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-'0 a «Rebs Run Over Bulldogsby Don Fisher___% H r-'tbiy- \ia\A , \ ■ ' )COOPER-Cooper Head Coach Larry Stowers was in a state of shock.“I didn’t think anybody could just physically push us around like that,” he said after his massive Bulldog line had been shreaded by the Rivercrest Rebels and the strains of “Dixie” had rolled over the soft Southern breezes for the final time, pronouncing a 26-0 Rebel victory.Victory? How about “rout” or “massacre?” Rivercrest Head Coach Milford Groves’ cavalry rode roughshod over the Bulldogs for 251 yards rushing while the Rebel frontline trenches held Cooper to less than an hundred while secondary aces Bubba Edge, James Strickland, Stan Wood shot down eight pass attempts.The first half was nothing to brag about unless you want to talk defense. The first minute of play saw the Rebels march quickly from their own 30 into the end zone on four gallops by speed merchant Jerry Merchant and Billy Froelich, who did yoeman service both ways all night.sfithems,bs.I the their or a t the nblet rs, a cornerAonse NBFense ‘back i and nove,he 35 theining fi and , and clos-of 15[ul.arted)n 25.i and beenShort TakesiWhy look for trouble — our address is in its card ile.An old-timer is a fellow who recalls when a bam steer wasn't what the hamburger stand’s hockey packs were made of.Shares of worries are about all you get when speculating in the stock market.From there until the Rebel Band and Flag Corps did their impressive routines for the fans, it was like watching re-runs of World War I-battles in the trenches for small chunks of ground.The only exception was a hard-fought drive on the second Rebel possession which died 12 yards into Bulldog territory.But when the dancing stopped, there was blood on the moon for Cooper.“I just told them we could go back out there and win the ball game or we could go back and just chunk it to the side,” Groves said after the same. “I told them I knew it had been a long first half and they had really had to scrap for what we got. They made up their minds.”The Rebel backfield chorus was unanimous in their assessment of the second half.“It was our line,” they shouted in unison.That was a fair assessment. Cooper frontmen got close-up looks at linemen Dudley Horton, Bobby Thompson, Jimmy Smith and Jim Kain-all of them outweighed by 30 to 50 pounds-throughout thenight.“I was particularly proud of our line,” said Assistant Coach Perry Cowan, who marshalls the Rebel tren-chmen.Merchant, who shared top rushing honors with Billy Froelich, gave equal accolades to the line and the brothers Froelich.It was Paul, he and Billy both. I couldn’t have made it without them,” he said.A Rebel gang tackle jarred loose a Cooper fumble at the 29 to set up the first score.Strickland combined a short pass to Billy Froelich with quick insiders to Merchant and Paul for the final one-yard assault by Merchant. Billy made up the missed point after on the first score by stepping through the line for two.The Rebels’ second scoring drive could have been called The Billy Froelich Show.”The junior running back bashed his way from his own 36 to account for 60 yards of the 13-play.drive.After a Horton sack which put the Bulldogs in a fourthand 15 situation, the Rebels took over again on the 40 and mounted runs by Paul and Edge, capped by a 27-yard bulldozer dash by the senior Froelich for the final score.For the Bulldogs, it was a frustrating second half. Billy Froelich picked off one of their passes while Strickland, Paul and Edge batted away virtually every other attempt.Even a last minute aerial assault was denied as a flying dive by junior Billy Stewart spiked the last pass hope for Cooper harmlessly onto the goal line turf.End Brian Harville summed up the Rebel jubilation after the game.They were big. They were pretty tough. But we stuck. —cm:** dp*fit# • *A.# If’ V'fc'-y;:'-#f4W*•V'•* f:*'- ■* ■■■•% m. * ■■rS'-V.W--•aBusting loose-Running back Billy Froelich, 24, blasts through the Cooper Bulldog line behind the blocking of Jerry Merchant, 33, Friday night as the Rivercrest Rebels demolished CooDer 26-0. Merchant and the youngerFroelich led the Rebel rushing attack against a Bulldog team which outweighed Rivercrest linemen by as much as 50 pounds in some cases. Photo by Teresa Ann Fisher.
Newspaper Details
Clarksville Times
Clarksville, Texas, US
Mon, Sep 15, 1980
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Teresa N.
TX, USA 21 Sep 2018
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