Published: August 20, 2008 09:27 pm         

Terre Haute North Blast from the Past: ‘76 Patriots finally end drought against South, claim Bell

TERRE HAUTE — In 1976, members of Terre Haute North’s football team didn’t need any outside reminders of what its all-time record was against arch-rival Terre Haute South.

Coach Glen Ankney made sure his players knew it was 0-5 heading into their Oct. 29 season-ending showdown with the Braves at Memorial Stadium.

After both high schools opened their doors in 1971, South dominated the early matchups, although most of the scores were close (15-12 in 1971, 19-7 in 1972, 13-6 in 1973, 24-21 in 1974 and 10-0 in 1975).

This time, Ankney sounded determined to halt the skid.

“We just want to remind the players of that [0-5],” he told The Terre Haute Star newspaper earlier that week. “We’re going to win it this year.”

South entered this contest with a 3-6 record, while North brought a 4-5 mark and hope for a .500 season. Each school was coming off a victory from the previous week — North 14-0 over Brazil and South 28-26 over West Vigo.

Each school had already defeated West Vigo and Terre Haute Schulte earlier in the season, so the Vigo County championship was at stake as well as the traditional Liberty Bell that goes to the North-South winner. The clash also culminated homecoming week for both schools, with Alisa Smith (North) and Mary Migaki (South) reigning as queens.

In front of about 6,000 fans, according to Star sportswriter Carl Jones, senior tailback Yancy McGoffney quickly electrified the North cheering section by racing 84 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

“I remember handing it off [to McGoffney] and there was a huge hole,” recalled North starting quarterback Dennie McGuire, then a junior and now 48 and owner of McGuire Excavating and Trucking in Terre Haute.

“I don’t think he was touched the whole play. He was very fast.”

The Patriots maintained their 6-0 advantage until South senior Sherley Ward replaced sophomore starting quarterback Cam Cameron, who left the contest after getting his bell rung, and promptly uncorked a 36-yard TD bomb to Tyrone Ellington on the last play of the first half. Mark Wehrmeyer’s extra point gave the Braves a 7-6 lead heading into intermission.

“That [South score] got us kinda down,” McGuire admitted. “But we knew Cameron was out of the game and we still felt good about our chances … I remember [to start] the second half, the seniors rallied us to keep us going.”

Midway through the third quarter, McGuire hit Alonzo Brown for an 11-yard TD strike and McGuire followed that by running in the 2-point conversion to boost the Patriots’ margin to 14-7.

“Alonzo was lined up in the slot [on the touchdown play],” McGuire said. “I faked it to Yancy, then I threw it in the end zone. He made his cut and, boom, we scored.”

But with 2:22 left in the fourth frame, Ward connected with Tony Shanks for a 13-yard TD and Wehrmeyer tacked on the extra point to tie the score and set the stage for a hectic overtime period.

The Braves got the ball first in OT, but they couldn’t reach the end zone in the first three plays. So they settled for a 22-yard field goal by Wehrmeyer to move ahead 17-14.

That put the pressure on North, but two runs by McGoffney advanced the ball to the South 2-yard line. On his third straight run, McGoffney found paydirt and the celebration began as the Patriots finally defeated South 20-17.

“Coach Ankney said, ‘We’re going to give it to the guy who got us here [McGoffney],’” McGuire reflected a few days ago. “Yancy was so determined. He knew that would be his last football game. He really wanted the ball.”

McGoffney finished with 165 yards rushing on 16 carries.

“[The postgame celebration] was so cool,” continued McGuire, who completed 6 of 15 passes for 65 yards on that historic night. “We had never won the Bell. We kinda walked around like we were numb. Coach [Bob] Clements and [assistant coach] Dan McGrath [both of South] were so gracious to us afterward too.

“I’ll always remember that.”

Ankney died of cancer in 2001, but McGuire said he should always be remembered by North football players for helping them claim the Bell for the first time in 1976.