By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
The South Rowan Alumni Association will honor the football players who played in the 1961-68 seasons (the graduating classes of 1962-69) at Friday nightís home game against A.L. Brown.
This effort is part of Southís celebration of the 50th anniversary of the schoolís opening in 1961. For information, go to the South alumni web site or contact Steve Beaver at slbeaver46@yahoo.com.
The late Lope Linder coached all the South teams in the 1960s. A few highlights from the 1961-68 seasons:
1961
Southís first team was 1-8-1, but the Rebels did manage to tie A.L. Brown 6-6. In the fourth game of the season, South notched its first win, beating West Rowan 18-0.
Guard Sammy Owensby and back Steve Overcash represented South on the 11-man all-county team.
1962
South started 3-0-1 with four consecutive shutouts against North Rowan, East Rowan, Albemarle and West Rowan but finished 4-4-2.
South tied Albemarle 0-0 and tied A.L. Brown 7-7.
All-county players included end Barry Parks, guard Gary Eury and backs Steve Beaver and Charles London.
1963
South opened the season with five straight shutouts, including wins against county opponents North, East and West, but the Rebels finished up 4-5-1. The tie was a scoreless struggle with Asheboro. Southís 1963 team beat Albemarle for the first time.
End Steve Wise, center Frankie ěFuzzyî Wright, Eury and Beaver were voted to the all-county team.
1964
Southís 1964 club was its strongest of the decade and the only one to finish with a winning record.
South opened the year with six consecutive shutouts ó a school and modern county record that still stands.
South beat Asheboro (and celebrated QB Darrell Moody) for the first time and also whipped Boyden 23-0 in the first meeting of the schools.
Ranked No. 1 in the state by the Charlotte Observer when it peaked at 6-0, South finished 6-4, with a 14-7 loss to A.L. Brown starting a four-game slide to end the season.
End Larry Deal, tackle Royce Barnhardt, guard Ronnie Nance, center Joe Goodnight, fullback John Willett and quarterback Devan Brown gave South six players on the 11-man all-county team.
Deal would become Southís head coach for a dozen seasons from 1983-1994.
1965
South slipped back to 3-7 in 1965, a season highlighted by the programís homecoming win against Concord, its first victory against the Spiders.
South beat West and North, but it dropped 14-13 squeakers to A.L. Brown and Asheboro.
Southís Deal twins, Larry and Jerry, were the all-county ends. Also all-county were center Steve Troutman and back Rodney Cress. Cress was the most electrifying player South had put on the field.
Cress had a 98-yard run against Albemarle and ran back kickoffs for TDs against Asheboro and Thomasville.
He also rushed for 162 yards and all three South TDs in the big win against Concord.
The first Rowan athlete to be officially clocked in under 10 seconds in the 100-yard dash, Cress won an SPC championship in the 100 and was WNCHSAA champ in the 220.
1966
South went 4-6, beating East, North, Albemarle and Asheboro. Guard Phil Gaddy and back Joe Ashley were all-county performers.
1967
South finished 1-9, beating Albemarle 21-13 in Week 2.
South lost to A.L. Brown 34-0 and didnít have any players on the 11-man all-county team.
1968
South rebounded to 4-5-1 in 1968, and that team holds a special place in school history as the first to beat both Statesville and A.L. Brown.
South surprisingly prevailed 16-7 against the Wonders, who were led by legend Haskel Stanback.
When the teams took the field on Nov. 1, Brown was 5-1-2 and still contending for the SPC title. South was 2-5-1.
Scrambling on fourth-and-5 from the Brown 6, Southís 135-pound QB Jay Bradshaw, playing with injured ribs, squirmed for a first down on the play that changed the course of the game. Ronnie Pethel scored the TD that got South even.
Lineman Curtis Atwell registered a safety when Brown had a bad snap on a punt attempt to give South a 9-7 lead.
Mark Baldwin made a game-saving tackle, dragging down Stanback. He also scored the clinching TD. Larry Weddington rushed for 127 yards, 43 of them on a fourth-quarter dash that set up Baldwinís six.
That gameball may be the most treasured piece of memorabilia in Southís trophy case.
The Postís all-county team expanded to offensive and defensive platoons for the first time in 1968. Weddington, Atwell and defensive end Charlie King represented South.
Reid Bradshaw joined Linderís staff that year and would be the key figure in Southís rise to prominence in the 1970s.