Red Lion Area High School - Lion Yearbook (Red Lion, PA)

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the first home game, the Lions lost a high-scor- ing contest. Neff first reached pay-dirt from the eight-yard line, and seconds later an aerial, Ronnie Holtzinger to Bob Snyder, covered sixty yards for a touchdown. In the game's dying mo- ments, Ropp made the third score. The following Saturday our team, tottering after an early lead. lost their second straight home game to Lemoyne before a large Booster Day crowd. Both scores were credited to Wiggle Weigel. Then came a most important game and the first big upset of the season by Red Lion. Meet- ing a highly favored York Catholic team before a large home crowd, the inspired Lions com- pletely out-battled their county rivals. The first score was made on a pass play, Norris to Snyder, from the fifteen, after which Kinard booted the extra point, his ninth straight. Norris netted the other touchdown and when the teams left the field, Red Lion had humbled York Catholic by an unexpected 13 to 6 victory. Playing their second night game of the season, this time at Ephrata, the team gained their sec- ond straight win in a thrilling contest. Again the placements provided the winning margin and TD honors went to Ropp, Weigel, and Norris. '49 SCORES Lititz . ............. . Susquehanna Twp. . . Manhei mn Lemoyn e York Ca tholic Ephrata . .... . Columbia . . . Biglerville .. . West Yo rk.. Twp. .... . Q . Qt Opp 14 12 47 26 6 19 7 7 7

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Kiick-011 ut 2:15 From the confab on that hot August afternoon, Head Coach Nitchkey and his assistants, Mr. Haugen and Mr. Yost, brought forth the 1949 football team. Footballs soon began to fill the air as the boys practiced. Punts . . . passes . . . tackles . . . plays . . . placements . . . filled their days and their dreams. The recruits for the team went into stre-nuous training to get in tip-top shape for the coming grid season. The fellows soon lost all those extra pounds which had been gained dur- ing the summer. The four returning lettermen, Ronnie Holtz- inger, Dale Kinard, Gene Neff, and Bob Norris, all seniors, formed the nucleus around which the team was built. Besides the Varsity contenders, many boys, especially junior high, were also to receive valuable training on the junior varsity squad. Although they played no games, their time was not wasted, for by scrimmaging with nearby teams, they were preparing themselves for future seasons. These fellows, approximately forty in number, worked under Coaches H. Myers and Zeigler. For over a month they practiced only blocking and tackling before starting any plays. In their scrim- mage with Stewartstown they outscored their opponents, but the West York scrimmage was broken up by rain before much was accom- plished. This was the only action the Iay-Vees saw, but the Varsity played a nine-game schedule. Under a blazing sun on the seventeenth of September, in the midst of hot dogs, cokes, and cheers, a whistle blew and the 1949 gridiron season was underway for Red Lion High. Lititz was the scene of the first game and when it had drawn to a close, Red Lion had been nipped by a one-point margin. The first touchdown honor of the year went to Ronnie Holtzinger while the other tally in the Lititz game was made by Norris on a quarterback sneak. Next, as fate luckily turned the tables, the Hill- top boys won a close tilt by the extra point mar- gin which was supplied by Dale Kinard. Holtz- inger and Neff crossed the goal line in this battle under the lights at Susquehanna Township. Meeting a fast Manheim Township eleven in Left: Ropp makes the third and final plunge to pay-dirt against Manheim. Center: The Varsity cools off at quarter-time. Right: Line forms to the right at the local smorgasbord. I i Q... u 5

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JUNIOR VARSITY-Front: Nathan Laucks, Dean Norris, Richard Kenney, Richard Workinger, Ronald Snyder, Curvin Rohler, Dale Chronister, Dennis Druck, Harold Patterson, Sheldon Stine Second: Clark Taylor, Wayne Godfrey, Bill Stegner, Roland Bull, Bill Newman, Larry Ziegler Rodger Jacobs, Ronald Flinchbaugh, Jay Golden, James Shelly, David Snyder, Burnell Sprenkle, Alan Sechrist. Back: Coach Myers, Allen Smeltzer, Robert Craley, Paul Frey, lack Markel, Mel- vin Paulhamus, Braden Ausherman, Glen Gouker, Jay Frey, William Holtzapple, Gareth Smeltzer, Also under the lights, Columbia took a decision from Red Lion in a steady downpour which con- tinued all during the game. Handing Biglerville their first defeat in confer- ence play, the Lions sprang their second major upset of the season. Wiggle plunged across for the first score early in the game, and Mouse for the other, as the Homecoming Day crowd Richard Snyder, Ted Weiler, Robert Kenney. cheered them on to a five-point victory. Winding up the season with their annual game against traditional rivals, the West York Bull- dogs, the Lions battled to a standstill, Norris making the only tally for Red Lion. As the final Whistle blew, ending the grid season for 1949, it also Wrote finis to high school football for four- teen seniors. r Top left: VARSITY-Front: Duane Swartzbaugh, Dale Kinard, Gene Engles, Bob Snyder, James Stell, Buck Grove, Gary Stabley, Clarence Ropp, Harold Dolinger. Second: Lee Young, Gerald Patterson, Darrell Billett, Barry Gilbert, Ronald Warner, Carl Paley, Ronald Holtzinger, Charles Williamson, Bob Norris, Harold Henshaw, Bob Frutiger, Palmer Stump. Bock: Bob Eveler, Luther Markel, Lewis Smeltzer, Jay Seidenstricker, Jay Olewiler, John Snyder, Nolan Heflner, Charles Chavarria, Duane Weigel, John Engles, Gene Neff, Clair Koons, Marley Becker, Glen Knisley. Bot- tom left: Everyone blocks everyone at Manheim Twp. Center: Mouse leads the field on the way to a T. D. at the Lititz game. Top right: Susque- hanna Twp.'s quarterback must have got lost in the dark. Bottom right: Kinard takes off as Manheim Twp.'s player makes a three-point landing. 23