Elder Panther Football - 1980

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 7-3

Game #
Date
Opponent
Site
Score
W/L
Record
1
8/29/80
Western Hills
H
27-0
W
1-0
2
9/5/80
Woodward
H
18-0
W
2-0
3
9/12/80
Dayton Carroll
H
35-12
W
3-0
4
9/19/80
Lima Senior
A
20-6
W
4-0
5
9/26/80
Roger Bacon
A
23-14
L
4-1
6
10/3/80
Moeller
UC
21-19
L
4-2
7
10/10/80
Lima Shawnee
H
41-6
W
5-2
8
10/19/80
St. Xavier
H
34-7
W
6-2
9
10/24/80
La Salle
H
12-9
W
7-2
10
11/1/80
Oak Hills
UC
17-12
L
7-3

Head Coach: Ray Bachus (Career Record: 41-18-1)

Captains: Paul Mullen, Ron Moulden

Final GCL Standings:

Overall
League

1. Moeller
10-0
4-0

2. Roger Bacon
7-3
3-1

3. ELDER
7-3
2-2

4. St. Xavier
6-4
1-3

5. La Salle
3-7
0-4

Season Highlights: The 1980 season began with Ray Bachus as head coach for his sixth season. The "new tradition" of a late August start against Western Hills continued, and the Panthers took charge, winning the game 27-0. Hank Westerkamp ran the offense at quarterback, and threw three long TD passes, two to Dave Autenrieb (39 and 42 yards) and one to Tim Bleh (72 yards). Don Eckstein scored the Panthers' fourth TD, and Mark Robben kicked 3 extra points to round out the scoring. The offense clicked on all cylinders, racking up 376 yards, against only 39 for West High.

The statistics were similar in Game 2, won by Elder 18-0, over Woodward. With 359 yards offense against 66, the Panthers again dominated. Dave Thomas carried for 113 yards and 2 TDs; Don Eckstein scored the third touchdown for Elder. The Dayton Carroll Patriots visited Elder for Game 3. Thomas' 105 yards and two TDs, along with Bleh's 48 yards and 3 TDs and Robben's 5 PATs were too much for Carroll, and they fell, 35-12.

Elder's fourth consecutive win came at Lima Senior's expense, 20-6. Dave Thomas continued to drive the Panthers' scoring machine with two more TDs, rushing for 94 total yards. The GCL competition began in Game 5 against Roger Bacon. Elder went up early, and led at the half 14-13, but the Spartans scored 10 second half points to win the game.

Elder then faced Moeller at Nippert Stadium, and almost pulled off the "miracle". Down 21-7 at half-time, the Panthers came out ready to play. On their second possession of the half, the Panthers scored on a 2-yard Dave Thomas run. The extra point attempt failed and the score was 21-13. The Crusaders then drove to the Elder 1, when they fumbled in the end zone and Panther Steve Mazza recovered. With 2:23 left in the game, the Panthers drove for another Thomas 2-yard touchdown run, making the score 21-19. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, and Moeller's domination of the GCL continued.

Now 4-2, the Panthers faced Lima Shawnee. Dave Thomas' 214 yards rushing was the majority of the team's 437 yards of total offense. Five Panthers scored touchdowns: Thomas (2), Greg Napolitano, Tim Bleh, Bryan Pitchford, and Dave Autenrieb. Robben's 5 PATs gave the Panthers 41 points to the Indians' 6. The Panther defense forced four Bomber fumbles. One was returned 36 yards by Mickey Morand for a touchdown, another fumble in the end zone was recovered by Ed Cummings for 6 points.

Dave Thomas ran for 100 yards and contributed 3 more TDs, as the Panthers trounced St. Xavier, 34-7. Elder could only manage two scores against La Salle, on two Hank Westerkamp passes to Tim Bleh and Andy Hemmer, but they were enough as the defense held the Lancers to only 9 points. To close out the season, Oak Hills won their second straight over Elder, 17-12, at Nippert Stadium.

Dave Thomas, with 17 touchdowns and 102 points, was not only the team's leading scorer but also the city's leading scorer as well. Hank Westerkamp passed for a total of 1381 yards, 446 of which were gained by Dave Autenrieb on 17 receptions. Thomas led the team in rushing yardage, with 158 carries for 890 yards. Steve Mazza led the defense with 149 tackle points; Doug Kayse and Jim Stagge led the team in fumble recoveries with 4 each, while Ron Moulden led in interceptions with 6.

The state classifications were changed in 1980; Class AAA became Division I. Also, the top two teams in each region were selected for the playoffs, adding another week and four more teams to the tournament. But the outcome was still familiar. Moeller defeated Princeton in the regional final, 28-3, Upper Arlington in the state semi-final, 36-0, and Massillon Washington in the state finals, 30-7. Following the 1980 season, Moeller coach Gerry Faust left to take the head coaching job at the University of Notre Dame.

 

HONORS
SWOFCA ALL-DISTRICT ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Defense
Tony Leonard
Second Team Defense
Ron Moulden
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ALL-CITY ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Defense
Tony Leonard
Honorable Mention
Dave Autenrieb, Hank Westerkamp, Dave Thomas, Paul Mullen, Ron Moulden
CINCINNATI POST ALL-METRO ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Defense
Tony Leonard, Paul Mullen, Ron Moulden
Honorable Mention
Dan Murphy, Hank Westerkamp, Dave Thomas
G.C.L. ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense
Dave Thomas, Hank Westerkamp
Second Team Offense
Dan Murphy
First Team Defense
Tony Leonard, Paul Mullen, Ron Moulden
Second Team Defense
Mickey Morand
Honorable Mention
Paul Myers, Jeff Gramke, Doug Kayse, Dan Allen, Chris Geiser, Greg Napolitano
Best Offensive Back
Dave Thomas
TEAM AWARDS
Most Valuable Player
Dave Thomas
Best Defensive Lineman
Tony Leonard, Paul Mullen
Best Offensive Back
Dave Thomas
Best Defensive Back
Ron Moulden
Most Improved Player
Hank Westerkamp
Mr. Panther
Marty Berning
Mr. Z. I. P.
Mickey Morand

 

Team Roster

Number
Name
Position
Class
21

Allen, Daniel
TB
Sr.
28

Autenrieb, David
WR
Jr.
60

Berning, Martin
ILB
Jr.
17

Bleh, Timothy
TB
Jr.
99

Boeckmann, Jeffrey
DT
Jr.
67

Burke, Timothy
OG
Jr.
73

Buzek, Gregory
OT
Soph.
43/52

Crowley, Robert
LB
Jr.
18

Cummings, Edward
WR
Jr.
61

Cupito, Matthew
OG
Jr.
8

Dalton, Dan
QB
Jr.
89

Doll, Michael
OLB
Soph.
85

Doll, Ronald
ILB
Soph.
71

Duwel, Paul
C
Jr.
30

Eckstein, Donald
FB
Jr.
52/35

Geiser, Chris
C
Sr.
88/51

Glandorf, Charles
E
Sr.
90

Gramke, Jeffrey
OLB
Sr.
74

Grote, David
G
Sr.
81

Hemmer, Andrew
DE
Jr.
51

Hoffbauer, Bruce
C
Jr.
83

Hotel, David
E
Jr.
15

Hughes, Robert
DHB
Jr.
32

Irwin, Michael
DHB
Soph.
55

James, Mark
C
Sr.
41

Kayse, Douglas
DB
Sr.
80

Kessnick, Arthur
OLB
Jr.
70

Klusman, Thomas
DT
Soph.
45

Koppenhoefer, Keith
ILB
Soph.
62

Lanzillotta, Jeffrey
OG
Jr.
72

Leonard, Anthony
DT
Sr.
23

Marshall, Peter
DHB
Jr.
78

Marx, James
T
Jr.
33

Mazza, Steven
FB
Jr.
53

McCarthy, Timothy
OG
Soph.
42

McCullough, Michael
MG
Jr.
34

Moehring, Joseph
TB
Soph.
31

Morand, Michael
SS
Sr.
24

Moulden, Ronald
S
Sr.
87

Mullen, Kenneth
OLB
Jr.
86

Mullen, Paul
E
Sr.
77

Murphy, Daniel
G
Sr.
50

Myers, Paul
G
Sr.
9

Napolitano, Greg
FB
Sr.
75

Niehaus, Daniel
OG
Soph.
65

O'Brien, Thomas
LB
Sr.
36

O'Shaughnessy, Robert
DHB
Jr.
84

Pfaffinger, Bruce
TE
Jr.
25

Pitchford, Bryan
TB
Soph.
3

Robben, Mark
K
Jr.
82

Scherer, Kevin
TE
Soph.
66

Schwartz, Chris
OT
Jr.
95

Singler, Anthony
MG
Jr.
20

Stagge, James
SS
Jr.
69

Stevens, Chuck
T
Sr.
76

Stoll, Thomas
OT
Jr.
44

Thomas, David
HB
Sr.
63

Trischler, Joseph
G
Jr.
68

Turner, Douglas
OT
Jr.
40

Ventre, Steven
MG
Jr.
64

Vollman, Michael
OG
Jr.
22

Wall, Daniel
DB
Sr.
16

Westerkamp, Harry
QB
Sr.
79

Wright, Jeffrey
OT
Jr.

No. of Players
64
 

Back to The 1980's
Go to 1981 History