Sophomore Football Season Comes to a Close

After the Capital victory, our next game was on the road against the Caldwell Cougars. I remember one big play in the game, and that play has a funny twist. The Canyon County team gave us a bigger battle than Capital. Since there was no clock on the field the officials had to inform both sidelines when there were two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, we were behind 13-12. With bout thirty seconds to go, I called a pass play in which Bob Griffin was to be the main receiver. I'm not sure how far we were from the goal line, but I think it was at least 50 yards. I dropped back to pass, spotted Bob going deep, and then threw it as far as I could. I went down to the ground, tackled by a Caldwell defender. When I got up our guys were jumping up and down and I saw that Bob had crossed the goal line. We won the game 18-14.

It was the first and only time in my life that I remember being involved in the scoring in a game where I successfully helped "snatch victory from the jaws of defeat." If the pass had been unsuccessful, we would have lost. But...I didn't realize it at the time. Let me explain.

A few weeks later we were into basketball season. Coach Hill was preparing us for Caldwell, the team that we had barely beaten in the game I just described. At some point as he was speaking to us for the upcoming game, he mentioned how we would have lost our football game to them if we hadn't scored a touchdown in the last minute. My eyes got wide and I blurted out, "What? You mean we were behind?" It's true. I told you earlier that we trailed 13-12 with less than a minute to go. But I didn't actually know that at the time. I thought we were tied. Later when I had time to think about it I realized that I may not have responded the same if I had known we were losing and that if the pass failed we would lose the game. There's a definite difference from attempting a pass that would lead to a loss if it failed and making a pass that, even if failed, we would at least have a tie and not a loss. That is what I thought the situation was at the time. I will never know. But it was still a "W". 

We now had two games to go. The second time around we beat Capital a little more easily, 26-13. I tossed my third touchdown pass of the season, a play in which the Statesman stated that I "rifled" the pass to Ron Harris. Actually, Ron was so wide open that I threw him about as soft of a pass as I could so that I wouldn't mess it up.

The final game of the season was played at Boise against the Braves. They had beaten Capital once during the year so, if we lost to them we would end up tied for first. We played hard and got the victory, completing the undefeated season. As I recall it was 7-7 at halftime and we went on to win, 19-7. After the game, as was his custom, Coach Hill told us to, "Remain humble." I remember thinking, 'hey, we're the undefeated champs so we don't have to be humble anymore.' Apparently I actually said it out loud because after the game Coach Conley mentioned it to my parents.

After the game we grabbed Coach Hill, Coach Conley, and Coach Tom Olsen and threw them fully-clothed into shower.  Celebration. It was a sweet ending to a competitive season.

Bob's Season Ends. Mine Begins.

 The first time Bob Nowierski and I hung out together was on a Saturday during the football season in 1966. I can't remember for certain but we may have been helping decorate for the homecoming dance -- or pretending to help. I drove a blue Volkswagen bug but I think we were driving around in his, which I think was a lighter shade of blue. The guy was full of energy all the time it seemed. His high energy was really alive when we were playing football games. When the other team had the ball he would pace up and down the sideline while clapping his hands and shouting, encouraging our teammates to cheer on the defense. At the end of the season his teammates voted him Most Inspirational, an honor he truly deserved.

Toward the end of the first half of our game against Capital on their field, his season ended abruptly.

He was leading the team on offense and after a particular play, he didn't get up off the ground. I went into the game to replace him, not knowing the extent of his injury. It turned out to be a broken collarbone.

I only remember a handful of plays and most of those I would like to forget. Like you, I prefer to remember the good times, but I remember more mistakes from this game than any other. Shortly after I entered the game we were facing a third down in Eagle territory. I called a pass play to Bob Griffin. I still have the picture in my mind of a defender close to him. I decided to throw it high toward the sideline. I figured if Bob couldn't get to it, the ball would land out of bounds. Unfortunately I threw it short and it was intercepted. That's right. While my first pass of the season as backup quarterback in our first game resulted in a touchdown, my first pass as the guy who would lead for the rest of the season was an interception. 

Fortunately, our defense held them and the half ended with the score 0-0.

We scored a touchdown on our first series of the second half, but not before I made it interesting. I called a play in which I was supposed to pitch the ball to one of our running backs, but I pivoted the wrong way and pitched it to, uh, nobody. So I had to hustle over and recover the ball. Fortunately our offensive line came through and we were able to score the first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead. Our defense held again and we took over on our own five yard line. On first down I called an option play. I faked a handoff to Craig Estell and then pitched the ball to Don Minter. Or so I thought. The Capital defensive end stepped between Don and me, grabbed my pitchout in the air, and he only had to take one or two steps to score the touchdown. Well, I wanted to find a hole and hide in it. But Coach Hill met me at the sideline and told me not to worry about it. Of course he was right. I couldn't do anything about it. They missed the extra point so we led 7-6. 

We scored another touchdown and so did Capital. We ended up winning 14-12. I don't know if my teammates were worried about how the season would go with me at quarterback, but Coach Hill would have none of it. When we gathered together in the locker room to discuss the game, Coach Hill talked me up like I had been the star of the game. That was encouraging. Our record was now 4-0 with three games to go. It wasn't the way I wanted to get the starting job, but I had it, and the goal was to complete the undefeated season.

"See You In September"...I Mostly Saw the Bench

 Coach Lou Holtz used to say, "Happiness is a bad memory."Sometimes, yes, I agree. I was fifteen years old in the fall of 1966, so I was a mess. I think we were all awkward, goofy, rebellious, and a lot of other things that I won't mention. But I mostly like to remember the positive experiences.

The defending champion varsity team got the season off to a great start by beating Sandpoint 58-0. The following week they went on the road to play the Sentinel Spartans in Missoula, Montana. The Lions prevailed 60-6. What is interesting about that score is that Sentinal did not lose another game all season and were crowned state champions in Montana. This Borah team was pretty good, don't you think?

Our first sophomore game was at home on our campus agains the Nampa Bulldogs. I watched most of the game from the sideline, but I remember being very impressed with our defense. Bob played most of the game at quarterback and I didn't get into the game until the last couple of minutes when we were leading 20-0. We had the ball on the 50 yard line. My friend BJ Johnson, who played split end, had told me that if I were to get in the game, I should throw him a pass because nobody was covering him. On first down I called a running play. When we lined up to run the play, I saw clearly that what he had told me was true. So on second down I called a pass to him. He caught it and ran for a touchdown. So even though I was disappointed that I didn't start the game, it was nice that my first pass of the season went for a touchdown. Final score: Borah 27, Nampa 0.

It's September of 1966, so the first day of autumn is coming upon the class of 1969. Many of us were regular listeners to "Red Steer Request Time" on the local rock and roll radio station. The Red Steer was a drive-in restaurant with two locations, as I recall. Anyone could call in and request a song, and the requests and who they were for were read on air by the DJ. Listening in, you would likely hear songs like You Keep Me Hangin' On, Lady Godiva, Kicks, Wild Thing, California Dreamin', 96 Tears, and my personal favorite in the fall of '66, Cherish, by the Association. It's interesting to note that in a year of growing unrest and protests against the Viet Nam War, the song that topped the charts nationwide for the year was The Green Berets, by Sergeant Barry Sadler.

One of the things that Coach Hill drilled into us was that we better not ever get into a fight during a game. He said something like this: "If you get into a fight, it tells me that you really don't want to play, because the officials are going to kick you out of the game." I was not in a particularly good mood going into the second game of the season that was played against Twin Falls on their field, which was a two-hour drive from Boise. I had just found out that I had lost the election for sophomore class vice-president, and now I was suiting for a game in which I would still be the backup quarterback. There was a memorable play that involved teammate Greg Phillips, one of the Bobbsey twins (see the 1-16-2023 blog). Greg picked up a Twin Falls Bruin fumble near our 40 yard line and started running toward the goal line. As he was heading toward the end zone, one of the officials threw his flag for a clipping penalty on one of our players. Coach Hill starting protesting the call before the play was over. So the touchdown was called off, a fifteen yard penalty was assessed against our team for clipping, and another fifteen yard penalty was called on our coach for unsportsmanlike conduct. I was standing close to assistant coach Terry Conley when he shouted out, "You're an amazing man, ref." So we were penalized another fifteen yards for a total of forty-five yards on one play!

When I finally got into the game late in the fourth quarter, we drove down the field and scored a touchdown. For the extra point, I carried the ball and I was tackled short of the goal line. As I was getting up off the ground at the end of the play, one of the Bruin defenders decided he would try to kick me in an area where no male wants to be kicked. I got up and went after him with arms flailing until an official got between us and broke up the fight. We were both ejected. I'm not sure, but I think when Coach Hill met me on the side line he had a grin on his face. We beat them 33-14, or something like that.

The following week we beat Meridian fairly easily, so we headed into the first of our two scheduled tilts against the Capital Eagles with a 3-0 record, and the beginning of my new season.

Days at Borah: The Home of the Lions, 1966

 I took Drivers Ed in June of 1966, the summer before my sophomore year. My clearest memory is Coach Conley's quick response to hit the brake on my first day of driving. No matter what you may have heard, we did not plunge into the Ridenbaugh Canal near the corner of Liberty and Franklin.

Bob Nowierski and I were invited -- I should say, coerced -- to intend "quarterback school" at Borah four days a week in June that same summer. Believe it or not, we did quarterback drills on the gymnasium floor. Coach Troxel the head varsity coach, put tape on the floor so we could run the quarterback sprint out series properly. I'm sure that no basketball coach would allow that today. But then, Coach Troxel was a legend. My sophomore year was his ninth year as head football coach and the Borah Lions had been champions all but one of those years.

Bob and I traveled different roads to Borah to be contenders for starting quarterback on the Borah sophomore team. Bob had played quarterback for Kiwanis Club, an Optimist (the sponsor of little league football in the Boise Valley) football team that maybe lost one or two games in four years. I played one year of quarterback for Boise Cascade in the seventh grade. We had a perfect record. We lost every game. In junior high, most of those Kiwanis Club players wound up at South Junior High. Bob was the quarterback and they did not lose a game in two years. We were their rival at West Junior High. We won about half our gamed in two years and I quarterbacked the West Mustangs for four games in the ninth grade. We won two and lost two. My most fun game was against Fairmont when I threw 2 touchdown passes to Bill Cady and he ran for one more. We ended the season the same way we ended the eight grade season, getting clobbered by South. The Bobcats were well coached, very physical, and as those of us in the class of 1969 all remember, Don Minter was really fast. So South and West would combine to be teammates on the Borah sophomore football team.

Some of you may remember the team physicals for high school athletes back in the day. One evening in August, dozens of sophomore athletes, fresh from summer vacation, showed up in the Borah locker room for the team physical. Oh, yes, get on the scales, blood pressure taken, check the reflexes, say "ah." The funnest part was when you had to turn your head and cough. Memories.

That evening I met the intimidating former South Bobcats who, along with the former West Mustangs, would make up the bulk of the sophomore team. I recall that it was somewhat an awkward get together and the former opponents didn't mingle much. One memory I have is being introduced to the twin brother giants from South, Greg and Jeff Phillips, who were at times referred to as the Bobbsey Twins. I think I first heard that from senior quarterback Gary Powell, my mentor. Greg and Jeff were about six foot three inches tall and over two hundred pounds. I remember being glad they were on our side.

Not many days after that we had our first practice. Bob and I were the only ones competing for quarterback, although Raoul Allen would occasionally take a few snaps from the center. Bob and I both had opportunities to lead the offense. Coach Hill was taking his time making a decision on the starter. A few days before our fist game against Nampa, Coach Hill seemed to settle on me. The next day I hurt my back. I don't know how I did it, but the injury relegated me to second team. My dad was friends with Doctor Rich Gardner who checked me out and gave me some exercises to do. I was not a happy camper because I had lost the starting job and I didn't get it back before the first game. I was mad at Bob Nowierski because he was now the starter. Why was I mad at Bob, as though it was his fault that I got hurt? Go figure. I was just a dumb sophomore. 

The first three and a half games were frustrating, but just before halftime in our first match-up with Capital, something happened that changed the season for me. But that story is for another time.

The Winter of my Sophomore School Year at Borah High School

 

"February Made Me Shiver." Remembering sophomore basketball at Borah.

Sophomore football season turned into basketball season sometime in November. Our coach was Raymond "Corky" Hill, who had also been our football coach. He carried 20 players on the sophomore team. Only 15 players suited up for games, so the 'bottom ten' traded off wearing the Lion green and gold on game day. I was part of that group. For anyone who wants to know, I only remember getting into one game, and that was in the last minute of a game in which we had already put the hay in the barn. It was late in the season and we were playing in Mountain Home against the Tiger sophomores. I was sitting near the end of the bench when I heard, "Barbour, come here." I was surprised, to say the least. Danny Wilson, a fellow member of the 'bottom ten', gave me a hard time for days afterwards because, he alleged, (and I'm sure he was correct) that I answered "Who, me?" when Coach Hill called my name. I hadn't been in a game all year and I didn't expect to be in that one. It was only a minute or so of playing time and I probably didn't even touch the ball. Other than that memory and the three games we played against the Capital Eagles, I don't remember a whole lot about the roundball season.

The first game against Capital was played in their gym in December. The sophomore schedule was such that we would play whatever valley team the varsity was playing, sometimes in the preliminary to the varsity game and sometimes not. This time it was at their gym with no other game scheduled. Capital was in its third year as Boise's third public high school. My friends may remember the lighting in that gym, at least for the first few years. It was a very yellowish lighting to the extent that I 'felt' yellow in there, if that makes any sense. The lighting always hurt my eyes. The game itself was a fiasco for us. The Eagles' sophomore team scored the first 25 points of the game. Midway through the second quarter we still had not scored; so, 12 minutes without scoring a point! We finally scored and we trailed 31-6 at the half. I'm sure I have never seen a coach as angry as Coach Hill was at halftime of that game. On the bright side, we matched them point for point in the second half and we lost by the same margin of 25 points.

We played them again in January after the New Year's break, this time as the preliminary to the varsity game, once again at Capital. We played our 'home' games in their gym to accommodate large crowds, since our gym was small. In this game our best player, Bob Griffin, did not play, did not even suit up. Jeff Phillips took his place and did an admirable job, and team-wise we played so much better than the early season debacle. I kept thinking we were going to pull off the upset, but we came up three points short. I didn't suit up for that game, but I remember going down to the locker room to see my teammates after the game. I know it's just a game, but we were devastated. We had played so well against a more talented team and we were without our star player. It was silent in that locker room and I was so proud of my teammates for their effort. Truthfully, I was ready to cry.

Remember McDonalds, the Golden Arches, back in the mid-sixties? I looked in the archives of my school newspaper, The Senator, for February of 1967. Here is a sample from the menu from an advertisement in the school newspaper: Hamburger, 18 cents; Fries, 15 cents; and Shake, 25 cents. What does that have to do with sophomore basketball? Read on.

I remember being superstitious in sports. Lots of players and coaches were. In my senior year of football, my teammate Craig Estell and I would wear Levis, ugly sneakers without socks, and a tomato-red pocket t-shirt to the locker on game days when we played at home. Some of the football coaches would get their haircut Friday afternoon before every home game, just for good luck. My friend BJ Johnson and I established a short-lived routine in February during the post-season sophomore basketball tournament at the end of the season.

The tournament was held at Nampa High School, which was a short drive from Borah High. We had a decent but not spectacular regular season, winning more games then we lost. In order to play Capital for the third time we would need to win our first round game against Emmett. Capital received a bye in the first round since they had the top season record. I think they only lost a a couple of games all year. With Bob Griffin leading the way with double figures in both scoring and rebounding, we prevailed in the Monday afternoon game in the first round. The Emmett Huskies had an outstanding player named Glenn Clark, and we bottled him up enough to win by a few points. The following year, Glenn transferred to Borah and played on our varsity for the next two years. After we got back to the Home of the Lions, BJ and I decided to go to McDonalds to get something to eat. I think I order a couple of burgers, fries, and shake, all for less than a buck.

I didn't suit up for the semi-final game against Capital, but I was a rabid fan from start to finish. Capital loved to fast break. Many times the player who rebounded the ball would throw the ball the length of the court and the result was often an easy lay up. This game went back and forth and it was close to the end. We were not a particularly high scoring team, but we poured it on that day. As I recall, BJ had his best game of the year. I think he scored 8 or 10 points in the crucial fourth quarter. 

The game was tied at the end of regulation, and, if I'm not mistaken, we played two overtime periods. It was an exciting game to the end. They would score and their crowd would go crazy, then we would answer back and start jumping up and down. I don't remember the final score, but we got the job done. Griffin had another double-double and it was our team's best performance of the year. After we got back to Borah, BJ and I decided we had to go to McDonalds and order the same food we had the night before, and that's exactly what we did. Having defeated the mighty Capital Eagles, we had Mountain Home to play for the championship, a team that we had already beaten twice during the regular year.

I was kind of in awe of Bob Griffin. He was an extremely talented athlete. He was fast, strong, and man could he jump. Bob had another big game against the Tigers, but our team seemed a bit sluggish. Maybe the emotion of upsetting Capital the day before had taken its toll. This time we came up short, and it was disappointing. Bob had another double-double. For the tournament he averaged 17 points and 18 rebounds per game. He just needed a bit more help in the final game.

McDonalds didn't get any money from BJ and me that night. But the memory of the win over Capital was sweet for a long time. Actually, it still is. Beating Capital in any sport was always satisfying. "Never let our spirit die-fight; for Borah High!"

FIRST EVER BORAH CAPITAL FOOTBALL GAME: THE BEGINNING OF THE RIVALRY.

The "high-flying" Capital Eagles entered the scene in 1965, and everything changed.

The most exciting game of the season turned out to be the Borah-Capital game late 

in the season. Capital jumped ahead 13-0 early, but Frank Ryther of the Lions scored 

a touch down just before half to cut the lead to 13-7. Joe Glassier scored two second 

half touchdowns and Bruce Mors kicked all three extra points to give Borah the win,

21-20. There were no two point extra points that year. Ryther was SIC player of the year.

   

      

Boise-Borah Football in the 1960's