Elder Panther Football - 1974

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 9-1

 
Game #
Date
Opponent
Site
Score
W/L
Record
1
9/6/74
Louisville De Sales
H
7-0
W
1-0
2
9/13/74
Woodward
H
16-6
W
2-0
3
9/20/74
St. Xavier
A
18-14
W
3-0
4
9/27/74
Columbus Watterson
H
13-10
W
4-0
5
10/4/74
Lancaster
H
35-14
W
5-0
6
10/11/74
Roger Bacon
H
20-19
W
6-0
7
10/18/74
La Salle
H
18-16
W
7-0
8
11/1/74
Purcell
H
36-0
W
8-0
9
11/8/74
Moeller
Riverfront
24-20
L
8-1
10
11/28/74
Western Hills
Riverfront
55-14
W
9-1

Head Coach: Ken Haupt (Career Record: 46-12-2)

Captains: Mike Dwyer, Mike Hollstegge

Final GCL Standings

 

Overall
League

1. Moeller
10-0
5-0

2. ELDER
9-1
4-1

3. Roger Bacon
6-3-1
3-2

3. St. Xavier
6-4
3-2

5. La Salle
4-6
1-4

6. Purcell
3-7
0-5

Season Highlights: Coach Haupt's sixth season began with eight straight victories. The first win of the season came at the expense of the Louisville DeSales Colts. The Panthers gained 332 yards while holding De Sales to just 28. Elvis Clemons scored the game's only TD in the second quarter on a 5-yard run. Clemons picked up 177 total yards on the ground in the contest.

The Woodward Bulldogs were the Panthers' next victim, losing 16-6 at Elder Stadium. Bob Sagers led the scoring with a 3-yard TD run, 1 kicked extra point, and a 12-yard field goal. Ken Brown scored an insurance TD in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard pass from Mike Dwyer.

Bob Sagers 115 yards on the ground and the defense's 3 fumble recoveries and 1 interception carried the Panthers over the Bombers, 18-14. St. Xavier led 14-12 going into the fourth quarter, but Gary Thomas' TD reception of a Mike Dwyer 9-yard pass put the Panthers on top. The Panthers hosted Columbus Bishop Watterson in Game 4, and the Purple and White stole the win on the first play of the fourth quarter, this time on a 69-yard TD pass from Terry Finley to Ken Brown. (Finley replaced Dwyer who had been injured in the St. Xavier game.)

Dwyer returned at QB against Lancaster, and tossed TD passes to Sagers (30 yards) and Brown (24 yards), and scored two TDs himself, to lead the team over the Golden Gales, 35-14. Mike Rosenberger had a rushing TD and an interception in the contest. The importance of the points after touchdown was underscored in the Panthers' 20-19 win over the Spartans of Roger Bacon. Trailing 20-7 at the half, the Spartans scored in each of the third and fourth quarters, but missed both conversion attempts.

The Panthers battled La Salle in a close game, but won the game on a fourth-quarter field goal by Bob Sagers. (Sagers also scored 2 points on a conversion pass from Mike Dwyer, making him the only player in Elder history to score a TD, kick a field goal and an extra point, and score a 2-point conversion.)

In Game 8 against Purcell, the Panthers had an easier time, winning 36-0. Ken Brown, Jim Jump, Kevin Geiger, Tim Ryan, and Mike Rosenberger scored touchdowns, Rosenberger on a 19-yard return of a blocked punt. That set the stage for Game 9, the battle of the undefeated Moeller Crusaders and the unbeaten Elder Panthers, in a game played at Riverfront Stadium before 20,000 fans.

Elder took the early lead, on a 74-yard drive culminating in a 4-yard run by Dwyer; Sagers extra point attempt was good. Moeller scored next, following a 66-yard drive, but failed in the conversion attempt. In the second half, Elder again scored first, following a Dwyer-to-Brown 38-yard pass, on a Jim Jump TD reception of a 7-yard Dwyer aerial. Sagers again kicked the PAT. Jim Jump intercepted a Crusader pass, but returned the ball on a fumble. Moeller again responded with a score, this time successfully completing the 2-point conversion. Score: Elder 14, Moeller 14. A 34-yard field goal gave Moeller the lead early in the fourth quarter, 17-14, but Elder took the lead 20-17 with 5:30 left in the game on a 17-yard scramble by Dwyer. Then, with 1:55 left in the game, Moeller scored on a desperation third-and-10 play, a 63-yard pass, and held on to win, 24-20.

The Panthers returned to Riverfront Stadium to face Western Hills, and routed the Mustangs, 55-14. The Panthers scored seven TDs before West High scored a point. All aspects of the game were displayed by the victors. Mike Dwyer passed for two TDs, to Gary Napolitano (25 yards) and Ken Brown (31 yards). Terry Finley passed to Brown who made a 21-yard TD reception. Sagers, Rosenberger, and Jump each scored a TD on the ground. Tom Galvin returned an interception 47 yards for a score; Bob Plageman duplicated the effort over 30 yards. Sagers kicked 7 PATs in the game, tying the school record.

Bob Sagers won the team scoring title, with 6 TDs, 1 conversion, 22 PATs, and 2 field goals for 54 points. Ken Brown's 7 TDs gave him second place with 42 points. Mike Dwyer passed for 1260 yards; Brown caught 45 passes for 1003 yards, becoming Elder's first 1000-yard receiver. Sagers was also the rushing leader, with 125 carries for 565 yards.

Ken Brown received the team's Most Valuable Player award, and was first-team All-GCL, All-City, and All-State. Mike Dwyer was named GCL Player of the Year, first-team All-City, and All-District. Offensive Tackle Jack Streicher was named first-team All-City, and All-District. For the defense, Mike Hollstegge, Tim Murray, and Mike Rosenberger received first-team All-GCL recognition.

Moeller ended the season undefeated, taking the GCL crown for the second consecutive year and leaving the Panthers in second place. (The Crusaders again represented Region 4 in the state tournament, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Warren Harding, 20-10.)

 

Team Roster

Number

Name
Position
Class
83

Bedel, Gerald
OE
Jr.
84

Bengel, Steven
T
Jr.
69/63

Bolger, Kenneth
G
Jr.
51

Brogan, Kevin
DE
Jr.
85/42

Brown, Kenneth
OE
Sr.
82/64

Burns, James
LB
Jr.
79

Campbell, Thomas
T
Sr.
25

Clemons, Elvis
FB/C
Jr.
32

DiTullio, George
HB
Jr.
16

Dwyer, Michael
QB/S
Sr.
89

Eilerman, Joseph
LB
Sr.
21

Elias, Thomas
HB
Jr.
19

Finley, Terrence
QB
Jr.
53/62

Galvin, Thomas
C
Sr.
41

Geiger, Kevin
FB/H
Sr.
52

Groene, Thomas
C
Jr.
61

Grote, Mark
LB
Sr.
44

Gruber, Daniel
FB
Jr.
42/82

Gutzwiller, Gregory
DE
Jr.
50

Hollstege, Michael
C/DE
Sr.
18

James, Daniel
QB
Jr.
68

Janszen, Paul
E
Sr.
22

Jump, James
HB/C
Sr.
77/69

Koehne, Richard
T
Jr.
78/72

Lehmkuhl, Kenneth
T
Jr.
63/70

McGinnis, Steven
DE
Jr.
86

Meyer, Thomas
E
Sr.
67

Meyer, William
DE
Jr.
75

Meyers, Gregory
T
Sr.
74

Murray, Timothy
T
Sr.
23

Napolitano, Gary
FL/C
Sr.
24

Nienaber, Thomas
DHB
Jr.
71

Overbeck, Joseph
T
Jr.
17/30

Plageman, Robert
DHB
Sr.
33

Reilly, Kevin
FL/C
Sr.
80

Renzenbrink, Paul
OE
Jr.
72/77

Rice, Daniel
T
Sr.
15

Ritter, Thomas
FL/C
Sr.
34

Rosenberger, Mike
LB/FB
Sr.
40

Ryan, Timothy
HB
Jr.
31

Sagers, Robert
HB/C
Sr.
65

Stange, Chris
G
Jr.
43

Stemler, William
LB
Sr.
70/78

Streicher, John
T
Sr.
20

Thomas, Gary
FL/S
Sr.
81

Van Hook, Gregory
DE
Jr.
60

Wahl, Dale
G/LB
Sr.
76

Weber, Mark
T
Jr.
64/87

Welch, Austin
LB
Jr.
66

Willing, Nicholas
G
Sr.

No. of Players
50
 

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