas came on to kick the 28-yard FG. Roosevelt then fumbled on the first play after the kickoff, and Judson recovered. Two (2) plays later, Judson fumbled, and Roosevelt recovered. Immediately thereafter the water sprinklers inexplicably popped up on the Roosevelt end of the field and switched on. I can still hear the stadium announcer say "….hey, wait a minute….hey, somebody turn those off!!------that’s not supposed to happen!" Indeed. The play was suspended for the better part of the next 2-3 minutes or so until someone could be found to switch them off (Athletic Director Roy Wallace reportedly got a pretty good work-out in literally doing much of the leg work in responding to this anomaly). When play resumed, Roosevelt went "three and out," and went back to punt. Looking at the way Judson was stacked up front to charge through the line, I along with most everyone else could pretty much see what was coming. Sure enough, three (3) linemen exploded through the Rough Rider line and blocked the kick. William Scott snatched the ball in mid-air and took off for the score. The PAT was no good, but Judson led 9-0. This overall pattern of a hot Rocket Defense and an out-of-rhythm TR offense continued for the remainder of the 1^st Half. For example, a TR receiver dropped a long pass when he was three (3) yards behind the Rocket secondary. Then, with time expiring in the 1^st Half, TR reached the Judson 7-yard line, but Bruce Cochran broke up a pass in the endzone. Finally, on the ensuing FG attempt there was a bad snap from center (the ball hit the kicker in the facemask), the kick was dead on arrival, and Judson recovered and ran out the final few seconds.

The trend continued into the 2^nd Half as well. Bruce Cochran got in on the action again by blocking still another Rider punt. Meanwhile, Donald Martin and Freddie Nickson were busy dropping the TR QB and RB’s for losses. An even bigger "loss," however, was well in the works here. That’s not to say that the Rough Riders were going to simply cooperate with the Rockets’ plans. With 8:50 left in the game, the Riders engineered a 64-yard drive that saw QB Ned Cox complete four (4) of five (5) passes totaling 50 yards. Wilbur Wright finished things off by punching in from two (2) yards out, the kick was not blocked and the Judson lead was reduced to 9-7 with 6:41 to go. This was plenty of time left for TR to steal this one away, given that the Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System---minus JJ Lewis who was out with an injury---had been producing very little throughout this affair. Given that it looked as if things were headed for a real white-knuckle, sweaty-palm, heart-palpitating finish, more likely than not in favor of Roosevelt (in view of their output in the last few possessions), what the Rocket Support Teams saw next was quite astounding. The Rockets managed to somehow keep the clock moving, in spite of gaining very few yards each play. Nevertheless, they soon had a 4^th-Down situation. On 4^th-and-1 at the Roosevelt 36, Mike Fisher took the handoff from Allen Dear. He was hit at the line of scrimmage, but at the last second he lateraled the ball back to Dear, and Dear in turn got the 1^st Down by a foot. From there Judson held on until only eleven (11) seconds were left. TR took the punt but had nearly the entire length of the field to go. The Riders got an 11-yard completion, but the long bomb on the final play went INC and suddenly the entire season had been transfigured----at least for the two (2) teams on that ½-damp field. I had seen Judson play good defense since 1977, but what I saw that evening was awesome, to say the very least.

Finally, after nearly two (2) seasons, it looked as if Judson’s Rocket Program had turned the corner. It had been a long way, but the Rockets were quite possibly ready to take things to another level. Long periods of trial and error, and even delays, have been quite common in the history of NASA’s manned Rocket Program. For example, nearly two (2) years were necessary between the final Mercury flight and the first manned Gemini flight. Following a tragic spacecraft fire on the launch pad a month before what was supposed to have been the first manned flight of the Apollo moon program, it would be 21 months before the refurbished Apollo 7 would finally take to the skies with live astronauts. Then, we have the Space Shuttle. After the final flight of an Apollo Spacecraft in July, 1975, NASA had planned to launch the first Shuttle in 1978. This soon slipped to 1979, and then to an indefinite date as a result of problems with installing heat resistant tiles, and also due to problems with Hydrogen leaks in and outright explosions of the Main Engines during ground test. The first flight wouldn’t occur until 1981. The first launch of America’s First Space Shuttle in April provided a great lift to CONUS as a whole, and was a great confidence booster. Similarly, the Judson Rockets’ victory over the Rough Riders provided a great lift to the Judson community as a whole, and was a great confidence booster that would soon prove to have major ramifications for San Antonio area football.

Lee (3-7; 2-6)
October 31, 1981: Northeast Stadium, Blossom Athletic Center
The Lee Volunteers would experience some of the afore-mentioned "major ramifications." Judson once again had the Lee Volunteers for Halloween, this time at Northeast Stadium. Lee was 3-4 going in, and in spite of the occasion, couldn’t even stir up the "ghosts" of its storied past, as Judson, aided by another Balderas three-pointer and a variegated offensive display of assorted tricks and treats, came away with a 32-0 win in what was arguably a Nightmare on Jones-Maltsberger for the Volunteers. The first of the treats indeed did come in the form of the Balderas FG late in the 1^st Quarter. Balderas, who also played at the LB position, jarred the ball loose and Jeff Mechler snatched it up to put Judson to work at the Volunteer 23-yard line. The ensuing drive failed to produce any real yards, so Balderas booted the ball through from 39 yards out to give the Rockets the 3-0 lead. In the 2^nd period Allen Dear appeared to have been stopped cold on 4^th Down at midfield, but he slithered away and on down to the Lee 21. Shortly thereafter Mike Fisher scored from a yard out, and it was time for a Halloween trick. Holder Chris Agisotelis carried in for two (2) points off the fake, Judson now had an 11-0 advantage with 6:52 left in the 1^st Half, and the lead held up for the break. Judson received the 2nd-Half kickoff and marched 58 yards to take an 18-0 lead. An integral play on that drive was a pass for 23 yards that Dear completed to Chip Lambert. The Rockets would score two (2) more TD’s in the final period to hand a truly devastating decision to the Volunteers. The Judson Defense limited Lee to minus-3 yards on the ground, which was largely due to the four (4) sacks for 26 yards in losses. Through the air Lee picked up only 34 yards, these coming on a 4-of-13 passing performance that also experienced two (2) INT’s. The Vols also lost two (2) fumbles, picked up only four (4) First Downs---and none in the middle two (2) periods---and were flagged six (6) times for 73 yards in penalties. The Rockets continued to have legal problems with the zebras as well, committing eleven (11) infractions for a total of 105 yards in punishments. They nevertheless did a pretty good job of punishing the Volunteers, picking up 132 yards on the ground and 105 through the air on 8-of-20 aerials. The Rockets also played turnover-free ball. In many ways this was about the closest the Rockets had come all year to having a complete game. Somewhat ironically, prior to the 1980 season, the Lee coach, in answer to a question concerning the "new kids" Judson and Madison and how this would affect everyone, said, "the move will hurt Judson more than us." Well, in this immediate instance and for this season at least, it would definitely hurt Lee much more. Quite painfully since, according to the Express-News write-up, it would be the worst loss experienced by Lee since a 38-6 disaster inflicted by Mac in 1966 (Mac would make it to the Semi-finals, falling to Spring Branch 14-6.

The next week, while Judson had a game with "idle" (an occasionally-ranked team in the college "Bottom Ten" Poll at that time), Clemens helped Lee make some more history, as the Vols clinched their first losing season since 1959. Quite ironically, Clemens' coach for that season (and only that season, before he left for Roosevelt) was none other than John Ferrara, who directed the Vols to their State Championship exactly ten (10) years before. Meanwhile, Churchill beat Roosevelt, giving the Riders their second loss. More significantly, this meant that the Judson Rockets had a chance to finish second in the district in this, their Sophomore year in the district, and that with a disproportionate number of Rookie Flight Crew Members likewise in only their Sophomore year. Somewhat distressing, however, was East Central’s fate. Coasting along at 8-0 and blowing teams out like Judson had previously done in District 29-5A, EC had what looked to be a "routine" appointment with Nixon that would firm up what promised to be a potentially interesting meeting with the likewise undefeated Holmes Huskies in Week One of the playoffs. The Hornets scored first and they "scored" last (a Safety intentionally provided by Nixon). Not so distressing for Nixon, however, were the scores that came several times in between the "alpha" and "omega" tallies, which brought them a 17-9 win and a district championship, thus giving what would be a major sting to what ended up being an "omega-ed" 9-1 East Central team with nowhere to go----except, perhaps, back to China Grove and surrounding southeast-side (or make that "east-central," just as the name states) environs for the holidays.

Clemens (2-8; 2-6)
November 13, 1981: Converse
Some NASA rockets of the real kind got busy the day before, when STS-2----the second flight of the Space Shuttle---lifted off, marking the first time that a reusable rocket had gone into space for the 2^nd time. In the latter years and decades to come such a feat would come to seem so unremarkable, but trust me---it was a big deal at the time and for the first several times. Similarly for the Rockets of the Judson kind, what they would do in the years and decades to come would make what would take place on this evening seem so unremarkable, perhaps, but trust me----it was a big deal at the time. While President Reagan was in Mission Control talking with Astronauts Richard Truly and Joe Engle before leaving with James Baker to hunt turkeys at Baker’s ranch southwest of San Antonio, the Rockets would be in Converse this evening "hunting" Buffaloes. The Buffs, however, proved elusive in the opening Quarter and Judson may as well have been hunting snipe. The elusive Buffs gained yards when necessary to keep drives---albeit non-productive---alive. Judson, meanwhile, was slowed once again by penalties and misfires. Late in the 1^st Quarter Clemens was threatening, but Cory Linscombe came through for Judson and recovered a fumble to stop the drive. The Rockets muttered and sputtered just like one (1) of the balky fuel cells aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia that caused the STS-2 mission to be shortened by 72 hours, but unlike that situation the Judson Rockets finally came to life, spurred by Allen Dear’s 66-yard pass play to David Malesky for the first score of the day. Balderas nailed the PAT and Judson led 7-0. Clemens answered back immediately, marching 71 yards in nine (9) plays. John Risley bulled his way into the endzone from a yard out, but the PAT failed and Judson kept the lead. The Rockets started to clamp down on Defense, and from this point forward yielded only 32 yards. The Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System had to power its way for only 42 yards to the next score, this coming on a 25-yard FG by Ricky Balderas. The Rockets were able to quickly get the ball back and beat the 1^st-Half clock, and the next drive ended successfully when Dear hit Malesky for a 26-yard scoring pass. Chris Pryor ran it in for two (2) points, and Judson led 18-6 with five (5) seconds left before Halftime.

The Buffaloes were able to stop the hemorrhaging somewhat as the 2^nd Half got underway, and the Rockets went 3-and-out. The Judson Defense was also pretty stingy, and before long Judson was back on Offense, this time on a drive that culminated in a 21-yard keeper by Dear for points. The Balderas PAT was good and the lead was up to 25-6 with 5:47 to go in the penultimate period of the season. Things settled down for much of the remainder of the game, but finally the Rockets were given one (1) final shot at glory. In order to serve notice, perhaps, that this was actually the beginning rather than the end, and with Senior QB Phillip Thompson directing much of the drive, Sophomore RB Chris Pryor took the final handoff from five (5) yards out and into the endzone with "four zeroes" on the clock, and Balderas got the final point of the season.

For the game Clemens had 137 yards on the ground, with John Risley contributing 92 of those. Through the air the Buff picked up 79 yards on a 4-of-13 passing effort that experienced two (2) INT’s. The Buffs also lost two (2) fumbles, and were penalized ten (10) times for 105 yards. Not to be outdone by a whole lot, Judson once more was in the triple digits department, this time with eleven (11) penalties for 102 yards. The only turnover was an INT that came as part of a 6-of-13 effort that netted 127 yards. On the ground, the Rockets picked up 211 yards. In doing so the Rockets had their 2^nd-place finish in 32-5A, and by season’s end, they were ‘doin’ all right, gettin’ good grades’ (on the field, at least). And, for the first time in nearly two (2) years, the Rocket faithful were reachin’ for their ‘shades,’ for the future was suddenly lookin’ bright.

Meanwhile, Churchill added to Lee’s suffering with a 57-22 win as the Chargers finished another perfect season. Roosevelt, ‘mad as hell’ and more than willing to let someone know about it, inflicted a similar score on MacArthur, as the Brahmas completed a "perfect" season of another kind.

As anticipated, Holmes and Churchill squared off in a re-match of the previous year’s "City Championship." This year, the ‘Horns beat the Aggies after a two-year hiatus, and likewise after a two-year hiatus the Chargers and the Northeast ISD---in front of 19200 witnesses at Northeast Stadium----thus also came out on top (21-14). Churchill then lost two (2) weeks later to Jack Yates in a seesaw 40-31 affair at Rice. Yates, like so many other recent southern bracket entries, then failed the Final the following week.

NOTE: Jimmie Hawkins picked up 212 yards on 26 carries, but as you could see above, the Holmes QB was sacked on numerous occasions by a relentless Charger Defense.

The UIL somehow saw fit to place the Rockets back into the district with their former 29-4A buddies, starting with the 1982 season. That is, until they successfully petitioned to stay put. This was brought about partly due to an arrangement that allowed Eagle Pass to take Judson's place (otherwise Eagle Pass would have been returned as a designated "win" for Holmes, Jay, Marshall; etc. a prospect they rightfully were not too pleased with). Judson, in turn, replaced San Marcos in the district with the Northeast ISD teams (Churchill; etc) and San Marcos, as they desired, moved in with the teams from Austin.

To this day, no one can understand the UIL’s logic of moving Judson back to the previous district (or, for that matter, moving Eagle Pass back to what had become a Northside ISD slaughterhouse). What would have been even worse is that, even with a new 64-team playoff format that would be inaugurated, East Central, who was starting to take Judson's place as the bully in that district, would have, along with Judson, probably consistently locked some other fairly good teams out of the playoffs (Harlandale had a very strong team in 1985, but so did Judson and East Central. Go figure). To this day, many people still wonder if there were some groups that perhaps felt threatened by what they saw as an upstart that was about to crash the soon-to-be 27-5A party. I guess we'll never really know for sure. In any event, it's quite ironic what happened next.

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