by Ricky Doc Sauceda
Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
The school year of 1978-1979 was my "repeat" freshman year at Conroe High School. I had been going through inner turmoil because of the violent separation of my parents. Daddy had moved out and Momma was handling all of the burden of taking care of my three sisters and me. I had quit marching band the year before and was again having to take Physical Education (P.E.) as an elective.
The first sport of P.E. for the year would be football. We had a large school and a lot of students to form teams from. Everyone separated and what was left was me and a group of unwanted players. We introduced ourselves to one another and were assigned to an area to play our first game.
I have always loved football and this would turn into a key asset for us. I was chosen to be the quarterback. I kept an eye on the opponent's offense and defense strengths. I spoke with each member of my team and explained where they needed to be and what to do. I led by example as well. I batted down pass attempts, quickly tackled anyone with the ball and helped to give us field advantage with ferocious punts. (In P.E. you play both offense/defense)
We won our first game. As the weeks passed by we learned more how to play as a team. We learned what each of us was capable of. We kept winning. Some members that I recall are John Graziano, Melvin Seibel and Stoney Anderson.
As the weeks passed we became aware of Jeremy's team. They were regarded as the best. Coach Smith was always with them. They had defeated everyone.
The final game came. We were undefeated as well. We were to face Jeremy's team. They all had confident looks and seemed a bit arrogant. We started to play and kicked off to them. With good kick off coverage we stopped them on their 20 yard line. They ran a "razzle dazzle" play and went 80 yards for the first touchdown.
They then kicked off to us and had good kick of coverage as well. We started on our 20 yard line. I called a "razzle dazzle" play of our own. We went 80 yards for our first touchdown. Jeremy and his team protested the use of our play. (It had been established that no such plays would be used during our P.E. games)
I stated our case to Coach Smith who laughingly said,"It's okay. Let them have it." He just walked away with a sarcastic look on his face. Jeremy's team followed him to ready themselves for the kick off.
What took place next still awes me to this day. We got down to business and shut them out for the rest of the game. We figured out who they went to on offense and hounded them. We forced fumbles, made interceptions, ran a punt back for a touchdown and had a huge offensive burst that caused Coach Smith to walk away in disgust.
Melvin was little in stature but played like a lion. Even he was causing fumbles. He would aim his little body at any ball carrier's hands and kamikaze them. I loved his spirit and we became good friends that year.
John and I hooked up for a grand play that caused Coach Smith to leave Jeremy's team to endure the rest of the game alone. We had been doing quick passes on short routes and slant patterns. I decided to do something different on this play. I asked John to go left and haul tail down the sideline.
As the ball was snapped, Jeremy's team went into close pass coverage. As they focused on my receivers coming off the line, John slipped behind them and was alone heading downfield. I hailed a bomb to him that arrived over his right shoulder as he turned to look back. He cradled it in and ran into the end zone. The pass alone was about 70 yards.
When John got back to us for the kickoff he said,"I didn't know that you could throw that deep." I just nodded and we walked back to get into kickoff formation. We did not celebrate during the game. We focused.
We scored 35 unanswered points against Jeremy's team and were undefeated for the season. We were very happy. We stuck together for the rest of the school year for the other sports as well.
I recall these days with great joy. I don't know how they are doing or where they are. I only know that we had our moment of glory and it can never be taken away from us.
Wherever you are, God bless and be with you...always. Amen.