St Edwards University - Tower Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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94 Nick Nichols and John Barbick caught second half touchdown passes from Kevin Burns to spark the AFC (right) to a come-from-behind victory over the NFC in the 1972 All Star game. The NFC led 6-0 at the half on Kenny Garcia’s 3 yard lob to Bill Jakotowicz, and Garcia found Tom McCloskey from the one with two minutes remaining to tie at 12-12, but when the conversion failed the AFC had it won, 4 penetrations to 3. In back are Mike Barrett, Gary Kudrna, Jim McGrory, Mark White, Ed Daeger, Mike Toomey, Mike Jachimezyk, Terry Bauer, Nick Nichols, John Barbick, and Mark McDermott. In front are Joe Maguire, Kevin Burns, Dominic Cappelli, Rod Tieken, Joe Capuano, and Ted McGorty. Not pictured is Wayne Mitchell.

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| erotably the most curious and frustrating thing a sports champion quickly learns is how often it must continue to prove itself. In 1972 the Zoo was setting out in quest of its third consecutive SEFL championship, ample enough credential for finally establishing it the preseason favorite, but there were still those who questioned the authenticity of that credential. The Tuf-Nuts were one of those with doubts, having twice lost to the Zoo era in the playoffs. After the particularly bitter frustration of 1971’s 24-14 loss to the Zoo, the Tuf-Nuts, who having added a large contingent from the Canadian Club were now officially the Tuf-Nuts Canadian Club, felt they had much to prove in 1972. They didn’t prove much opening day, however, ii a miserable 19-0 whitewashing by a measurably strengthened Organized Confusion. The surprise team of early season, the Confusion cruised through its first six games | 5 3 . unbeaten, allowing but six points along the revealed good and bad news about the way. A 6-0 victory over the Henways | Confusion’s eventual playoff hopes. First the good news; they won on a six yard strike to John Barbick on 4th down with twenty seconds left to win the sort of game they used to lose. But the bad news was the uncharacteristic friction they displayed which was to destroy a promising season. When the Tuf-Nuts beat O. C. in their second meeting, the Confusion never won an | important game thereafter. = ee The Tuf-Nuts took over first place with that victory over O. C. and methodically clinched the AFC title on the sure passing arm and cool head of Kevin Burns, the SEFL passing leader. Bobby Semptimphelter was gone, yet the Nuts still exceeded their remarkable scoring pace of 1971 with nearly 30 points a game, and only the Zoo allowed its opponents fewer points. When Organized Confusion began its fade when the schedule stiffened, 1972’s genuine surprise team emerged from the dust of one of the season’s most exciting ball games. The Magic Co. edged the Bears 15-14 in the rubber match of a three game series that eventually determined the wild card representative in the playoffs. Really, the Magic Co. should have snuck up on no one after they forced the Zoo to scramble to a win by penetrations in their opener. But this was the lowly Banchy A’s group of 1971 which won 4 of 28 games. However, the competent battery of quarterback Peyton Turk and Tim Gavin, with Luis Perez anchoring a solid defense, turned the club around and when they edged the Bears the second time they were in the 1972 SEFL Standings AEG W Tuf-Nuts Can. Club 13 Organized Confusion ll Delta Sigma Pi 9 MeE LG: 3 Henways 2, NFC Zoo Magic Co. Bears Leper Colony Mangum’s Marauders Play off: Tuf-Nuts C.C. 30, Magic Co. 17 Championship: driver’s seat. A three game losing streak at season’s end was nearly fatal, but when the Tuf-Nuts defeated Organized Confusion and the Zoo crushed the Bears on the last day, the Magic Co. earned the wild card entry, having beaten O. C. in their only meeting of the year, and the Bears two out of three in that season’s series. Zoo 25, Tuf-Nuts Canadian Club 12 93

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The Magic Co. was relieved to just be in the playoffs, but the Tuf-Nuts had dead aim on the Zoo, and their 30-17 pasting of the Magic Co. showed it. Burns completed better than 50% of his passes as six different Tuf-Nuts scored. Turk barely completed a third of his passes, and only drove for the Company’s second touchdown on the last play of the game. The preliminaries disposed of, the Tuf- Nuts readied at last for the only game of the year. It was a matchup to delight any purist. Kenny Garcia helmed the second best offense in the SEFL and Pete Ademski called the shots for the loop’s premier defense. When Garcia grew tired of throwing to Tom McCloskey and Tim MacCollum, there were Mike Cates or Mike Antonini for screens. When Ademski wasn’t blitzing, Joe Kelly was applying the pressure of three men and Mare Stead was playing his own brand of zone defense that looked like man-to- man. What it all added up to was a statis- tician’s delight and a bettor’s nightmare— the first offense against the first defense while the Nuts had the ball, and the second offense against the second defense when the Zoo had it. True to sports tradition defense won the ballgame as Mare Stead killed two deep threats and Jesse Fowlkes another with in- terceptions in the end zone. Stead’s first theft was perhaps the most important for it followed Rodney Tieken’s theft of Garcia’s first pass to set the Tuf-Nuts up for an early lead. In fact, the Nuts stole three of Garcia’s first four passes, yet they were not able to seize the initiative. The half ended 6-6, and some of the starch was gone from the Tuf- Nuts. If one play broke their backs it was a weirdie early in the second half. Garcia hit his safety valve Jose Cabesas over the middle for 17 yards, when Cabesas then lateraled to Tom McCloskey who stepped down the side- line 35 more yards to complete a 52 yard TD strike. The Nuts looked desperately for flags or a whistle indicating a tag, but there were none, and the dam broke shortly. Cates squeezed a 17 yard TD strike and Cabesas a 9 yarder, and the Zoo had completed their perfect season. For the first time in three years the headlines would speak, not of the upset winner, but simply of the champion. DS