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Saturday, May 29, 2010

1963 Semi-Final Game: Dulles vs Liberty


The Dulles Vikings played the Liberty Panthers in a Semi-Final Championship in Pasadena on the night of December 13, 1963. Those who weren't there will see that the teams played in a rain storm. I know it won't help much, but I've posted a team picture. I've also posted an account of the game from the '64 Viking yearbook.

Football aficionados may notice several things in this film. As with the Sinton game from the previous year, the Dulles defense is terrific. They never give up on a play. The interior of their defense (Husbands, Gandy & Medrano) is much smaller than Liberty's offensive line, but they hold their own. Medrano (I think) makes a spectacular stop on a screen pass. Both teams had trouble holding onto the ball, but that never seemed to take the steam out of the Dulles offense. (It definitely hampered Liberty.)

[Many thanks to Annette Williamson Wise (DHS '64) for letting me use her Viking yearbooks for several of these blog entries.]

(Update)
I really enjoyed watching the replay of the Liberty game. Not only was to raining, but it was dam cold. Don't know if you realized that we changed jerseys at half time. We wore the JV jerseys for the second half. Most of us did not even wear the same number. Tony Oliveres got credit for any tackles I made in the second half, and it was reported in the Ft. Bend Mirror that way. Boy was I mad!! Coach Shaver & Coach Ellis thought we would be better off with dry jerseys, but the first time you hit the ground, you were wet and cold again. That was me who stopped the screen pass and not Carlos. Keep up the good work.

Travis Gandy, DHS '64

Travis has cleared up a couple of questions I (Chuck Kelly) had. I couldn't be sure who stopped the screen pass. I knew it was a linebacker, but Carlos and Travis looked very similar from a long distance. Second, I did notice the different jerseys. Look at the photo below from the Viking. I saw the white patches over the shoulder pads and wondered what was going on.
(Update) I remember the Liberty game very well for 2 reasons - it was the only game during my four years of being in the marching band where the weather was so bad we were not able to march at halftime...and I will never forget the pep rally that day.  Coach Hightower always spoke but this time his eloquence reached an all time high!  He said one sentence and brought the house down -  "After tonight the town and team of Liberty will be forever known as Iberty because tonight the Dulles Vikings are going to beat the L out of them!!!"  To this day I have never heard a more deafening roar from a crowd and it went on and on...everyone we went crazy. Here we are almost 47 years later I remember that beloved man's words.  Scotty...this memory is for you.

Carol Waldrop
Class of '65





Dulles vs Liberty Football Game Part 1

Dulles vs Liberty Football Game Part 2