This should be the year when we should be better. We overachieved last year. That’s where the fun came in
Frank Arnold to the San Antonio Light

We have a long way to go to get back where we were. But like our coach said, take it one game at a time and we’ll get there.
Chris Pryor to the San Antonio Light

Our team goal is to win district and win state…..not make State….WIN State
Chris Pryor to the San Antonio Light

As I began what would finally be, if all went as planned, my final year in College Station, TAMU followed up the ignominious 1982 season opener, in which Doug Flutie and Boston College "spoiled" Jackie Sherrill’s debut at Kyle Field on ESPN (for the better part of the next three years, the Aggies would seemingly have an ESPN "curse" not at all unlike the so-called "Sports Illustrated curse"), by hosting California in the 1983 opener. California got out to a 17-0 halftime lead on the strength of two (2) bad Aggie snaps on punts, as well as a backfired on-side game-opening kickoff. California, in its previous game the season before, caused John Elway and Stanford to clinch a losing season and lose a Bowl bid with the now-infamous "tip-toe through the tubas" kickoff return to end the game (and hence the season for both teams). TAMU, fully aware of what happened on the Bears’ previous kickoff, didn’t want any similar surprises, especially given that this was the Aggies’ first game using the 12^th Man non-scholarship player kickoff team. California, fully aware of all this, was more than willing to try and embarrass the Aggies and return the kick, if possible. Thus, attempting to play it safe, A&M tried an onside kick. Unfortunately, the Bears recovered and with relatively good field position got a 50-yard scoring play with less than two minutes gone. That was "déjà vu all over again," because BC’s first score the year before likewise occurred from about the same place on the field and with very little time gone. The Aggies would get untracked enough in the 2^nd Half and tie it up with time running down. With less than two minutes left, the Bears attempted a FG. The Aggies were flagged on the play and, in spite of making good on the kick, the Bears decided to take the penalty and continue the drive instead. They fumbled on the next play, and A&M recovered. Then, on the very next play, former Holmes standout Jimmie Hawkins was tackled in the Endzone for a safety. That’s right, here’s one case where someone wins a game on a clutch safety late in the game. Not a good feeling. Safeties, being somewhat "passive" in nature (since you do the "scoring" for the other team), always tend to leave a person in denial momentarily over what just happened. Also not a good feeling was seeing a San Antonio player’s chance to pull the game out "sacked" before it even got started. At least I wasn’t alone in such misery. By shear coincidence, Dan Pollard---an incoming Corps Freshman who played at Churchill the two (2) seasons before and lined up against both Holmes (and hence Hawkins) and Judson in the two classic match-ups in 1981 and 1982 and who, like I did, knew what Hawkins was truly capable of---was assigned to the seat next to me on the third deck in this early evening match-up..

In view of the continued ignominy for the Aggies, the one consolation for me at least was the play of, and hence the overall prospects for, the Judson Rockets, who promised to be even stronger than in 1982, provided a few gaps could be filled in time. It was pretty well understood, going in, that this was Judson’s best chance to go for it all. On the other hand, given the perils of such an undertaking, it was quite sobering to realize how improbable, in the larger scheme of things, it would be to actually go straight in and get it, so to speak. For most teams in a similar position, things just don’t work out that way. Not usually, anyway. The Rockets, however, were on a Great Crusade and a Mission to Make History. This isn’t to say that there were several issues needing to be addressed. For one thing, although much of the Offensive Propulsion System was returning intact, all but three (3) starting components in the Defensive Thermal Protection System would be returning for the 1983 season. Additionally, there were what could be considered some "hardware" problems in the Offensive Propulsion System that cropped up just before the start of the season. Starting QB Allen Dear developed a case of tendonitis that did not resolve itself very quickly, and this required that his long-time backup Cap Watters enter in his stead. Although Cap was well-prepared, it still raised some questions overall because of the loss of potentially valuable recent experience in that position coming off the deep-run 1982 season

Austin Johnston (2-8; 1-8)
September 2, 1983: Converse
The Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off after midnight the previous Tuesday morning to mark the first time since Apollo 17 that a manned flight was launched from CONUS after dark. The 5-man crew’s entire schedule was set up to correspond to the wee hours of the day, given that the Labor Day landing at Edwards was also slated to be in the early morning hours. The Judson Rockets, as per tradition, also synchronized their season schedule to correspond to the period just before or following sundown, and with that their version of Friday Night Lights got underway in Converse precisely five (5) years to the day since the dramatic 12-9 victory over Clemens that kind of got things started. They engineered a promising drive on their opening possession, but a fumble turned the ball over to the Rams at the Johnston 12-yard line. The Rockets soon had another chance at the endzone, but they turned the ball over at the Johnston 11. A little later in the game a fumble at the Johnston 1-yard line likewise cancelled a sure-shot score for the Rockets. Judson would nevertheless soon light up the scoreboard in the opening period and would not have to travel very far to do so. A fumble recovery at the 38-yard line set up the first score, and QB Cap Watters carried in from the 2 to finish the short drive. Mark Christian was good on the PAT and Judson led 7-0. This would be the beginning of a trend, because overall the Rams would cough the ball up thirteen (13) times and lose six (6) of those, and also experience an INT. A little later in the 1^st Quarter Chris Pryor lit the scoreboard up for his first time in the 1983 campaign, and Christian’s PAT increased the count to 14-0. Judson also experienced an INT in this affair, this coming in the 2^nd period to put the Rams in business at the Judson 29. Aaron McKinley carried in from three (3) yards out to complete the 7-play drive, and the PAT narrowed the gap to 14-7. This score didn’t last long, though, because Chip Lambert lifted off for a 77-yard run on the ensuing kickoff. The PAT was no good, though, so the Rockets had to settle for a 20-7 lead---for the moment at least. Soon the turnover bug would pay another visit to the visitors from Austin, and Judson would have a 33-7 lead at the intermission, this coming as a result of a 1-yard scoring run by Watters, a 28-yard pass reception by Chip Lambert for 7, and a PAT kick by Bobby Acosta following the Lambert score. In all, the Rams amassed only one (1) First Down in the 2^nd Quarter. Judson failed to score in the 2^nd Half, but the Rams were kept well in check by a Defensive Propulsion System that was in the process of replacing some key components that had graduated from the 1982 ballclub.

For the game, Johnston had only seven (7) First Downs, 71 yards rushing and five (5) passing. Judson, meanwhile, moved the chains eighteen (18) times, these coming via 172 yards on 47 carries, and a 5-of-12 passing effort that netted 115 yards. In addition to the INT, Judson also lost two (2) of six (6) fumbles, and was penalized seven (7) times for 52 yards. Another area of concern was the kicking game, what with some missed PAT’s as well as the 3-punt, 18.3-yard average. The loss, to graduation, of Donald Martin and Ricky Balderas was definitely felt on this evening.

Churchill, meanwhile, who was picked to provide a stiff test for Judson once again, was beaten 8-7 by Jefferson. Jeff, it would turn out, would be pretty good and although the Mustangs would then lose their next two (2) non-District games (to Clark and San Angelo---pretty stiff competition, in other words), they would go undefeated in district and snare their first playoff seed since the very early 1960’s.

Round Rock Westwood (6-3-1; 3-2-1)
September 9, 1983: Round Rock
A person would be very hard-pressed to say that the Rockets at this point at least were not over-rated. Things, however, would become infinitely more interesting/complicated by the end of this particular weekend. Judson took its show on the road for a meeting with a team that was now in its second year of varsity competition, and one that seemed to be learning quickly how to win---or at least compete. The Warriors held Judson scoreless in the opening period, but Chris Pryor opened things up somewhat with an 18-yard run for paydirt in the 2^nd Quarter. The PAT raised the advantage to 7-0. Soon thereafter, Westwood mounted a drive that culminated in a 20-yard pass that Kyle Green hauled in for the score. The PAT was no good, though, and Judson’s lead held up at the break. Special Teams got going for the Rockets in the 3^rd Quarter when AJ Jones took a punt and returned it 78 yards for the score. The PAT was good and Judson now led 14-6. In the final period Cap Watters carried in from ten (10) yards out, and Chris Pryor carried for five (5) yards and a score. Judson was 1-of-2 on PAT’s, and the final verdict was in at 27-6. The Offensive Propulsion System was nevertheless hobbled big-time by penalties. Overall the Rockets were nabbed 21 times for a whopping total of 175 yards, with one (1) of the infractions negating a 35-yard TD pass from Watters to Chip Lambert. Chris Pryor had 136 yards on 18 carries, but also had 50 yards taken from his total as a result of the yellow flag.

Judson had entered the season ranked pretty high in various statewide polls, and had entered this game ranked at No. 2. Houston Memorial was No.1, and on this weekend Brazoswood knocked them off 31-13. Not surprisingly, Judson moved into the No. 1 position at that point, thus pinning a bulls-eye squarely on the Rockets.

East Central (7-3; 6-0)
September 16, 1983: Hornet Field
That’s great! It’s great for our school and our community and we’re real, real proud of it. We realize, though, that it’s not going to win games for you unless you play well enough, and the negative side of it is that everybody is gunning for you
Frank Arnold to the Express-News after being informed of Judson’s No. 1 ranking by the Associated Press

The Rockets’ first game as the state’s top-ranked team took them to East Central, and once more featured a Hornet team that also had high aspirations and a record to back them up. Judson took the opening kickoff in front of the overflow crowd of 4000+ and very effectively and efficiently moved 58 yards downfield in five (5) plays. Cap Watters went the final 15 yards to light the scoreboard for the first time of the day and with less than two (2) minutes gone in the contest. On the PAT, Holder Kenny Smith took off on the fake and carried in for two (2) points, and Judson led 8-0. The Rockets had a promising drive on their next possession when Chris Pryor got away for a 72-yard pickup that was halted only because he ran out of sideline at the 6-yard line. An Illegal Procedure call pushed the Rockets back to the 11-yard line, and shortly thereafter they lost the first of what would be three (3) fumbles. The Hornets were unable to produce anything of substance on the ensuing drive, and soon Judson was back at it, this time for a 48-yard drive. The first play saw Watters lift off for a 17-yard pickup, Pryor got a 27-yard scorcher , and on the fourth and final play of the drive Pryor took it in from four (4) yards out. The PAT by the Rockets’ latest find in the kicking department---John Tomasi----upped the count to 15-0 with 47 seconds remaining in the opening period. The Offensive Propulsion System was unable to get anything more done for the remainder of the 1^st Half, but the Defense was able to show why EC ended up with a goose egg in this match-up in spite of getting good yardage. In the 2^nd Quarter, for example, AJ Jones, was able to showcase his 100-yard sprinting skills when, on 3^rd-and-1 at the EC 14-yard line, Colbert Bosen took off and had a 10-yard head start on Jones, only to have Jones catch up to him and make the stop at the Judson 30. The Hornets got as close as the 18 on the drive, but the drive stalled and EC had nothing to show for the effort. EC started the 2^nd Half by driving down to the Judson 22-yard line, but once more the Hornets had nothing to show for it. Later in the 3^rd Quarter, Dennis Kennedy intercepted Hornet QB Matt Burns at the Judson 37-yard line and returned it to midfield. Pryor finished off the ensuing 6-play drive by zipping in from six (6) yards out, Tomasi’s PAT was good, and the advantage was stretched to 22-0 with 64 seconds left in the penultimate period. The Hornets continued to put the pressure on the Judson Defense, but in the final period Melvin Echard put a stop to it by recovering a fumble at the Judson 35-yard line. Judson had what appeared to be a 25-yard TD run by Chip Lambert, but it was cancelled by a yellow flag. Undeterred, Cap Watters made up for it with a 35-yard dash for the score. Tomasi was good on the PAT, and the count was up to 29-0 with 187 seconds remaining in the game. A little later, Mike Calabro hauled in an INT, and with the Backup Crew now in flight Orfeo Provost came in to provide a 17-yard run for points. Tomasi once more was on the money with the PAT, and the final verdict was in at 36-0.

Elsewhere Churchill, which played to a 13-13 tie with Jay the week before, picked up its first win, 19-0, over Highlands.

Lee (2-8; 2-5)
September 23, 1983: Northeast Stadium, Blossom Athletic Center
The Defensive Propulsion System seemed to be showing steady improvement in spite of the loss of so many key components from the 1982 effort. In addition, a critical function of the Offensive Propulsion System, namely the QB position, also seemed to be coming up to speed quite nicely, and this was exceptionally good news considering that Allen Dear had been experiencing a case of tendonitis in the days leading up to the start of the season, thus precipitating the entry of Cap Watters into the starting role. Another critical function that had been a major area of concern was the kicking game, given the graduation of the likes of Donald Martin and Ricky Balderas. By the end of Week Two, however, the punting department, which had its share of issues in the first game of the season, seemed to have hit its stride once it was found that Cap Watters also could do a pretty good job at it. The final area of concern in the kicking game, namely Field Goals and PAT’s, had also largely been resolved by the end of Week Three. John Tomasi, a Junior transfer, stepped into the part and played the role superbly against the East Central Hornets. He originally had decided to make his initial impact for the Rockets by joining the Tennis team, but the football coaching staff heard through the grapevine that he had also kicked footballs for the 1A Aspermont Hornets, helping them to a 7-3 record in 1982. The Judson Coaches checked with his Coach from Aspermont and soon thereafter he was invited to come to the aid of the Rockets. And so, a former Hornet from Aspermont soon found himself kicking for the Rockets for the first time against the Hornets of East Central, and a success story was born. On this particular evening at Northeast Stadium, he would have the opportunity to showcase his skills once more. First, however, another aspect of the "kicking" game---namely that of blocking kicks on Special Teams---manifested itself, much to the delight of the Judson fans (and the chagrin of the Volunteers). In the opening period Lee went back to punt, and Melvin Echard burst through the line and blocked the kick, catching the ball in mid-air and coming down with it in the endzone for the score. Tomasi’s PAT was good, and Judson was up 7-0 with 216 seconds gone in the game. The Volunteers, however, used this debacle as a major motivator in helping to keep Judson from lighting up the scoreboard for a larger part of the remainder of the 1^st Half. The Vols turned back incursions at the Lee 43, 28, and 6-yard lines, and also recovered a Judson fumble at the Judson 37-yard line. In the 2^nd Quarter Lee got as far as the Judson 27-yard line, but Dennis Kennedy stopped the Vols for no gain on 4^th-and inches. From there the Rockets went on to score in six (6) plays, the final one being a 39-yard dash by Chip Lambert for the points. The PAT was no good, but with 4:03 remaining before Halftime Judson was up 13-0.

The Rockets used the 3^rd Quarter to launch themselves to a 30-0 lead. Mike Calabro recovered a Lee fumble at the Volunteer 24-yard line, and from there Judson moved "down that field like a jetmobile" and to a 1^st-and-Goal at the Lee 8. Judson ran into some difficulties with the yellow flag at that point, and ultimately had to settle on a FG by John Tomasi that increased the count to 16-0. Shortly thereafter AJ Jones took Lee’s punt and returned it 16 yards to put Judson in business at the Lee 30-yard line. From there, Cap Watters hit Alton Martin for a pickup down to the 16-yard line, and thereafter Chris Pryor carried up the middle for the score. The PAT was good and Judson now led 23-0. With time running down in the 3^rd Quarter, Judson undertook a 6-play, 50-yard drive that Lambert capped off with an 8-yard run for the score. The PAT was good once more, and the rout definitely seemed to be on at 30-0. Midway through the final period, Lee threatened when QB Brent Crook connected with Chris Reams for what appeared to be a 52-yard pickup down to the Judson 10-yard line, but Reams lost the ball when he was hit and the ball went out of the endzone for a touchback. The ensuing Judson drive failed to achieve anything of substance, soon it was time to punt, and this is where the Rockets saw the beginning of the end of their goose egg. The snap from Center sailed over Cap Watters’ head at the Lee 25, and he had to chase it down at the 10-yard line where he was tackled to give Lee possession. A 5-yard penalty moved the Vols even closer and finally, after a 1-yard pickup by Oscar Pacheco, Brian Crook found Eric Smith in the corner of the endzone for the score. The PAT was no good, but that was nevertheless the end of the goose egg, and soon the verdict was final at 30-6. For the game, the Vols had 11 First Downs as a result of 96 yards on the ground and 112 through the air. They lost three (3) fumbles and experienced one (1) INT that came as part of a 4-of-14 passing effort. Judson, meanwhile, had 17 First Downs, and a total of 320 yards offense. 73 of those came as part of a 7-of-19 passing effort, as well as 247 yards on the ground. Chip Lambert contributed 85 of those on ten (10) carries, Cap Watters chipped in 92 on twelve (12) totes, and Chris Pryor picked up 79 on nine (9) trips. The Rockets also lost the ball twice---once on a fumble and once on an INT. Despite the bad experience on the punt attempt near the end of the game and the 95 yards in penalties on ten (10) infractions, overall it was a good start to the 27-5A campaign.

MacArthur (3-7; 3-4)
September 30, 1983: Converse
Chris Pryor took the opening kickoff and returned it 32 yards to the Judson 43-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage he tore through the line like a hot knife through butter and got away for a 40-yard pickup to the Mac 17-yard line, and on the third play from scrimmage he went the remaining 16 yards for the score. Tomasi’s PAT was good, and with only 71 seconds elapsed the rout was on. On Judson’s next possession Pryor lifted off on an 80-yard dash for points, and on the next possession after that he lit up the scoreboard again when he took off for a 64-yard score, and Judson already had a 20-0 lead as the opening period wound down. Things settled down somewhat through much of the 2^nd Quarter. The Rockets were able to bleed a certain amount of time off the clock by driving down to the Mac 17-yard line before being turned back, and then by driving nearly the length of the field in order to get their next score. Cap Watters finished off the 95-yard drive by carrying around right end for six (6) yards, Tomasi’s kick was good, and Judson had a 27-0 advantage with 39 seconds left in the 1^st Half.

Early in the 3^rd Quarter, Dennis Kennedy forced a fumble after a Mac pass reception, and Bobby Acosta recovered for the Rockets at the Brahma 17. On the 1st play Cap Watters hooked up with Chip Lambert for the score, and the PAT was good. A little later in the 3^rd Quarter, Chris Pryor cracked the goal line for the fourth time of the day with an 18-yard run, and still in the 3rd Quarter Allen Dear tossed a 6-yard aerial to Clarence Westendorff to increase the count further. Tomasi pushed through his 5^th and 6^th PAT’s of the day, and Judson entered the final period with a 48-0 bulge. In that final period, the Brahmas held Judson at the Mac 1-yard line, but soon thereafter they fumbled a pitchout and had to recover it in the endzone and take a Safety, thus pushing the count to 50-0. With the Backup Crew in flight the Rockets later reached the Mac 6-yard line but were turned away, and soon this severe blowout was history. The Brahmas picked up only eight (8) First Downs and 37 yards on the ground. Through the air they did a little better, picking up 77 yards on an 8-of-23 passing effort. They experienced one (1) INT and lost three (3) fumbles, although they were penalized only once for ten (10) yards. The Rockets, on the other hand, were penalized nine (9) times for an even 100 yards. They only had to punt once (for 27 yards), and lost no fumbles. They did, experience two (2) INT’s as part of an 8-of-19 passing effort that picked up 89 yards. On the ground, Judson had 553 yards, with 282 of those contributed by Pryor on 14 carries. It is interesting to note that 200 of those yards by Pryor came in the first six (6) minutes of the opening period alone. The Flight Operations Directorate FOD nevertheless ordered shutdown of this particular Rocket engine at the outset of the 2^nd Half once he scored his fourth TD of the day and after carrying for only 29 yards on "only" two (2) plays in the 3^rd Quarter. Overall Judson was able to move the chains an astounding 29 times.

Although the Brahmas were now 0-5 under first-year Coach John Osborne, it is worth noting that they would soon get untracked and actually surprise a few teams along the way, most notably perhaps Madison, and that episode would in the end prove to have major ramifications for numerous teams.

Seguin (1-9; 1-6)
October 7, 1983: Matador Stadium, Seguin
The Rockets came out passing on their opening drive, engineering an 8-play, 74-yard campaign. Chris Pryor punched in from a yard out, Tomasi’s kick was good, and the Rockets were up 7-0 at the 8:30 mark of the opening period. Soon thereafter Judson was at it again, traveling 52 yards in five (5) plays. A key play in the drive was a 26-yard aerial hookup from Cap Watters to Ricky May. The drive came to a happy end when Cap Watters hit Clarence Westendorff for nine (9) yards, and then ran it in for two (2) points to give Judson a 15-0 lead with 4:45 to go in the 1^st Quarter The Rockets sped off to a 36-0 advantage in the 2^nd Quarter by virtue of

• A 34-yard dash by Chip Lambert
• Chris Pryor’s 16-yard point-getter
• Watters’ 1-yard run
• Tomasi’s three (3) PAT’s

The Matadors were nevertheless able to do what the Brahmas were not able to do the week before---namely erase a prospective goose egg----when Tom Kohler took the kickoff and got away for an 87-yard return to open the 2^nd Half. Morgan Norris nailed the PAT and the Judson lead had been reduced to 36-7. Later in the 3^rd Quarter, Alton Martin---who would finish with three (3) receptions for 88 yards----helped extend the Judson lead with two (2) TD receptions. The first one came on a 2-yard pass from Watters, and the second came on a 52-yard hookup from Allen Dear. Tomasi rounded out the scoring with two (2) additional PAT’s, and for the second week in a row Judson had an even 50 points for the game.

Seguin was limited to only 11 First Downs, in the process picking up only 51 yards on the ground. Through the air the Mats picked up 79 yards on 7-of-26 passes. They were also intercepted five (5) times. The only turnover for Judson was an INT that came as part of a 10-of-17 passing effort that picked up 220 yards. On the ground the Rockets picked up 282 yards and all told, this allowed them to pick up 28 First Downs. Chris Pryor was a little less productive this time around, but he still managed to pick up 142 yards on 15 totes.

Roosevelt, meanwhile, was improving with each game and looked to be the favorite going into its meeting with the Chargers over at Northeast Stadium. However, some potentially-peculiar calls by the zebra’s helped to quickly turn an early 7-0 lead into a 13-7 deficit that got only larger thereafter once the turnovers hit. Consequently, in spite of out-gaining Churchill by about 100 yards and having 20 First Downs to the Chargers’ 12, Roosevelt went down 37-14. Having failed one major test and still having to face Judson in Converse, the Riders would no longer get much attention by at least the casual observer for the next couple of days. Churchill, meanwhile, seemed to be peaking at the right time as they prepared to meet the Rockets in Converse for only the 2^nd time ever.

Churchill (6-3-1; 5-2)
October 14, 1983: Converse
They won the first Half, but tradition, like everything else, has to go four Quarters…..Tradition means a lot to them [Churchill], but we’re going to try and establish a little tradition of our own
Frank Arnold to the Express-News

I knew I was going to score and he wasn’t going to stop me
Chris Pryor to the Express-News about a tenacious Churchill defender on the final TD

I had previously come down to see Judson handle Lee at Northeast Stadium for my only other viewing thus far in 1983. Given the chance to see Churchill in Converse, and given that I had not seen the two (2) match-ups the year before, there was no way I was missing this key showdown in the Rockets’ Great Crusade. The question in everyone’s mind, still, especially for the 14000 on-hand in Converse at our 8500-seat Stadium, was: Could Judson do it again, especially given the manner in which the two (2) wins came the year before? Or, was it all just an illusion and a dream that we would soon be rudely awakened from? Sure enough, Churchill came out loaded for bear, and on its opening possession drove 57 yards in 13 plays. Eric Ragle contributed 38 of his 40 1^st-Half yards during the drive. QB Mark Comalander finished things off by taking it in from two (2) yards out, Carlton Spinks provided the PAT, and Churchill was in front at 7-0 with 4:55 remaining in the 1^st Quarter. The Rockets’ thrusters and their Guidance, Navigation and Control System had been kept in a cold soak for quite a while as a result of the time-consuming drive, even the warmth of a friendly venue was not enough to thaw things out, and soon it was time to punt the ball away. The Chargers picked up where they left off, and drove 67 yards downfield. The Judson Defense rose up to stall the drive out, but Spinks came on and nailed a 33-yard FG at the 9:19 mark of the 2^nd Quarter. Finally, the Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System was able to get going on a 6-play, 69-yard drive. Highlights of the drive included a 19-yard aerial pickup when Cap Watters connected with Chip Lambert, and a 27-yard ground pickup by Chris Pryor that carried down to the Churchill 4-yard line. Soon thereafter Pryor went in from there to cut the Churchill lead, and John Tomasi’s PAT improved things further in narrowing the deficit to 10-7 with 6:48 to go in the 1^st Half. The Defensive Thermal Protection System thereafter took over and kept the Rockets from getting burned any further by the Chargers for the remainder of the Half, and soon the bands took the field to entertain the record crowd in Converse.

The 3^rd Quarter was scoreless, although it appeared that the Rockets were starting to get the upper hand offensively. Later in the 3^rd Quarter, a 40-yard punt by John Walker rolled dead at Rockets’ 10-yard line as Judson began its third possession of the 2^nd Half. No problem, that just gave the Rockets more time to run off the clock in moving in for the kill. Pryor picked up 71 rushing yards on the drive, and also caught a 14-yard screen pass from Cap Watters. The Chargers dropped Pryor for a 2-yard loss back to the 12-yard line, but on the very next play Cap Watters rolled out to pass but at the last second kept instead and made a diving entry into the endzone to give Judson its first lead of the day. Tomasi’s kick was good, and Judson was in front at 14-10 with 85 seconds gone in the final period. Judson held the Chargers on a pivotal 4^th-Down attempt on the ensuing possession. It is worth noting that whereas Churchill had converted on 5-of-7 3^rd-Down attempts in the 1^st Half in addition to succeeding on its only 4^th-Down attempt in the 1^st Half, the Rockets’ Defensive Thermal Protection had pretty much dissected things as the 2^nd Half progressed. Meanwhile, the Rockets converted on 4-of-7 3^rd-Down efforts in the 2^nd Half, in addition to getting a critical 4^th-Down conversion during the drive that pretty much slammed the door on the Chargers in this showdown. Melvin Echard, Dennis Kennedy and David Trees put the kibosh on Churchill’s 4^th-Down play at the Judson 24-yard line with 7:20 remaining, from there Chris Pryor carried seven (7) times during the ensuing 12-play drive, and Judson was looking downright invincible at this point. But, it wasn’t because the Chargers simply decided to fold. In fact, it was just the opposite, and they were determined as all get out to regain their advantage over Judson and re-assert themselves the way they had until just one (1) short year earlier. Perhaps the most telling sign that Judson was one team that had completely passed them by once and for all (or at least for some time to come) was Chris Pryor’s TD play to end the scoring. From the 16-yard line, he broke a pair of tackles and then dragged a determined Churchill defender into the Endzone the final five (5) yards, refusing to be stopped or denied by even this show of tenacity. Tomasi nailed his third and final PAT of the evening, and with 1:02 left to play Judson was in complete control at 21-10. The remaining plays by Churchill were basically futile attempts at respectability and soon, for the third straight time, Judson had beaten Churchill, and in a day short of a year’s time had evened its series record with Churchill at 3-3.

Roosevelt (7-2-1; 5-2)
October 21, 1983: Converse
S……A……F……E……T……Y…………SAFETY!….
‘Safety Dance,’ by Men Without Hats

Just as TAMU and California did in College Station on September 3, on the night before Judson’s meeting with Roosevelt, Churchill and Madison did their version of "The Safety Dance." Churchill, probably still in a funk somewhat from the previous week, had a miscue on the opening kickoff that gave Madison a 2-0 lead. Churchill would take the lead at 6-2 midway through the 4th Quarter, but the Mavs responded with a methodical drive that ate up the remaining time. On the final play of the game Kelly Archer handed off to RB Mitchell Price at the 5-yard line, Price in turn backed up to the 23-yard line while eluding numerous attempts by Churchill to take him down and end the game, and finally launched an aerial to Steve Stiller---who was waiting along with three (3) other receivers in the endzone----for the score and the win with "four zeroes" on the clock. This gave the Mavs their first-ever victory over Churchill, and it also gave the Chargers their second District 27-5A loss in addition to their third regular-season loss for the first time since 1972. The Chargers pretty much looked to be toast at this point. Judson, meanwhile, was ‘flying along’ nicely and, in spite of the need to still face an improved neighbor and nemesis, was not in the least expecting to ‘hit something in the air.’ The Rough Riders, however, had some other ideas

Still reeling from the 37-14 loss to Churchill but still very much in the race, the Roughriders wanted as much of a psychological advantage as possible and therefore did their pre-game warm-ups at Roosevelt, and then arrived in Converse just in time for the kick-off. In spite of this tactic, the Riders were pretty much singing "It’s a Mistake" in the 1^st Half in front of the 10000 witnesses on hand. Judson drove 65 yards downfield in six (6) plays to go up 7-0. On the final play, Cap Watters faked to Chris Pryor, reversed direction and zipped in from nine (9) yards out. John Tomasi toed the PAT and the Rockets were on the board with only 148 seconds elapsed in the contest. In the 2^nd Quarter, Tomasi pushed through a 20-yard FG to extend the advantage to 10-0, and soon thereafter Mike Calabro stepped in front of Roosevelt QB Mike Trigg’s pass, returning it 37 yards for points. Tomasi’s was good on the PAT, and Judson took a 17-0 lead into the dressing room. Overall, Trigg was intercepted three (3) times in the 1^st Half, and the Riders may as well have called in "Men at Work" themselves at this point to perform their most recent hit for the Halftime festivities. TR nevertheless came out of Halftime with a renewed resolve, and Trigg was able finally to connect on a consistent basis with favorite receiver Tom Cisneros to move in for its first score of the day. The final pass on the 3^rd-Quarter drive went for nine (9) yards, Pat Waikem’s PAT was good, and the Judson lead had been reduced to 17-7 at the 7:40 mark of the 3^rd Quarter. Judson nevertheless responded quickly on the ensuing drive, with Chris Pryor getting away for 56 yards and the score. Tomasi nailed the PAT and the 17-point advantage had been restored with 5:21 remaining in the 3^rd period. The Riders responded in kind after that, drawing to within 24-13 with another Trigg-to-Cisneros completion, this one for eight (8) yards.

The Rockets, however, were about to fall and not get up in this game, singing "It’s a Mistake" on the way "down." After the Pryor score, the Rockets would execute only 16 more plays, with most of the drives summarily terminated by some kind of turnover [in all they would commit six (6) turnovers in the 2^nd Half]. The Riders drew to within three (3) points of the Rockets at the outset of the final period when Mike Trigg hooked up with George Lloyd for an 11-yard scoring aerial, and thereafter connected with Tom Cisneros for a 2-point play. Then, with 5:13 remaining, Trigg hit wingback Jamie Constantin with a 46-yarder that put the Riders in the lead for the first time in the contest. Waikem’s PAT was good and TR now had a 28-24 lead. The Rockets’ ensuing comeback attempt was short-circuited by still more turnovers, thus allowing the Riders to run some time off the clock. The Rockets nevertheless still had another chance at redemption from their 10-yard line, but with 74 seconds left to play Chip Lambert took the handoff and attempted what appeared to be some kind of screen pass, and soon it was his turn to sing ‘It’s a Mistake.’ George Lloyd stepped in front of the aerial and was able to pretty much walk into the endzone for the score. It was perhaps only fitting that this final exclamation point be the result of an INT, because, as you can clearly see below in the game statistics, Judson had ZERO yards passing, with the only passes completed being to Roosevelt. What made this even more ignominious for the Rockets was that, ever since the third week of the season, they had been ranked first in the State. Well, that was the end of that idea. For the time being, at least. In any event, the loss provided some valuable information for the Rockets, as their "Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) Data" showed precisely where their weaknesses were, both tactically and possibly attitudinally. A "REALITY check," in other words. The Rockets (and also others) definitely knew that they could be beat (and how they could be beat).

As for me, I was up in College Station working on some rather laborious P Chem lab write-ups, listening to progress reports from KTSA. For some reason they did not give any further scores after Halftime until just a few minutes before the game was over and the damage already done. Once I realized that KTSA was slow to the ball on this evening, I switched over to get whatever reception I could get on the Express-News Game of the Week between Jay and undefeated Clark. What got my attention real fast was when I could finally hear over the static David Flores and Gary Delaune saying something about "that’s an incredible score in that Judson game." That got my concern real fast, so I went back to KTSA and they finally flat out said something along the lines of "Judson is LOSING." At that point it was still reportedly only 28-24, but then only seconds later they came back and gave the supremely bad news (for Judson). Fortunately I wasn’t needing to get ready for any kind of a test at that point, because this whole episode put me in a big-time funk for the better part of about 72 hours. At least I wasn’t alone, and at least the one group of individuals directly able to do something about all this was able to do just that, as seen by what would take place next.

Chris Pryor did pick up 207 yards on 25 carries, but he was also singing "It’s a Mistake," turning the ball over twice during TR’s comeback.

After the ground-breaking flight of Apollo 8 at the end of the year in 1968, NASA still had a long way to go before knowing for sure things were in place to attempt a moon landing before the end of 1969, and any number of untoward developments in space or on the ground could have slammed the door indefinitely on such plans. Indeed, even on the final dress rehearsal flight of Apollo 10, there were some odd events that raised a few hairs on the back of the necks of NASA managers and planners, and one (1) incident in particular was enough to elicit some deletable expletives by Lunar Module Pilot Gene Cernan only ten (10) miles above the moon when the Guidance System seemed to briefly wrest manual control from the astronauts. Fortunately, the cause of the incident was evaluated thoroughly and in the end did not jeopardize plans to attempt a landing on the next flight.

As for the Judson Rockets, even after the break-through 1982 season, they knew they had a long way to go before knowing for sure things would fall into place in time to go all the way in 1983, and any number of untoward developments on or off the field could slam the door indefinitely on plans to land on the Class 5A Lunar Surface before the end of the year. Indeed, the debacle in Converse the week before presented a stiff challenge in so many ways to Judson, it directly threatened the Rockets’ plans, and it probably, at least momentarily, elicited a few deletable expletives within the Rocket Nation. The key for the Judson Rocky’s would be to evaluate, isolate and eliminate the causes of what happened, but it would nevertheless also require a major psychological "fix" as well in getting back up after getting knocked down. And, there would be little time to lose in doing so, because they could quite possibly lose it all should they go down again. Although Churchill seemed to be out of the running, Madison, Judson, and Roosevelt were still fighting for two (2) playoff seeds, and what had looked like a straight, unfettered trajectory for the Rockets suddenly looked not at all certain. Especially now that the Mavericks issued notice that they weren’t intending to go down as scheduled just because of an untimely loss to a non-contender earlier in district play. On the other hand, the Mavericks would have two (2) things going against them going into the meeting with Judson on this Saturday evening at Northeast Stadium.

• They would be missing, due to injuries, several of the key starters---namely QB Kelly Archer and RB Mitchell Price---who were directly responsible for the win over the Chargers; AND,
• They would be interacting with a Rocket Flight Crew whom, chastened by a rough "rocket" burn the week before, were ready and willing to apply the Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) data from that experience and conduct a classic mid-course correction.

Both teams would pretty much be playing for survival, but the pressure was more on Judson, now fallen from its No.1 statewide perch. As it turned out, Madison was very much Dead On Arrival for a Rocket attack that featured the best of everything----both offensively and defensively----that Judson had to offer in 1983.

The Rockets’ Defensive Propulsion System, ready and willing to make a statement early on, hit the Mavs for a 6-yard loss on the opening series. That taken care of, the Offensive Propulsion System drove downfield effectively and efficiently and at the 6:36 mark of the 1^st Quarter, on 2^nd-and-15, Chip Lambert took the handoff from Cap Watters and went in untouched from 20 yards out to put Judson on the board. Tomasi’s PAT was good and Judson led 7-0. The hobbled and depleted Mavs were unable to get anything of substance done on their ensuing possession, and soon the Rockets were back at it again, this time for a 70-yard scoring drive. Chris Pryor finished things off with a 5-yard run, the PAT was good and Judson had some breathing space at 14-0 with 66 seconds left in the opening period. It is interesting to note that this marked the first time in this 3-year-old series in which either team had opened up more than a 7-point lead. It was literally only a matter of time for some more such milestones to occur as the 2^nd Quarter got underway. Early in the 2^nd Quarter, the Rockets recovered a fumble at the Madison 47-yard line to get things going toward the next score, this coming on a 3-play drive that Pryor polished off with a 33-yard dash. On the PAT, they got a 2-point play off the fake, and with a minute gone in the 2^nd Quarter the advantage was up to 22-0. Once more the Mavs were unable to move, and Judson was once more ready to showcase its Rocket Power. This time, Chris Pryor and Tight End Alton Martin provided key blocks, enabling Chip Lambert to get away for a 44-yard run to paydirt. This time, however, Tomasi’s PAT was no good when Madison blocked the kick, but with 7:15 remaining in the 1^st Half Judson had a devastating 28-0 lead. Put another way, the Rockets had scored 28 points in less than 17 minutes to start the game. Things settled down for the remainder of the Half, and the Rockets took the 28-0 lead into the dressing room.

On its opening possession of the 2^nd Half, Judson drove methodically downfield, facilitating Watters’ 11-yard run for points. The PAT was good and the lead was now 35-0. The Offensive Propulsion System had an even stiffer challenge in this contest, perhaps, because the Maverick offense, for a variety of reasons, was basically non-existent----thus quickly giving the ball back to the Red and Grey----and therein was the challenge. The scores were coming too often and too fast, and of course everyone---the Mavericks included----wanted to make it out of there before midnight. The key, then, would be for the Rockets to somehow continue to run the clock by chewing up yardage in a deliberate fashion. The culmination of this process came midway through the penultimate period, when a drive stalled out and Judson had to settle for a FG. The FG was NG, and the lead remained at 35-0 with 5:24 remaining. The Rockets thereafter were able to bleed the clock some more, but with 9:27 to go in the final period Cap Watters tacked on a 9-yard scoring run, the PAT was good and the count was now at 42-0. The Flight Operations Directorate thereafter called in the Backup Crew the rest of the way, this likewise helped bleed the clock some, and soon the verdict in this textbook-like Saturday Night Massacre went final.

Chris Pryor picked up 126 yards on 18 totes, and Chip Lambert contributed 100 yards in nine (9) carries.

Clemens (3-7; 1-6)
November 4, 1983: Converse
Everything'll work out right….
‘…..And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the victory cry
‘Safety Dance,’ by Men Without Hats

Even after what happened the previous Saturday night, things weren't totally guaranteed. Judson still needed to take care of business against Clemens, which had a potent offensive threat in Junior RB AJ Johnson that was perfectly capable of lighting the scoreboard with points. Also, the Flight Crew needed to stay focussed on the task at hand, given that they would most likely be entering the playoffs as the second seed in District 27-5A, since TR had apparently already charged up the 27-5A Crown Hill to take possession. Or, so it seemed. All the ‘Riders needed to do was beat Madison. And, based on the most recent performances, anyway, how hard could that be? All the more reason to give the Rockets pause because, had this been only two (2) years earlier, when only one team from each district advanced to the playoffs, they could have really bought the farm as a result of the 35-24 debacle.

Judson took the kickoff and drove 67 yards in ten (10) plays. The final play saw Cap Watters hit Alton Martin with a 12-yard aerial for the score, John Tomasi’s PAT was good, and Judson was on top at 7-0 with precisely four (4) minutes elapsed in the opening period. A little later in the 1^st Quarter, Mark Milligan summarily terminated the Buffs’ drive by hauling in an INT at the Judson 15-yard line. The ensuing drive came to a successful conclusion when, on the final play of the 1^st Quarter, Cap Watters gave new meaning to a scorched-earth policy by burning the ground up on a 45-yard dash. Cap was ‘just gettin' warm’ (cf LL Cool J). The PAT was good and Judson led 14-0. In the 2^nd Quarter, Chris Pryor punched in from three (3) yards out, Tomasi put the pretty ribbon on this latest foray into the endzone, and Judson led 21-0 with 195 seconds gone in the 2^nd period. On Judson’s next possession, Chris Pryor provided an integral block, enabling Watters to connect with Chip Lambert for a 68-yard pass play for the next score. The PAT was good and the lead was up to 28-0 midway through the 2^nd Quarter. Bobby Acosta soon thereafter stripped the ball away from the Buffs and returned it six (6) yards to the Clemens 28-yard line. On the first play, Jimmy Kennard hauled in Watters’ pass, the PAT was good and the rout was definitely on at 35-0 with 194 seconds left in the 1^st Half. AJ Johnson thereafter showcased for everyone in attendance just how much potential Clemens had and in the very near future would continue to have by racing in from 20 yards out to put the Buffaloes on the board. The PAT was no good and the score remained at 35-6 with 2:42 left in the Half. Just nineteen (19) seconds later, Watters hit Kennard with a 74-yard aerial that, following the PAT, extended the advantage to 42-6, and soon the Half finally expired. In the 3^rd Quarter, Lambert hauled in a 4-yard toss from Watters with 5:21 remaining, the PAT was good, and the Rockets were finished scoring for the day. The Buffs recovered a Judson fumble at the Clemens 10-yard line. From there they drove the distance, and AJ Johnson took it in from ten (10) yards out. The PAT by Steve Fisher was good, and this allowed Clemens to draw to within 49-13 with 9:53 left in the game. A little later, Clemens drove 79 yards for the final score of the day. QB Bruce Rea tossed a 1-yard aerial to Mark Malone for the score. Fisher’s PAT was good once more, and the final tally was in at 49-20 with 2:47 to go. Chris Pryor basically took it easy in this game, picking up 76 yards on 12 carries. AJ Johnson provided 126 yards on 26 carries for Clemens, and he also did well with four (4) punts in what would be the final meeting between Judson and Clemens for some time to come. Clemens was set to move down to 4A the following season, after experiencing several years of shear misery in spite of several gutsy efforts each season. The performance by Johnson (and also others) pre-figured happy things to come for the Buffs’ in their time in 4A. Judson, meanwhile, was given a "GO" for the playoffs, which they hoped would end with a Class 5A moon landing. And, as the game wound down and as a result of some news that had just come in from Northeast Stadium, the Rocket Band played "We’re Movin’ on Up" from The Jeffersons TV series.

Meanwhile over at Northeast Stadium, in the marquee match-up featured as the Express-News Game of the Week radio coverage (which I got to listen to up in College Station as I continued working on some P-Chem lab write-ups), Madison somehow managed to keep Roosevelt scoreless with time running down in the 3^rd Quarter. Up to that point, I had only been casually following the game, hoping that Madison would maybe surprise the ‘Riders, but still expecting Roosevelt to unleash a barrage of points with its aerial assault. Suddenly, the Mavericks blocked a punt to set up a short Madison scoring drive. Shortly thereafter, they also tackled QB Mike Trigg in the endzone for a Safety. Madison held on for a 9-6 win, and in the process transfigured the entire scenario that lay before everyone. This knocked the 'Riders out of the playoffs completely, as they missed out entirely following the all-or-nothing deal. Three (3) teams thus ended up with two (2) losses and as a result of the positive point system used in 27-5A and Churchill’s 37-14 win over TR, the Chargers were resurrected from the dead just in time to enter the post-season as the No. 2 seed in 27-5A. And Judson therefore entered the post-season as the No. 1 27-5A seed after all. Thus, although many teams had trouble with the Trigg exams in TR's classes that semester, what it boiled down to was the calculus. In this case the differential calculus known as "positive points." All spurred by the integral, presented by Madison, that the 'Riders didn't solve---an integral loss leading to a most peculiar positive point differential equation solved only by Churchill.

Elsewhere, Sam Houston, which had been slipping somewhat in recent seasons but had improved as the season progressed in 1983 under new Head Coach RA Johnson, entered as the second place team to Jefferson. East Central was back in as the champ in Judson’s former district, with McCollum right behind them. Clark, meanwhile, entered its final game of the season with a 9-0 record. Clark’s opponent, Marshall, entered with an 8-1 record after having lost to Holmes earlier (Holmes still had an outside shot at getting into the playoffs, but had lost to Clark 21-7, and likewise had somewhat of a positive-points "issue" to deal with). Clark was ranked in the statewide top ten and commanded a high degree of respect by season’s end. The Rams, nevertheless---perhaps having developed somewhat of an immunity to Cougars, being located as they are in "The Valley of the Lions," (better known in Bexar County vernacular as "Leon Valley")---had no fear whatever of the cats from Dezavala Road, and pinned a 23-6 verdict on them, thus winning the district and giving the Cougars another appointment with Judson, this time in Converse for what would be the first playoff game to be played by the Rockets at their own stadium. The Huskies, on the other hand, were forced to "go lay down" for an earlier than normal winter hibernation, in spite of having beaten Marshall 17-14 earlier.

Final
Judson 25 Midland Lee 21

Clark (9-1; 5-1)
November 11, 1983: Converse
In view of Clark’s previous experience, it was Judson’s turn to face a good team coming off a somewhat untimely loss. Indeed, the cats were mad, and they had thus stowed away aboard the Rocket ship, in hopes of aborting Judson’s postseason trip to the moon with some good old-fashioned ‘cat scratch fever.’

Judson lifted off on a 9-play, 79-yard march to start the game. On 4^th-and-1 from the Cougar 30, Chris Pryor went up the middle for the score, John Tomasi’s kick was good, and Judson was up 7-0 at the 5:49 mark of the 1^st Quarter. The Rockets seemed to have the upper hand in all phases of the game for a larger part of the opening period and the early part of the 2^nd Quarter, but a bad snap on a punt changed the tone very quickly. Cap Watters rescued the ball and attempted to do his best rendition of the Beaumont West Brook play from the year before, but the pass went INC and, in addition, got flagged for an Ineligible Receiver. All told, this gave the cats possession on the Judson 26-yard line. From there, FB Grant Morris carried eight (8) consecutive times, and on the eighth and final time, on 3^rd-and-Goal from the 1 he got in. A low snap on the PAT required Brett Gorman to put it in the air instead, but David Miles stole it and the 7-6 count remained. On the concomitant kickoff confusion reigned when the Judson return man fumbled the ball at the Judson 40-yard line. Chip Lambert emerged from the stack with the ball, but for some reason the zebras initially signaled a Clark possession. "Possession" went back and forth for a few more moments, but finally Judson was awarded the ball for good in this particular episode. A little later the Rockets had a 4^th-and-Goal at the Clark 3-yard line, but an Offside call caused the Flight Operations Directorate to choose an FG attempt instead. Tomasi’s kick from 25 yards out was good, the Judson advantage was now 10-6 with 6:06 left in the 1^st Half, and the score held up at the intermission.

The Cougars exited the locker room acting as if they were auditioning for a classic Lincoln Mercury commercial, engineering a 65-yard drive in six (6) plays. Key plays included a 19-yard hookup from QB Jesse Garcia to Alan Drum, and a 25-yard ground pickup by Grant Morris. Garcia put the cats on top at the 7:26 mark of the 3^rd Quarter with a 9-yard toss to Morris, and the lead was extended to 13-10 when John Tippit drilled the PAT. This event got the Rockets’ attention real fast, but the response took a little time to fully develop. On Clark’s next possession, the Rockets’ Defensive Propulsion System sacked Jesse Garcia three (3) consecutive times for a total of 25 yards, forcing Clark Punter John Wiles to kick from the Cougar 1-yard line on 4^th-and-40. This gave Judson good field position at the Clark 39-yard line. On the first play the Cougars were flagged for Pass Interference on an attempted reception by Alton Martin, giving Judson a 1^st Down at the Clark 7. Chris Pryor worked it in from there on two (2) straight plays, Tomasi was perfect with the PAT, and the Rockets were back on top at 17-13 with time running down in the 3^rd Quarter. The Defensive Propulsion System came into play on Clark’s next possession as well, this time with two (2) QB sacks. A DOG (aka Delay of Game) also set the cats back, and all told this brought up 4th-and-46. Alton Martin took the punt at the Clark 39 and returned it down to the 24. From there, Pryor caught a 1-yard pass from Watters, carried twice for a total of six (6) yards, and finished the short drive off with a 17-yard burst for the score. The PAT was good and with 10:38 left in the game Judson was now in command---or so it seemed. The cats were ornery indeed, and they showed it with a 59-yard drive that took 16 plays. They kept the drive alive on 4^th-and-18 from the Judson 25 when Andy Hunter came down with Garcia’s pass up the middle to get a 1^st-and-Goal at the 1. Grant Morris got his 3^rd TD of the day soon thereafter to draw the Cougars to within 24-19 with 186 seconds remaining. Chris Smith hit Hunter with a pass off the fake on the PAT, and the cats were well within reach at 24-21 and with just enough time left to make this extremely interesting. Unfortunately, there are many things in life that can be extremely interesting. A nuclear explosion, for example, can be extremely interesting but I don’t really want to be anywhere near one, or to participate in the aftermath should I live long enough. At this point the Rockets were wanting to live long enough to play another day and continue this Great Crusade to Make History and land on the moon. Judson was able to run the clock down on its ensuing possession, finally punting with less than a minute to go. After Watters punted for 40 yards to back the cats up to their own 3-yard line, Ken McBynum batted down one of Garcia’s passes in the endzone, and finally, with twelve (12) seconds to go, Mike Calabro put a stop to the cats for good by getting the INT. The Rockets bagged the cats, stowing them below the Mid-Deck for the duration of this Mission to Make History.

The following evening, Churchill played Marshall to a 14-14 tie and advanced via the appropriate statistical advantage. Elsewhere in the 1^st Round, Jefferson advanced with a 35-20 win over McCollum, and Sam Houston surprised people (somewhat) by beating East Central.

Next up for Judson was a visit to Fort Bend County and a meeting with the Dulles Vikings. Going in, the Vikings looked somewhat invincible having tied the preseason No. 1 state-ranked Houston Memorial in Week 3 . Given these factors, there was no particular certainty that the Rockets would be seen or heard from again after their trip over there. Furthermore, anyone not going to the game at Mercer Field was going to be out of luck as far as knowing what was going on in real time, because the Fort Bend ISD athletic department did not accept the proposal of Gary Delaune and his Express-News Game of the Week crew to provide live coverage of the game for everyone back in San Antonio.

A 42-yard FG by the Vikings’ Kevin Johnson was way short with time expiring in the opening period. Dulles would nevertheless drive 50 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead at the 7:08 mark of the 2^nd Quarter. QB Kevin Dorn kept for two (2) yards to erase the double goose-egg, and Kevin Johnson was good with the PAT. The stadium press box reported this initial score of Dulles’ 7-0 lead, and the various radio stations back in San Antonio soon disseminated this info, along with running progress reports of the other games. But, as the evening wore on, and as the other games wound down and final scores were being issued, the only thing still coming from Fort Bend County was Dulles 7 Judson 0, with this score at one point being reported as the score at the Half. Finally, nearly an hour after all games statewide should have concluded, the various San Antonio radio stations were able to get some more information indicating that Judson had won 20-7. Being in College Station and thus having access to Houston area TV stations, I was nevertheless working on a project during game time that didn’t give me access to TV to see if the 10 o’clock news had anything. On the other hand, I’m not even sure they would have reported it, given the large number of other games going on, and what with Judson and Dulles being regarded somewhat as "out-of-town" teams in comparison with those closer in to Houston. Furthermore, the Houston radio stations didn’t (and I suppose still don’t) emphasize High School football score reporting the way radio stations do in San Antonio. So, with no more than the final score to go by for the moment, I had to wait until morning to get some idea as to what actually happened down there.

Fortunately, the Houston Chronicle did have an article on the game, and pretty much described how Judson totally took control of the game after the Half. Actually, the process began just before Halftime. Up to that point, Dulles had somewhat of an advantage overall, as Judson had gained only about 50 yards total offense. Feeling perhaps too confident about this, on 4^th-and-3 the Vikings attempted a fake punt but got stuffed at their own 41 yard line with less than three (3) minutes left in the Half when David Trees and Mike Calabro dropped Matt Williams for a 2-yard loss to give Judson possession at the 39. This facilitated a relatively short 5-play, 18-yard drive that allowed Judson to move in close enough for a 35-yard John Tomasi FG with 83 seconds left before intermission. This apparently gave the spark the Rockets needed for ignition, because when they came out of the locker room for the 2^nd Half, they were "Go For Main Engine Start." Judson started taking control of the line of scrimmage and, after picking up 5-8 yards at a time to approach midfield, Chris Pryor took off for a 56-yard sprint to give Judson the lead at the end of a 6-play, 79-yard drive. The Vikes then went 3-and-out, and Judson then made a sustained, killing drive from its own 17 down to the Dulles 10-yard line. The drive stalled out and the Vikes took possession, but on the next play David Malesky recovered Kevin Dorn’s fumble and the Rockets continued their drive from where they left off just moments earlier. Pryor carried for nine (9) yards, and he crashed through from the 1 for the score to complete the 2-play "drive." Once more Tomasi nailed the PAT, and Judson now had some breathing room at 17-7. On Dulles’ next possession, a jarring hit by Malesky knocked the ball loose, Mark Milligan snatched the ball in the air to put Judson in business at the Viking 14-yard line, and Judson was clearly in control at this point. Soon Judson was knocking at the door with a 1^st-and-Goal at the 2, but the apparent TD pass from Cap to Alton [Martin] was wiped out by "Opie" (ie, Offensive Pass Interference), and this set Judson back to the 17. Ultimately this forced the Rockets to choose a 34-yard FG instead, on the first play of the final period Tomasi answered the bell and had another 3-pointer to show for the evening’s effort, and it was now abundantly clear that the flames from the Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System had kindled an old-fashioned Viking funeral. Dulles burned the Rockets with only fifteen (15) yards and one (1) First Down in the Second Half, thanks to the Rockets’ Defensive Thermal Protection System. In the 3^rd Quarter alone, Chris Pryor got 124 of his 211 total yards, and in the 2^nd Half alone Judson picked up 200 yards. The Rockets’ overall performance in all phases of the game in the 2^nd Half was a major confidence booster w/r their overall chances, given that Dulles, at that point, was perhaps the best team (next only to Clark, perhaps), that they had met so far that season and was arguably one of the stronger teams in Region IV.

The following evening, Churchill got past Brazoswood, 21-17, at UT Austin and next had an appointment in McAllen with Edinburg, who was coming off a narrow win win over Sam Houston. The chances of still another epic meeting with Churchill loomed bigger by the moment.

Alice 9-1-1; 6-0-1)
November 25, 1983: Memorial Stadium, UT Austin
Waiting next for Judson were the Alice Coyotes, fresh off a 35-0 destruction of Jefferson. Judson, in its second visit to UT, got going effectively and efficiently on its first offensive series, starting from the Rocket 13-yard line. A key play in the drive came on a 45-yard pickup to the Alice 42. Cap Watters picked up 14 yards and fumbled, but an alert Chip Lambert picked up the bouncing ball and took off for an additional 31 yards. Soon, Judson was knocking at the door at the 1-yard line. Unfortunately for Cap Watters, though, he got knocked in the ribs. He stayed in to direct the remainder of the drive, but after Chris Pryor got stopped for no gain---and hence no score---on 4^th Down, he exited the game and did not return. In fact he would not return down I-35 until the next day after spending the night at Brackenridge Hospital, where it was found that he indeed had a broken rib. Meanwhile, Allen Dear, who proved fully capable of spearheading the Rocket attack, but had nevertheless been used sparingly thus far in 1983, returned for an indefinite tour of duty in this Great Crusade. Judson was unable to light up the scoreboard in the opening period, but the Defensive Thermal Protection System was well up to the task and kept the Rockets from being burned or bitten by the Coyotes. With Cap Watters dry-docked for the moment, Ricky May also had to do the punting, and he, like Dear, required a few reps to really get going. Nevertheless, although his first punt was nearly blocked, he along with Dear was getting into the flow real nicely and he managed to get the kick away for 39 yards. After the Coyotes followed that up also with a 39-yarder, the Rockets decided it was time to get going ‘right down that field like a jet-mobile’ (to borrow from Mr. Paschall). Dear hit Bruce Anderson for a 14-yard pickup, and thereafter Chris Pryor caught a screen pass and advanced it for a 26-yard gainer down to the Coyote 24. From there Pryor got away for the remaining yardage and the score. The PAT was good and Judson was on top at 7-0 with 4:45 left in the 1^st Half. The Rockets got good field position from midfield on their next possession, and a 5-play drive that featured a 26-yard pickup by Pryor helped facilitate a 35-yard FG. Tomasi split the uprights and Judson now had a 10-0 advantage with 87 seconds left. AJ Jones soon thereafter stole a Coyote aerial, but on the final play of the Half Tomasi’s 43-yard FG was no good and the 10-0 score remained.

In the 3^rd Quarter a short Coyote punt put Judson in business at the Alice 31. Pryor carried on all five (5) plays on the short drive, punching in from the 1. Tomasi split the uprights for 1, and the lead was now 17-0. Later in the period, Servando Perez stole an Allen Dear aerial at the Judson 38 and returned it eight (8) yards to put the dogs in the hunt for the first time of the day. In fairly short order QB Mark Everett fired a pass to Rey Guerra down the right sideline for a 29-yard score. The PAT was DOA on a bad snap, but the Judson lead had been reduced to 17-6 with 176 seconds left in the 3^rd Quarter. The Flight Crew quickly regained its poise, however, driving to the Alice 17 before running out of Downs. A little later, though, they engineered a nifty 37-yard drive that featured a 10-yard pickup by Chip Lambert, a pickup by Dear accompanied by a fumble that rolled down to the 1 and was recovered, and finally a 2-yard dive by Pryor, who would finish with 221 yards on 31 carries. Kenny Smith hooked up with Pryor for a 2-point play, and with 2:03 left to play the final tally was in. As can be seen below, Allen Dear did remarkably well in coming out of cold storage, completing four (4) passes for a total of 98 yards. Meanwhile, at that same time, Churchill was down in the valley on this Friday evening, taking care of Edinburg and thus setting up an improbable 2^nd rematch with Rockets. This time, Churchill had the option of locations and time, and thus decided to stick to habit and play at Northeast Stadium on the following Friday night.

The area had been between cold fronts for the last half of the week, and as game time neared the air was cool but damp with a very occasional albeit slight mist, making the field slightly damp. Churchill won the toss and elected to defer until the 2^nd Half, hoping to attack defensively and set the tone on the damp field. It was Judson and a few good bounces of the ball that would set the tone, however. Judson returned the kickoff up to the 35, where it was fumbled forward and recovered by an alert Rocket to put them in business at the Judson 45. From there Chris Pryor carried all six (6) times to effectively and efficiently put Judson in the endzone in seven (7) plays. A key pickup was a 20-yard run by Pryor in which he---true to form----slithered away from numerous tackles in reaching the 5-yard line, from where he scored on the next play. John Tomasi’s kick was good and Judson was up 7-0 with only 177 seconds elapsed. It may have been the Chargers’ plan to attack defensively and set the tone, but the Rockets obviously had the same plan and, in contrast with Churchill, were able to follow through with it. The Chargers were made to look truly bad on their opening series, and they looked to be off rhythm as a result of the damp field---and the Rockets’ Defensive Propulsion System. And, that defense was just about to become the offense. The 4^th-Down snap was slightly high, and the extra split second it took for punter John Walker to position it for kicking was just enough time to allow Mark Milligan to break through and block it out of the endzone for a Safety. Chris Pryor took the Free Kick at the 22-yard line and returned it up to the Judson 49. Chip Lambert caught a Deer pass at the 36, and managed to hang on after being cart-wheeled at the end of the play. The Rockets got a key 12-yard gain to the Churchill 15, Lambert carried to the 6-yard line, Pryor knocked off half of the remaining yardage on the following play, and he scored from there on the next play to complete the 8-play drive. The PAT was good and Judson now led 16-0 at the 4:22 mark----still in the 1^st Quarter.

Eric Ragle took the ensuing kickoff for Churchill, returning it up to the 37. On 3^rd-and-short Ragle picked up what would be the first of what would only be two (2) Churchill First Downs in the 1^st Half. Shortly thereafter, though, QB Mark Comalander was taken down behind the line of scrimmage, and soon it was time to punt. Alton Martin took the punt at the 12 and was immediately sequestered by David Baker for no return. That pretty much set the tone for this particular Judson possession, and the Rockets soon punted to open the 2^nd Quarter. The punt carried only to the Judson 41, and this gave the Chargers some hope. Comalander hit Brandon Howe for one of his few completions of the day to move the chains for the 2^nd and final time in the 1^st Half. The 1^st Down pass was INC, a 3^rd Down pass also went INC, and a 4^th-Down pass attempt was knocked loose and recovered by the Rockets at the Judson 37. The Offensive Propulsion System seemed to have lost some of its initial sharpness, and numerous penalties pushed Judson back to the 15, but Chris Pryor got a good gainer up to the 45 and picked up a chain-mover at midfield. Alton Martin hauled in an Allen Dear aerial at the 26, and soon thereafter Judson was knocking on the door at the 5-yard line. The drive stalled, so the Rockets chose to attempt a FG, but a Delay of Game penalty pushed them back to the 10. Nevertheless, without the aid of any wind, the barefooted John Tomasi nailed a 43-yard FG and Judson now had a 19-0 lead with 6:21 to go in the Half. The likewise barefooted Mark Christian sent the concomitant kickoff downfield, and then raced down and made the tackle on the Charger return man. On that ensuing Churchill possession, a reverse on 3^rd-and-3 got botched when the ball was mishandled. It bounced back up into the ballcarrier’s hand, but Melvin Echard and David Trees were ready and waiting to stuff him for no gain and it was time to punt. AJ Jones took the kick, managing to regain his balance without going down just in time to take off down the Churchill sideline for a 76-yard return. A pass for two (2) points was unsuccessful, but Judson now had a shocking 25-0 lead with 4:12 to go. That gave Judson just enough time to stop the Chargers on another 3-and-out and head downfield once more. The ensuing drive would be the longest in the game, starting from the Judson 27. A key event was when Pryor fumbled after getting a good pickup, but an alert Brian Crook recovered to keep the drive going. Pryor also caught a 15-yard pass during the 11-play drive, and with six (6) seconds left Allen Dear hooked up with Chip Lambert, who was ready and waiting in the endzone to haul it in and stay inbounds on his toes. Tomasi was good this time on the PAT and Judson carried a startling 32-0 tally into the intermission, during which KSAT presented a very good feature on Mr. Paschall and the HEY! HEY! cheer.

Churchill took the kickoff but went 3-and-out to start the 2^nd Half. Judson took the punt at its 32, and from there continued its "take no prisoners" strategy in this match-up. A key pickup in the drive was a pass reception by Jimmy Kennard that moved the Rockets from the Churchill 37 down to the 9. An Illegal Motion penalty pushed the Rockets back to the 14. Undeterred, Alton Martin caught Dear’s pass at the 3 and went in from there for the score. The PAT was good, and Judson now led 39-0. Churchill managed to pick up some First Downs, advancing to the 42, but soon it was time to punt once more and Judson took over at its own 20. Judson went 3-and-out and subsequently Brandon Howe made a good catch at the Judson 43 to pick up Churchill’s 5^th First Down of the day. The Chargers got another First Down, but a Dead Ball foul earned Churchill a 1^st-and-25. Melvin Echard dropped Comalander back to the 48 to end the 3^rd Quarter, and the drive soon wilted under the Rockets’ merciless defensive attack. Churchill made it back to the Judson 41, but it was nevertheless time to punt. Judson took the punt at the 15, and ran a decent amount of time off the clock without getting a whole lot done. Ricky May bobbled the snap on the punt, but he still got it away and the kick rolled down to the Churchill 28. Mike Robbins made a good catch up at the 43, where Clarence Johnson brought him down. A long-range pass went INC and was almost INT by Clarence Johnson on 4^th Down, and Judson took over at midfield. The Chargers recovered a fumble on the impending drive, but Churchill fumbled it right back when Comalander was hit and Clarence Johnson recovered. A Personal Foul penalty moved the Rockets to the Churchill 15. Chris Pryor continued to carry the ball at this point, but he came out after picking up a final 1^st Down at the 5-yard line on 4^th-and-inches, and the Backup Crew got in gear from there. An Offside penalty moved Judson back to the 10, a pass hit Charles Bruce right in the numbers but he could not hold on, a 4^th-Down pass also went INC and the ball went over on Downs for the final time. After a few futile efforts by Churchill the clock finally said "four zeroes" and Judson had a devastating 39-0 decision, thus forcing the Chargers to accept the harsh terms of an unconditional surrender.

Buck Harvey said in his column the next morning that the Judson Rockets hadn’t just beaten Churchill. They had truly moved past them, in pursuit of something greater. Buck Harvey also said, point blank, what everyone was trying to maintain an even strain on: "Judson can be the state champions." But first, Judson had to navigate through the outer layer of the playoff "twilight zone," which, for far too many San Antonio area and Region IV teams had become more like the Bermuda Triangle for the past several decades. This time, the "twilight zone" would feature Houston Yates, undefeated and fresh off a 13-10 victory over Aldine in the Astrodome. Yates had a very talented collection of primarily Sophomores and Juniors, and gave every indication that "next year’s team" was actually turning out to be "this year’s team" instead. Going in Judson’s favor, at least, was the time and location for the game: 3 PM December 10, 1983 at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio, newly fitted with artificial turf (compliments of Clinton Manges and the USFL Gunslingers).

And so, the Judson Rockets were finally back where they left off the year before. This time, they were determined to finish the job, and get the final go-ahead to make a class 5A trip to the "moon" and, more importantly this time, attempt to land on it. Late in the afternoon two (2) days before, the Space Shuttle Columbia, carrying the European Space Agency’s Spacelab on its first flight as part of STS-9, landed at Edwards AFB after a nine-hour wave-off due to a last-minute computer glitch that saw two (2) General Purpose Computers (GPC’s) go down. The longest Shuttle flight to date also nearly ended in disaster when an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) gave out just before landing. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time and for several hours thereafter the orbiter, it was found, had actually landed on fire as a result of some burning Hydrazine fuel powering the APU’s, and had the flight lasted just an extra minute or so the APU’s---necessary in powering the aerosurfaces----would have failed completely and the result would not have been pretty. The Judson Rockets, on the other hand, were also on fire, but the results for them were looking pretty as of late, and they seemed to be peaking at just the right time. While we’re on the subject of fires, it is worth noting that, in the lead-up to the whipping that they burned the Chargers with the week before, the Rocket Nation actually had an evening pep rally bonfire on the grounds near the new Boysville campus just off 1604.

By game time, 22840 had packed into Alamo Stadium, which was slightly more than the attendance at the epic showdown with Churchill only 53 weeks earlier. Several factors may have figured into this:

• "Bad Luck" and other circumstances being what they were, it was the first Semi-Final (or higher) game played in San Antonio since the 1940's, so a curiosity factor was maybe somewhat involved
• People felt that this was the first really good chance to put a San Antonio area team into the Finals since the 1976 Churchill team (also considering that Region IV was regarded as historically "weak" w/r at least football, and such an occurrence was regarded as something that happened only once in a second or third "blue moon"--ie, a very special occasion indeed).
• Judson, just as Holmes and Wheatley had done in 1979 and 1980, had managed to capture the imagination of many people, who were glad to see the Northeast ISD hegemony/stranglehold broken for the first time in more than a decade.
• Others from many of the smaller communities in the surrounding San Antonio/South Texas area probably remembered playing Judson back when they were still 1-A and 2-A, etc, and may have thought it was kind of weird to see what had happened in only 12 years or so.

Judson, which was outsized by about 30 Lbm on both the offensive and defensive lines, took the kickoff to start the game and drove from the Judson 24-yard line down to the Yates 14. Allen Dear overthrew to Alton Martin in the endzone, so John Tomasi was called on to attempt the FG. Yates’ CB Don Roberts got a hand on it and sent the attempted 31-yard kick off course and the double goose egg remained. The opening period also ended in a double goose egg, but this was a major improvement from the year before. The Lions nevertheless started to move, and in the 2nd Quarter Sophomore Johnny Bailey got away for a 34-yard dash and the score. The extra point kick was no good when it hit the right crossbar, but Yates had the initial lead with 123 seconds gone in the 2^nd Quarter. This is where the Rockets were able to do what they were unsuccessful at in the Astrodome: Respond in kind with a score and actually take the lead. They struck quickly, driving 65 yards in only four (4) plays. A key play was the 2^nd one in the drive, when Allen Dear hit Chip Lambert for a 35-yart pickup down to the Yates 21. Lambert stayed on the ground on the next play and picked up ten (10) yards, and Chris Pryor carried in on the next play. Tomasi was good on the PAT, and Judson had a 7-6 lead with 8:23 left in the 1^st Half. A little later Yates got the ball at its 22 with 4:50 to go. The first play picked up 30 yards on a Pass Interference call against Judson. A little later in the drive a certain amount of controversy ensued as a result of an inadvertent flag by the zebra’s. The Rockets froze momentarily, believing the play had been blown dead, but the play was still on, and Lion QB Darrell Foster hooked up with Darryl Price to get the pickup. Shortly thereafter Foster connected once more with Price, this time for 13 yards and the score to re-take the lead. The PAT was good this time, and Yates led 13-7 with 3:11 left. Just before time expired in the 1^st Half, Chris Pryor broke Craig James’ rushing record set in 1978 by Stratford, for whatever that was worth at that point. Everyone, Pryor included, couldn’t have cared less about that at the moment. The bigger issue was whether Judson could pull away from Yates and leave for the moon. Somewhat ominously, Dear was sacked twice in succession as time ran down.

Although it was Yates’ option in the 2^nd Half, the Lions chose to let Judson receive once more in the hope that the prospective drive would fail to yield points the way Judson’s first drive did. Instead, the Rockets came out of the dressing room and executed an effective and efficient 61-yard drive in nine (9) plays. The drive featured an 18-yard aerial connection from Dear to Lambert, and two (2) consecutive 12-yard bursts by Pryor to get to the Yates 4-yard line. Pryor took it in from there, Tomasi nailed the PAT, and Judson was back in front at 14-13. On the kickoff, Judson unsuccessfully attempted an on-side kick that instead put the Lions in business at mid-field. The Lions immediately capitalized on the field position, and on the 1^st play Sloan Hood got away for a 52-yard dash to reclaim the lead for the Lions. That entire episode had a very ominous look to it. As a sign that things were not entirely lost, Ricky May put the kibosh on the attempted 2-point play, and the score remained 19-14. The Rockets maintained their composure and, although they were unable to immediately answer back on the ensuing possession, they seemed to be winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. With time running down in the 3^rd Quarter, Clarence Johnson partially blocked a Yates punt that only went 14 yards and put Judson in business at the Lion 44-yard line. On the 2^nd play of the drive Chris Pryor picked up 27 yards to the 16, on the next play he carried to the 4, and on the fourth play he broke two (2) tackles and got in to recapture the lead for the Rockets. Chip Lambert caught Dear’s pass for two (2) points, and Judson now had a 22-19 advantage with 1:46 left in the 3^rd period. It was at this point that the Lions, used somewhat to playing in air-conditioned surroundings in the Astrodome at this time of the year when it still may be warm outside (the temps were hovering in the mid-to-upper seventies with slightly higher humidity, and under sunny skies), appeared to be wearing down somewhat against the smaller, quicker Rockets. On the next series, Yates failed to convert for any substantial gains, and the Rockets then took some time off the clock in the final period by moving 75 yards in ten (10) plays. On a 3^rd-and-8 play Lambert hauled in a 17-yard aerial at the Judson 44-yard line during the drive, and Pryor finished things off by carrying up the middle, eluding the final two (2) defenders at the 7. The PAT was good and Judson had extended the advantage to 29-19 with 7:13 left to play. Yates was limited to only 61 yards on the ground a minus-2 through the air in the 2^nd Half (most of that, of course, coming on the TD sprint), and failed to make a First Down in the final Quarter. As an additional indicator of fatigue-related mistakes under the pressure of a swarming Judson defensive attack, the final period saw the Lions lose a total of 33 yards as a result of two (2) fumbles that they nevertheless managed to recover. Interestingly, though, everyone dressed in red was too intent on finishing the job to notice that Yates was indeed finished, such that the 10-point differential was much closer than the game actually was, in view of the level to which Judson had taken things by game’s end.

The 1983 Judson Rockets thus got the go-ahead for their moonshot.

Judson's opponent in the Finals would be the Midland Lee Rebels, coached by former Darrel Royal assistant and one-time Alice Coyotes coach Spike Dykes. The Rebels knocked off the Plano Wildcats by scoring 21 points in the 4^th Quarter to take a 35-14 decision in Odessa. Just like Judson, they had to get past a district opponent--in this case the Permian Panthers--twice to reach their Final exam. And, just like Judson, they had improved on their already lethal offensive scheme (the dreaded Wishbone attack, in this case), as well as their defensive play since entering the playoffs. In any event, I had my own "finals" to still worry about before the Final affair the next week, so I returned to College Station to take care of business. On the other hand, somewhat mentally exhausted from the events of the afternoon, Mr. Boenig and I decided to wait until the morning to head back. As it turned out, I was able to close out my most successful Semester later that week, as the penultimate semester of my stay at TAMU concluded, and I could then make plans to get to Dallas.

Midland Lee (8-2; 5-2)
December 17, 1983: Texas Stadium, Irving
Okay, gang, we've had a good training period, and today we're really going to do it, we're going to land on the moon…....this is the Final Exam
Flight Director Gene Kranz said this to his Flight Controllers while they were waiting to reacquire Apollo 11 from the back side of the moon on the orbit that the landing was to take place that culminated eight (8) years of preparation after JFK asked Congress to fund a moon program. After slightly less than seven (7) years of steady preparation beginning with Jerry Sanders and then followed up by Frank Arnold and his Coaching Staff, the Judson Rockets were about to attempt their "moon landing" in the 5A Final Exam

As the week wound down, some very cold weather blew in, arriving late on the Thursday before the game. This was ironic, because, only about three (3) weeks earlier, we had experienced some record high temperatures. The weather had actually deteriorated enough so that there was a threat of sleet for game time on Saturday, and in fact it did snow in Dallas just before the Rockets were set to arrive. Although several other teams elsewhere in Texas had by now probably done this, the Rockets became the first team from the San Antonio area to fly to the game. Following the send-off pep rally at Judson early the Friday morning before game day, two (2) Converse police cars and three (3) fire trucks escorted the bus motorcade to the airport. And the flight to the moon began.

The Rockets arrived in Dallas, settling into their parking orbit around the moon by proceeding to an afternoon workout at Texas Stadium, where they were first able to amuse themselves with some of the residual snow that was still on the turf from the meteorological action of a few hours earlier. The UIL had just voted that same time the year before to allow, for the first time, live statewide TV coverage, beginning with the 1983 Class 5A Finals. Therefore, in order to accommodate the TV coverage start time, the Rockets' powered descent to the moon (aka the "kickoff") was set to begin at 2:38 PM on December 17, 1983---the 80th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first flight at Kitty Hawk. Color commentators for the TV coverage were Darrel Royal and Roger Staubach. The anchor was Vern Lundquist of Cowboys’ and CBS broadcast fame who was, according to his comments during the coverage, a classmate with Frank Arnold at Texas Lutheran back in the early 1960's. Game day dawned with a bitter cold bite to it, a leaden sky and the potential for sleet or snow. All that, along with the chance to instead see the proceedings on live television, may have deterred some from making the trip; hence, a modest crowd of 12126 witnesses---basically a coalition of the truly committed from both Midland and northeast Bexar County along with an assortment of others that also included former Judson coach Jerry Sanders----converged in Irving to see the making of history. And with that, the Rockets had a "go" for PDI (Powered Descent Initiation).

It was time to land on the moon.

Chris Pryor took the opening kickoff for Judson at the 11 and returned it out to the 26, where he was tackled by the Rebels’ Earl Davis. On the 1^st play from scrimmage, Sergio Ochoa took Pryor down for a loss back to the 24, but Pryor made up for this by carrying up to the 35. Chip Lambert picked up the initial First Down of the day on the following play by carrying up to the 40. From there, Pryor carried to the 44, and on the next play took a long-range, delayed option pitch-back----a patented maneuver in the past two (2) seasons in this Great Crusade---from Allen Dear to get up to the 48. On the subsequent play, Chip Lambert took the pitch-back, bobbled it but picked it up on the bounce, advancing to the Lee 49 and another First Down. A sprint draw handoff to Pryor only got a yard, and Lambert thereafter took a screen pass, advancing five (5) yards before running into a crowded maul. A Clipping call also wiped out that advance, moving Judson back to its own 38. On the next play Pryor got most of the loss back, advancing to the 48, from there Pryor took a pass and advanced down to the Lee 42 to bring up 4^th Down, and Frank Arnold and the rest of the Flight Operations Directorate elected to punt. A Delay of Game penalty moved Judson back to the 47. Cap Watters---back for limited action for the first time since the 3^rd-Round crackup with Alice----took the snap and punted to the Rebels. Thurman Thomas took the punt at the 5 and returned it along the sideline to the Lee 16. Isaac Garnett carried to the 20, and thereafter to the 25, but he fumbled near the end of the play and Mark Milligan recovered for Judson at the 30, and Judson was able essentially to resume it previous drive. An Illegal Procedure call on the 1^st play pushed Judson back five (5) yards, and on 1^st-and-15 Allen Dear was tackled for no gain by Michael Johnson. This sequence of events was rectified, fortunately, when Chip Lambert hauled in Allen Dear’s pass at the 21, where Sergio Ochoa made the stop. From there Lambert took a pitchout and advanced to the 12, and thereafter carried to the 9. Pryor took it to the 5-yard line, and on the next play he brought home the bacon, breaking Ricky Jackson’s tackle at the 2. John Tomasi hit successfully on the PAT, and with 2:34 left in the opening period Judson was up 7-0.

In spite of the frozen turf, Mark Christian made a bare-foot squib kick, and Tyrone Thurman took it at the 20 and returned it to up to the 39. After an Offside penalty against Judson, Isaac Garnett carried to midfield, where he was tackled by Melvin Echard. On the next play, the Judson contingent of the frozen witnesses at Texas Stadium were shown what the other half of those on-hand already knew-----namely, that time of possession meant nothing for those running the sweep. Walter Jones tore around right side for a 51-yard score. Once I saw that, I was kind of reminded of the John Wayne movie "McQ," where the non-certified but very effective killing machine that he borrowed could pump upwards of 100 holes per second (or something like that) into a victim. Maybe a somewhat warped analogy, but what can I say?? I guess my brain was frozen from the icy overcast and chill wind diffusing through the hole in the Stadium roof. In any event, Rocket fans and team members were pretty much thinking "Oh, #$*#." Craig Kamradt nailed the PAT, and the score was knotted at 7-each with 1:59 left in the 1^st Quarter.

The concomitant kickoff went into the endzone for a touchback, and the Rockets were ready to get back to work from their own 20-yard line. Pryor got only a yard and was stopped by Michael Johnson, and on 2^nd Down he advanced to up to the 25. Chip Lambert took Dear’s pass at the 30, advancing from there to the 38. Lambert thereafter got stuffed by Carlos Ortega, and the drive was set back even more by an Offside penalty that pushed Judson back to the 33. Pryor nevertheless took a pitch-back option back up to the 37, where he was stopped by Billy Cornelius. Lambert then got three (3) yards, followed next by Dear’s hookup with Alton Martin at the Lee 40 where he got cart-wheeled on the reception, and with that the 1^st Quarter came to an end. Allen Dear was stopped for no gain on the first play of the 2^nd Quarter, and a deep pass to Clarence Westendorff went INC. It was Dear’s first air-ball of the day after he started with a perfect 5-for-5. On 3^rd-and-9 Lambert carried to the 33 off the sprint draw, and a 5-yard incidental Face Mask call advanced Judson down to the 28. A pitch-out to Lambert went to the 16, from there Pryor carried to the 11 and thereafter to the 5 to bring up 1^st-and-Goal. Pryor carried to the 1, where Michael Johnson saved the TD---for now. Pryor leaped over to get in on the next play to complete the 14-play drive. Somewhat ominously, though, Tomasi’s PAT was blocked, but Judson was back on top at 13-7 at the 9:30 mark of the 2^nd Quarter. At that point, Judson had run 30 of the 34 plays in the game. That was just about to change, though.

Tyrone Thurman took the squib kick at the 20 and returned up to the 37. Isaac Garnett got a modest pickup to the 40, where QB Jeff Motley went down but walked off unassisted. Dennis Matta entered in his stead, and the drive continued. Soon thereafter Walter Jones got away to the 12-yard line, breaking and sliding off numerous tackles before Melvin Echard forged a stay of execution---for the moment at least. Jones got a yard, but an Illegal Procedure call on the next play set the Rebels back. Thurman made up for this by carrying to the 11, where David Miles made the stop. Jones took it to the 7, where David Malesky and David Miles stopped things. Garnett got to the 6 where Mark Milligan met him, and this brought up 4^th-and-5. Walter Jones picked up a 1^st Down by the length of a football, and on 1^st-and-Goal Garnett carried to the 1-yard line, where he was brought down by David Miles and Clarence Johnson. On the next play Garnett punched in to culminate the 8-play drive, the PAT was good, and with 5:46 left in the 1^st Half the Rebels were on top for the first time of the day.

Pryor took the kickoff at the 11 and returned it up to the 45 before being brought down. On 1^st Down, a Halfback pass by Steward Perez was caught by Alton Martin at the Lee 40. Pryor was stopped for no gain off the sprint draw on the next play, but Chip Lambert carried to the 36 to bring up 3^rd Down. A pass to Martin was knocked away by Sergio Ochoa at the 30, and this brought up 4^th Down. A Delay of Game penalty moved Judson back five (5) yards, and this better facilitated a punt that could hopefully roll dead somewhere inside the 20. The strategy was a sound one, but it failed for other reasons, namely a penalty. Tyrone Thurman took the punt at the 11, but a Neutral Zone violation on Judson allowed Lee to move out to the 26. With Matta still in at QB, Garnett took the handoff and moved up to the 30. On the next play Thurman picked up 15 yards with the help of a good block by Walter Jones and by hurdling over Mike Calabro at the 40. Soon thereafter Thurman took a reverse and reached the 41 to pick up a First Down by a hair, Garnett carried to the 40, and Tyrone Thurman’s reverse to Billy Gibbs went all the way for the score. Gibbs broke the plane with the ball just inside the pylon, Kamradt’s PAT was good and Lee had now opened up a 21-13 lead with 51 seconds left in the 1^st Half. Pryor returned the subsequent kickoff up to the 15 but got popped pretty good at the end of the play. A Clipping infraction also set the Rockets’ cause back, thus making the change in momentum in favor of the Rebels even more foreboding. Pryor went out in order to lick his wounds for the remainder of the Half, and Sid Scott came in and carried up to the 10, and thereafter back to the 15. A Personal Foul call on Lee moved Judson up to the 30, but time expired before the snap and the Rockets retired to the locker room to regroup. At this point, things were looking more than a little tenuous, and in addition to the fact Lee was scheduled to get the 2^nd Half kickoff, the Rockets at this point gave no hint whatever that they had figured out how to jam up the Rebels' killing machine. On the other hand, I recalled what I had read in the Houston Chronicle a month earlier when Judson had a strong "2^nd-Half surge" against Dulles immediately following the kickoff. On the other hand, Judson was going to have to try and get the ball back first, as opposed to the Dulles affair where the Rockets started on offense.

This was starting to take on some of the characteristics of the tense moments during the actual Apollo 11 moon landing. Things started well enough, but just when the main event was about to get underway a ratty communication link required a relay through the Command Module. Then, on two (2) separate occasions during the powered descent, the Lunar Module’s main computer got overloaded trying to process too many events and too much data at one time, and the resultant "program alarm" threatened to abort the landing until a well-prepared Flight Controller by the name of Steve Bales gave a quick analysis on how to essentially work around and in some cases ignore the alarm. Similarly, the Judson Rockets, after a good start, were now being inundated with a Power Sweep Wishbone attack that was giving the Flight Crew and the Flight Operations Directorate some trouble in processing, analyzing and responding to what the Rebels were hitting them with. The real Mission Control, of course, has several support teams located in various backrooms, labs and offices around Houston in support of the flight, in addition to several teams, task forces and networks across the country and around the world. Similarly, the Judson Rockets had a major network of Support Teams, from the Band playing "Rocky" and also some Rocket-appropriate music such as the opening notes to "2001: A Space Odyssey" on all kickoffs during the game, to the Band’s percussion unit providing cadence and backup to the cheerleaders and Mr. Paschall. Also in support of this Great Crusade and Mission to Make History, of course, were the Galaxies, Starlites and Satellites, and finally, the overall Rocket Nation itself. These components played an integral part in the 1^st Half and were expected to do so in the 2^nd Half. Meanwhile, the Flight Operations Directorate---in particular, perhaps, Deputy Flight Director DW Rutledge, who was in charge of the Defensive Thermal Protection System----was busy coming up with a plan to isolate and eliminate the burning issues presented by the Rebels’ offensive attack that was threatening to abort this landing attempt and steal the Rockets’ dream.

The Rockets’ breakthrough poster for the 1^st Half featured a rainbow with the words "Take Our Dream One Step Farther." For the 2^nd Half, the poster was even more specific: "All We Want For Christmas is State." Just like the Judson Rockets, however, Santa and his reindeer were still looking for final clearance to land and were running into some major resistance. As a good omen, perhaps, just as the Rockets took the field for the 2^nd Half kickoff the sun broke through for a brief few minutes and for the first (and only) time of the day, illuminating the Rockets’ side of the field and endzone. Mark Christian sent the squib kickoff downfield, Tyrone Thurman took it at the 35, and the Lee offense, led once more by Jeff Motley, took the field. The DW Rutledge-led defense obviously made some pretty substantial adjustments, because the Rockets forced Lee to go 3-and-out for the first (and it would turn out only) time of the day. They even had three (3) yards to spare in stopping them. Judson took the punt at the 27. On the 1st play Chip Lambert carried to the 29, and on the next play he got away up to the 40 to move the chains. From there Allen Dear carried up to the 46, but on the next play Chris Pryor took the handoff and slipped down on a slick spot back at the 43 (the snow from the previous day had been cleared off but the field was still pretty damp). Dear rectified this by hitting Clarence Westendorff with an aerial that carried to midfield, but a long-range pass to Lambert was knocked away by Earl Davis at the 15. I was glad to see that this particular drive thus far was mimicking in many ways the Rockets’ opening 2^nd-Half drive against Dulles. The semblance would soon be complete. On the next play Pryor got loose and went all the way, breaking, slipping away from and eluding numerous tackles along the way to complete a textbook-like 49-yard scoring dash. This brought Judson back to within 21-19 with precisely four (4) minutes gone in the 2^nd Half . So far, so good. Not so good, though, was the 2-point attempt, which went INC when Dear attempted a pass to Westendorff.

In the 1^st Half the normally barefoot Judson kickers likewise did their thing shoeless and sockless, but just like Mark Christian a few minutes earlier, John Tomasi took the frigid field shod and sent the squib kick downfield. Once more it was Tyrone Thurman who took it, and this time he returned it to the Judson 49, where Tomasi made the tackle. Walter Jones carried down to the 40 on 1^st Down, where he was met by AJ Jones and Mark Milligan. Isaac Garnett picked up a 1^st Down by carrying to the 38, and he moved the Rebels closer by getting to the 33 on the next play. Walter Jones picked up two (2) yards, on 3^rd-and-4 he was stopped by Melvin Echard after picking up a yard, and the "punting" unit came on. It was a fake, of course, but Garnett’s carry got stopped a yard short at the 28, where David Malesky and Mike Calabro made the stop, along with a few others. All this took place to the tune of "Rocky," which the Band had played numerous times already (and would play several more time) on this afternoon. Chip Lambert picked up a yard, and on the next play Dear hit Westendorff at the 38 and from there Westendorff advanced down to the Lee 45. Pryor carried to the 37, and again to the 28, where a Late Hit caused the Rockets to set up shop at the 13-yard line. Pryor took it to the 6, but a Clipping penalty set the Rockets back to the 23. It was at this point that Mr. Paschall got the crowd (and the Band percussion unit) going with the "HEY! HEY," with the objective of punching this one home. Pryor carried to the 20, and on the next play Lambert took Dear’s aerial at the 17 and carried from there down to the 10. He fumbled the ball near the end of the play, and it appeared that Thomas Manley had recovered at the 1-foot line, but the zebras apparently missed it. Either that, or they noticed that Manley had run out of bounds and then back in before recovering, thus perhaps making him ineligible to recover (or participate any further) on the play. Either the zebras made a truly egregious mistake, or they were truly on the ball and saw that the guy stepped out of bounds. In any event, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth Chris Pryor took the ball in from there on the next play to reclaim the lead for Judson. The 2-point play, though, was Dead On Arrival when Randy Ellis tackled Allen Dear from behind before he could get the pass away. But, Judson now led 25-21 with 2:30 left in the 3^rd Quarter.

John Tomasi sent the squib kick downfield where it was recovered by Lee at its own 47. On 1^st Down Walter Jones carried to the Judson 46, where Mike Calabro made the stop, and on the next play Jones advanced to the 39, where AJ Jones met him. Garnett took things to the 35, Thurman got a 3-yard pickup and after a short gain by Garnett the Rebels were faced with a 4^th-Down decision. Garnett got to the 25 to move the chains, and from there Jeff Motley kept to the 15 after faking to the afternoon’s money-makers. Clarence Johnson got clipped on the play, though, and this moved Lee back to the 30. Garnett got two (2) of the yards back on the next play, and with that the 3^rd Quarter came to an end.

Walter Jones advanced to the 25 to open the final period. Motley thereafter faked the handoff but when he dropped back to pass instead, he was hit by Mark Milligan and the ball came loose. Tracey Sherman nevertheless recovered for Lee to keep the drive alive but it also brought up 4^th Down, and the ensuing 45-yard FG was way short and Judson took over at the 28. Pryor zipped up to the 40 and got another pickup to the 43. From there Dear kept for yardage up to the 49. Pryor was subsequently stopped for no gain, and this brought up 4^th Down. The Flight Operations Directorate elected to "go for it," and Pryor came through, spinning off a tackle to get the final inches necessary to move the chains. Dear’s mid-range pass to Alton Martin was tipped away by Ricky Jackson at the 24, but Pryor got a modest gain down to the 46. Chip Lambert went down on the play but eventually got up. From there Dear faked a sprint draw, but instead put the ball in the air. Unfortunately, it was tipped and intercepted at the Lee 22 by Sergio Ochoa, and the Rockets had executed the equivalent of a punt with 7:36 left. The bad thing, though, was that the Rebels had another chance at pulling this out. Garnett carried to the 22 on 1^st Down, and on the next play Motley kept on the option play and moved up to the 30, where he was stopped by Dennis Kennedy. On 3^rd-and-and-2 Garnett picked up the First Down by a millimeter or so, and thereafter Walter Jones carried for two (2), Garnett carried for three (3) and Garnett got a few to nevertheless bring up 4^th Down. The Rebels, with time becoming a factor, chose to go for it, but an Offside call complicated things somewhat for them by turning a 4^th-and-1 into a 4^th-and-6. In addition to the clock becoming the Rebels’ enemy, the field also conspired against them as well on the ensuing play when Tyrone Thurman took off on the 4^th-Down play but slipped down short of the marker at about the same cold, slippery spot that Pryor slipped on to start the 2^nd Half. And with that, the ball went over to Judson.

This entire 4^th Quarter was beginning to feel like something out of the Twilight Zone, as the clock simply wasn’t moving fast enough. Similarly for the Apollo 11 landing, the Guidance, Navigation and Control System was steering the Lunar Module further downrange and toward a crater with large boulders in it. This required that the astronauts take over manual control and hover past the undesirable area in search of more suitable terrain. This would require extra time, and they could run out of fuel and either have to abort the attempt or end up crashing if they took too long. Similarly for the Judson Rockets, they needed to find a way to end this game and claim the prize. With that in mind, Chris Pryor carried to the Lee 35, but he was stopped for no gain on the next play. Deer kept for a short gain, this brought up 4^th Down, and the Flight Operations Directorate called Timeout to decide what to do and how to do it. When play resumed Pryor was only able to get to the Lee 31, and with 2:39 to go the Rebels had their chance. Walter Jones took a pitch-back sweep----which had worked well all day----and carried up to midfield, where he was stopped by AJ Jones. Let’s just say that this was actually starting to feel exactly like the Apollo 11 moon landing, what with fuel running out and no decent place to land yet (ie, things maybe slipping away). Everyone could feel their hearts pounding in their throats at this point, and the cold weather and darkening, already-leaden, skies of the pre-dusk helped accentuate the Twilight Zone feel. Motley threw out of bounds to stop the clock. On the next play Motley attempted an option pitch, but he stumbled just as he started to release the ball and fumbled it, Mike Calabro recovered it for Judson, and with 2:04 left the Rockets had finally found a smooth place to land, provided they keep things moving. Coach Arnold had a quick conference with Allen Dear on the sideline, and as seen from the classic TV video, as Dear returned to the field you can almost read Arnold’s lips as he pointed and then gestured downfield: "Take it….and PUSH’EM BACK!!" On 1^st Down Pryor carried to the 34, and thereafter down to the 25. Sid Scott carried to the 10, Pryor got to the 3, and a Dead Ball penalty moved the ball Half-the-Distance to the goal. Pryor leaped over to the 6-inch line, and, with 15 seconds remaining and the landing gear probes contacting the surface, Flight Director Frank Arnold ordered engine shutdown. The Rockets' ship gently dropped the remaining distance to the surface, and the clock said "four zero's."

They were on the moon.