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.
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