Two weeks ago the Vikings' prospects looked bleak. Two teams, Boling and Sweeny, blocked their path to the district championship, but luck was with them and they grabbed victory from near defeat.
First they defeated the Sweeny Bulldogs in Sugar Land.
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| (Unfortunately, I don't have the whole article.) |
Funny thing, I'd forgotten the Vikings were district champs in 1961, making them champions for three seasons running.
As Leonard Scarcella's article said, most of the home crowd waited on pins and needles after the game at Kempner Field for news from Needville on the Blue Jays' contest with Boling. When it came, the news was just what they wanted to hear. Needville beat Boling to leave Dulles tied with Sweeny for the district championship. Since Dulles had just beaten Sweeny in their head-to-head match, the Vikings were in the AA state playoffs.
To top it all off, the Vikings debuted their new mascot and celebrated at their homecoming dance after the game.
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| A pre-game article. |
It was a dandy night for the Dulles faithful, and maybe it wasn't all bad for the visiting fans from Sweeny. I don't have a date for this little article, but I assume it appeared in The Mirror before the season began. Until the '63 season, there was just one entrance into Kempner Field. Visitors drove into the stadium from Wood St. onto a dirt road (which became 5th St.) and passed around the south end zone to their designated parking lot behind the visitors' stands on the east side of field. Beginning in 1963, visitors could enter off Eldridge Rd. and drive a half mile eastward on the dirt road to the stadium. At least the Bulldog fans avoided a traffic jam and got home earlier.
Rockwall continued its winning ways 50 years ago by defeating Cooper 27-0. Unlike the Vikings, they rolled through their schedule with just one loss and easily claimed their district's title. Their only feeling of unease came from the fact they faced Lake Highlands in the bi-district championship. Lake Highlands beat them 20-12 in the second week of the season.
The serious part of the season was just beginning.
