Blackford High School - Reflections Yearbook (Hartford City, IN)

Page 92 text:

Bruin fans jump to their feet as the Band strikes up the school song after another touchdown during 48-0 romp over Alexandria. Despite the hard drive, junior quarterback Brian West takes a hard drop and a heartbreaking Homecoming loss to the Apaches. 88 Varsity Football (Above) Junior halfback David Smith receives aid after a crushing blow at the Jay County game. (Above Right) Varsity cheerleaders fight the cold rains while still yelling for the Bruins. (Right) Every year the Junior High Bands from both Hartford City and Montpelier are guests for a halftime show. Before they go on the field, they watch the older members.

Page 91 text:

With the outcome of the Homecoming game still undecided, Rick Tarr carries through open hole, grasping wet ball in the rain. Chased on the quarterback bootleg, Brian West finds running room with Jay County defensive players close in on him. Admiring their CIC medals: Joe Beeth, honor- able mention, defense: Mike Bryant and John Eppard, first team defensive; Dave Smith and Steve Townsend, first team offense; presenting awards: Athletic Dir. John Carbone Not pic- tured: Rick Tarr, honorable mention kicker. In his last game of the year, junior Mike Bryant sweeps past the Alexandria line. The next Mon- day Mike was injured seriously in a car wreck. VARSITY FOOTBALL RECORD M BHS OPP Madison Heights 34 15 Muncie North 14 14 Elwood 27 15 Tipton 24 11 Jay County 17 15 Peru 18 6 Wabash 9 13 Madison-Grant 31 48 Alexandria 6 Huntington 16 Varsity Football 87

Page 93 text:

Until attending the Oinio State- Northern game at age of 11, El- len Leeth was uninterested in football. Since then his life has been. full of football as both a team mem- ber and coach, reaching its cli- max with a state championship Bruin team in 1974. This No- vember he announced an end to his career as head Bruin football coach with a record of 65 wins and 29 losses. Mr. Leeth participated in baseball and basketball in both high school and college Al- though he thought of himself as too small to play football, he still fraternized with football players. After high school, he attended Wilmington College, majoring in P.E. Then after four years at Wil- mington, it was on to the Army. Entering the Army, Mr. Leeth felt he had grown enough to play football. During the two years, he made an All-Army team. He then went to Madison South High School in Ohio to teach and coach junior high sports. Coach Leeth then came to Hartford City to coach football for five years, plus two years of frosh basketball, moving to BHS for his final nine years of coach- ing. During the nine years here the fans noticed his famous hat toss. I used to flip a clipboard at Hartford City until one night the wind blew it over my head, and it just missed a little girl. That was enough to make me switch to a hat. Mr. Leeth has coached in Blackford County for 14 years. If, after his junior gridder son Joe graduates from high school, a door is open in the way of a coaching job at BHS in football, athletes just might again be call- ing him Coach Leeth. o CO O o CD DO i Varsity Football 89