The Defense took things one Down at a time to start the game. Three (3) Downs later, following an excellent assault on the Mustang offense, the Defense forced a punt that gave Judson exceptionally good field position at the Jay 43. On 1^st Down QB Mike Jinks hit Jeff Stanzione along the sideline for a 42-yard pass play down to the 1. Chris Milligan penetrated into the endzone from there, Bobby Vorpahl nailed the PAT, and Judson was up 7-0 with only 142 seconds gone into this Rocket journey into the unknown. A little later in the 1^st period, the Rocket Defense continued its forays into the Mustang backfield, thus forcing a bad handoff that Brent McCollum----the only defensive starter returning from the 1987 squad----easily recovered at the Jay 17. Jeff Stanzione took a swing pass from Mike Jinks that went for nine (9) yards, and Vincent Kyle dove over the line from three (3) yards out for the score. Vorpahl notched the PAT, and with 2:44 still left in the 1^st Quarter, the Young Guns had already jumped out to a stunning 14-0 advantage. In the 2^nd Quarter and with Tommy Ramey in at QB, the Rockets thrust their way on a 4-play, 56-yard drive, with the big play coming on a 45-yard pass to Jeff Stanzione that went all the way. Once more Vorpahl’s kick was good, and with 8:52 left in the 1^st Half Judson now led 21-0. Judson’s defensive goose-egg, nevertheless, was seriously threatened with time running down in the 1^st Half when the Rockets, attempting to run out the clock, fumbled instead, thus giving Jay possession at the Judson 17-yard line. A Holding penalty and an Illegal Procedure call pushed Jay back to the 31. The Mustangs made up for some of this when Kyle Allen hit Gary Sugar for an aerial pickup down to the 12, but time expired as Allen completed an 11-yarder to Fred Ortiz----which was one (1) yard short. Hence, the goose-egg remained. The 3^rd Quarter was relatively tame for Judson’s Offensive Propulsion System, but the Thermal Protection System continued to quench the Mustang attack and keep the Rockets from being burned with any scores. Integral to this effort was the excellent penetration into the Mustang backfield, which resulted in five (5) QB sacks, three (3) of which came courtesy of Mike Wert. Finally, in the final period Kyle Allen overthrew his pass and Darrell Johnson hauled in the INT at the Jay 46. The ensuing drive came to a happy end for the Rockets when Mike Jinks hooked up with Luis Silva for a 7-yard pass for the points. Vorpahl’s PAT was good, with 3:13 left to play the final score was on the board, and this particular DTO could be declared a success.

The Mustangs were held to minus-19 yards on the ground and only 84 yards through the air, and this moved the chains only eight (8) times for them. Judson, meanwhile, moved the chains 16 times as a result of the 284 yards total offense. 181 of those came on the ground, with Sophomore Kyle Arnell leading the way with 76 yards on eight (8) carries. Through the air Tommy Ramey was good on 1-of-3 passes and no INT’s for 45 yards and a TD, while Mike Jinks was good on 4-of-six tosses and no INT’s for 58 yards and a TD. The punting, now with Earl Kauffman off to BYU, showed signs of promise with a 2-kick, 39.5-yard average. Next up, another challenging DTO with the always-challenging Clark Cougars.

Vincent Kyle got this DTO off to a good start for the Rockets with a 41-yard kickoff return to the Clark 45. From there Judson advanced down to the 15, where Bobby Vorpahl was called to try a FG. The attempt, however, was dead on arrival as a result of a bad snap, and Holder Jeff Stanzione was thrown for an 8-yard loss by Marlow Banda. The Cougars went from there on a 70-yard drive down to the Judson 7-yard line, but an attempted pass was DOA when the ball was knocked loose and thereafter recovered by Derwin Gray, and hence the drive died. Early in the 2^nd Quarter, the snap on a Judson punt went awry and once more Marlow Banda came through for Clark, this time recovering for the pumas at the Judson 14. Shortly thereafter, Taylor Sommer took off on a trap play and sliced straight through the guts of the Defensive Thermal Protection System to burn the Rockets with an 11-yard scoring run. Scott Gutschke was good on the PAT, and the cats had sunk their claws into a 7-0 lead at the 7:35 mark of the 2^nd Quarter. The Rockets responded effectively and efficiently to this turn of events by moving 68 yards in nine (9) plays. Kevin Harrison got a good 26-yard burst to the 1-yard line. The felines stiffened at that point, but Isom Lankford was nevertheless able to ice things off by punching it in. Unfortunately Marlow Banda----who was turning into a dangerous place to be in this contest-----crashed through to block the PAT, and hence Clark still led at 7-6 with 58 seconds left in the Half, and soon the clock said "four zeroes" and it was time for both teams to take stock and evaluate 2^nd Half strategies.

In the 3^rd Quarter, Clark still seemed to have the upper hand once Clint Sanderson recovered a fumble for the Cougars at the Judson 40. A little later in what promised to be a short-range drive, QB Jeff Beckel hit Taylor Sommer for a 16-yard screen pass that carried to the Judson 9-yard line for a 1st-and-Goal. The Rocket Defense, however, pushed the pumas back to the 20, and from there Scott Gutschke was unsuccessful on a 37-yard FG attempt. The Rockets used this as a momentum changer and from there commenced an impressive drive that featured some substantial pickups, including a 25-yard run by Kevin Harrison, and a 14-yard aerial from Mike Jinks to Kenny Wilson that advanced Judson down to the Clark 24. Kyle Arnell thereafter took a quick pitch and quickly got loose for a 24-yard dash and the TD to give Judson its first lead of the day. Kevin Harrison was given the ball to try and carry in for a 2-point play, but he was stopped short and the score stood at 12-7 with 55 seconds left in the penultimate period.

Momentum appeared to have shifted dramatically in Judson’s favor at this point, but the Cougars nevertheless managed to force punts on Judson’s first two (2) possessions of the final period. Following the 2^nd Judson punt, the pumas took possession at their own 22 with 6:03 left. On 3^rd-and-7 they kept the drive going with Ed Miller’s diving sideline catch for an 11-yard pickup out to the 43. The Rockets tightened up at this point, and things were looking pretty good, actually, and soon it was 4^th Down and decision time for Clark. Just when it appeared the pumas were on the trestle to stay, in came Defensive Back and also Split End Marlow Banda to save the day----for Clark, that is. On 4^th-and-13, QB Scott Sigman hit a wide open Banda at the Judson 33, and from there Banda was home free for the score. Gutschke’s PAT was good, and the cats were back on top with a 14-12 lead with precisely two (2) minutes left. Judson had some relatively bad field position following the concomitant kickoff, and three (3) relatively unproductive Downs later and with little recourse left at that point the Rockets attempted a fake punt that was easily snuffed out at the Judson 13 with 78 seconds left. The Cougars ran out the clock from there and soon had their first-ever win over Judson. In spite of the loss, the performance was somewhat of a moral victory, a valuable learning experience for the Young Guns, and definitely another proud Rocket Pride moment, given the challenges at hand in this particular contest.

Kevin Harrison was the main producer on the ground for Judson, picking up 117 yards on 11 carries, while Taylor Sommer’s 22 totes for Clark contributed 120 yards. Sommer also hauled in four (4) aerials for 40 yards’ worth of advancements for the Cougars.

Highlands (3-7; 3-4)
September 16, 1988: Converse
Those not attending any of the myriad of games in the San Antonio area on this evening were instead probably viewing NBC’s live coverage of the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. As per tradition, doves were released shortly after the raising of the Olympic Flag. Next up would be the lighting of the cauldron for the Olympic Flame. A glitch, however, occurred as the torch carriers were being hoisted up on an elevator device surrounding the stand holding the cauldron: Several doves decided that the cauldron was a good place on which to congregate. Nevertheless, the torch carriers proceeded to light the cauldron without delay. Most of the birds got away from the conflagration, but some of them kind of "disappeared" into the flame, and upon "ignition" you could hear a distinct "‘ooohhh" from those in the stadium. Well, back in San Antonio and for that matter South Texas in general, on this evening it wouldn’t be fire that people were necessarily focused on. It was more like water and wind----namely that generated by Hurricane Gilbert, which had already taken a substantial toll on parts of northern Mexico. The impact on South Texas would be considerably less overall, but still substantial. Nevertheless, most of the games scheduled for the San Antonio area proceeded as scheduled, and this included the match-up in Converse with the Highlands Owls. The Rockets and their Young Guns would proceed to burn the Owls pretty good in this affair and, although I was unable to be there to be there, I’m sure that, upon "ignition," there was a distinct "ooohhh" from those in attendance.

The Rockets lifted off following the opening kickoff, driving 62 yards in seven (7) plays. Vincent Kyle finished things off on a 1-yard run, Bobby Vorpahl---who would be a perfect 3-for-3 on PAT’s in the 1^st Half----drilled the kick and Judson was up 7-0 with 170 seconds elapsed. Soon the Rockets were back for more, this time going 44 yards in ten (10) plays. Vincent Kyle got another 1-yard run for the score with 4:13 left in the opening period. The Rockets were unable to produce on their next two (2) drives, but Bobby Vorpahl pushed through a 36-yard FG with 4:29 left in the 1^st Half. The Defensive Propulsion System thereafter got into gear when Robert Reed stole a pass and returned it 15 yards for the score with 3:08 to go before intermission. Finally, with 96 seconds left Isom Lankford zipped in from six (6) yards out, and all told this enabled the Rockets to take a 31-0 lead into the locker room. Things had been rather soggy through the 1^st Half as the outer bands of Gilbert approached the area, and many decided at that point to get dry and go watch the BBQ in Seoul instead. Offensively things were pretty tame through most of the 2^nd Half, but Brent McCollum got an INT deep in Owl territory, and six (6) plays later Kevin Harrison carried in from five (5) yards out with 108 seconds elapsed in the final period. Finally, with 105 seconds left in the game, Sophomore Darnell Stephens returned a punt 46 yards for a score. Jeff Hunt---who was good on the earlier PAT in the 2^nd Half---was good on this one as well, and with that Judson had a 45-0 verdict.

The Owls had only 32 yards on the ground and 37 through the air, and this kind of output permitted them to move the chains only five (5) times. They lost three (3) fumbles and experienced two (2) INT’s. The Rockets, in contrast, experienced no INT’s whatever, although they did lose three (3) fumbles. They picked up 18 First Downs, only 19 yards through the air, and a modest 216 yards on the ground, most of which came in the 1^st Quarter and the early moments of the 2^nd period. The punting was very good and once more showed promise, given the 3-punt, 41-7-yard average.

As for Hurricane Gilbert, the main remnants came through the San Antonio area around noon the following day, during which time some tornadoes wreaked havoc on a hangar at Kelly AFB and thereafter visited the area around the Audie Murphy VA Hospital and the South Texas Medical Center, where some impressive "results" were likewise left. Fortunately no one was harmed in any of that carnage.

East Central (2-8; 1-6)
September 23, 1988: Converse
The Hornets brought their stinger to Converse for the 2^nd consecutive season, and made the Rockets definitely feel it in the early going. Starting from their own 44-yard line, the Hornets drove the distance on a very deliberate fashion that started with a modest 3-yard aerial from QB Kevin Smith to Steve Harvey, followed by a 16-yard ground gainer by Steve Harvey. A Holding penalty on Judson advanced EC to the 27, from where Smith hit Joel Taylor for a pickup down to the 6-yard line. Chad Schnitz took it in from the 6, and the Hornets were up 6-0 at the 8:47 mark of the 1^st Quarter. The PAT, however, was no good. Darnell Stephens returned the kickoff back to the EC 36, and six (6) plays later Mike Jinks punched in from the 1. Bobby Vorpahl was good on the PAT, and the Rockets were out front at 7-6 with 5:34 left in the opening period. The Hornets immediately resumed their aerial assault with a 52-yard pass play from Smith to Gregory Thomas, but the Judson Defense stiffened, a 4^th-and-8 play went nowhere, and the Rockets took over. Midway through the 2^nd Quarter the Hornets mounted a 55-yard drive down to the Judson 15, but Darnell Stephens blocked the FG attempt to preserve the Judson lead. Then, with time running down in the 1^st Half, Darrell Johnson hauled in an INT to end another EC threat. Judson, meanwhile, drove from its own 32 down to the Hornet 28, but a FG attempt was wide right. Thus, the 1^st Half ended with Judson clinging tenuously to a 7-6 lead and with the Hornets holding the statistical advantage by 66 yards.

EC, hoping to assert itself with some field position, chose to kick off to start the 2^nd Half with the hopes of pinning Judson deep. The plan failed. Instead, Darnell Stephens took the kick and darted 45 yards to the EC 39. Two (2) plays later, Kevin Harrison broke a tackle up the middle and went all the way from the 32 for the score. Vorpahl drilled the PAT and Judson had extended the lead to 14-6 with 52 seconds gone in the 3^rd Quarter. Judson’s next possession involving points featured an effective and efficient, time-consuming ball-control strategy that eventually paid off with Vorpahl’s 24-yard FG with 50 seconds left in the 3^rd Quarter. The Rockets continued to gain altitude in the final period, with Kyle Arnell lifting off on a 73-yard dash that raised the score some more with 7:16 left. Then, with 1:52 to go, the roof pretty much caved in for the Hornets. Vincent Kyle darted in from 11 yards out and then, only six (6) seconds later Brent McCollum stepped in front of an EC pass and returned it 27 yards for the score. The two (2) previous PAT’s were NG, but Bobby Vorpahl closed out the scoring for the day by notching the PAT following the INT, and with that the time soon wound down in this match-up.

For the game EC picked up 143 yards on the ground and 195 yards through the air. Much of this offensive activity took place in the 1^st Half before the Young Guns laid down the law. The air yardage came as a result of a 13-of-35 passing effort that nevertheless proved quite costly, what with the four (4) INT’s. In addition to those claimed by McCollum and Johnson, Mike Wert hauled in two (2). Judson, meanwhile, shot itself in the foot at various times by losing three (3) fumbles and experiencing one (1) INT. Judson’s QB tandem picked up 56 yards total through the air. Tommy Ramey was good on 1-of-3 for seven (7) yards, while Jinks hit on 2-of-6 for 49 yards and an INT. On the ground, meanwhile, the Rockets picked up 314 yards, 118 of which belonged to Harrison on 20 touches, and 115 turned in by Arnell on 10 totes. Next up would be the stiffest challenge yet for the Young Guns----a meeting at Northeast Stadium with the Churchill Chargers, the 1987 Region IV Finalists.

The day before, Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off on STS-26 to begin the "Return to Flight" mission following the 51-L Challenger crack-up in 1986. The flight thus far had gone quite smoothly, and would go a long way toward putting CONUS back into the manned space business. During that hiatus, the Judson Rockets had continued flying, and this in spite of the hopes of those in some quarters that they would "crack up" and fall back to earth in flames. Some had hoped that the Rockets had perhaps had their "crack-up" upon an early, 2^nd-Round elimination by Willowridge---the team that narrowly beat the eventual Region IV Finalist Churchill Chargers---in 1987. The Chargers, riding the momentum of their re-emergence as a Region IV force, were hoping that this match-up would solidify their return and the Rockets’ "crack-up." The Young Guns, however, had other ideas on this evening. They began their attack on Defense, forcing the Chargers to punt from their own 26-yard line. Mike Wert charged through to block the kick, and Joe Senna snatched the bouncing ball near the right sideline at the 20 and took it into the endzone for the score. Churchill’s Adrian Tovar blocked the PAT, but Judson was up early at 6-0 with 8:32 left in the opening period. Things settled down somewhat thereafter, but late in the 1^st Quarter, on 3^rd-and-15 from the Judson 40, Kyle Arnell got loose on a trap play, and was home free from midfield for the points. Tommy Ramey kept around left end on the 2-point play, and with 92 seconds remaining in the 1^st Quarter the Rockets had already lifted off for a 14-0 lead. The Chargers continued to try and get something going, but the Young Guns would have no part of it. Churchill did reach the Judson 24 in the 2^nd period after a 42-yard campaign, but on 4^th-and-5 the Defensive Thermal Protection System proved impenetrable, and Judson took over. The Rockets would soon have to punt, but Churchill would fail to produce on the ensuing drive, and soon the Young Guns were about to fire off once more. On the first play from the Churchill 47, Kyle Arnell got away and went all the way. Bobby Vorpahl booted the PAT, and with 8:32 left before Halftime Judson now had a 21-0 lead. Jimbo Parks got a very good return for Churchill on the ensuing kickoff, and the ensuing threat reached the Judson 33. Once more, the Young Guns carried out enforcement on the Charger offense, starting with Derwin Gray’s INT. Gray returned the booty all the way back to the Charger 7-yard line. On the very next play Mike Jinks carried it in from there, but the play was negated by a Clipping call. Three (3) plays later, though, Jeff Stanzione took off on a reverse and got in for the score. Vorpahl’s PAT was good, and with 204 seconds still remaining in the Half, Judson had a startling 28-0 advantage. Jimbo Parks got still another good return on the kickoff, and this enabled Churchill to get just inside the Judson 20. Robert Reed, however, put an 11-yard sack on Mike South, a Holding penalty pushed the Chargers back even more, and soon time expired in the 1^st Half. At that particular point, the Chargers had only 76 yards and four (4) First Downs to show for their efforts.

Production would pick up somewhat for the Chargers in the 2^nd Half, but for the most part the Rocket Defense held Churchill in check when it counted. Nevertheless, Steve Anders took an inside reverse and zipped off on an 84-yard dash to the Judson 1-yard line. John Aaron punched it in from there, Jimbo Parks was good on the PAT, and Judson’s lead had been reduced to 28-7 with 3:56 left in the 3^rd Quarter. Offensive production by Judson seemed to taper off quite a bit in the 2^nd Half, but early in the final period the Rockets got down to the Churchill 10-yard line before Bobby Vorpahl missed on a 27-yard FG try. On Churchill’s final possession the Chargers drove to a First Down at the Judson 26, but Darnell Stephens intercepted Mike South’s pass with 4:54 left to play. From there Judson maintained possession, reaching the Churchill 10-yard line as time expired.

Kyle Arnell led all rushers with 113 yards on only five (5) carries.

The Volunteers started the game with a time-consuming drive that ended only after they came up short on a fake punt attempt at their own 44. From there Judson took over for the first time of the day and with precisely five (5) minutes gone in the game Tommy Ramey scored on a keeper from ten (10) yards out. Bobby Vorpahl hit on the PAT and Judson was up 7-0. That, however, would be the extent of the scoring in the 1^st Half, due largely to three (3) Judson fumbles. One (1) of those ended a Judson drive at the Lee 23-yard line, and a little later the Rockets would leave the ball on the grass at the Lee 16, and thereafter just short of the Lee goal line. Coming out of the break, Judson fumbled the ball away on the 2^nd-Half kickoff. Darnell Stephens, however, was able to pull in an INT near the Judson goal line, and this signaled a permanent change in momentum in favor of the Rockets. The ensuing 92-yard drive came to a happy end when Vincent Kyle punched in from a yard out. Jeff Hunt drilled the PAT and Judson had finally extended the lead to 14-0 at the 6:53 mark of the 3rd period. The Rockets continued to gather speed and momentum from there, thus permitting them to score twice in the final period. Luis Silva hauled in Mike Jinks’ 3-yard toss with 222 seconds gone in the 4th Quarter, and Bobby Vorpahl’s kick made it 21-0. Then, with 5:32 to go Kyle Arnell atoned for the missed opportunity at the goal line in the 1^st Half by zipping in on a 35-yard dash, and Jeff Hunt closed out the scoring for the day with the PAT.

The Young Guns on Defense once more had an outstanding game, allowing only nine (9) First Downs and 102 yards total offense that was split approximately 2/3-1/3 between air and ground. The Offensive Propulsion System, meanwhile, managed to move the chains 18 times by virtue of 90 yards through the air and 256 yards on the ground, of which 112 of those belonged to Vincent Kyle on ten (10) totes. The punting game continued to impress, what with the single 46-yard punt. For better and/or for worse, the Rockets only "needed" to punt once, given the three (3) fumbles deep in Lee territory in the 1^st Half, mixed with the long, sustained scoring drives in the 2^nd Half.

San Marcos (4-5-1; 2-5)
October 14, 1988: San Marcos
The Young Guns drew first, and they drew first blood by going the distance in nine (9) plays to start the game. Kevin Harrison scored on a 5-yard, and Bobby Vorpahl hit on the PAT to put the Rockets out front at 7-0 at the 8:18 mark of the 1^st Half. The Defense thereafter took the field and initiated a relentless attack that soon paid off when it forced a fumble that put Judson back in business at the Rattler 21-yard line. On the 3^rd play of the short drive Tommy Ramey hit a wide-open Jeff Stanzione for the score, Jeff Hunt’s PAT was good, and Judson already had a 14-0 lead with 47 seconds remaining in the opening period. In what would turn out to be their only serious incursion of the day, the Rattlers thereafter kept the ensuing drive alive by converting on 3^rd-and-10 with a 22-yard pass. A Halfback pass, however, was intercepted in the endzone, and the threat died. With time running down in the 1^st Half, the Judson Defense sacked the Rattler QB on 3^rd Down at the San Marcos 10-yard line. Darnell Stephens thereafter took the ensuing punt and returned it to the Rattler 30-yard line. Two (2) plays later, Jeff Stanzione took a reverse and got away down the left sideline and into the endzone for a 20-yard run. The kick was blocked, but with 88 seconds left this enabled Judson to take a 20-0 lead into the locker room.

Like the Space Shuttle---or perhaps like a scared cat----the Rockets got away quickly to start the 2^nd Half, capping a 2-play, 53-yard drive with a 46-yard scoring run by Kyle Arnell. Jeff Hunt made good with the PAT, and the lead was now up to 27-0 at the 9:20 mark of the 3^rd Quarter. On Judson’s next possession, the Rockets took a more deliberate approach, driving 52 yards in nine (9) plays. Vincent Kyle lit the scoreboard with a 1-yard plunge, Vorpahl got the kick this time, and the lead was up to 34-0 with 3:22 left in the penultimate period. Judson’s next possession was even more impressive from the standpoint of ball control. With seven (7) seconds left in the 3^rd Quarter, the Rockets initiated a 72-yard drive that consisted of 15 time-consuming plays. Chris Milligan polished the drive off with a 2-yard run for the points with only 4:52 remaining in the contest. The pass for two (2) points was unsuccessful, but the Young Guns were able to get out of town with an impressive performance and still another goose-egg,

The goose-egg came about largely due to the Rattlers’ paltry six (6) First Downs and 82 yards of offense split nearly evenly between air and ground. They lost two (2) fumbles and experienced two (2) INT’s. Judson, in contrast, had 22 First Downs, 38 yards through the air and 324 yards on the ground. Once more, the punting game was superb, this time with the singular punt traveling 49 yards. All told, that and other factors helped to shorten the field somewhat for the Rockets, thus making it even easier than it otherwise may have been to get downfield for the 40 points that they racked up.

Roosevelt (6-4; 4-3)
October 21, 1988: Converse
Darnell Stephens---who also would be credited with an INT in this contest----helped get the Judson scoring parade going by returning a punt 18 yards to the Rider 30-yard line. From there, the Rockets moved in for the score in four (4) plays, with Vincent Kyle taking it in from the 2-yard line for the points. Bobby Vorpahl successfully kicked the PAT, and Judson was in front at 7-0 with 2:48 left in the 1^st Quarter. The Riders would spend the entire 1^st Half with supremely poor field position, and soon Judson would be back for more. Kyle Arnell zipped in from the 14 with 6:24 to go in the 1^st Half, Jeff Hunt notched the PAT and Judson had a 14-0 advantage. Then, with 96 seconds left before the break Arnell got loose on a 52-yard dash that raised the score some more, and Vorpahl’s PAT enabled the Rockets to take a 21-0 lead into the intermission. At that point Judson had a 226 to 73 yard advantage in total offense. All of the 2^nd-half points would come in the 3^rd period. The Rockets mounted an effective and efficient 59-yard drive in seven (7) plays, with Chris Milligan finishing things off with a 1-yard penetration for points. The kick failed, but Judson now had a 27-0 tally with only 144 seconds gone in the 2^nd Half. A little later in the period Kevin Harrison slithered into the endzone from two (2) yards out to cap an 8-play, 51-yard offensive effort. Vorpahl’s conversion kick was good, and Judson now had a 34-0 lead with 4:48 still remaining in the 3^rd Quarter. From there the Rockets coasted along for the win by continuing their defensive attack that allowed only 14 yards on the ground in the 2^nd Half. Soon the clock said "four zeroes," and Judson was able to turn out the lights on the Roughriders. About five (5) minutes later, a car hit a transformer that turned the lights out in the Stadium, but the auxiliary power came on shortly thereafter and everyone got out okay.

For the game TR picked up only nine (9) First Downs, 52 yards on the ground and 73 yards through the air. In contrast, Judson moved the chains 23 times. 102 of those came through the air as part of a 7-of-10 effort by the QB tandem of Jinks and Ramey. Ramey got the Rockets’ share on this evening on 6-of-9 passes for 93 yards. The only turnover came on a fumble. Meanwhile, on the ground Judson tallied 302 yards, with Kyle Arnell turning in 100 of those on only eight (8) carries, and the balance split between five (5) other ball carriers. Finally, in what could arguably be called a trend, the Rockets had an impressive punting average of 42.7 yards on three (3) punts. All told, the kicking game was paying off in giving Judson good field position, while putting opponents in the hole such that many a drive was basically dead on arrival once the Judson Defense began its attack.

Madison (5-4-1; 3-3-1)
October 29, 1988: Northeast Stadium, Blossom Athletic Center
The Mavericks began this Saturday night affair with an onside kickoff, but it failed to cover the ten (10) yards and instead it permitted the Rockets to start from the Madison 48-yard line. From there Judson drove the distance in seven (7) plays, with Kevin Harrison finishing things off with a 5-yard run for the points. Bobby Vorpahl’s PAT was good and Judson was up 7-0 at the 8:39 mark of the opening period. A little later in the period the Mavs got untracked with the help of speedster Marcus Moss, reaching the Judson 29, but Mike Garcia ended the threat by batting down a 4^th-Down pass. Late in the 1^st Quarter, with Judson backed up at its own 16 on 3^rd-and-5, Kyle Arnell took the handoff on the dreaded Sprint Draw and got away on an 84-yard dash to paydirt. Vorpahl’s kick was good and with 52 seconds remaining in the opening period the Rockets had already lifted off to a 14-0 lead. Once more the Mavericks penetrated into Judson territory, but once more they were turned away, this time at the 25-yard line. Now back on offense, the Rockets were facing 3^rd-and-8 at their own 39, from where Vincent Kyle took an option pitch-out and, aided by critical blocking by Kevin Harrison, got loose for a 61-yard run to the endzone. Once more Vorpahl was good on the PAT, and with 7:02 left in the 1^st Half Judson was now up 21-0. Next, it was Madison’s turn to fully showcase the abilities of the elusive Marcus Moss with his 12-yard run that put the Mavs on the board following an 80-yard drive. Scott Pederson booted the PAT and, with 3:32 remaining in the Half the Judson advantage had been reduced to 21-7. Undeterred, the Rockets responded with a beat-the-clock drive that ended with Mike Jinks’ 26-yard toss to Luis Silva with 17 seconds left. Vorpahl’s kick was good and this facilitated a 28-7 lead going into the break.

In the 3^rd Quarter, the Mavs continued to penetrate into Judson territory, but the Rocket Defense continued to turn them away, this time when Mike Garcia rushed through to sack the QB and end a threat that reached the Rocket 26. A little later Judson mounted its longest drive of the day with a 15-play, 84-yard trip that featured 14 running plays in order to run the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of Marcus Moss. Tommy Ramey polished the drive off by keeping up the middle behind a perfectly constructed wall of blockers for ten (10) yards and the score. For the final time of the day, Vorpahl made good on the PAT, and with 18 seconds left in the penultimate period Judson now had a 35-7 lead. The Mavs reached the Judson 34 in the final period, but they were unable to get any closer and the 35-7 score held up as time expired.

Madison was able to get 19 First Downs, 61 yards through the air, and 201 yards on the ground, with Marcus Moss providing 142 of those with 21 totes. Judson, meanwhile, had 20 First Downs, no turnovers whatever (Madison experienced an INT) and 62 yards through the air on 4-of-10 passes. Jinks completed 2-of-6 for 41 yards, and Ramey got the balance on 2-of-4 tosses. The ground crew provided 365 yards, with Kyle Arnell getting 102 of those on five (5) carries, and the balance turned in by six (6) other ball carriers---the two (2) QB’s included for double-digits. The punting this time averaged 44 yards on two (2) kicks---a very good sign indeed and the best string of 40-plus games since the Ricky Balderas days of 1982, suggesting, perhaps, another good sign of things to come. The Space Cowboys were itching to get back to the "moon," and it didn’t matter at this point that it may be with a rookie Flight Crew of Young Guns.

MacArthur (3-5-1; 2-4-1)
November 5, 1988: Northeast Stadium, Blossom Athletic Center
For the second straight week, the Rockets visited Northeast Stadium for a Saturday night tilt. The Rockets got off to a somewhat sluggish start and the 1^st Quarter ended with a double goose-egg. Early in the 2^nd Quarter, on 3^rd-and-2 Kevin Harrison broke through numerous defenders at the line of scrimmage, got away down the left sideline and broke a final tackle at the 21-yard line for a 63-yard scoring dash. Bobby Vorpahl’s kick was good and Judson led 7-0 with 13 seconds gone in the 2^nd Quarter. On Judson’s next drive Vincent Kyle took off up the middle for a 31-yard scoring run that completed a 7-play, 57-yard drive. Vorpahl’s kick was good and Judson had extended the lead to 14-0 with 8:14 left in the 1^st Half. A little later Bobby Vorpahl came up short on a 41-yard FG try. The remainder of the Half pretty much belonged to the Brahma offense, which drove 86 yards in 11 straight running plays to narrow the gap. Chris Wright---who rushed for 202 yards on 24 carries on this evening and carried on all but one (1) of the carries on the scoring drive---took a pitchout from QB John Fisher into the endzone for a 3-yard scoring run. The PAT was good and the Judson lead was cut in half with 42 seconds left in the Half. The 2^nd Half was pretty much a standoff, and the 3^rd period was scoreless. The Rocket Defense, however, continued to step up when necessary with some INT’s. Darrell Johnson had one, and a little later the stage was set for Darnell Stephens to do some damage. But first, the Rockets experienced an INT of their own that summarily terminated a promising scoring threat with a little less than eight (8) minutes to go. Perhaps trying to be a little bit too fancy, or perhaps trying to do some pre-playoff experimenting as part of some kind of Detailed Test Objective, Jeff Stanzione took a reverse and then lofted a pass toward Chris Milligan, but the pass bounced off Milligan’s chest and was intercepted in the endzone by David Thailing. The ensuing drive was nevertheless terminated by Darnell Stephens’ INT at the Mac 40. Judson was unable to get anything done with the opportunity, but the punt helped to pin the Brahmas deep. This forced the bulls to soon punt, and Darnell Stephens was ready, waiting, and quite willing to return it 49 yards for the score. The PAT was good and Judson had a 21-7 lead with 147 seconds to go. The Brahmas continued to persevere in trying to make something happen, but the Young Guns would have none of it. On the final play of the game Sophomore Darnell Stephens pulled in a final INT, and with that the Rockets were "GO" for the post-season.

Mac had 12 First Downs while Judson had 14. The Brahmas picked up 226 yards on the ground but only three (3) through the air. Judson had 75 yards through the air on 6-of-13 passes. Mike Jinks hit on 4-of-5 for 40 yards, and Tommy Ramey was good on 2-of-7 aerials for 35 yards. On the ground, the Rockets picked up a modest 207 yards, with Kevin Harrison getting 112 of those on 13 touches, and five (5) other ball carriers getting positive yardage. Jinks got harassed pretty good in this game in being thrown for a net 31 yards in losses on five (5) carries. With that kind of pressure, it was to his credit and the excellent preparation by the Flight Operations Directorate that he avoided the dreaded INT.

Elsewhere, the postseason would feature some interesting entries. Seguin, which had gone 0-10 the year before, racked up an impressive 396 points in going 8-2 and narrowly missed a District title in a wild 42-35 loss to Laredo United in a Week 9 thriller in District 29-5A. United finished the regular season with a 9-1 record. Holmes, meanwhile, finished the regular season with a 9-0 record and was the top-ranked team in the San Antonio area, having dispatched 8-1-1 Clark 27-6 in a Week 10 showdown for the District title. Holmes and Seguin were set to meet at Matador Stadium in a Round 1 match-up. Churchill finished 8-1-1 and got the 2^nd-place seed to Judson in 27-5A, and would meet the 9-1 Sam Houston Cherokees in a Round 1 match-up at Alamo Stadium. Judson, meanwhile, was set to meet Jefferson----which entered with a 7-3 record as the 2^nd-place seed behind Sam Houston-----in Converse in what would be the Mustangs’ first trip to the playoffs since 1961, when Jefferson was still the top program in the San Antonio area.

Semifinals
Carter 14 Permian 9
Judson 16 Stratford 0

Final
Carter 31 Judson 14

The Rockets’ defensive attack began early and often. In fact, with only four (4) seconds elapsed, strong pressure by said Defense forced a fumble by the Mustang QB that Nathan Dennes recovered at the Jefferson 21-yard line. The Rockets advanced as far as the Jefferson 3-yard line but could get no closer, but Bobby Vorpahl came in and pushed through a 20-yard FG at the 9:07 mark of the opening period. The Mustangs quickly went 3-and-out, and Judson was immediately back at it, this time on a 10-play, 64-yard drive. Tommy Ramey hit Jeff Stanzione for the 25-yard scoring aerial that was caught when it sailed over the hands of Luis Silva and was taken by Stanzione in the back of the endzone. Vorpahl’s PAT was good and Judson was now up 10-0 with 2:29 left in the 1^st period. Soon thereafter Judson was back for still more, this time when Vincent Kyle zipped in for a 16-yard score. Vorpahl notched the PAT and, with five (5) seconds elapsed in the 2^nd Quarter, Judson now had a 17-0 lead. Bobby Vorpahl booted a 30-yard FG with "four zeroes" on the clock, thus giving Judson a 20-0 lead going into the break.

The Young Guns charged out of the locker room ready to crank things up a notch or two in the 2^nd Half. Kyle Arnell returned the kickoff 45 yards to the Jefferson 45. Three (3) plays later, Tommy Ramey hit Luis Silva at the 1, and Silva got in untouched for the score. Vorpahl’s kick was good, and the lead was now up to 27-0 with only 79 seconds gone in the 3^rd Quarter. On the Rockets’ 2^nd possession of the 3^rd Quarter, they drove 52 yards in eight (8) plays, with Kyle Arnell going the final three (3) yards. The PAT was no good, but the count was now up to 33-0 at the 6:08 mark of the 3^rd Quarter. In the final period the Rockets would score some more, via

• Vincent Kyle’s 3-yard run with 6:45 to go
• Mike Jinks’ keeper for a yard with 139 seconds left
• Jeff Hunt’s two (2) PAT’s

It would be an understatement to say that it was a good start for the Rockets’ postseason. Next up: A meeting with the always-tough Alice Coyotes, fresh from a hard-nosed 10-0 victory over LBJ.

The stellar passing yardage by the Rockets was provided by Ramey’s 5-of-6 passes for 104 yards, Jinks’ 3-of-4 passes for 45 yards, and finally Vincent Kyle’s halfback pass that went for 20 yards.

Elsewhere on this evening, the Seguin Matadors played the Holmes Huskies toe-to-toe for 3 1/2 Quarters, then pulled away to claim an impressive 34-21 victory. And, at Alamo Stadium in still another eye-opener, Sam Houston led Churchill 14-0 at the Half, grabbed a 21-0 lead at the outset of the 3^rd Quarter before Churchill finally got on the board, then carried a 28-7 lead into the final period. In that final period, Churchill scored twice to narrow the gap to 28-21. Then, with 61 seconds left, the Chargers had a 1^st-and-Goal at the 1, but on four (4) straight plays they could not punch it in and the Cherokees took over and ran out the final seven (7) seconds. These are just some of the gems. Suffice it to say that Region IV had some truly interesting contests in this postseason, with more to follow.

Historically, Alice had always been a tough nut for anyone to crack. Just ask any number of teams from Corpus Christi, the Coastal Bend, the Valley, Austin, and finally, San Antonio. Ask, in particular, even the teams from San Antonio to have beaten the Coyotes, such as Churchill and Holmes, to name a few. Just ask Judson, who---even with Chris Pryor----was held scoreless for nearly the entire 1^st Half before finally getting some breaks and some good field position just before Halftime of the 3^rd Round contest at UT Austin in the Great Crusade of 1983. The Rockets, in other words, would have their hands full. Aided by a good punting game that pinned the Rockets deep in the early going, mixed with the Rockets’ slow-starting Offensive Propulsion System, the opening period of this Friday night match-up was scoreless. Late in that period, however, Judson was on the move with an 80-yard drive. It would not come easy, though. The Rockets got a hard-earned yard on 4^th-and-1 that kept the drive alive and "advanced" things to the Alice 40. Three (3) unproductive plays later, it was 4th-and-9 and the Rockets elected to "punt." Given the battle of field position that this game was shaping up to be, it seemed the logical thing to do. Brent McCollum, however, took the short snap and advanced off the fake down to the Coyote 22-yard line, and thus endeth the 1^st Quarter. On the first play of the 2^nd period, Vincent Kyle took off through a gaping hole and got away for the score. Bobby Vorpahl booted the PAT, and Judson was finally on the board at 7-0 with six (6) seconds gone in the 2^nd Quarter. The Coyotes continued to give the impression that they could turn the momentum in their favor, and in fact they advanced down to the 32 with time getting short in the 1^st Half. A fake punt on a 4^th-and-3, though, came up a yard short and this, it would turn out, would spell the beginning of the end of the Coyotes as any kind of threat in this game.

It was mentioned in the newspaper write-ups that Judson wore the Coyotes down in the 2^nd Half, but it is worth noting that when they came out for the 2^nd Half they didn’t even bother to sprint through the breakthrough poster the way they did for the 1^st Half. It looked as if it were perhaps a psychological ploy, but in retrospect, in view of what would soon transpire, it was because they were already spent----ie, Dead on Arrival. Judson took the kickoff and drove 64 yards to go up 13-0 on a 2-yard Tommy Ramey run. A pivotal play in the drive was a 45-yard pass from Ramey to Jeff Stanzione that carried to the Alice 11. The PAT, however, was no good, but Judson now had some breathing room at the 8:19 mark of the 3^rd period. It was Alice’s chance to respond on offense, but Derwin Gray was about to become a very dangerous place for an airborne ball to be. Gray stepped in front of a Coyote pass and returned it to the Alice 31. From there the Rockets took their time in working it in, but with 4:33 remaining in the 3^rd Quarter Kyle Arnell polished things off with a 3-yard run to paydirt. Mike Jinks kept on the 2-point play, Judson now had a 21-0 advantage and, most shockingly, the rout was on. Two (2) plays after the concomitant kickoff, Derwin Gray picked off his 2^nd errant pass of the day to put the Rockets in business at the Judson 47. The 6-play drive came to a happy end (for Judson) with another Kyle Arnell run, this one for nine (9) yards. Vorpahl’s PAT was good and the count was now up to 28-0 with 103 seconds left in the 3^rd Quarter. Soon thereafter, a crowded "maul" of four (4) Judson tacklers jarred the ball loose and Mike Wert recovered for the Rockets at the Coyote 9-yard line. On the very next play Jeff Stanzione took the handoff on a reverse and into the endzone. Vorpahl made good on the PAT once more, and with 81 seconds left in the 3^rd Quarter Judson now had a 35-0 lead. In the final period, the Offensive Propulsion System took a more deliberate approach to things, but the end result would be the same. Vincent Kyle’s 4-yard run completed a 75-yard drive that featured ten (10) running plays. Jeff Hunt provided what would be the final PAT of the day, and with precisely seven (7) minutes left to play Judson had what would be a final tally of 42-0. Derwin Gray, however, wasn’t quite finished doing damage. During the Coyotes’ ensuing possession he picked off still another pass, this time at the Judson 19 with 5:51 to go. From there the Rockets kept the ball for the rest of the game and were at the Alice 17 when time expired.

Meanwhile, down at Alamo Stadium on this evening Corpus Christi Carroll faced off against Sam Houston, which was fresh off its stirring win over Churchill in Round 1. The Cherokees---behind the rushing of 1000-plus yard running back Rongea Hill----entered the match-up ranked No. 1 in the state in total offense. Meanwhile on defense, the Cherokees limited a prolific Tiger offense led by 1000-plus yard running back Tiandre Sanders to only 90 yards on the ground. Both teams scored in the 2^nd Quarter, and Carroll nursed a 7-6 lead entering the final period. Carroll then extended the lead with a FG, but Sam Houston answered back to retake the lead with a TD at the 5:02 mark. The run for two (2) points was unsuccessful, though, and this would prove fatal in the end. The Tigers were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, and from there the Cherokees retained possession until only 49 seconds remained. From their own 39-yard line, the Tigers drove downfield in three (3) plays to attempt a FG. The big play involved a lateral to Carl Greenwood, who hurled it 59 yards downfield to Tiandre Sanders. The first FG was good but it was wiped out by an Illegal Procedure penalty. The 2^nd one, however, was good with "four zeroes" on the clock, and the Tigers left town with the win.

More immediately important for Judson, though, was that the Rockets’ Young Guns would get another shot at the Clark Cougars, who on this evening defeated Weslaco at Buccaneer Stadium. The following evening, the Seguin Matadors saw their Cinderella season ended by Harlingen in Seguin, and this set up a meeting in Harlingen with the undefeated Carroll Tigers. Like I said, things were getting interesting---in other words exciting---in Region IV. Especially, perhaps, for the Rockets. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. First, we’ve got another Cougs in Space installment to cover.

Clark (8-1-1; 5-1)
November 25, 1988: Alamo Stadium

The defensive Young Guns got off to a hot start on this Thanksgiving Friday evening by attacking the Cougar offense early on. On the opening series Brent McCollum burst through a gap and sacked QB Mike Sigman for a 15-yard loss back to the 13-yard line. This pretty much killed the drive, and it was soon time to punt. A high snap, however, forced punter Bubba Smith to run it down and, under intense pressure from the Judson Defense, bat it out of the endzone for a Safety. This gave Judson an early 2-0 lead at the 8:37 mark of the 1^st Quarter. The Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System used the opportunity following the Free Kick to undertake a 6-play, 62-yard drive. Kevin Harrison got a good pickup around left end that carried for 24 yards to the Clark 20. Following a momentary setback to the 22, Tommy Ramey hit a well-covered Luis Silva at the 6, and Silva took it in from there to complete the 22-yard pass play. Bobby Vorpahl nailed the PAT, and Judson had already raced out to a 9-0 lead by the 6:29 mark of the opening period. The Rockets, however, would soon see their early momentum fade somewhat, starting when Kyle Arnell slipped on the carpet while attempting to turn the corner on a sweep, fumbling the ball. Bubba Smith recovered for Clark at the Judson 24. From there the cats scratched and clawed their way toward the goal, converting on a 4^th-and-1 situation at the 5 before Taylor Sommer punched it in from the 2 to complete the 7-play drive. Scott Gutscke booted the PAT and Clark had narrowed the gap to 9-7 with 95 seconds left in the 1^st Quarter. Judson appeared to have recovered nicely from this particular episode on its impending possession, driving a net 55 yards in 13 plays. The Rockets actually reached the Clark 15, but the Cougars’ James Haney broke through the line and pinned a 10-yard sack on the ball carrier. This forced a FG, but Bobby Vorpahl missed on a 42-yard FG with 7:21 left in the 1^st Half. This gave the Cougars plenty of time to implement their patented ball-control strategy. From the 25 they drove down to the Judson 22, from where Scott Gutschke was good on a 39-yard FG to give Clark its first lead of the day with 93 seconds left before intermission. Judson was unable to do anything with the remaining time, and hence Clark took a 10-9 lead into the break. At this point, things looked somewhat ominous for Judson, especially since Clark would be starting on offense in the 2^nd Half.

The Flight Operations Directorate instructed the Young Guns to step it up in the enthusiasm department in the 2^nd Half, in the belief that this could help turn the tide. Indeed, the Defense stopped the Cougs on their opening possession of the 2^nd Half, and from there the Offensive Propulsion System went to work following Darnell Stephens’ 19-yard punt return to the Judson 46 that commenced a 12-play drive. Tommy Ramey hit Jeff Stanzione for an 11-yard aerial pickup fairly early on, and then, from the 32-yard line it appeared that Darnell Stephens had come down with a pass for a major pickup at the 1. The zebras, however, ruled that he never really had possession as he came down. Undeterred, on the next play Ramey hooked up with Stanzione once more, this time for a 12-yard pickup down to the 20. From there Mike Jinks kept for six (6) yards, and Vincent Kyle carried for two (2) and five (5) yards to pick up a 1st-and-Goal at the 7. Kevin Harrison carried to the 3, and Ramey kept for the score to put the Rockets back on top. Kyle Arnell took a quick pitch around right end for two (2) points, and Judson now had a 17-10 advantage with 3:46 to go in the 3^rd Quarter. The Cougars had been on ice for quite awhile, but this didn’t seem to bother them too much, and hence this had the feel of a game that could still go either way. Indeed, Clark started from its own 23 and deliberately drove downfield to the Judson 22-yard line, injecting some drama along the way with a 28-yard wing-around play by Desmond Dents. The drive stalled out, but Scott Gutschke came in and narrowed the gap to 17-13 at the 10:24 mark of the final period. The Rockets were unable to respond with a score on the ensuing possession, but neither could the Cougars on theirs, and so they punted. Once more Darnell Stephens got a good return, this time for 15 yards down to the Clark 38. Kyle Arnell got a 16-yard pickup to the Clark 8-yard line during the 12-play drive, and Vincent Kyle took it in from the 1 to give the Rockets some breathing room. Vorpahl notched the PAT, and with 3:41 left Judson now led 24-13. Remembering how they got burned in the waning moments of the earlier meeting at Northside, the Rockets were in no mood to see a repeat now that it was fairly apparent that the cats would have to call in some air strikes in order to pull this one out. On 1^st Down from the Clark 29 following the kickoff Sigman’s pass was batted down by Joe Senna. On 2^nd Down Mike Garcia raced through to sack Sigman for a 9-yard loss. On 3^rd Down Sigman was able to recoup some of the loss by scrambling for a 7-yard pickup after being forced out of the pocket, but on 4^th Down the pass to Taylor Sommer was just overthrown and Judson took over. The Rockets were able to pick up a final 1^st Down with 99 seconds left, and they were at the Clark 11 when the final gun sounded in this rematch. Although Judson did indeed step things up a few notches in the 2^nd Half, this game was much closer than the score or even the statistics indicated.

The following evening down at Boggus Field, Carroll got past Harlingen to set up the Quarterfinal match with the Rockets.

Corpus Christi Carroll, now in its second season under Head Coach Jim Slaughter, was sailing along and looked just like the kind of offensive and defensive machine that Judson had come to be synonymous with. Indeed, Jim Slaughter had turned around the Tigers in a fashion and timeline that Judson was somewhat familiar with from ten (10) years earlier. In his first season at Carroll-----in which they were the first team from Corpus Christi since 1959 to post a perfect regular-season record----they narrowly lost (15-10) to Willowridge in the Bi-District round. In 1988, the Tigers featured Tiandre Saunders with well over 1000 rushing yards for the season. With a larger part of Corpus Christi pulling for them, they generated enough interest to quickly sell out their side of Buccaneer Stadium. The Rockets, of course, could always count on a good crowd. By this time, and in spite of not being quite the Cinderella team that they were in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, the Rockets had still managed to generate quite a bit of interest region-wide once again, given the manner in which their group of talented Young Guns had responded to some stiff challenges. Also, perhaps, was the fact that, with five (5) years gone since the previous Championship for the San Antonio area, someone was just about due again, based on the intervals at which such things had been happening since the early 1960’s or so. Consequently, there was apparently just enough interest beyond the immediate Judson community in the San Antonio area to warrant a deal between KSAT and KIII in Corpus Christi to provide live pool camera shots for both TV franchises, so all each station had to do then was provide the commentators----in this case Greg Simmons and Paul Alexander in Corpus Christi, with Cordell Patrick back in San Antonio, where during Halftime he presented a very good retrospective on Judson’s Great Crusade of 1983. Thus, the Rockets once again found themselves on live local television for the fourth time in six (6) years. And, once again, cloudless skies and good weather provided the perfect backdrop for some "Rocketball."

The day before, the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on STS-27---the second post-Challenger flight and the third classified DOD mission. 85 seconds into flight, some insulating material broke away from the nose cone of the right-hand Solid Rocket Booster, hitting the Orbiter and damaging upwards of 700 tiles. Somehow, the Thermal Protection System managed to hold up during re-entry four (4) days later, deferring for another time the prospect of a Shuttle burning up on re-entry. The Judson Rockets, meanwhile, had proven all season to have had a superior Defensive Thermal Protection System that had prevented, on seven (7) different occasions thus far, opposing teams from burning them with scores. On this day, it would be no different, and if they were to go down in a "blaze" of glory, it would have to wait for at least one (1) more week. On the 3^rd play of the game, the Tigers bobbled the snap from Center, and Mike Wert recovered for the Rockets at the Carroll 44. From there, the Rockets would work it into the endzone in six (6) plays. A key pickup was a 13-yard run by Kevin Harrison to the 15-yard line. Soon thereafter Tommy Ramey took it in from ten (10) yards out, Bobby Vorpahl toed the PAT, and Judson had the early lead at 7-0 at the 8:59 mark of the opening period. The Tigers responded well to this initial adversity by driving down to the Judson 23-yard line, aided by a Dead Ball foul on the Rockets. A Holding call, however, set them back to the 33, and on the very next play Mike Hendricks outran Tiandre Sanders and then jumped his height to pull in an INT at the 11-yard line. From there the Rockets undertook a 14-play, 67-yard drive. The drive stalled out, though, and the 39-yard FG was NG. The Rockets were soon back in business with a golden opportunity when, on 3^rd-and-2 at the 28, the Tigers fumbled again. This time Nathan Dennes recovered, and things were looking as bright as ‘a thousand points of light.’ The promise in this ‘year of election’ (cf U2 in "Desire") turned out to be a very short-lived mirage, though, when Judson immediately fumbled it back to Carroll at the 35 on a bad pitch-out. The Tigers used this turn of events to attempt a quick momentum-changer of the type that Judson had become known for when their 1^st-Down play featured a double reverse, followed by a flea flicker back to the QB, who then launched it toward Sanders at the Judson 15, where Darnell Stephens knocked it away. The 2^nd-Down pass also went INC, Mike Garcia stopped the 3^rd play dead in its tracks, thus forcing a Carroll punt. Stephens took the punt at the Judson 25, and the Rockets advanced as far as the Carroll 40 before stalling out and punting. The punt rolled dead at the Tigers’ 2-yard line, and it appeared that Judson was gradually winning the battle of field position. The Judson Defense did its job on three (3) supremely unproductive Carroll plays, and Darnell Stephens took the ensuing punt at midfield, returning it to the Carroll 34. With time running down in the 1^st Half, the Rockets moved in for the score in seven (7) plays. Integral to the drive was Vincent Kyle’s 18-yard run down to the 2-yard line. Kevin Harrison blasted in from the 1 soon thereafter, Jeff Hunt’s PAT was good, and with 26 seconds left before the break Judson now had a 14-0 advantage. The Tigers went deep with several pass attempts following the kickoff, but with six (6) seconds left Darnell Stephens pulled in the INT to end the threat and, for all intents and purposes, the 1^st Half.

Vincent Kyle returned the 2^nd-Half kickoff up to the 35, but the Rockets were unable to move and the ensuing punt was taken by Carroll at its own 36. Tiandre Sanders got a good gainer up to the 49, but this forward progress was negated on 1^st Down by an Offside call. This kind of short-circuited the drive, and once more Darnell Stephens was ready, waiting, willing, and more than happy to take the punt at the Judson 22. On the ensuing drive Tommy Ramey got a good pickup on a keeper to the Carroll 40, Kyle Arnell carried to the 30, and Jeff Stanzione pulled in an aerial at the 18. Vincent Kyle got things to the 7, and a reverse to Stanzione got a very modest pickup to the 5. The drive stalled out at that point, but Jeff Hunt booted the FG and Judson now had a 17-0 advantage with 2:24 left in the 3^rd Quarter. Carroll would go 3-and-out on its impending possession, Judson would get good field position at the Carroll 45, but after Vincent Kyle got a good pickup down to the Tigers’ 30-yard line, the drive was summarily terminated when the Tigers recovered fumble on a bad exchange at their own 33. From there Tiandre Sanders got a 1^st-Down pickup to the Carroll 45, a pass thereafter carried to the Judson 45, and Sanders got another 1^st-Down pickup at the Judson 40. The ensuing pass was complete but it was knocked loose by Mike Wert and recovered by Mike Garcia to end the threat. The Offensive Propulsion System kicked into high gear with this turn of events, and soon Kevin Harrison lifted off for a 34-yard dash for the score. Jeff Hunt made good with the PAT, and at the 9:35 mark of the 4^th Quarter, things were looking real good now, with Judson leading 24-0. The Tigers once more went 3-and out, and to compound the situation the punt only went to the Carroll 44. Judson’s 8-play drive ended well with Isom Lankford’s 8-yard run into the endzone with 5:08 left. The PAT kick was dead on arrival due to a high snap, and efforts at salvaging things failed when the pass was INT in the endzone. The Tigers’ final possession of the day also was a 3-and-out, and Judson got the ball back at the Carroll 40. Isom Lankford got a 22-yard pickup to the Carroll 4, and the Rockets ran the clock down from there to reach the Semifinals for the first time since 1983. Given the three (3) painfully close calls, in this same round, since the 1983 Championship, it felt truly strange to suddenly be back in the playoff "twilight zone" as one of only four (4) remaining teams, having finally broken through in this manner.

Also on this afternoon, Dallas Carter got past Marshall (Texas) at Baylor with four (4) seconds to spare, thus foiling any further notions that season of the D.W. Rutledge-led Rockets meeting the Mavericks----led by former Judson Offensive Coordinator Dennis Parker---in the Finals.

Carter, meanwhile, was having its own issues to deal with, and we will not go into too much detail w/r any of that because there are plenty of other sources available on the www from which to learn about all that transpired.

Later that evening in the Astrodome, Stratford got past Willowridge (realigned into Region III) 10-7, and Judson’s Space Cowboys thus had an appointment in the Space City, scheduled for the following Saturday afternoon.

After nearly a year and a half since finishing a Master’s degree in Natural Resources, I was still in a "state of flux," juggling a job search with some contract work during the week on a treatability experiment on some hazardous wastewaters generated by a previous employer, and work on the weekends "babysitting" buildings (and sometimes their occupants) for the local branch of a world-famous security company that had, among other contracts, NASA facilities. Most of my assignments in the San Antonio area weren’t nearly as glamorous, but the work---frequently in the after-hours and wee hours of the morning, did usually provide opportunities to get some studying done for some additional post-graduate coursework I had recently begun in Hydrogeology. At that point I had been pulling 12-hour shifts from 7-to-7 on Friday nights and Saturday nights for the past six (6) months. Because Southwest didn’t (and still doesn’t) have direct flights between SAT and CC, there was no way I would be able to get out and back in time between shifts to see the game at Buccaneer Stadium, and the overall logistics would have been supremely problematic just getting from a traffic-clogged stadium on Leopard Street to the airport and then back to downtown San Antonio in time. Staying on the ground and driving (especially with a sleep deficit) was definitely out of the question as well. Hence, I stayed in SAT and got to watch the Carroll game on TV after first taking a good nap. Now that the Young Guns were in the "terminal phase" of the playoffs, I really didn’t want to miss the game in Houston, even if this meant having to go to go over there and back between shifts with limited sleep. So, I got a ride on one of the Rockets’ charter buses out to Houston, with the intention of using the time enroute to get some rest. Because the buses wouldn’t return in time for me to get back for my Saturday night shift, I also bought a one-way return ticket on Southwest. It’s pretty much a straight shot down Loop 610 between the Astrodome and Hobby, so I figured it would be fairly easy arranging a cab to the airport (it was). One of my parents would then pick me up in SAT and take me back downtown where I would resume my shift. Things worked out pretty good, although the plans to get a good nap kind of fell apart when the bus motorcade stopped in Flatonia for breakfast at Grumpy’s. I had eaten a light breakfast earlier, but for some reason the prospect of a good bacon, eggs, hash brown, milk, orange juice and cantaloupe offering was too good to pass up, so I went in with everyone else. I thought a large meal like that would help put me in "hibernation mode" for a good hour or so but surprisingly, when the trip resumed, I instead found it difficult to resume my nap. Before I knew it I could sense the gravitational pull of the Houston area, this reminder of why I was even making this trip got my adrenaline going, and that was the end of any ideas of getting any kind of meaningful rest.

Going into this showdown, the Spartans had set some kind of record for consecutive playoff wins in the House of Pain, so named during the Jerry Glanville era in Houston. Overall, they had a 15-2 record, and one of their numerous banners said "Welcome to Our House of Pain." Judson’s Young Guns, however, were about to make it a House of Pain----for the Spartans. Darnell Stephens took the opening kickoff, briefly bobbling it on the turf before getting away for a 47-yard return down to the Spartan 39. On the 2^nd play of the game Tommy Ramey got an 8-yard pickup down to the 30, but he also sustained a deep thigh bruise, and he was pretty much finished for the day. Enter Mike Jinks to carry the full load. After some modest ground gainers, Mike Jinks hit Kevin Harrison for an 8-yard pickup to the 19. Vincent Kyle got pickups of six (6) and nine (9) yards off the Sprint Draw that advanced things to the 4, and Jinks kept for three (3) yards for a 1^st-and-Goal at the 1. The Spartan defense was pretty stiff, though, and Judson couldn’t punch it in until Kyle penetrated on 3^rd Down to finish a 12-play drive at the 6:04 mark of the opening period. The PAT, however, was no good due to a low snap from Center, and this looked somewhat ominous. On the other hand, the fact that the Stratford offense had been kept on ice for so long to start the game was perhaps a good sign, not to mention perhaps necessary.

Enter the Judson Defense, which was raring to go and give enhanced meaning to the ‘Dome’s other name. In nine (9) plays the Spartans were only able to gain a net 1 yard, largely a result of a tackle on Matt Trozzo for a loss of four (4) yards by Mike Hendricks, followed by a 16-yard sack that could arguably be termed a crowded "maul," given the number of defenders involved. Thus, with 74 seconds remaining in the 1^st Quarter the Spartans punted. The Rockets’ Offensive Propulsion System took over and only picked up 20 yards in nine (9) plays, so they punted at the 8:51 mark of the 2^nd Quarter. Stratford’s next drive, however, was even less productive, with a key event being a hurried exchange between QB Jimmy Klingler and Trozzo on 3^rd-and-3 that caused the Spartans to take a 9-yard loss under a frenzied defensive assault. That frenzied assault resulted in a shanked punt that only went 11 yards, and it put the Rockets in business at the Stratford 42. Mike Jinks and Vincent Kyle got some good gains on successive plays, but both pickups were wiped out by Clipping calls. Undeterred, the Young Guns advanced close enough for Bobby Vorpahl to boot a 44-yard FG, and this gave Judson a 9-0 lead, now with only 3:15 left in the 1^st Half. On the Young Guns’ next defensive stand, they turned up the heat even more, with Darnell Stephens sacking the QB for a 12-yard loss back to the 9-yard line. All told, that 3-and-out series netted a minus 11 yards, and following the punt the Rockets had relatively good field position at their own 42 with 71 seconds left. On the first play Kevin Harrison got loose for a 33-yard pickup down to the Stratford 25. On the very next play, Jinks rolled right as if he were taking off on an option play, but then pulled up and launched an aerial that Jeff Stanzione came down with in the corner of the endzone for the score. Vorpahl booted the PAT and the Rockets had a stunning 16-0 lead with 38 seconds left in the 1^st Half. The Spartans fully intended to use the final 38 seconds to try and get something going and maybe turn the momentum in their favor moving into the 2^nd Half, but on the final play a long pass from Klingler was tipped away by Mike Hendricks. It felt real good for the Rockets to have this kind of upper hand entering the break, but everyone also knew that this was not the time to let up any

Meanwhile over in Austin, further to the west and closer to where a cold front was in the process of blowing out a somewhat balmy, damp overcast by squeezing out the remaining moisture, Dallas Carter was busy beating Permian 14-9 in a driving rainstorm at UT. This set up the meeting with Judson at Texas Stadium on December 17. This, ironically, would be the same date on which Judson beat Midland Lee there in 1983.

Immediately following the game I made a beeline for the Holiday Inn across the street from the Dome, and I was one relieved person when the cab arrived and got me to Hobby with plenty of time to spare. The flight left on time (this was, of course, Southwest), and I got back downtown with just enough time to change back into my guard costume. Interestingly, on the flight back I sat next to a guy who likewise had come from the game and who had a grandson that played for Stratford, and a lady in front of me that had connected from another flight at Hobby was a teacher at Judson. So, we all had some interesting things to talk about on that very short flight into San Antonio. The only problem (but a happy one, though) was that I would have to pretty much go through the same sleepless Southwest Airlines routine the next week. This time, though, I would be purchasing a round trip ticket, and simply hope for the best as far as getting any kind of nap. Let’s just say that the No Doz and Vivarin companies are in business and make good money for a reason.

In a somewhat related note, the need to juggle work with such convoluted transport schemes was about to come to a happy end. Less than 48 hours before Judson and Carter were set to kick off, some supremely good news came my way, as the past year of perseverance in the job search finally paid off. I was offered a full-time job in my field with pay commensurate with my training and background, starting the 4^th week in January.

After the Flight Crew and Flight Operations Directorate attended a sendoff pep rally, a Converse Police and Fire motorcade, as was done in 1983, escorted the Space Cowboys to the airport for the Friday morning flight to Love Field. The next day, in sharp contrast to the ice-cold, leaden-sky conditions of 1983, the skies were crystal clear, and the temperatures just about right for a mid-December game. This time, though, these Young Guns would be up against an 11-Man Posse on defense, and an offense that had split its yardage almost precisely between air and ground---something, perhaps, not seen by the Rockets since 1985 when the Holmes Huskies and their Cash Twins passing attack and their ground attack featuring Jerry Arceneaux gave the Rockets fits. In other words, a stiff challenge awaited the Rockets if they were to succeed in this particular moon trip. But, as JFK said at Rice Stadium in 1962, such a trip was intended precisely because it was hard.

The kickoff went into the endzone and the Young Guns started from their own 20. Kevin Harrison and Vincent Kyle got one (1) and two (2) yards, respectively, but on 3^rd Down Mike Jinks hit Jeff Stanzione for an aerial pickup to the 30 for a First Down. The Posse stopped the Space Cowboys for no gain on 1^st Down, on 2^nd Down Jessie Armstead sequestered Mike Jinks back at the 22, on 3^rd Down Vincent Kyle was sent packing back to the original line of scrimmage, and it was time to punt. Bobby Vorpahl’s kick was taken by Marcus Grant at the 32 and returned to midfield. On 1^st Down QB Robert Hall----who had a fever and the flu and vomited enroute to the game----went deep to Detrick Clark, but the pass was INC and Hall was down. He was soon back up and apparently alright, but nevertheless sat out the rest of what would be a very short series. Brian Mitchell came in at this point to direct the attack, but under a lot of pressure he released a dead duck just as he was being hit by Mike Garcia, and the floater was ready and waiting to be taken by Joe Senna at the 40 and returned back up to the Judson 47. This was just the kind of break that the Young Guns would perhaps need to turn this game in their favor. Kevin Harrison carried up the middle for five (5) yards. On the next play Vincent Kyle carried around the right side for no gain, thereafter he got a very modest pickup off the Sprint Draw that fell a yard short of the First Down marker, and the Flight Operations Directorate elected to punt with the idea of playing for field position. With that in mind Bobby Vorpahl sent the punt down to the 15. During Robert Hall’s "convalescence" on the sidelines, and in view of what transpired in his absence, Coach Freddie James basically told him, "Robert, you’ve got to get back in there." Hence, he got off his "sickbed" on the sideline and returned to the action. On 1^st Down, though, a running play went right into a crowded "maul" for no gain. The next play was much more promising. Hall hit David Jones at the 25, and from there the play advanced down to the Judson 42-yard line, where Young Guns Mike Hendricks and Darnell Stephens made the stop. On the next play Jones caught Hall’s pass at the 40, where he broke a tackle and got away down to the 7. The drive was summarily terminated, however, when a bad pitchout intended for Gary Edwards was recovered by Robert Reed back at the 12. Kevin Harrison took the ensuing two (2) handoffs from Tommy Ramey----who had recovered from his injury sustained in Houston----only got two (2) yards. On 3^rd Down Ramey’s short pass was caught by Harrison just short of the First Down, and once again it was time to punt. Once more, Marcus Grant took Vorpahl’s kick, this time at the Carter 32. He returned it to the 37, and a Late Hit call advanced things into Judson territory at the 48. Two (2) consecutive passes toward Grant went INC, but on 3^rd Down Grant caught a short pass just short of the First Down marker. The Cowboys elected to go for it on 4^th Down, and Harvey Harper converted to move the chains. Grant caught the next pass at the Judson 25, where Joe Senna made the stop, and David Jones got a short pickup for another First Down at the 24. A Delay of Game pushed the Cowboys back to the 29, but on 1^st-and-15 Jones took a short aerial at the 24 and broke a tackle to advance for another First Down pickup. Robert Hall continued to probe the Young Guns’ secondary, hurling a pass to Grant at the 1 that went INC. The next part of the "experiment" yielded results, though, when he passed up the middle to David Jones at the 2, where Mike Hendricks and Derwin Gray made the stop. On the next play, Harvey Harper dove in for the score, and Stephen McKnight booted the PAT to put the Cowboys on top 7-0 with four (4) seconds left in the 1^st Quarter.

Harold Jones sent the concomitant kickoff downfield, where Vincent Kyle downed it in the endzone for a touchback. Kyle Arnell was stopped for no gain on 1^st Down, and the 1^st Quarter thus came to an end. It was time for Judson’s Space Cowboys and Young Guns to "work the problem" in true Rocket Pride fashion. Unfortunately, the 11-Man Posse had other ideas. On the very next play a play action pass intended for Jeff Stanzione was picked off at the 30 by Gary Edwards and returned to the 12, where Stanzione made the stop. The "Judson Rocky’s" were definitely needing to be true to their name here and make the stand, but even some Old Skool "DEE! DEE!" [Defense] by Mr. Paschall---had he not been on permanent assignment elsewhere since April---would probably have had trouble stopping what was going to happen next. On 1^st Down the versatile Brian Mitchell took Hall’s pass and went into the endzone for the score, Harold Jones drilled the PAT, and with only 13 seconds gone in the 2^nd period Carter had broken this one open with a 14-0 lead. The Rockets’ Space Cowboys would have to come up with some unique fixes if they were to still make this particular moon landing. Instead, it appeared that, at the very least, they were looking at a momentary wave-off similar to what happened on Apollo 16. On that flight to the Cayley Plains of Descartes, Space Cowboys John Young and Charlie Duke were delayed for six (6) hours while an issue with the Thrust Vector Control (TVC---ie, steering) in the Command Module got worked out. For several hours the chances of them getting things worked out in time before having to re-dock and use the Lunar Module’s Descent Propulsion System engine to get away from the moon were no better than 50-50.

For the Rockets’ Young Guns at Texas Stadium, an 11-man Posse was doing a pretty good job thus far in diverting them away from their target and putting in doubt prospects that the Rockets could "work the problem" before running out of time. Nevertheless, the Flight Crew, Flight Operations Directorate, and the Ground Support Teams on-hand were still willing to take however long was necessary in order to pull this thing out, and "save their name from disgrace and shame." With that in mind, Darnell Stephens took the kickoff at the 1 and returned it up to the 17. On 1^st Down Kyle Arnell got loose up to the 38. A little later Arnell carried up to the 42, where Jessie Armstead made the stop. The ball was then fumbled, Judson was able to retain possession, but it was time to punt. Marcus Grant took the punt and was tackled by Luis Silva. The drive was pretty much stillborn because of a Clipping call on the return, which caused Carter to start from its own 5-yard line. On 2^nd-and-7 Brian Mitchell took a pitchout up to the 24, but Mike Wert put the kibosh on Harvey Harper for a loss back to the 20. Marcus Grant carried back up to the 24, but a pass to Grant on 1^st Down was just shy of a First Down. The ensuing punt hit at the Judson 20, but bounced back to the 10. Darnell Stephens fielded it but was apprehended by the Posse back at the 5. This pretty much resulted in a quick 3-and-out, and Marcus Grant took the punt at the Judson 40. On 1^st Down Hall saw no one was open, so he took off for a 6-yard pickup, with Brent McCollum making the stop. On the next play Hall slipped down, this set things back to the 42, but his play action pass to David Jones advanced things back down to the 32. On the next play Harvey Harper made a dive to move the chains on 4^th-and-2, with the 1^st Down coming by just half the length of the ball. Another play action pass, this time to Marcus Grant, was caught at the 18 on 1^st Down. A pass to Detrick Clark was caught, but as a result of a Pass Interference call on Judson Carter elected to take the penalty instead to bring up a 1^st-and-Goal at the 9. On 2^nd-and-7 Harvey Harper walked into the endzone for the score, Harold Jones’ PAT was good, and with 148 seconds left before intermission Carter now had a 21-0 lead over the Young Guns of Judson. Darnell Stephens took the kickoff at the 5 and returned it up to the 20. Kyle Arnell carried up to the 27, but on the next play Cedric Baker recovered a botched handoff for the Posse, and things were looking pretty grim for the Rockets now. Brian Mitchell took the handoff for a prospective Halfback Pass, but no one was home so he took off down to the 12. He was hit by Mike Wert for a loss back to the 14, and thereafter a pass for Detrick Clark was broken up by Mike Hendricks at the goal line. The Cowboys were hit by a Delay of Game penalty, and thereafter by a sack on Robert Hall by Mike Reed for a loss back to the 30. With time expiring, though, Stephen McKnight pushed through a 45-yard FG, and with "four zeroes" on the clock Carter had a 24-0 advantage. It was basically turning into one of those situations where everything was starting to go right for Carter. Or, Conversely for the Judson Rockets, the problems were starting to mount, just as they frequently can in the real rocket program when launches get scrubbed and flights get aborted (or worse). That was the reality facing the Space Cowboys’ Young Guns.

For Halftime, the Rocket Band, the Galaxies and the Starlites did a holiday theme very similar to their 1983 skit, again making it pretty clear that "all we want for Christmas is State." Sometimes, though, even Santa doesn’t bring you everything you’ve asked for. And, it’s not because he’s bringing you a chunk of coal for being "bad." Sometimes the deepest-felt wishes for Christmas, especially if you’ve been "good," are the wishes not granted---at least as initially envisioned. It looked more and more like this was going to have to be case here, but coming back from a 24-0 deficit was not of the question, and it was worth making a go of it.

Carter took the 2^nd-Half kickoff at the 15. Harvey Harper got a 10-yard pickup to move the chains. The Rocket Defense, though, held on the next series of Downs, thus forcing a punt. Darnell Stephens took the punt once more, this time at the Judson 34, and a Late Hit allowed the Rockets to start at midfield. Mike Jinks’ pass to Luis Silva went INC, though, and the next pass attempt went INT when Lashai Maston picked off Jinks’ rollout attempt at the 20 and returned it up to the 27. The Cowboys were soon forced to punt once more, though. Stephens fielded the punt at the 27, returning it up to the 40, and a Late Hit call advanced Judson to the Carter 45. A deep pass to Jeff Stanzione was broken up by Clifton Abraham, and on the next play a bad pitchout was recovered by Jessie Armstead. David Jones took Hall’s pass at midfield and advanced to the Judson 40, where Derwin Gray made the stop. Robert Hall carried to the 33, where Mike Wert made the stop. Marcus Grant advanced Carter to the 22, where once more it was Gray with the stop. On the next play Marcus Grant took Hall’s toss at the 12 and into the endzone. Harold Jones made good on the PAT, and Carter had a near-insurmountable advantage of 31-0 with 7:14 still remaining in the penultimate period. Judson was unable to produce anything of substance on the ensuing possession, and soon Carter was back to do some more prospective damage. At this point, about 3 or 4 Carter supporters (non-students, near as I could tell) somehow managed to find their way to a blocked-off upper level of Texas Stadium, in order to let the Rockets down below know how sorry their team was (or something to that effect). Almost at the same time that security came and directed the hecklers back downstairs (which engendered a noticeable gesture of thanks from those within earshot of the verbal assault), Robert Reed stepped in front of a Robert Hall pass, returning it 40 yards, and Judson suddenly had its first score of the day. Finally. Security may have helped shut those guys up, but this play finished the job. Interestingly, when I saw the tape of the live coverage of the game, this play, according to the commentators, apparently rattled the Cowboys momentarily because they somehow had come to think by this point in the game that we would continue to "cooperate" with and abide by the apparent verdict. Apparently, they didn’t know how "Rocket Pride" worked. That’s fine. Let someone make that mistake, and suffer the consequences, no matter how miniscule or brief.

The Young Guns flew back into San Antonio late that evening, where another Police and Fire motorcade----representing Kirby, Converse, Live Oak, Universal City and Selma---met them for the drive back to Converse and another reception on campus.

The Rockets would in their own way rise from the "dead," the next season and several times thereafter. They rose rooted on the foundation laid especially between 1984 and the showdown with Carter, which was laid all the more so on the foundation------based on more than simply winning------known as Rocket Pride, which can keep someone forever young (also the name of the Rod Stewart song, popular at the time of the 1988 season). "Forever young" is how I tend to remember everyone and everything---Mr. Paschall included----involved in any way with the 1988 effort. To lose or forget those foundations is to suffer a loss of innocence. That would be unfortunate. Tragic, actually.