Published: August 20, 2008 10:15 pm            

Terre Haute South Blast from the Past: ’73 Braves avoid upset to conclude 10-0 season

TERRE HAUTE — Of the existing Vigo County high schools — Terre Haute South, Terre Haute North and West Vigo — only once has one of their football teams turned in their gear at the end of the season with an undefeated record.

In 2002, West Vigo concluded its regular season with a 9-0 mark. But after those Vikings defeated Edgewood 39-22 in first-round sectional action, they lost to Indianapolis Chatard 49-13 in the second round. So they ended up with an outstanding record, 10-1, but that’s not undefeated.

The “undefeated” distinction belongs to South’s 1973 squad, which ended up 10-0 but didn’t qualify for Indiana’s old-style playoff system at the time.

“We had a lot of good athletes then,” reflected 51-year-old Houston resident Mark Stoehr, who was a junior linebacker and back-up running back/wide receiver on the ’73 Braves. “We didn’t pass on first down a lot, because we had power up the middle and speed on the outside. We had a very sound offense. Our offense rarely turned the ball over.

“The defense was so good, again with some very good athletes, that it usually gave the offense great field position. The offense was starting [drives] on the 50-yard line a lot of times… We had some very good tacklers. Every single [defensive] starter was an excellent tackler.”

Coached by Bob Clements, South opened that eventful campaign with five consecutive shutouts (6-0 over Evansville Memorial, 21-0 over Alton, Ill., 14-0 over Lafayette Jeff, 26-0 over Perry Meridian and 30-0 over Evansville North) before an opponent scored on it. Even then, the Braves won their sixth game 24-14 over Vincennes Lincoln.

Convincing decisions over Clinton (26-0), Terre Haute Schulte (39-8) and West Vigo (35-0) set the stage for a grand homecoming finale Nov. 2 at Memorial Stadium.

The only obstacle: North’s 5-4 Patriots, who also were celebrating their homecoming week.

Both teams carried momentum into the contest. The week before, while South was blanking West Vigo, North was winning at Evansville North 19-14.

With queens Robin Williams (South) and Anne Mattingly (North) reigning over the festivities, coach Gene Shike’s Patriots grabbed the lead on a 27-yard touchdown run by tailback Monte McDonald in the second quarter. Although the Braves managed to block the extra-point kick, they didn’t expect to find themselves trailing 6-0.

“We knew we needed to do our jobs,” Stoehr said of the team’s reaction to a rare deficit. “So we decided, ‘Let’s do it.’”

The result was a 13-6 South advantage by the end of the first half. The Braves’ first TD came on a 17-yard screen pass from Matt Stoehr, Mark’s brother, to burly fullback Bob Selge, who overcame a slight injury from a bicycle accident one day before the game. Their second TD came when Matt Stoehr hooked up with speedy tailback Bob Carter from 31 yards out.

That turned out to be the final score, thanks in large part to two second-half interceptions by junior linebacker Chuck Blackwell.

North kept sending McDonald on runs in the second half, but the Braves eventually slowed him down.

“I just remember he would line up deep in the backfield and he had really good vision,” Mark Stoehr mentioned. “All he would need was a little bit of a crease. At least we did a better job of handling him in the second half.”

According to statistics kept by Terre Haute Star sportswriter Carl Jones, McDonald finished with 109 yards rushing on 19 attempts. On the other hand, North held South to 61 yards on the ground on 38 carries.

“That was a really, really tough game,” Mark Stoehr emphasized. “I remember seeing stars a lot in that game. They hurt us because they would run off-tackle… It was really a game of field position. Once we got the lead, we felt comfortable.”

The victory enabled to South to claim the Liberty Bell for the third straight year and clinch the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference and Vigo County championships. But because one of the Braves’ opponents — Schulte — had a low enrollment figure, they did not receive an IHSAA playoff bid.

“The disappointment was we didn’t qualify for the playoffs,” Mark Stoehr admitted. “We thought we could beat any team in the state with our defense.

“But it was still a special year. It was a great team.”

        

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