Sterling’s last playoff game a bad memory Against WO-S In 85

[KFDM COOP]

Sterling’s last playoff game a bad memory In 85

By Dave Rogers

Published November 12, 2008

Unless your sister was Typhoid Mary, it’s hard to imagine any sister-kissing that would have been more sour than what Baytown Sterling’s football team suffered in 1985.

That, as any long-suffering Ranger fan will tell you, was the last time Sterling qualified for the football playoffs.

Until this season.

Hooray for this season.

It’s hard to imagine that any fate could befall coach Herb Minyard’s squad in its Friday night matchup with Pearland that could be worse than Sterling’s 14-14 area-round tie with West Orange-Stark in 1985.

When the game at the Astrodome ended, hardly any one of the 16,000 fans in the stands or players on the field knew whether or not to celebrate.

The Sterling fans celebrated – mistakenly, it turned out, because the numbers on the Astrodome scoreboard indicated the Rangers had advanced via the second tiebreaker in use then – first downs – after tying 4-4 on the first tiebreaker, 20-yard line penetrations.

Turned out the scoreboard was wrong. WO-S was awarded the next round of the playoffs by a 4-3 margin.

“We had no clue what was going on,†recalled Shawn Schimming, a cornerback on that Ranger team. “We thought we won.â€

Schimming apparently figured in the mistake by the scoreboard operator. Midway through the second half, he returned his second interception of the game to the Mustang 11-yard line.

However, Schimming recalls that a penalty for illegal blocking on the return moved the ball back outside the 20, and since the Rangers didn’t take a snap from inside the 20 on that possession, they didn’t get official credit for a penetration.

But they apparently got credit on the scoreboard.

And that scoreboard showed a 3-3 tie in penetrations before Sterling put on its second scoring drive in what was a tremendous comeback for the Rangers.

WO-S, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, had scored the first two times it possessed the ball in the game, taking a quick 14-0 lead.

“I thought it was going to be 56-0,†said Dayton coach Jerry Stewart, who was then defensive coordinator for Sterling.

But Schimming ended the Mustangs’ third drive with an interception and from that time on, Sterling dominated the game.

The Rangers moved 89 yards in 18 plays for their first score, a 15-yard pass from Galen Gardner to Brian Hemmenway midway through the second quarter.

The 14-6 halftime lead by WO-S was still intact when Gardner guided the team 61 yards in 12 plays to score with 2:43 remaining in the game on a fourth-and-18 pass to Eugene Wilson for 29 yards.

Gardner then tied the game by rolling to his right and passing back across the field to Jeff Adams, who cradled the tying two-point conversion.

The scoreboard showed a 4-3 penetration lead for Sterling to go along with an 18-12 edge in first downs and a sizable lead in total yardage, the second and third tiebreakers in use until the UIL adopted overtime in the late 1990s.

Just about everyone at the game believed that WO-S had to score to keep Sterling for advancing to the playoff’s third round.

Apparently, everyone but the head coaches.

Dan Hooks, one of Texas high school football’s top 20 winningest coaches 23 years later , was quoted after the game that he knew all along the scoreboard was wrong.

“We knew if we could get it (the ball) over the 20, the game’s over,†he told newsmen that long-ago November day. “They kept saying 4-3 (in penetrations), but I knew it was three apiece.

“I double-checked at least 16 times with the official.â€

Game accounts also say that Sterling coach Bill Bundy acknowledged he knew the scoreboard was wrong, but consciously didn’t tell his players – at least not until late.

“I didn’t want to put pressure on them,†newspapers quoted Bundy.

But Bundy, who couldn’t be reached for comment for this story, is also quoted as saying, “I told them the 20-yard line was the goal line.â€

When or if he said that is in dispute 23 years later.

“We didn’t hear him say that,†Schimming said. “I think that if we’d have known, that we wouldn’t have allowed them to get inside the 20.â€

WO-S, which lost the next week to a No. 1-ranked Houston Yates team that defeated Odessa Permian for the state title, had an all-star backfield that included University of Texas signee Eric Williams at tailback, Georgia signee Brian Cleveland at fullback and Roderick Robertson, a Philadelphia Phillies draftee, at quarterback.

With time running out, the Mustangs moved to the Ranger 22-yard line in three plays, the last one a 36-yard pass from Robertson to Cleveland.

That’s when Stewart says he first was made aware of the scoreboard error.

“When they got down to the 21-yard line (sic), there was a timeout and the officials got Bill Bundy and Hooks together and told them what the penetration count was,†Stewart said, adding that was the first time he heard the “20-yard line is the goal line quote.â€

“They took a snap,†Stewart said of what turned into a four-yard run by Cleveland and the winning penetration, “and it was game, set and match.â€

But still the players and fans didn’t seem to realize. When WO-S failed to make another first and turned the ball over to Sterling with 15 seconds left, the Ranger faithful celebrated.

Hooks went back to the officials, who confirmed his team owned the tiebreaker edge. When he jumped up to celebrate, so did the WO-S fans.

And Sterling’s long playoff drought began.

[skipper]

i was there oh lord what a game

[marshman]

I was there too. Never will forget Hooks jumping in the air after consulting with officials and Sterlings coaches. Thats when we realized we had it!

[KFDM COOP]

When i saw Hooks jump in the air i knew we had the lead in Pentrations.

[WOS87]

I had just celebrated my 16th birthday but I was there...  I remember being in the depths of depression when we thought we had lost and then miraculously finding out that we had actually won

Interesting that Sterling made the playoffs this year.

Another bit of trivia....

Paris (who prevented WO-S from winning 3 state 4A titles in 1988) qualified for the playoffs this year in 3A as district champs.  Any guess when their last playoff win was?

The 1988 State finals against WO-S

It's not likely to happen but it sure would be great to have a rematch with them in the 3A finals this year

[KFDM COOP]

It's been that long?

[WOS87]

It's been that long?

They made the playoffs in '90, '97 and '00, losing in the first round each time

[wosmustangs]

My brother was sitting by me in the stands and I remember him telling us that you had to take a snap inside the 20.  We strongly suspected / hoped throughout the game this was correct.  When Dan jumped nearly through the roof of that glorious palace, I was pretty danged happy about that......  Yes, I remember him jumping like he did, throwing his fist skyward.  Has to be a Mustang Memory for all of us that have plenty.  Here's hoping he can win one more......

[WOS87]

Here's hoping he can win one more......

Here's hoping he can win six more this year

;D

[GUNHO]

I had just celebrated my 16th birthday but I was there...  I remember being in the depths of depression when we thought we had lost and then miraculously finding out that we had actually won

Interesting that Sterling made the playoffs this year.

Another bit of trivia....

Paris (who prevented WO-S from winning 3 state 4A titles in 1988) qualified for the playoffs this year in 3A as district champs.  Any guess when their last playoff win was?

The 1988 State finals against WO-S

It's not likely to happen but it sure would be great to have a rematch with them in the 3A finals this year

Yes sir,they were what you would call a one year wonder that's for sure.Pairs was not a fluke that day.They beat us running that sweep play over and over and we just couldn't stop it.

I was at the Sterling game also.I doubt old dan would be able to jump today but I bet he would try.