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January 7, 2006 Roughrider Retrospective
Roughriders v. Elyria Catholic Panthers, 1977
Roughrider #52 Tim Hastreiter hits #44 Bryan Thomas. Photo courtesy Andrews Photography. Click for larger image. |
ROUGHRIDER RETROSPECTIVE - by Buz Howard
It was rarefied air. No St. Marys team had ever climbed so high. A playoff appearance. Against the defending state champions. On the campus of Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. And, get this, on Astro-Turf.
Making the Division state playoffs against Elyria Catholic in 1977 was a big deal in St. Marys. Since the playoff system had been implemented in 1972, several Roughrider teams had come close, but the computer polls always favored schools such as Columbus Bishop Watterson (1972) and Cincinnati Wyoming (1975).
But finally there was a breakthrough. The 10-0 Riders sufficiently impressed the computer and finished atop the Region 6 (AA) poll, edging out Bellevue, who conveniently opened the door with a 10-9 loss to Shelby.
In the early days of the playoff system there were only three divisions, unlike the current six-division setup. Moreover, only four teams in each division—the winners of the regional polls—advanced to the playoffs. If you made the playoffs, you were automatically in the state semi-finals.
The Roughrider faithful, flying high with a fervor which, at that time, had been unprecedented in the program, saw a genuine chance for the team to win the two games necessary for the school’s first state championship.
The Riders had waltzed through most of their regular-season schedule with easy victories, yet they had been battle-hardened by two tough WBL foes—Elida, whom they had squeaked by, 14-12; and Wapak, whom they had beaten, 14-6.
#92 Steve Hurlburt seals the outside. |
The team featured a rock-ribbed defense that had allowed only 5.3 points per contest. The unit was led by rangy defensive end Steve Hurlburt, the WBL “Defensive Lineman of the Year.” Other defenders to gain all-league honors were interior linemen Brent Schwartz and Don Lauth, linebackers Tim Hastreiter and Tony Laman, and defensive backs Jeff Cisco, Kevin Quellhorst, and Greg Starts.
#24 Ron Keith dives for yards. |
The Roughrider offense, averaging over 25 points per game, was led by left halfback Ron Keith, an All-Ohio player who was also the WBL “Offensive Back of the Year.” Keith, a slashing ball carrier with startling speed in the open field, had gained 1405 yards in the regular season, a school record at the time.
Keith’s backfield mates, John Fortman and Rocky Clark, had also posted seasons running the football, Fortman rushing for 886 yards, and Clark picking up another 586 in only 80 carries. With such a backfield at his disposal, junior quarterback Bob Pruitt managed the offense efficiently in the typical St. Marys fashion, seldom called on the pass by Coach Skip Baughman.
Other offensive all-leaguers in 1977 were guards Doug Wine (the WBL “Offensive Lineman of the Year”) and Scott Bailey, center Lou Moran, tackle Stan Sanford, and ends Brian Hoenie and Mick Anderson.
Elyria Catholic was also undefeated, steamrolling to a North Western Conference championship with an average score of 36-5.
The Panthers were led by one of the most ballyhooed players in the state, Bryan Thomas who would later become an All-American at Pitt and then go on to a professional career. Thomas had not only gained over 1800 yards from his tailback position, but also was the mainstay of the defense as a strong safety.
From the game’s outset it was apparent that it was an even match-up. Neither of the powerful offenses could sustain a drive, evoking the old conundrum about the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.
Thomas pulled off several impressive runs, but the St. Marys defense rose to the challenge and stopped each Elyria Catholic foray short of the end-zone. But the Panther defense, with Thomas stuffing the gaps and making tackles from sideline to sideline, was equally up to the task.
Then the game took a dramatic turn. With 1:17 left in the half, Thomas, running off his own right tackle and cutting to the outside, met up with linebacker Tim Hastreiter, who was playing for the first time after missing four games with a broken collarbone.
“It was one of our best hits ever,” recalled retired assistant coach Roger Duncan. “It was a Brice Miller type of hit,” Duncan further explained, referring to a Roughrider linebacker from 1967, who helped to set the standard for spectacular tackles.
Hastreiter, when recently asked to recall the incident, remembered it clearly. “It happened over by our bench,” said Hastreiter. I found myself with a good angle, and just drove on through the tackle. My pads made contact with the hand on the ball.”
Thomas managed to hang on to the ball, but he remained motionless on the field with a hand injury.
#44 Bryan Thomas protects his hand. |
Bryan Thomas himself recently recalled the incident from his office in Elyria, where he has been a municipal court probation officer for the past 16 years. “Actually,” he pointed out, “I had initially injured the hand the week before against Huron, but this time the team physician thought it was broken.”
A hush fell over the Elyria crowd while he was taken from the game for X-rays at a near-by hospital.
As the first half came to a close, neither team had managed to score.
In the second half the Roughriders received the kickoff, and, with Thomas sidelined, easily drove the ball down the field. Ronnie Keith gained 41 yards on five rushes, pulling guard Doug Wine was making textbook blocks, and St. Marys was taking control.
But then momentum took another major swing. Bryan Thomas, back from his sojourn at the hospital, reported to the Elyria Catholic sidelines and immediately ran out to resume his roving safety position.
The extra-long halftime—25 minutes in playoff games back then—and the proximity of the hospital—about eight blocks away—meant that Thomas was only out of action for less than three minutes of actual game time.
Thomas then personally halted the St. Marys drive, stopping Rocky Clark for a two-yard gain, and then sacking quarterback Bob Pruitt for an 11-yard loss.
Later in the third quarter Thomas scored the game’s first touchdown on a 22-yard run, gliding around right end and cutting back over the middle into the end-zone. The P.A.T. gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
The defenses again took over, and the contest became a stalemate once again.
The Roughriders, however, found themselves with one final chance. Sophomore Jeff Cisco returned a short Elyria punt to his own 49. With runs from Keith, John Fortman, and Scott Steinecker, the Riders slogged their way to the Panthers’ 23. Then Keith, running a dive behind strong blocks from left end Mick Anderson and left tackle Stan Sanford, burst through the line, ran through a linebacker, and, with 1:39 on the clock, made a sharp cut over the goal line.
St. Marys fans, with new-found life, were ecstatic, expecting to see the first football overtime in the school’s history. The overtime format—the same format to be used in later years for all OHSAA games, had been implemented in those days solely for the playoff games.
But, as Roughrider fans remember well, the P.A.T. kick sailed wide left, and Elyria Catholic won, 7-6.
Looking back on the game, which, as of this writing, took place 28 years ago, what fans that night at Berea most remember was the overall play of Bryan Thomas. Actually Ron Keith outgained Thomas, 165 yards to 148, but Thomas’ performance on both sides of the ball, especially on defense, was scintillating.
You would be hard-pressed to find any individual high school performance on which praise has been more effusively heaped.
Assistant coach Denny Vossler (looking back): “He was all over the field. He seemed to be making every tackle. We couldn’t get a clean block on him.”
Assistant coach Roger Duncan (looking back): “It was the greatest one-man show I saw in thirty years of coaching.”
Elyria Catholic coach Jim Rattay (speaking to the press after the game): “He is our soul and our inspiration [quoting the Righteous Brothers' song from the 1960s]. We couldn’t have won it without him.”
The football career of Bryan Thomas took him far and wide. After his days at the University of Pittsburgh, he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He left the Packers after one year to sign with the Philadelphia Stars of the fledgling United States Football League. Under Coach Jim Mora, the Stars won the 1984 USFL championship. The following year, the team—now the Baltimore Stars—successfully defended their title.
Nevertheless, Thomas still maintains that his 1977 performance in the state semi-final game against St. Marys was one of the major highlights of his playing days.
And Thomas, reflecting back, adds still another twist to the legend: “After the doctor read the X-rays and said that my hand wasn’t broken after all, we rushed out of the hospital to get back to the game. For some reason there was a traffic jam. We got out of the car—my father, our athletic director, and me—and we ran through the streets to get back to the stadium. Fortunately I got there in time to help my team.”
People caught in a traffic snarl in Berea that night must have wondered why a young man in a football uniform, and two panting adults, were running through the streets of the city.
People who attended the game know the rest of the story.
1977 MHS Roughriders -- L-R, Row 1: 40 John Fortman, 85 Charlie Young, 43 Don Dietz, 70 Brent Schwartz, 53 Dave Lengerich, 61 Scott Bailey, 20 Doug Henning, 32 Gregg Clark, 10 Bob Pruitt, 95 Craig Rush, 62 Doug Wine. Row 2: 25 ?, 36 Jeff Cisco, 14 Steve Shelby, 82 Steve Walter, 38 Cary Clouner, 51 Kevin Leisner, 58 J. Ruppert, 78 Don Lauth, 52 Tim Hastreiter, 50 Lou Moran, 72 Kim Imwalle, 56 Chip Holtzhauer. Row 3: 45 Mike Metz, 30 Kevin Quelhorst, 18 Brent Starts, 22 Dave Lininger, 88 Mike Weber, 71 Jeff Schwartz, 76 Jack Masonbrink, 81 R. Walters, 41 Scott Brown, 87 M. Henning. Row 4: 57 Tim Boehmer, 64 Ron Luthman, 60 Ken Roth, 31 Dewaine Moots, 66 Kurt Clark, 68 Rick Poeppelman, 17 Lyle Albert, 11 Tom Knous, 59 Dave Bowling, 63 John Schaefer, 65 T. Roth, 35 Matt Axe. Row 5: 19 Greg Starts, 24 Ron Keith, 83 Brian Hoenie, 77 Gary Johns, 44 Mike Anderson, 74 Dave Sams, 79 Tom Rammel, 89 Paul Severt, 73 Stan Sanford, 55 Nathan Steinecker. Row 6: 26 ?, 15 Gordon Blue, 84 R. Hawkey, 91 Jim Mallory, 75 Gregg Wibbeler, 96 Lance Kellermeyer, 80 Roger Siler, 34 Dick Hile, 54 Jeff Hobler, 67 Doug Ruppert, 92 Steve Hurlburt. (Please email webmaster@ridertown.com with ID corrections.)
Photos courtesy Andrews Photography. Click for Larger Image.
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