Lanier High School - Viking Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Injuries Plague Reuben Sanchez James Sanders Jill Sanders David Sands Kelly Saragus Lisa Schafroth Carol Schneider Sandra Schroeder Barbara Schroeder Tracy Scott Todd Seidel Katie Shafford 182 varsity footballffreshmen f EFS? rf.: Q .1 no as 41, I P 'Qu 4 A . H N :CL . 4 . l N . 1 ' , 'wv1e4M-rqf1rw- Q1-gf' -- A c:'gnQq,3g ' . ngfgggrf . , wg? Nriay 'c7xVCZQ if 4- fr'r'1f i i , ,. ff' 3 ,, '1 gf' 1 Q. ' f W i , 5 A ig Y , . K 1, r i 4 ,, N ,401-'

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of Bi g Tests ld 3 l ii fa if X! l v- .Sf 1 Junior quarterback Bubba Jennings side steps behind his blocker to avoid a rush from four Reagan Raiders. Versatile Bubba could run as well as pass 2 Head Coach Novak watches and adds encourage- ment to the action on the field. This season Coach Novak completed his fourth year as Head Coach at Lanier 3 Fumbles cost the Viks many points and ballgames, A Viking back lets loose on a hard hit by an LBJ tackler. 4 Front row Cleft to rightj: Kenny Payne, Bruce Harlan, Lyndon Crider, Gary Glaspy, Art Allison, Steve Hanes, Randy Lange, Alvin Quinton, Clay Collins, Wilburn Houston, Mark Warren. Second row: Mike Nunnery, Richard Sanders, Mike Woodley, Gary Purcell, Randy Berggren, Jeff Knodel, Dean Stewart, David Taveirne, Hayden Stewart, James Jones, Sam Sanders, Lee Wil- son, Tommy Allen, John Pakrovsky, Joe LeBlanc Third row: Glen Belvin, Coach Burrell, Coach Scheoe- der, Clifton Bell, David Bates, Mike Thompson, Billy Psencik, Earl Jordon, Robert Solomon, Jeff Jackson. Ronnie Lerma, Donnie James, Leslie Brite, Coach Rierner, Coach Yoakum, Phillip Knight. Fourth row: Paul Franks, David Morgan, Kevin Curran. Steve Devillanueve, Coach Novak, Mike Glenn, Ronnie Daw- son, Charlie Lambert, Bubba Jennings. 5 Bubba Jennings shows oft his ability to pass as he lets loose a long bomb ight lettermen returned to make up a team that had potential that many never expected to see at Lanier. Strong defense and good offensive backs backed up the Viks for 76. The 2-9-1 record does not reflect the power and ability applied on the field. Most of the games show the Vikings separated from their opponents by a few points. Opening season against sixth ranked Killeen was not an easy job, but the Viks took on the Kangaroos in what Coach Novak termed as A Big Test. The first halt the Roos got a run for their money but their double platooning quickly found the Viks' weaknesses, Six Viks played both ways and the humidity helped in making them tired. The battle ended with a 39-6 loss. The next week the Vikings faced another top ranked team. Seguin was just a bigger and stronger team, yet we held them until the last three minutes, said Coach Novak. The Viks lost O-7. The defense played tough all season, finishing fourth in district. The strength shown in the front line made things rough for opponents. Earl Jordon, Steve Haynes, Sam Sanders, Clifton Bell, and David Taveirne played superb defense. On offense, yardage came four or five yards at a time. With few game breaking plays, any mistake could kill a drive. In the backfleld, John Ransom, Bubba Jennings, Ronnie Dawson, and James Jones learned to work together. Mike Thompson and Steve Haynes led the offensive line. David Taveirne, Hayden Stewart, Leslie Brite and Gary Glaspy blocked the way for David Morgan who worked his way up from behind three year lettermen. Quarterback Bubba Jennings moved the ball extremely well for short ground yardage and passed well when the situation called for it. He threw four touchdowns to James Jones before James got injured. Injuries hurt the Viks, who lacked depth at key positions. Many players had to play offense and defense, a tiring job. And inexperienced members had to play against experienced teams. Under these conditions, mistakes caused losses. District opened with a win over Johnston. The Viks seemed to get all the breaks and capitalized on the Rams' fumbles, The 44-O win proved good for the varsity football 181

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VIICII1 g Power 13: 'Sf - 1 Senior split end David Tavierne receives a pass as teammate James Jones clears to clear the way. As a bluechip college pick. David played three years as a varsity defensive end. 2 Senior captains James Jones, Bobby Gordon, Steve l-lanes, and Bonnie Dawson laugh at Bob- by's attempt to promote spirit at a pep rally. These men represented the team on the field as well as off 3 Wilburn Houston leaps over a pile of players while trying to gain a few extra feet. 4 Bubba Jennings watches for opposing tackles while he carries the ball down the field. Bubba replaced Jeff Jackson as Quarterback after Jeff suffered an injury team as they came in to defeat the defending District champ, Travis. 6-O the next week. The strong defensive line and backlield played well against Austin l-ligh. They held the publicized Sayers under 100 yards, a feat in itself, but four injuries caused the Viks to physically weaken and lost 13-21. They beat themselves by snapping the ball over the punter's head and tumbling on Austin's 12 yard line, after which the Maroons scored two touchdowns. The next week the Viks faced an old rival, McCallum. Lanier had 19 first downs to Mac's eight. Bonnie Dawson ran a kickoff back and the Vikings played well the last six minutes with two quick drives. The clock ran out with the Viks on the six inch line. Coach Novak attributed the 14- 17 loss to lack of concentration early in the game A O-O tie against Crockett sums up the game well. The football game turned into a muddy battle of who could hang onto the ball the longest. The 7-42 score ofthe Fleagan game doesnt show the fine football played by Lanier. They had a sprinter that ran 9.9 and our fastest man ran 10.41 consequently he scored four touchdowns, said Coach Novak. The halftime score showed the Viks trailed 7-12 with the ball on the two yard line. Neither team scored in the third quarter. The Viks never gave up but they couIdn't catch up. Rain preceded the Anderson grudge match. Once again, every mistake Lanier made worked for Anderson. lt just proves you can't make mistakes, said Coach Novak. Lanier received two points for a safety when they forced the Trojans in a punting situation. Anderson came out on top, defeating the Viks 2-17. LBJ outscored Lanier 14-22, A game in which the Viks gave away a safety and a touchdown to the Jags All the teams in the district were good and we played good, interesting games all season, summed up Coach Novak. The Viks have 11 lettermen returning next season, five defensive starters, 4 offensive starters plus some JV talent to make up the '77 team, varsity football 83