The first few seasons after Judson won State were pivotal in laying the groundwork in the Rockets’ attempts to return to the "moon." Those seasons, and then the 1988 season, set the pace for much of what Judson would accomplish through the 1990’s, and possibly beyond (only time will literally tell w/r that).

Just when I thought, following the win in Texas Stadium the previous December, that I had maybe seen my final Rockets game for some time to come (still figuring, for some reason, I’d end up somewhere out of state), I decided, almost at the last minute before finally graduating from TAMU, to apply to a specialized Graduate program in Natural Resources that was offered at, of all places, UTSA. I would instead soon discover that my days of directly following Judson Rocket Football had been extended for at least another 2-3 years (and for the first time since my Senior year at Judson, I could follow it on a continued basis).

One of the more interesting things, perhaps, about the next few seasons was that, although Churchill no longer dominated the way they had, it appeared that there was a multiplication of such teams capable of reaching that same level of excellence. For the most part, these included-----in addition to Judson------Madison, Clark, Holmes, and to a certain extent Sam Houston and East Central, and occasionally Marshall and Highlands. This interesting mix made things quite exciting, and thus somewhat unpredictable. This was perhaps most evident in the 1984 and 1985 seasons, as the next chapter of "Rocket Pride" began with former deffensive coordinator D.W. Rutledge taking the reigns as Head Coach, and Frank Arnold becoming Judson Athletic Director following Roy Wallace’s retirement.

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