Wetumpka High School - We Wa Tumpkis Yearbook (Wetumpka, AL)

Page 123 text:

I I The Thrill of Victory . . . Wetumpka's first half effort against Chilton County was the most productive of the season. Jerome Seamon and Sta- cey Floyd both had touchdown runs of one yard. On the kickoff following Floyd's TD the Tigers fumbled and We- tumpka recovered. On the next play Ricky Thornell connect- ed with Chris Mighty Mite Celka for a I7 yard TD pass. Following a Tiger punt, Rodney Crenshaw barreled 36 yards for the next Indian TD. Chilton County scored on their last possession of the half. Wetumpka went into the locker room with a comfortable 25-7 lead. The second half momentum, however, would shift to the Tigers as the Indians fumbled early in the third quarter and the Tigers would capitalize with a score. They would add two more touchdowns before the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, to lead the Indians 28-25. The Indians finally mounted a drive with three minutes left in the game to put WHS up by three. Credit has to be given to the defensive line for the 3l-28 win over Clanton. We- tumpka 3l, Chilton County 28 . . . The Agony of Defeat It appeared the injury plagued Indians couldn't hold on forever, as they felt the sting of their first loss of the season, in Troy. The Indians started the scoring as Cren- shaw scampered 48 yards for a TD in the first period, but the Trojans came back with a 38 yard field goal to make it 7-3. The Trojans quickly scored again on a bad hand-off, but missed the PAT. As a good home following watched, it seemed the Indians couldn't get the motor running and before the half ended, the Trojans scored again to make the score I6-7. Second half effort of the Indians was somewhat better as they scored in the third quarter to move up to I6-I3. Indian mistakes helped the Troy effort as the Trojans capitalized on an Indian fum- bled punt and Troy added another TD, making it 22-I3. To add insult to injury, Bill Lawrence was tackled in the end zone in the waining minutes which added another two points to the Trojan score. Wetumpka I3, Charles Henderson CTroyj 24 7--sg Defense, Defense, Defense Alex City versus Wetumpka is always a defensive battle and this one was no exception. The Wildcats put the points on the board as Tracy Minnifield scampered 29 yards but Sex- ton's PAT was off. The rest of the half was scoreless as neither team could get the offense started. The second half was not much different as the defensive teams battled it out. Jerome Seamon finally dug his way in for the score with 8:29 left in the game. Ruskin's PAT was good and the Indians led 7-6. Follow- ing the kick-off, the Wildcats fumbled and Bart Teel recov- ered. Things looked good for the Indians, but two plays later Thornell coughed up the ball and the 'cats recovered. They drove down the field to the Indian's I5 where the defense stopped them. With 3:42 left to play, Sexton hit a fieldgoal from 33 yards out, which gave the Wildcats the victory. We- tumpka 7, Alex City 9 What A Revolting Development That Was!!! The clock had ticked-off only I9 seconds when the Mustangs scored a TD and PAT to make it 7-O. SEHS got the ball when Rodney Crenshaw thought the ball was out of bounds on the opening kick-off and failed to cover it. The referees ruled the ball in bounds, and Stanhope suc- ceeded in carrying it in for the score. This turn of events was to be the cause of a heartbreaking loss for the Indians, as it became the only score of the game. Wetumpka's defense held tight for four quarters, but the offense just couIdn't get into gear. The Indians had more total yards than the Mustangs, but Stanhope had the points. In the final three minutes of the game the Indians recovered a bad snap on the I7. It looked hopeful, but with a fourth down pass or run option, the Mustangs dropped Ricky Thornell for an eight yard loss and ran out the clock. Wetumpka O, Stanhope 7 II9

Page 122 text:

Three Proves Enough To avoid the rains of Hurricane Elena, kick-off time was moved to 6:30 p.m. For 47 minutes and 2l seconds, neither team scored, but with just over three minutes remaining in the game, Wetumpka began what was to be the winning drive of the last moments. Rick Thornell had the long gainer of the drive breaking from the Tiger 34 to the I8 yard line, but the Tiger defense stopped the drive and with fourth down and one, Coach Bazemore chose to send Bart Teel in for a field goal. Teels' boot was good. An interception by Scott Sides in the last seconds of the game ended any Tiger hopes of victo- ry, as Teel's three points netted on the successful field goal proved enough to defeat the Tigers. Wetumpka 3, Tallassee 0 'isi-Z5 , 41. Indians Sneak Past Panthers Jerome Seamon ran fourteen yards for a TD to give the Indians the first score of the game, but the PAT failed and the score read 6-O. Later in the same quarter, the Panthers scored and the scoreboard read, 7-6. Neither team managed another score and the first half ended in Lanett's favor. In the third quarter, Bart Teel kicked a 24 yard field goal to make the score 9-7 in favor of the Indians. The Panthers retaliated with a touchdown pass, but the try for two failed and the score read I3-9. Jonathan Bozeman blocked a punt in the final quar- ter to set up the Indians winning drive. Seamon scored on a one yard run, but the PAT was blocked. The final score of this action filled game ended in favor of the Indians. Wetumpka IS, Lanett I3 IIS Dawgs Bite the Dust In what was to be one of the hottest games of the year, the Indian defense dug in and kept the Holtville offense out of the end zone, in the end the Bulldogs were able to put just three points on the board. Wetumpka took advantage of four interceptions and two fumble recoveries to aid their offensive cause. Rodney Cren- shaw's 59 yard punt return was the first score of the game. A pass from Bill Lawrence to Chris Celka which netted 50 yards would set up a field goal by Bart Teel when the Indians failed to cross the goal line. In the fourth quarter, Rodney Crenshaw had another touch- down as he scored from 22 yards out. Another pass connection from Lawrence to Celka would net the final points of the game as the Indians mauraded over the Bulldogs from Holtville. Wetumpka 23, Holtville 3 Indians Swat Hornets After three straight victorious games, the Indians traveled to Bullock County hoping to run the tally to four. After the nullification of one TD, Russell Clark scampered I3 yards for a TD, but the PAT by Scott Sides was blocked. Rodney Crenshaw then ran for 43 yards for another TD on the Indians' next possession. Jerome Sea- mon would add still another TD after a set-up pass from Thornell to Bart Teel. In the second quarter, Rodney Crenshaw ran 38 yards to score again, but the pass for the two pointer failed. Then quarterback Ricky Thornell went in standing up on a 4 yard bootleg play. The two point conversion pass to Chris Celka was good and the Indians had a 34-O lead after scoring on every possession of the first half. The third quarter saw no break as Danny Ruskin scored after a Lawrence pass. The two point conversion to Steve Yarnell was also good. The fourth quarter saw no scor- ing, but numerous Indians saw action and gained valu- able experience. Wetumpka 42, Bullock County 0

Page 124 text:

Homecoming Victory ls Always Sweet Southside was never really in the game as Ricky Thornell scored Wetumpka's first TD on a quarterback keeper on the first possession of the ball. A Panther fumble at the lndian's 42, then a Thornell to Ruskin pass put the ball at the Southside 20. Jerome Seamon went in from the eight and Ruskin added the point after to account for the second score. Rodney Cren- shaw then scored the first of two TD's with 7.I9 left in the first half to make it ll-0. The Panthers finally got on the board by a five yard run, but the PAT failed. Crenshaw scored again from the I3 to make the halftime score 27-6. Third quarter play proved very dull as neither team added any points to the scoreboard. A great many Indians again got the chance for some valuable experience during this game. Lindsey Town- send would score the final points of the game on a one-yard run in the fourth period to make the score, Wetumpka 34. Southside 6 my-49 Valiant Effort But No Victory ln the Class 5-A, first round playoffs, the Indians traveled to Bibb County High School. The only Wetumpka score of the evening would come when Al Benson intercepted a pass and ran it into the endzone from the Choctaw 20 yard line. The PAT was good and the first quarter found the Indians ahead 7- 0. The Indian defense would play a thrilling game, but the Indians saw their lead fade as the Choctaws took advantage of Wetumpka turnovers to score on a 3l yard pass with 34 seconds to go in the first half. Tough football was played in the third quarter with neither team mounting a successful scoring drive. The fourth quarter was not to be the lndians', but there was much exciting action. Unfortunately, the Indians could add no points, and the Choctaws added seven. When the final whistle blew, the Indians found themselves short of winning points. The team had given their best performance of the year against a well coached team from Bibb County. Wetumpka 7, Bibb County I4 l20 Last Effort Proves Successful As Wetumpka's final game came to a close, the lndi- ans won with an I8-I6 victory over the Panthers. ln the first quarter, Eclectic scored with an 85 yard TD which left the Panthers with an 8-0 lead. The Indians bounded back as Lindsey Townsend gave the Indians good field position with a 30 yard kick-off return. Jerome Seamon scored to make the score 8-6 as the half ended. On Eclectic's first possession in the second half, Lindsey Townsend intercepted a pass which set up the score by Jerome Seamon. The two point conversion failed, but the Indians led I2-8. With 6:2I left in the game, ECHS drive 4l yards in I0 plays to score. Wetumpka came back with another TD which won the game. This made the seventh victory of the year for the Indians. Wetumpka I8, Eclectic I6