NOTE: If you read Part 1 before today you would have seen that some years for the following Top 10 teams is missing. The years for:
#7, Antigo is 1976
#6. Kenosha Tremper is 1979
#5, Green Bay Premontre is 1970
#2, Fond du Lac is 1974
I have re-edited, and the years have been updated. Sorry for the problem.
THE TOP GAME
Waukesha High School went from one extreme to another as the eighth game of the Blackshirts undefeated season had gone so very wrong. Entering the Friday October 26, 1973, matchup against South Milwaukee, Waukesha was ranked second in the A.P. and UPI statewide press polls. South Milwaukee was ranked in the honorable mention list along with 14 other “Big Ten” schools in the October 24 A.P. posting in the Waukesha Freeman newspaper. Waukesha was inching closer toward the top spot of the poll, only three voter points from the top spot held by Antigo. The school had been climbing throughout the season and was now close to overtaking the Red Robins. Madison East was close on the heels of the two teams as they were ranked number three, only two points behind Waukesha. It was a close race to the top of the poll. Antigo, the 1972 poll champion for both the A.P. and UPI was losing a little ground but all three schools…Antigo, Waukesha and Madison East were far ahead of the other seven teams in the top 10.
Going into the October 26 game there were three teams in the Suburban Conference vying for the conference title. Waukesha was of course in the driver’s seat being undefeated but South Milwaukee and Wauwatosa West were tied for second place, both with a 6-1 record. If Waukesha won their matchup with the Rockets they would have their fourth consecutive Suburban title. So, the Friday night matchup was, to say crucial for the Blackshirts. At the start of the year, most coaches thought that Waukesha was cinch to win the title but Coach Ken Hollub thought that games against Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa West and South Milwaukee would be the toughest opponents to get by. Instead, the season opener against Cudahy would be the only close game, a 7-0 win would wake the team up. Since then, there had been blowouts. Early in the season the Blackshirts beat Whitefish Bay 41-0 and Tosa West 34-6 and so they continued to roll. The week before the matchup with South Milwaukee Waukesha destroyed Shorewood 76-0 and Hollub wasn’t happy. Why? Because the coach wanted a tougher game leading to the October 26 matchup.
The Rockets were not a normally high offense team so the players for Waukesha were feeling confident, but Hollub was wary. Wauwatosa West beat South Milwaukee 22-20, but South had blown out Whitefish Bay 36-6 as they rolled up 413 yards rushing. The Friday game would be one where the Waukesha defense broke for some unknown reason giving up multiple long plays. Without a blow-by-blow recap, suffice it to say that a 70-yard punt return, 66-and 65-yard runs from scrimmage and 63-yard interception return, all touchdowns by back Kevin Kuchevar. Most of which were in the second half put the nail in Waukesha’s coffin. This was a team that had given up only 32-points in 1972 and only 20 so far in 1973, suddenly was at a loss as to how to stop South Milwaukee. An 82-yard kickoff return by Jim Lofy and a 25-yard reception by Roland Simatec from quarterback Alan Kerber contributed. Back Chuck Brulz scored on two short runs but scored three two-point conversions.
It was a close game in the first half, but the Rockets blew past the Blackshirts in the second half. Tied 28-28 late in the second quarter South Milwaukee scored 28 straight points before Waukesha could cross the end zone in the final stanza. South Milwaukee only had 17 first half offensive plays compared to 38 for Waukesha and that didn’t change much in the second half. Sure, some of the Blackshirts showed some offensive power with Dean Hilmer crossing the goal three times, and John Anderson hauling in a score from quarterback Steve Schoepke who also ran for a score. Anderson would kick five extra points and block a punt that led to the fourth quarter score but alas, South Milwaukee would best Waukesha 54-35. It would be the three Blackshirt fumbles that would stymie second half offensive drives. When the final A.P. poll was released, Waukesha would be dropped to the number six spot while South Milwaukee would jump to number nine. Following the loss Waukesha beat West Allis hale 21-0 on a very muddy field to earn a share of their fourth Suburban Conference title. South Milwaukee would tie Waukesha for the title with a 8-1 record as they beat Wauwatosa West the next week 20-0. Antigo would reign again as the state champion. Madison East dropped a game and suddenly La Crosse Logan, a slow riser in the polls, would end up in a distant second place to the Red Robins.
THE TOP COACH
Would you be surprised if Gordon “Gordy” Schofield wouldn’t be the pick for the top coach of the 1970’s? Well, don’t be. The best of the 70’s is Gordy. His teams won four state titles, two in the A.P. and UPI polls as well as the first WIAA title in 1976 and another WIAA title in 1978. The red Robins were just dominant. Read more about his career in my blogs It's Not About the Numbers: Gordy Schofield - Part 1 (wihifootball.com) and It's Not About the Numbers: 1976 Antigo - Part 2 (wihifootball.com)
The 1970’s were also the years that coaches like Bob Hyland of Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs, Jerry Sinz of Edgar, Dick Basham at Marquette University High School Tom Taraska of Franklin and Hartland Arrowhead, Dave Keel of Homestead and Bill Young of Waukesha Catholic Memorial began their careers.
THE TOP PLAYERS
As I wrote in an earlier blog about John Anderson of Waukesha High School, he may be the best the state has ever produced. As you will see below, he is all over the Top Players list. He was a very bright star on the high school landscape in the early 1970’s and 30-years later he was on the minds of the 300+ coaches and sports writers that were polled by Cliff Christl for the Milwaukee Journal’s 1993 Team of the Century. Anderson made the first team as an offensive end and as a linebacker. He earned honorable mention as a punter and a kicker. And, yes on my lists I have John Anderson in four spots.
There was so much talent to choose from it became hard for me to limit, say to three running backs so I picked four. Maybe Dick Barbour of Hillsboro, the state’s first 2,000-yard single season rusher should have made the first team instead of honorable mention. Maybe West Alis Hale’s Jim Melka should have made the first team defense as a linebacker (He was equally good as a running back as well as on defense). Many writers thought that Tim Straka of Madison West was equal as a wide receiver and as a defensive back. There were tough choices. I hope you can somewhat agree with my choices.
There you have it, the 1970’s. Let me know what you think at kevinpatrowsky@earthlink.net. Thanks.
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