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Friday, August 1, 2008
One Stadium, So Many Memories
Collin County, TX
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TXA 21 sports anchor Bill Jones recalls his top 10 Texas Stadium high school memories
This being the Dallas Cowboys’ final year at Texas Stadium, I was asked to compile my list of top 10 memories at the stadium. I guess they asked me because I'm the only one old enough who was around here way back in the early years of the stadium.
Here goes: Number one on my "Texas Stadium Memory List" has to be...drum roll, please...my MacArthur High School graduation. Yes, way back then, all the Irving high schools held their graduation ceremonies at Texas Stadium.
Second is riding my old Stingray bicycle down the end zone ramp at the stadium while it was still under construction. I can't believe our parents let us ride our bikes to Texas Stadium. Things were a lot different then. Like I said, it was a long, long time ago.
There's a 10-way tie for third on my list. Interestingly, no Cowboys games made it:
1971 4A State Finals San Antonio Lee 28, Wichita Falls 27
It was the first state championship game ever played at Texas Stadium. Tommy Kramer, who went on to star at Rice and in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, led the Lee Volunteers to the win. Wichita Falls had a little quarterback named Ronnie Littleton, who was the most electrifying running QB I've ever seen.
1974 4A Bi-District Mesquite 21, Irving MacArthur 13
A personal favorite of mine because this one featured my Cardinals, fresh off a perfect 10-0 district championship regular season, the first in school history. Unfortunately, a Cardinal team led by QB Mike Hamilton, RB Richard Valenta, and WR Carlton Kile (you've never heard of these people but I have!) fell victim to a Skeeters squad that made it all the way to the state championship game. The Cardinals had no answer for sophomore QB Mike Ford, who played at SMU.
1977 4A State Quarterfinals Plano 29, Highland Park 28
The greatest comeback in the history of comebacks (that's how I remember it anyway). Plano trailed, 28-0, in the third quarter before rallying. The game winner came on a 60-yard double pass with 33 seconds left, followed by a 2-point conversion run. Plano went on to beat Pt. Neches-Groves in the state championship game in front of 49,953 fans at Texas Stadium, which still stands as a state high school record though I GUARANTEE there were more than 50,000 fans at a playoff game in 2006 (keep reading).
1983 5A State Finals Converse Judson 25, Midland Lee 21
Record setting RB Chris Pryor led the Rockets (went to Texas Tech; never made it to class). It was the last high school game coached by Midland Lee's Spike Dykes (went to Texas Tech; always coached with class).
1988 5A State Finals Dallas Carter 31, Converse Judson 14
The Carter Cowboys had all-world TE/LB Jesse Armstead, who would become a five-time Pro Bowler in the NFL. A grading scandal, detailed in the book “Friday Night Lights”, resulted in Carter later forfeiting the championship.
1994 5A Regional Semifinals Tyler John Tyler 48, Plano East 44
This was the most fantastic finish in the history of fantastic finishes. I was watching it via a live microwave feed from the stadium as I prepared for my 10 p.m. sportscast at the NBC-5 studios in Fort Worth. I couldn't believe how Plano East rallied from a 2-point deficit with three minutes left to take the lead with 24 seconds left. And, I really couldn't believe it when Tyler then returns the ensuing kickoff for a TD and a 48-44 win. But it was the hilarious commentary from the admittedly partial announcers on the Plano Telecable feed that made this really special. Of course, we contacted network producers at NBC and told them, "You just gotta see this!" And two days later, those Plano East "homer" announcers had their 15 minutes of fame on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. Tyler went on to win state.
1996 5A State Finals Austin Westlake 55, Abilene Cooper 15
Westlake, led by future Purdue and NFL star Drew Brees, blows away a Cooper team led by future NFL running back Dominic Rhodes. An 8-year-old ball boy on the Westlake sideline (whose granddad was the school's Athletic Director), would play a key role in a more memorable Texas Stadium game exactly ten years later (keep reading).
1998 4A State Semifinals Stephenville 31, Southlake Carroll 28
What a game! Leading 28-24 with two minutes left at the Stephenville 20 yard line, Carroll, led by future Iowa quarterback Nathan Chandler, needed to make half a yard on a fourth-down play to wrap up the win. The Yellowjackets defense stopped the Dragons, and one play later, Kelan Luker hit Cody Cardwell on an 80-yard TD pass to win a trip to state. Stephenville, coached by current Baylor coach Art Briles, crushed LaMarque in the state championship game the next week.
2004 5A State Finals Southlake Carroll 27, Smithson Valley 24
Another personal favorite because I got to call this game on FSN. Smithson Valley's defense, led by middle linebacker Joe Pawelek (Baylor), kept Chase Daniel (Missouri) and the Dragons offense in check. A blocked punt helped Smithson Valley tie the game, 24-24, in the fourth quarter. But, special teams won it for Carroll. Not only did Daniel punted for the first time in his life, but Aaron Luna (Rice/St. Louis Cardinals, who also was the deep snapper, made key tackles on return man Andrew Sendejo (Rice). And, on the final play of the game, Kevin Ortega booted a 41-yard field goal to win the state championship--one dedicated to the memory of Carroll defensive coordinator Charlie Stalcup, who passed away just prior to pre-season workouts that year after a long battle with cancer.
2006 5A Area Finals Southlake Carroll 22, Euless Trinity 21
This may be the greatest game in the history of greatest games. However, I only saw half of it because I was in a traffic jam outside Texas Stadium until halftime. When I finally got into the stadium, I couldn't believe it. The crowd was as large as the one at Texas Stadium the previous day for the Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day win over Tampa Bay. The announced attendance was 46,339, but that was the tabulation at halftime. By late 3rd quarter, there were easily over 50,000 people watching. What they saw was an epic matchup of two defending state champions. Carroll stopped a fake punt attempt in the final two minutes and won the game, 22-21, as quarterback Riley Dodge scored the winning touchdown in the final minute. That was the same Riley Dodge who was that 8-year-old ball boy on the Austin Westlake sideline watching his idol, Drew Brees, win state 10 years earlier. Carroll went on to win its fourth state title in five years.
So, that's my official "Texas Stadium Memory List". The details may not be entirely accurate, but it's what I remember. And that's the great thing about memories. We all have our own, and we can remember things however we so choose. I'm sure you have your own. It will be fun to see what new memories are created this final year at Texas Stadium.
Gotta go now. Some friends and me are going to go ride our bikes down the ramp at this new stadium they're building in Arlington. Don't tell Mom.
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