When was best ball played in county?
One year ago this week, I began writing a six-part series to determine which local high school had the greatest football tradition. That series of columns resulted in more than a few e-mails from readers and raised a lot of interesting questions about the county’s rich football history.
One of the most interesting questions that I received came from Burt Brown of Neshoba, Miss. Brown, who has ties to Monroe County, e-mailed me to get my opinion on the following question: During what time was the best football in Monroe County played?
Like me, Brown has spent his whole life listening to people say things like, "Well, back in my day we knocked heads. The kids today can’t hold a candle to the way we played football when I was in school."
With that in mind, I set out to compare the performances of our local high school teams during eight different 5-year periods, starting in 1966.
Why 1966? That was the first year that the Alabama High School Athletic Association started its state playoff system and handed out its first state championship trophy. The 1966-1967 NFL season also featured the first Super Bowl, which is considered the start of modern professional football history.
In the weeks to come, I hope to compare the performances of our local high school teams based on nine factors: overall records, 10-win seasons, winning seasons, points scored, points allowed, playoff appearances, playoff wins and championships.
With that said, let’s kick this thing off and look at how our local teams – Excel, Frisco City, J.U. Blacksher and Monroe County High School - stacked up against each other from 1966 to 1970. I’ll only touch on Monroe Academy this week because they didn’t begin their football program until 1970. I’ll bring J.F. Shields, who began football under that name in 1972, into the picture next week.
In the category of overall record from 1966 to 1970, Excel led the county with a 38-13-1 record, a winning percentage of .731. MCHS came in second with a 28-21-1 record, a winning percentage of .560. Blacksher finished third with a 27-22-1 record, a winning percentage of .540. Frisco came in last with a 22-27-1 record, a winning percentage of .440.
Looking at the number of winning seasons by each school from 1966 to 1970, Excel and MCHS tied for the lead. Both schools recorded four winning seasons each. Blacksher posted three winning seasons during that time, and Frisco collected two winning seasons.
When it came to putting points on the scoreboard from 1966 to 1970, Excel led the county with 1,317 points in 52 games, an average of 25.3 points per game. MCHS came in second with a 15.9 points per game average. Frisco scored 15.3 points per game during that time, and Blacksher brought up the rear with a 15.1 points per game average.
When it came to keep opponents out of the end zone from 1966 to 1970, Excel led the county. Excel’s opponents scored just 367 points in 52 games, an average of just 7.1 points per game. Blacksher’s opponents scored 14.0 points per game, and MCHS’s opponents managed 16.1 points per game. Frisco brought up the rear by allowing 18.0 points per game.
From 1966 to 1970, Excel was the only school in the county to win a state championship in football (1969), a championship that still stands today as the only state championship in football by one of the county’s public schools. Excel was also the only school in the county to make the state playoffs or to post a 10-win season during this time.
Monroe Academy started its football program in 1970, and since they only played one season during the 1966 to 1970 timeframe, I decided not to include them in the round-up of other local teams.
MA’s 1970 season was a great one. In 1970, MA posted a perfect 13-0 record and won the first Alabama Private School football championship. The Vols scored an average of 40.0 points per game in 1970 and gave up just 9.7 points per game. The Vols collected three playoff wins that season.
In the end, it looks like Excel had the best 5-year stretch from 1966 to 1970. MCHS finished second, Blacksher came in third and Frisco City finished last. Next week, I plan to take a look at the performances of our local teams from 1971-1975. I plan to follow with reviews of 1976-1980, 1981-1985, 1986-1990, 1991-1995, 1996-2000 and 2001-2005. In the end, I plan to compare all of the schools with each other and try to answer Mr. Brown’s question: During what time was the best football in Monroe County played?
One of the most interesting questions that I received came from Burt Brown of Neshoba, Miss. Brown, who has ties to Monroe County, e-mailed me to get my opinion on the following question: During what time was the best football in Monroe County played?
Like me, Brown has spent his whole life listening to people say things like, "Well, back in my day we knocked heads. The kids today can’t hold a candle to the way we played football when I was in school."
With that in mind, I set out to compare the performances of our local high school teams during eight different 5-year periods, starting in 1966.
Why 1966? That was the first year that the Alabama High School Athletic Association started its state playoff system and handed out its first state championship trophy. The 1966-1967 NFL season also featured the first Super Bowl, which is considered the start of modern professional football history.
In the weeks to come, I hope to compare the performances of our local high school teams based on nine factors: overall records, 10-win seasons, winning seasons, points scored, points allowed, playoff appearances, playoff wins and championships.
With that said, let’s kick this thing off and look at how our local teams – Excel, Frisco City, J.U. Blacksher and Monroe County High School - stacked up against each other from 1966 to 1970. I’ll only touch on Monroe Academy this week because they didn’t begin their football program until 1970. I’ll bring J.F. Shields, who began football under that name in 1972, into the picture next week.
In the category of overall record from 1966 to 1970, Excel led the county with a 38-13-1 record, a winning percentage of .731. MCHS came in second with a 28-21-1 record, a winning percentage of .560. Blacksher finished third with a 27-22-1 record, a winning percentage of .540. Frisco came in last with a 22-27-1 record, a winning percentage of .440.
Looking at the number of winning seasons by each school from 1966 to 1970, Excel and MCHS tied for the lead. Both schools recorded four winning seasons each. Blacksher posted three winning seasons during that time, and Frisco collected two winning seasons.
When it came to putting points on the scoreboard from 1966 to 1970, Excel led the county with 1,317 points in 52 games, an average of 25.3 points per game. MCHS came in second with a 15.9 points per game average. Frisco scored 15.3 points per game during that time, and Blacksher brought up the rear with a 15.1 points per game average.
When it came to keep opponents out of the end zone from 1966 to 1970, Excel led the county. Excel’s opponents scored just 367 points in 52 games, an average of just 7.1 points per game. Blacksher’s opponents scored 14.0 points per game, and MCHS’s opponents managed 16.1 points per game. Frisco brought up the rear by allowing 18.0 points per game.
From 1966 to 1970, Excel was the only school in the county to win a state championship in football (1969), a championship that still stands today as the only state championship in football by one of the county’s public schools. Excel was also the only school in the county to make the state playoffs or to post a 10-win season during this time.
Monroe Academy started its football program in 1970, and since they only played one season during the 1966 to 1970 timeframe, I decided not to include them in the round-up of other local teams.
MA’s 1970 season was a great one. In 1970, MA posted a perfect 13-0 record and won the first Alabama Private School football championship. The Vols scored an average of 40.0 points per game in 1970 and gave up just 9.7 points per game. The Vols collected three playoff wins that season.
In the end, it looks like Excel had the best 5-year stretch from 1966 to 1970. MCHS finished second, Blacksher came in third and Frisco City finished last. Next week, I plan to take a look at the performances of our local teams from 1971-1975. I plan to follow with reviews of 1976-1980, 1981-1985, 1986-1990, 1991-1995, 1996-2000 and 2001-2005. In the end, I plan to compare all of the schools with each other and try to answer Mr. Brown’s question: During what time was the best football in Monroe County played?
posted by Lee Peacock at 4:04 PM
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