York High School - Duke Yearbook (York, NE)

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AURORA vs. YORK-'THANKSGIVING DAV AT YORK

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'Gibe oetball Sauce f 1902 .. ,Q Bert tbogkins . . il-L ln order to have a successful football team at least. two things are requiredhf a good coach and good material. This was shown conclusively in York lligh School last fall. At the opening of the football season in 1902, things looked very dark fora winning team. The lack of material was very great. Only four of the regular men of the year before were in school. lint while the school was lacking in material, it did have a good coach. Arthur Browne, quarterback on the three previous teams and veteran at the game, was cap- tain. The team found in him one of the best coaches in Iligb school football circles in Nebraska. He believed in every man getting out every night and Working his best. llike Coach Booth his motto was, Every man in every play. For the iirst few weeks the practice was light. It con- sisted of dropping on the ball, tackling,receiving the ball, etc. The lack of material was gradually being sup- plied, and soon the squad consisted of from twenty to twenty-live men. 1 The team opened the season by playing a few practice games with the college. These, as usual, were easily won and the High School goal remained uncrossed. On Saturday, October ith, the team went to David City. It was, however, weakened by the absence of sev- eral good men. The game was close, but the score does not show the comparative merits of the two teams. The field was soggy and there was no opportunity for fast play. The only score of the game was made by Captain Browne, who dropped a very pretty goal from the held. The score was York 5, David fity U. The next game was played with the college. The col- lege team with Dallen Runner, an old High School man, for captain and coach, had been working hard and hoped to retrieve their many past defeats by beating the High school. After the excitement and shuffle were over, it was found the High School had scored 3-L points to 5 for the college. lt was during this game that the captain injured his knee and this prevented his playing during the rest of the season. This very materially weakened the team but it could not be helped. On the next day with a patched up team York went to Aurora to play the lligh School there. The grounds were very poor and the playing hard. This game also resulted in a victory for the High School,tl1e score being IU to U. Un November lst, the team went overland to Geneva and again covered themselves and the High School with gridiron honors. The score was 27 to 0 and the feature of the game was 'gli-ob Taylor's line bucking, which was phenomenal. Another feature of this trip was what was known to theboys as 't1'rofessor Atkinson's mistake but this is not to be told. .lust before this the team had been strengthened by the addition of Banta, Crutchfield, and several others so that the team had increased mater- ially in weight. lt was with high hopes that on November 7th, the team lined up to play for the state High School champion- ship with the Lincoln team. This game started with a rush and was characterized by the poor defense on both sides as well as the strong oifense shown by both teams. Several excuses might be given for the result, but, how- ever that may be, the score was Lincoln 11, York 5. It was the one defeat our team sustained during tl1e season, and will always be one of those defeats which are talked of afterwards with the words, 'fit might have been.

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With this defeat still rankling, York lined up on the 21st of November against Omaha, another prominent team. lt was soon to be seen that the result was o11ly a question of numbers. Touchdown after touchdown was made by York and when the final whistle blew the score was York 26, Omaha U. York's play was characterized by steady work, strong defense and faultless offense. lt was, in a measure, revenge for the defeat of the year before, which Omaha had inflicted on our team. Un Thanksgiving day Aurora was brought down to York. They came with high hopes of at least scoring, as they judged York's team by the one which had lined up against them earlier in the season. The lligh school began scoring early and continued all through the game. Aurora was literally overwhelmed and when they had got- ten through they found they had lost out to the tune of 41 to 0. It was in this game that liobert Taylor, our big fullback, hurt his ankle and Jess Runner distinguished himself by playing fullback like a veteran. This Victory closed the season. It was a season, which will rank as 0110 of the best, if not the best which J ag has been gone through by the High school. lt refiects credit on all who took part. There were many features in the playing of the team of 1902. Some of these were: the faultless team-work brought about by steady practice, the line-smashing of Bob Taylor, the gains made by Jesse Runner on tackle-back formations, as well as the punting of Charley Browne. Every man onthe team played his position and played it well. Mr. Atkinson, as financial backer of the team, deserves more than the hearty thanks and good will he received from everyone for his assistance, without which the team would have been unable to make the showing it did. The boys will always remember gratefully the services he ren- dered them, when they were badly in need of financial aid. It was with much regret that the team discarded their paraphernalia. Some will probably never play another game, but it will be because they do not have the 01311015 tunity, and not because they do not have the inclination. 0 'Po H ig X l1