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Page 100 text:
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IVcOl itk ujtk at cv uj patctwfc Lumi pwed Hat they uWJb OUT TO BLOW MAY THE RECORD BOOKS So it was. the preseason hype of the 1986 high school football season had begun by the beginning of August. The newspaper had already started printing who they figured to be the powerhouses, the darkhorses. the contenders, and the troubled. The Tigers of Elkins were strong and ready. Fairmont West’s Polar Bears were loaded. Bridgeport would be back in the thick of things again and Tygarts Valley could prove to be a serious threat. All this and more filled the local papers. The headlines were consistently filled with tales of a mighty fullback from Grafton by the name of Brian Cochran. He was said to be the best football player in the state of West Virginia. Cochran and his Bearcats were expected to be the double A powerhouse of the area. But then again, no one had yet to consider the Tucker County Mt. Lions. Although the Mt. Lions were one of the few teams from the area which did advance to the state playoffs the previous year, no one seemed to want to consider them a serious contender in '86. Following a year which presented Tucker County with its first ever state playoff berth, the Mt. Lions lost twelve seniors. The papers believed that Tucker was too young and short of experience to be looked upon as a realistic threat in '86 campaign. They believed that the Lions shouldn’t be setting such lofty goals’’ as the year before. But this wasn’t the first time the experts” found themselves eating their words. On August 29th, Brian Cochran and the Grafton Bearcats found that all of the headlines and pre-game hype in the world couldn’t help them. They came to Tucker County’s Memorial Stadium on that evening with high hopes and great aspiration of what could be. They left with smashed dreams and thoughts of what could have been. They found themselves head to head with what proved to be a better football team. The Grafton Bearcats were beaten. That night, whispers moved through the stands and eventually reached the press-were the Lions back? History had been made. The Tucker County Mt. Lions had their first season opening victory ever. Then it was on to Mussleman to face the Applemen in the dreded Pit.” The Pit”, which Musslemen’s homefield had come to be known as. had earned a reputation for being one of the toughest places in the state to play. Tucker County had never won here. But again . . . history was made. The Mt. Lions thoroughly dominated the contest throughout. They amassed 485 yards in total offense as they pounded the Applemen 28-12 posting a 2-0 record on the season. But the following week, the Lion’s dreams of an undefeated season dwindled away. Blown opportunities and missed chances forces Tucker to self destruet in a matchup against conference rival Frankfort. Frankfort held an edge in only one aspect-the score. Final: Frankfort-14 Tucker County-13. Tucker rebounded with consecutive victories over Pocahontas County and Central Preston. Next up: The Elkins Tigers. For citizens, students, coaches, and players in the Tucker Randolph County area, the Elkins-Tucker County matchup is not just a game-it’s the game. It has earned more names than one can remember: The Timber Bowl. The Backyard Cat Brawl. The Hatchet Match and many more. Having come into the game, the 4-1 Mt. Lions found themselves facing a foe on the rise. After dropping its first two games of the year. Elkins had begun to turn things around with three consecutive shutout victories. Among other things. Elkins had history on its side as well. The Elkins Tigers had never, that is never, lost a football game in Tucker County. But once again Tucker tore another page from the history books. The Mt. Lions struck midnight on Elkins’ Cinderella season with a decisive 25-6 victory. The success continued into the Mt. Lions next game, a showdown with the South Harrison Hawks. The Mt. Lions put on an impressive show for the homecoming crowd by clobbering the Hawks by a 34-6 count. The following week would be Tucker’s final home game of the '86 stretch. The Mt. Lions would be hosting the hapless Petersburg Vikings, a team with more than its share of hard times. But early on in the game things began to look bright for the usually bleak Vikings, as they turned an early Lion turnover into the first points of the game. Trailing 6-0 in the first period, the stunned Lions seemed more spurred than intimidated by the Petersburg touchdown. It turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. Tucker got things together and built up a steam that would carry them to a school record of 50 points. Final: Tucker County-50 Petersburg-6. On to Maryland to face the perennially successful Southern Rams who carried a 5-3 record into this PVC bout on a beautiful Friday night in Oakland. But Ram fans were given little time to enjoy the night, as the Lions jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the half. Tucker County opened the second half in much the same fashion they ended the first, a pair of quick scores put the Lions in a led they wouldn’t even threat to relinguish. Tucker went on to pound the stunned Rams by a 36-0 score. The season finale was set on a frigid Hallowen night in Frostburg. Maryland, and the opponent was the Beall Mountaineers. The 8-1 Mt. Lions were shooting for a school record ninth victory. The unexpected quickness of the Mountaineers proved to be troublesome early on, as the Lions were held scoreless in the first half for the first time in the season. But Tucker took control in the final two periods as they proceeded to up-end the Mountaineers. 15-0. So it was. the 1986 regular season was a thing of the past, but not a thing to be forgotten. The '86 Mt. Lions all but rewrote the school record books enroute to a 9-1 record. A strong team with high goals had a strong season as well. With strength at every position, the Lions proved that they were out to blow away the record books together. Who would have guessed that an underdog team in August which was picked by many to fight to survive, would have turned out as they did. How did they turn out? Well, there are good teams and there are great teams, but this was a team in its own class, in its own way. A team different from all the rest. This, was a romantic team of legend.
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Page 101 text:
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HEAD to head! Never let It be said that the '86 Lions didn't have strength at every position as Delton Rhodes, Scott Ramsey, Kevin Poling and Mike Matlick made up the Lions defensive line. TAKING Heart Shawn Long’s lean and mean looks can be deceiving as he shows his soft side when Polly Moore of Cortland Acres Nursing Home wants a hug. TAKING on the hits. Scott Bolyard takes the hits as they come during the game against Grafton but keeps on moving. Tucker out powered the Bearcats by clawing them 16-7. COACHES have the penchant for saying the darndest things! As Coach Haddox looks over the scrimmage game against West Preston and says, “This is going to be a long year. And little did he know that he was right; football season lasted until December! FOOTBALL-SPORTS— 97
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