Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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Junior Year Book season. The day was not an ideal one for football, but as it was Momence’s first game all felt fairly well. At the end of the first half the score stood 6 to 4 in favor of Mo- mence, Giroux having scored a beautiful touchdown from the fifty-yard line, Stratton kicked-a neat goal. In the second half Giroux added another touchdown to Momence’s score and Stratton kicked another perfect goal. At the end of the game the score stood: Momence 12; Watseka 9. The M. H. S. boys were much elated over their victory, it being the first game of the year. Wat¬ seka later claimed the game, calling for a forfeit of Gir¬ oux’s first touchdown on the grounds that it was unfairly made. The trouble first started over a forward pass on which Stratton scored a touchdown but this was forfeited because the play had been started before the referee called time. The ball having been brought back, Momence lined up over it and on the next play Giroux scored his touch¬ down. Watseka then claimed that the ball should have been given to them after Stratton’s play. A week or so afterward Watseka papers announced the game as being won by Watseka H. S , saying that the wrong rule had been applied. But the game will go down as a victory for Momence as it justly was. The result of the victory was a chicken supper for the football fellows given by a section of the High School girls. The fellows kept up the practice daily, and on the twentieth of October a game was announced with Brook for the thirty-first. But thru some mismanagement of Brook’s part, the game was called off. But practice was still held every night for a game was scheduled for Novem- JJagp tEbirtg-fim ' ber seventh with Chicago Heights. On the seventh the M. H. S. went to the Heights and played a game with the Bloom Township High School of that place. Bloom de¬ feated the Momence team by a large score, Momence being shut out without a score, the Bloom team being too heavy and too fast for Momence. This defeat took a lot of spirit out of the Momence fel¬ lows, so that when a game was announced with Kankakee for the fourteenth not much hope was had of winning the game since Kankakee had won from Momence for a num¬ ber of years previous. On the fourteenth the team went to Kankakee to play there. The line-up had been changed before the Heights game. Nichols went in at center, Stratton went to K. H. B. and Polk held down Q. B. Du- Bridge went to L. T. The two teams (Kankakee and Mo¬ mence) were not evenly matched, Kankakee outweighing Momence greatly. But this did not awe the Momence fellows any. For the first fifteen minutes of the game a battle royal ensued, neither side being able to score. But finally by a series of quick, hard line-bucks Kankakee managed to score a touchdown but failed on the goal. The score at end of first half stood 5 to 0 in Kankakee’s favor. At the beginning of the second half the Momence fellows felt good, having held Kankakee fine so far. They started the second half with a rush, for within a few minutes, on a long forward pass from Polk to Hess the latter got away and ran half the length of the field before overtaken by Deselm of Kankakee. On a fumble DuBridge got away for thirty yards, but was run down by Schaffer of Kan¬ kakee. Kankakee got the ball and by a series of fierce

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JJaye uliitrty-fflur Junior Year Book. Foot Ball Season of 1908. I C (J When the football season for 1908 opened the prospect of the M. H. S. was rather gloomy. It had been an¬ nounced thru the Momence papers before school opened that the High School would have no team this year. It was true that a number of the stars of 1907 had grad¬ uated altho there was still enough material in the High School for a fairly good team. Finally, about the middle of September, it was an¬ nounced that an effort would be made to organize a team. A set of rules was drawn up and about fifteen of the High School fellows signed these rules. Tuttle was elected captain and Nichols manager. Practice was commenced at once and a line-up formed. The first line-up was as fol¬ lows : Center—Grabe. R. G.—Hanson. L. E.—Metcalf. R. H. B.—Nichols. L. T.—Allen. F. B.—Tuttle. L. G.—Walker. L. H. B.- Giroux. Q. B.—Stratton. Subs.: R. E — Hess. Q. B.—Polk. R. T.—Storrs. C.—Tuttle. The weight average was low and the object was to de¬ velop a fast team. Some of the new men had never even been in a football game, so that it took some little time for these to get rounded into shape. But soon practice began to run more smoothly, and about the first of October a game was announced with Watseka for the tenth of the month. This put a little more enthusiasm into the team and active practice was had until the eighth. On the evening of the eighth, Grabe bad his knee injured so badly as to put him out of the game, Storrs went in at center and Polk at R. T. On the tenth the team, accompanied by a number of fair rooters, went to Watseka and played the first game of the

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JJagr ®hirtu-aix line pinnies scored another touchdown. The try for goal resulted in failure. Score: Momence 0; K. H. S. 10. Momence worked the ball to Kankakee’s 80-yard line, but were forced back to the middle of the field. Then by a series of brilliant forward passes Momence came to K. K. K.’s 50 yard line. But here there happened an ac¬ cident which spoiled Momence’s last chance. Giroux broke away from a pile-up and with only four of Kan¬ kakee’s men between him and a touchdown, he made for their goal, but in dodging a K. K. K. man he slipped and fell, dislocating his arm at the elbow, which of course put him out of the game. Storrs went in at center, Nichols dropped back to R. H. B. Kankakee forced Momence to the middle of the field and it looked as if Momence would not score. But finally on a long pass from Polk to Met¬ calf the latter got away for a touchdown, Stratton form¬ ing beautiful interference. Stratton then kicked a perfect goal and the score stood M. H. S. 6; K. H. S. 10, and here the score remained for the rest of the game. This game showed that Momence had at least as good if not a better team than in former years when Kankakee was played for the score showed that the M. H. S. held the K H. S. better than any former team for a number of years. On Thanksgiving day the H. S. met the M. H. S. alumni at the Momence ball grounds. A large crowd turned out to see the game. The alumni were strong and outweighed the H. S. two to one. The crowd expected to see the alumni wipe the earth with the H. S., but the High School fellows had hopes of their own. Junior Year Book The game was called at 3 P. M. H. S. scored the first goal, Polk going over the alumni’s line with the pigskin tucked safely under his arm. Goal was missed. Score: H. S. 5; alumni 0. In a few minutes Hyden scoren a touch-down for the alumni. Score: H. S. 5; alumni 5. The score stuck here for the rest of the first half. In the second half Hess intercepted a pass on alumni’s 40-yard line, and with Stratton for interference scored an¬ other touchdown for the H. S. Score: H. S. 11; alumni 5. The timekeeper’s watch stopped and alumni finally managed to get the ball within two yards of Momence’s line but here they encountered difficulties and found it impossible to score. H. S. got the ball but were downed back of own line. This netted alumni 2. Score: alumni 7; M. H. S. 11. H. S. got the ball and began to advance it toward alumni’s goal when the timekeeper’s watch got busy and rapidly ran off the time and the game soon ended. The final score was: alumni 7; Momence H. S. 11, This game closed the football season for Momence. The season was not a very successful one. A number of games which had been scheduled were called off on account of mismanagement, generally on the part of the other party. This fact practically spoiled the season for Momence. Neil Metcalf “’10.”