Forney Rolls On, 49-6

by Tom Miller

Dallas Times Herald
24 September 1966

FORNEY – The pregame activity gave the earmarks of a state championship game.

Even the first half, with last year’s Class A championship team there, it could have been a playoff contest.

But Forney’s strength came to the fore in the second period, when the Jackrabbits scored two touchdowns, and in the third, when four more were added.

As the result, Forney tripped Wills Point, the defending titlist, quite handily, 49-6.

The hardest Jackrabbit for the Tigers to claw down was Larry Bush, a 200-pound fullback who piled up the first five Forney touchdowns. It got monotonous for the pressbox crew with Bush scoring the touchdowns and tackle Don Morrison kicking the points.

Yardstick

Morrison toed seven for the night to end up as the second high scorer.

Bush picked up 91 yards on 18 carries in the first half and did better in the second part with 95 paces on 12 attempts. He perhaps could have added to this 6.2-yard average if had been longer. None was for more than three steps.

His longest gainer was for 52 yards on the second play of the last half.

The Forney eleven scored the first time it got the ball on a short punt to Wills Point 47. Eight plays later Bush sliced in from the three.

On the ensuing kickoff, Wills Point’s dusky speedster, William Maroney, playing on his third game in a brief career, took the ball at his five, found a small hole up the middle, then gave the safety a hip then drew it back. Nobody touched him after that at the 35 and we went all the way for the Tiger score.

Tommy Reeder and Thomas Cheney chipped in the final Forney TD’s on two and one-yard runs.

Joe Dempsey was the biggest briar in the Jackrabbit’s easy victory, Snooky Curtis, Randy Burch and Johnny Barnett helping him on the defense.

Forney’s best defense was its offense although Cheney intercepted two passes and Runyan Humphries stole another. Carroll Colwell blocked a punt and recovered a fumble.

Note from Pat Costello: “Wills Point was 1965 Class A State Champions.”