I thought I'd track the Sugar Land Gators' '53 football season as it unfolded 60 years ago. They were going for their 3rd Regional Championship, which was the full extent of Class B football playoffs in those days.
Sugar Land had very high expectations. I've heard Roland Rodriguez say the first item on the Quarterback Club's agenda at their inaugural meeting was ordering buses for the playoffs. Dugan Hightower was a new assistant coach that year. Roland said, Dugan stood and asked the Club, "Aren't you jumping the gun a little bit?" One of the old timers piped up, "We're ordering those buses. We're going to need them for the play offs, or you're going to need them to get out of town." I assume everybody laughed.
The following newspaper account hints that the Gators toyed with the Katy Tigers. Notice that a former Sugar Land High great, Ralph McCord, coached the Tigers. His first cousin, Chuzzy Jenkins, coached the Gators.
Here's a short audio clip about the game from a discussion I had with former players in 2009.
