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Jean Hayworth Historically Speaking
The Breckenridge Buckaroos had climbed back to the finals of the 3A State Championship game against the 1953 champs, the Port Neches Indians. The Bucks had won the championship in 1951 and 1952 and now were attempting to grab a third 3A State Championship in the four years that the 3A classification had been established.
The Bucks had Jerry Cramer (T), who was recognized on the All-American Team and Jake Sandefer (HB), who was recognized as an Honorable Mention for All-American.
The All-State First Team honors went to Cramer, Bennett Watts (QB), Sandefer and Sonny Everett (E).
The All-State Second Team honors went to W.L. Pevey (G). Honorable Mention for All-State included Tommy Beasley (E), Clyde Harris (HB and Kicker) and Jerry Payne (C).
With all the National, All-State and All-District accolades handed out, the Bucks finally settled down to practice for the Texas State finals matchup, with the Port Neches Indians.
The Bucks’ coaches included Head Coach Joe Kerbel in his third year at the helm.› Also, Coach Tom Moulton, as the line coach, in his first year with the Bucks, the “B” team Coach Charles Vaught and Coach Truett Holland, who had led the Bronco eighth-graders in an undefeated record, for a District Championship in what was called the “Little Oil Belt League.”
The Bucks were ranked second in the state and were given a 6.5 points edge by oddsmakers for this top-ranked 3A State Championship game.
“Any success I have had is a real tribute to the finest bunch of self-sacrificing boys I have ever coached,” Coach Kerbel said.
There was, however, real concern for quarterback, Bennett Watts, who had sustained a severe injury during the last quarter of the Lufkin game and had not been able to practice all week. He suffered a painful nerve injury on the upper hip.
“A trainer from TCU, in Fort Worth, came to Breckenridge and worked with Watts all week to try to help him get ready for the 3A State Championship game,” Cramer said.
Even Coach Kerbel said Watts was doubtful to start in the playoff game with Port Neches Saturday. Also injured was Buddy Hamilton, who was definitely out for that game, with a fractured bone below the left knee, which also occurred in the fourth quarter of the Lufkin game. Hamilton was greatly missed on defense. Mike Robertson, Bobby Knight and Bill Taylor worked out all that week to take Hamilton’s place on defense and one of them took Watts’ place on defense as well.
Mike Kingston, who was a back-up quarterback, practiced all week. He had not played at all in the Lufkin playoff game and only one play in the Garland playoff game. Despite his injury and limits on mobility, Watts played every offensive play in the championship game against Port Neches but did relinquish his duties on defense except for two goal-threatening plays by the Indians, where he prevented an Indian touchdown both times, as the last man standing.
The Port Neches Indians had one loss and 11 wins for the season. They had lost to Nederland 24-27. Port Neches had beaten Temple in their Bi-District matchup, 13-7 and had beaten McAllen in the semi-finals very convincingly, 44-14.
The Bucks had one loss to Sweetwater, 14-18, on their record and a tie with Levelland, 13-13, for a 10-1-1 record. The Bucks had beaten Garland in Bi-District, 20-7 and had that tie in the semi-finals playoff game with Lufkin, which was decided by penetrations. The Bucks had four and Lufkin had two. The Bucks would have also won on first downs, with 15 and Lufkin with 11.
The Port Neches Indians were known for their speed and a fast, hard-hitting offensive line and they had all but two of the players back from their 1953 team that won the 3A State Championship. The Indians had accumulated a total of 445 points that season, averaging 37.1 points per game, while the Bucks had tallied a total of 361 points and averaged 31.5 points per game. Port Neches had allowed their opponents a total of 114 points and the Bucks had given up 119 points to their opponents.
The two coaches, Kerbel for the Bucks and Coach GeneMcCollum for the Port Neches Indians, had decided to flip a coin for home town advantage. Kerbel tossed the coin and the Port Neches Superintendent called it wrong. As a result, the Bucks hosted the 3A State Championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, 1954, at Buckaroo Stadium.
The Port Neches Indians ran a Wing-T offense, with fast breaking backs while the Bucks ran from a Split-T formation, with their own fast-moving backs and hard-hitting defensive line. Strategically, the Bucks’ chief engineer of the offensive attack was led by their quarterback, Bennett Watts, who was notably slowed by his hip injury but was determined to run the offense with his usual superior ball-handling skills, while directing the backs that included speedy Jake Sandefer and the wily Clyde Harris. This was backed up by the hardcharging Dick Carpenter (FB). Harris had also kicked 34 of 36 extra point conversions for the Bucks, which was the district record.
The Bucks also were supported by John Cotten, who had helped at end on defense and had kicked 11 straight successful conversion points late in the season and into the playoffs.
It was a windy Saturday for the game, with 25 mph winds swirling through Buckaroo Stadium, which would affect passing, extra point kicks and the punts.
The gritty Watts ran and tackled with total disregard for his own well-being and the Bucks rallied around their field general to take on the 1953 3A State Champs. The stats can not convey what Watts did that Saturday when the situation called for the quarterback keeper, he ran with total abandon. When he was the last man between the Port Neches back, Watts slammed into him without hesitation, knowing that one hard hit on that injured right hip would put him out of the game permanently that afternoon. Despite that knowledge, Watts was faced with that very situation twice that afternoon and hit the runner with all the energy he could muster and stopped the possible touchdown twice that afternoon for the Indians.
The Bucks took the opening kick-off and marched 69 yards in eight plays with Carpenter (FB) in three yards over center and then Sandefer (RHB) carrying the ball four different times and the last one for 22 yards to the Indian 18-yard line. Next, Harris (LHB) zipped around left end from the Indians 18 and jaunted across the end zone untouched for the Bucks first touchdown that afternoon. However, Harris missed the extra point, which went wide to the left, partly due to the high winds that afternoon. The Bucks were up 6-0.
The first time the Port Neches Indians had the ball, they drove to the Buckaroo 5-yard line but then, in four plays and a five-yard penalty for being offsides mixed in, the Indians were forced to give up the ball on downs. The halt of the Indians progress forward was stopped in large part to the great tackles by Sonny Everett and W.L. Pevey, who pushed the Indians back to the 10-yard line, where the Bucks took over on downs.
Subsequently, the Bucks also lost the ball on downs and the Indians marched back down the field in 17 plays to the Buckaroo 4-yard line, where they once again met the Bucks’ defensive wall, led this time by Cramer, Everett, Payne and Pevey, who repulsed the Indians once again.
The Indians knocked on the door once again in the second quarter when they got down into Buckaroo territory, where the Bucks’ fierce defensive wall of Cramer, Chaney and Beasley turned the Indians back and this time pushed them back to their own 43, where the Indians had to turn the ball over to the Bucks, as time ran out in the half. The Bucks were still ahead 6-0, despite the hard-charging Indians who got close two different times.
The Bucks came out for the second half more determined than ever to get another touchdown, which they pursued with all due speed. The Bucks took the punt from the Indians after they had lost the ball on downs.
Port Neches punted to the Bucks and they moved aggressively down the field for 74 yards in 14 plays, with a final 21-yard scamper by Carpenter to the Indian 20. Then the fans were treated to the “most spectacular” play of the game from Jake Sandefer. At the Indians’ 20, Watts pitched the ball out to Sandefer, who went wide right but got nearly boxed in by the Indian defenders but Sandefer fooled everyone at that point, with his quick stop on a dime and reversal to now run laterally across the field and travel almost to the far sideline and then reversed once again and went to mid-field, where he picked up some timely tackles and then ran 20 yards forward to the goal line for the Bucks second touchdown. He had traversed the entire width of the field for that 20 yards and ran a total of 105 yards for that 20 yards needed for the TD. John Cotten was called in for the extra point conversion and he laid into it with his left foot and the pigskin sailed through the uprights. It was his 12th straight successful conversion point. The score was now 13-0. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bucks had fumbled the ball and the Indians recovered it on the Bucks’ 28. Instead of punting on the fourth down with two yards to go, Watts gambled on an option play for the two yards needed but it failed. As a result, the Bucks set the Indians up for their first and only touchdown. On their third attempt, the Indians finally pushed into the end zone for the lone touchdown.
The score was now 13-7, early in the fourth quarter. Later in the fourth, the Bucks drove another 75 yards down field in a 15-play sequence for the third BuckS touchdown. Watts carried the ball seven times during that drive and then the last eight yards in three plays for the touchdown. Due to the high winds that day, Watts decided on a deceptive move to fool the Indians. He squatted down to hold the ball for the conversion by John Cotten, but instead, fired a short blazing pass to Carpenter for the extra point from his squatting position. The score was now 20-7.
The Indians had one more opportunity but fumbled the ball away to the Bucks who recovered it on their own 28. Basically, the Bucks kept the ball on the ground for the remaining two minutes of play. The final score was 20-7 and the Buckaroos had won their third 3A State Championship in four years, which was quite and accomplishment for the small, scrappy Bucks. The Bucks ran 33 plays during the second half compared to 21 by the Indians. Sandefer had 83 rushing yards that day to take top honors as the top rusher for the Bucks.
The Breckenridge Buckaroos had earned the third 3A State Championship. A remarkable feat, considering that in 1954, only the district winner went to the playoffs. At that time, there were 90,000 boys playing junior and senior high football, with 2,500 coaches, in 126 playoff games, before an estimated audience of 449,000 fans.
