Elder Panther Football - 1972

Front Row (l-r): Coach Haupt, Mike Murray, Don Dimizio, Tom Nare, Dennis Tepe, Co-Captain Jerry Vogele, Co-Captain Henry Miller, Roger Ruwe, Tom Katenkamp, Don Kuhn, Bob Koester, Coach Kerley. Second Row: Tom Reilly, Mike Marx, Mike Higgins, Paul Maly, Pat McKinney, Mike Currin, Frank Stertz, Jim Bolger, Steve Scardina, Joe Schroeder, Norb Koopman. Third Row: Coach Callahan, Steve Broxterman, Mike McGinnis, Joe Raterman, Steve Grote, Mike Mulligan, Mike Gajus, Tom Wanner, Dan Johns, Dan Meyer, Dave Hudepohl, Coach Meyer. Fourth Row: Mike DeFranco, Dave Vater, Joe Heffernan, Craig Johnson, Roger Coffaro, John Soudrette, Dennis Berding, Mark Lawson, Steve Pucke, John Tschofen, Mark Helfferich. Fifth Row: Managers Greg Ellison, Gary Huelsman, and Bob Meyer; Art Burkhart, Mike Murray, Kevin McQuaide, Kurt Leonard, Ken Frank, Tom Dickman; Managers Joe Berkemeyer, Mike Keyes, Bob Hannekan, Steve Fessel.

 

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 9-0-1

Game #
Date
Opponent
Site
Score
W/L
Record
1
9/8/72
Col. Bishop Ready
H
44-0
W
1-0
2
9/15/72
Woodward
H
19-0
W
2-0
3
9/22/72
Courter Tech
H
54-0
W
3-0
4
9/29/72
Roger Bacon
H
6-0
W
4-0
5
10/6/72
Lancaster
H
26-0
W
5-0
6
10/20/72
La Salle
A
20-0
W
6-0
7
10/27/72
Moeller
A
7-0
W
7-0
8
11/3/72
Purcell
H
27-0
W
8-0
9
11/10/72
St. Xavier
H
6-6
T
8-0-1
10
11/23/72
Western Hills
H
48-18
W
9-0-1

Head Coach: Ken Haupt (Career Record: 30-8-2)

Captains: Henry Miller, Jerry Vogele

 Final GCL Standings:

Overall
League

1. ELDER
9-0-1
4-0-1

2. Moeller
8-2
4-1

3. La Salle
7-3
3-2

4. St. Xavier
6-2-2
2-2-1

5. Roger Bacon
4-6
1-4

6. Purcell
1-8
0-5
  

Season Highlights: The 1972 Panther team, with Co-Captains Henry Miller and Jerry Vogele, achieved a near-perfect season, finishing 9-0-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the GCL, the only blemish being a tie with St. Xavier. Eight out of the nine Panther victories were shutouts, a school record. The 24 points allowed in the other two games is still the record for fewest points allowed in a 10-game season. (The 1940 Panthers allowed only 18 points in a 9-game season.)

In Game 1, the Panthers faced Columbus Bishop Ready for the first and only time in school history. The Panthers prevailed, 44-0, holding the Silver Knights to only 32 total yards of offense. Jerry Vogele scored 3 rushing touchdowns, Henry Miller added a fourth on the ground, and Tom Reilly connected with Ken Frank with a 47-yard pass for a fifth score. Tom Katenkamp scored number 6 on a fumble recovery in the end zone.

Game 2 against the Bulldogs was closer, but the defense again held the opposition scoreless on 148 total yards. Jerry Vogele with 2 TDs and Steve Scardina with 1 provided the scoring. Against Courter Tech, Henry Miller tallied 143 yards on only four carries, scoring TDs on runs of 15 and 53 yards. Vogele added two more short runs for touchdowns, Scardina (5 yards) and Tom Dickman (34 yards) rushed for 1 each, and Mike Currin recovered a fumble on the Knights' 20-yard line and returned it for another score. When the dust settled, the Panthers took the game, 54-0.

The battle for the GCL title began against Roger Bacon. The Spartans were held to only 23 total yards while the Panthers picked up 321. Scoring was minimal, though, and the Panthers only could cross the goal line once in the contest, when Steve Scardina, who totaled 104 yards rushing for the game, ran 7 yards for a score in the fourth quarter. Scardina again topped the century mark with 104 yards rushing against Lancaster, and scored two TDs. Along with Vogele's 2 scoring runs of 4 yards each, the final score became 26-0 in favor of Elder.

Four interceptions of La Salle passes (by Paul Maly, Mike Currin, Mike Marx and Dave Vater) kept the ball in the hands of the Panthers, and Henry Miller's two touchdown runs of 60 and 21 yards, along with Vogele's 1-yard plunge, gave the Panthers revenge on the previous season's loss to the Lancers, 20-0. Moeller and Elder battled to a scoreless tie for three quarters, but the Panthers capitalized on a Moeller fumble late in the third to score the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter on a Henry Miller quarterback keeper from the one. (This game would become Moeller's last GCL loss until 1988.)

Purcell was the next victim, as the Cavaliers gained 47 total yards as a result of the efforts of defenders Paul Maly (13 solo tackles and 9 assists), Steve Grote (16 tackles) and Tom Katenkamp (8 tackles). Scardina's 116 yards rushing (including a 58-yard TD run) and Jim Bolger's 101 yards on the ground (including a 56-yard score) led the team to its eighth shutout victory, 27-0. Against the Bombers in a muddy Elder Stadium, Elder scored in the first quarter on a 56-yard run by Miller (part of his 116-yard total on the ground). St. Xavier responded in the second quarter on a 15-yard pass play, tallying the first points against the Elder defense in 9 games. The defenses held the rest of the way and the Panthers' perfect season was spoiled.

Elder and Western Hills met for the 44th time on Thanksgiving Day, and the Panthers came away with their 20th victory in the series, their ninth victory of the season, and their third unbeaten season in school history. The final score was 48-18; the offense gained 579 yards, one yard short of the school record. Henry Miller passed for 4 TDs, 3 to Steve Grote and 1 to Jerry Vogele. Rushing TDs were scored by Jim Bolger (76 yards), Steve Scardina (70 yards) and Miller (1 yard).

Vogele and Miller shard the season scoring title with 70 points; Vogele scored 11 touchdowns and 2 conversions, Miller 10 touchdowns and 5 conversions. The team carried for 2372 yards on the season, with Vogele (611 yards), Scardina (554 yards), Miller (506 yards), and Bolger (435 yards) sharing the load. Paul Maly led the outstanding defense with 37 solo tackles and 42 assists for 153 points (3 for a solo tackle, 1 for an assist), followed by Steve Grote, 31 solo and 44 assists for 137 points.

Team MVP honors went to Henry Miller, who was also named first team All-GCL. Jerry Vogele was named first team All-GCL and All-City as fullback and punter, and received GCL Player of the Year honors. Paul Maly and Steve Grote shared first team All-GCL, All-City, and All-State honors. Grote received the Southwestern Ohio Football Coaches Association's "That's My Boy" Award for the most outstanding scholar-football player in Southwestern Ohio, and was named to the Scholastic Magazine All-American Team. Coach Ken Haupt was named GCL Coach of the Year, the first such honor received by an Elder coach.

The first-ever Ohio State Playoffs were held following the 1972 season. The Harbin rating system was instituted to rank the teams, based on their record considering the strength of their opponents. The playoff system ultimately spelled the end of the traditional Thanksgiving Day game with Western Hills, because the Harbin deadline was several weeks before Thanksgiving. In this, the first season, one team from each region was chosen for the playoffs; Princeton, whose season record was also 9-0-1, was the Harbin leader in Region 4. Elder finished fourth. (Princeton went on to finish second in the state, defeating Massillon in the semi-final, 17-14, but losing to the Warren Western Reserve Raiders in the final, 37-6.)  

Team Roster

Number

Name
Position
Class
75

Berning, Dennis
C/T
Jr.
15

Bolger, James
HB
Sr.
89

Broxterman, Steven
G/E
Jr.
67

Burkhart, Donald
G/LB
Jr.
83

Coffaro, Roger
E/C
Jr.
32

Currin, Michael
HB
Sr.
44

DeFranco, Michael
FB/LB
Jr.
19

Dickman, Thomas
HB/FL/C
Jr.
76

Dimuzio, Donald
T/FB
Sr.
22

Frank, Kenneth
HB/C
Jr.
30

Gajus, Michael
HB/G
Jr.
81

Grote, Steven
E
Sr.
63

Heffernan, Joseph
G/T
Jr.
79

Helfferich, Mark
T
Jr.
60

Higgins, Michael
G
Sr.
81

Hudepohl, David
E/G
Jr.
17

Johns, Daniel
QB
Jr.
61

Johnson, Craig
G/HB
Jr.
77

Katenkamp, Thomas
T
Sr.
74

Koester, Robert
T/E
Sr.
80

Koopman, Norbert
E/HB
Sr.
72

Kuhn, Donald
T
Sr.
62

Maly, Paul
G
Sr.
23

Marx, Michael
HB/E
Sr.
50

McGinnis, Michael
C
Sr.
70

McKinney, Patrick
T
Sr.
25

McQuaide, Kevin
HB
Jr.
88

Meyer, Daniel
E/HB
Jr.
16

Miller, Henry
QB
Sr.
78

Mulligan, Michael
T
Jr.
82

Murray, Michael J.
E
Sr.
52

Murray, Michael P.
C/LB
Jr.
66

Nare, Thomas
G/T
Sr.
87

Pucke, Steven
E
Jr.
20

Raterman, Joseph
HB/E
Sr.
18

Reilly, Thomas
QB
Sr.
71

Ruwe, Roger
T
Sr.
40

Scardina, Steven
FB/HB
Sr.
86

Schroeder, Joseph
G
Sr.
65

Soudrette, John
G/LB
Jr.
73

Stertz, Frank
T
Sr.
53

Tepe, Dennis
C
Sr.
24

Tschofen, John
HB/C
Jr.
64

Vater, David
G/HB
Jr.
42

Vogele, Jerry
FB
Sr.
18

Wanner, Thomas
QB/S/HB
Jr.

No. of Players
48
 

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