Hide Article Text (OCR)
•'lt; / . .J:-W4LA W'y'ii'4. ‘v/vIT-N Photo)G REEN E VILLE COACH AND SENIORS — Coach LEN this year. Kneeling are co-captains BUDDY KING lt;50), DIE GODWIN, JACK REAVES, COLLIE ^JLLERS, COFFMAN is expecting the 13 seniors above to carry a and J, C. MORELOCK, Standing, left to right are MIKE GARLAND RYANS, HAROLD WAGGONfcR, W'A.mifcK big load as OrecnevlJle enters the Big Six football race GARLAND, TOMMY DE VOTI, ROVER JONES, FRED- ELKINS, CECIL STAMPER and GLEN DON OTTINGER.Greeneville Tough New Member Of Big SixlEriitor'* Nwlcr Th« old #iic FiveConf*r*ncr voted Ut year to fcdmiLOreenevilJe. maKinic ll the Bip 8U. The 1955 ffrld schedules hud already been made oul. hovever. and Ofeene-irllli* had to wait a aea.ton lo onter the race for the coveted fcm TenneMee title. Tills la the xecond Jn the Time**Kpss aerie * oi previews ni area hi£h •chool football teama.rBy FRANK CREASY Greeneville would have been one of the top three if the Dig Six football conference had' been in exist*cnce lust year. The Green Devils met four of the then Big Five — all except Kingsport—and knockedoff three of them.■As ft full-fledged member of what is perhaps Tennessee’s toughest high school league, Greeneville figures to have a very definite hand In deciding the first Big Six championship race.Coached by former University of Tennessee fullback Leonard Coffman. the Green Devils collide with tllle-niindcd Erwin Jn their seasonopener. Aug. 31, Besides being hepped-up over ihelr membership In the loop, the Greenies wJJI be bent on avenging their lone dt-feat *0-14' of 1055.Thirteen able-bodied players are back from the 1055 Greeneville squad that won eight, lost one and tied one. and Coach Coffman would have even more experience In his32-man squad if two “sure starters'' weren't laid up from summer swimming mishaps.Gordon Britton, a 130 - pound blocking back, and Jim Felts, a 6-3, 185-pound end are the two hospitalized. Bolh are seniors.Britton Buffered a compound finger dislocation that was made even more serious when infection set in. He received the injury when hl3 ring caught on a pool ladder as he clipped. He's been in the hospital for more than a week, and issure lo miss three or four games.Felts may be out for the entire season.He is hospitalized with chlorine in his system, and doctors have given Coach Coffman no indication when the bfg flankman will {be able to go home.Even with Fells aud Britton out. Coach Coffman thinks his eleven will be strongest at ends and in the backfleld. “Tackles will bn our weak .spots, he says matter-of-fnctly, “Three of our best tackles are sophomores.To a question. Coach Coffman said he is more worried about defense than offense.Oud ends hasrc been catching the ball real good, and the backs ■are running hard. Of course, thisis just practice though/' the personable coach explained.Coffman, who was backfleld strategist on Bowden Wyatt's staff at University of Wyoming in 1949* 50, admitted that his single wing attack will Include “at least as much passing as It does running.“The two (running and passingj will be about equal. I'd say. One makes Ihe other.Dividing the tossing duties will be returning starter Jack Reaves and Jere Disney, a 173-pound junior. These two lads are also expected to equally split the tailback ball-carrying chores. Reaves^ 5-8 and 145. is the speedster, and Disney is th% heavy duly runner.Wingback Waller Elkins and fullback Cecil Stamper arc also back *Green Devils' ScheduleAug. 31 Erwin AwaySept. 7 Bristol HomeSept. 14 Sevlerville HomeSept. 2! Church Hill AwaySept. 28 EHzabethton HomeOct. 5 OpenOct. 12 Morristown HomeOct. 19 Kingsport HomeOct. 26 Johnson City AwayNov. 2 Knoxville West HomeNov. 9 Newport Awayto claim starting berths, and Mlu-nis Paxton, a 5-9. 140-pound junior, is expected to hold the blocking back post at least until BriLton returns.Elkins comes In at 140, and Stamper is a stocky 160.Though Felts Isn't being counted on, the Green Devils have a pairof agile, good-sized, experiencedends, Garland Ryans and Mike Garland, on call. Iiyans. 6-1, 182, and Garland, 6 even and 178, are both senior letlcrmcn.The heaviest man in Coach Coffman's probable lineup will be lot-lerman tackle J. C. Morelock, 5-10 and 19. Keith Wykle, a junior who’s Jogged some game lime but not enough to wear a monogram, is a likely choice for the other tackle slot, He’s 5-11 and 182 pounds.A senior, I70*pmind Freddie Godwin is also expected to see considerable action at tackle.TTie sophomores Coach Coffman referred to are Matt Harmon, 181, O. C. Lutrell, 202, and Kenneth Malone, 194.The smallest man in Grecne-ville’s line, which will average over 179 pounds per man. Is holdover guard Harold Waggoner. He’s 5-8 and 165. Johnny Morelock, younger brother of the tackle, carries 173 pounds and Is going to be I hard to heat out of the oLher guard | post.In the words of Coach Coffman, | Greeneville has “one of the best| centers in East Tennessee In vet*; eran Buddy King. A solid 178 pounds and 5-11, King is playing his fourlh year.He and J. C. Morelock are eo-eaptains of the squad.After 20 spring drill sessions. Coach Coffman opened fall training on Aug. 13, with two-a-day\\ workouts. Practically every ses-;l sion has included fuli-speed scrimmage.“The boys are all In pretty good condition. die coach opined, adding, “they’ve got to be. We can't afford lo lose anybody else.Coffman, a major in the Army reserve, will be starting his second year at the Greeneville coaching helm. He played on the Greene-ville High School team before be-i coming a. top fullback at UT from 1937 lo 1940.Coffman's gnt a friendly personal score he’d like to see seL-tled in the Greeneville-Erwin fracas. Erwin coach A1 Rotelln. started his playing career at UT when Coffman was Vol frosh coach.NEXT; Tennessee High of Bristol.
Newspaper Details
Kingsport Times
Kingsport, Tennessee, US
Wed, Aug 22, 1956
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Susan R.
USA 08 Oct 2021
Other Publications Near Kingsport, Tennessee
Times News
Kingsports Times News
Kingsport Times News
Kingsport Times
Kingsport News
