Elder Panther Football - 1981

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 8-2

Game #
Date
Opponent
Site
Score
W/L
Record
1
9/4/81
Western Hills
H
44-14
W
1-0
2
9/11/81
Woodward
H
39-0
W
2-0
3
9/18/81
Lima Senior
H
41-14
W
3-0
4
9/25/81
Dayton Carroll
A
23-13
W
4-0
5
10/2/81
Roger Bacon
H
20-0
W
5-0
6
10/9/81
Moeller
UC
15-7
L
5-1
7
10/16/81
Lima Shawnee
A
35-9
W
6-1
8
10/23/81
St. Xavier
A
14-11
L
6-2
9
10/30/81
La Salle
Trechter
20-7
W
7-2
10
11/6/81
Oak Hills
UC
21-0
W
8-2

Head Coach : Ray Bachus (Career Record: 49-20-1)

Captains: Tim Bleh, Steve Mazza

Final GCL Standings:

Overall
League

1. Moeller
10-0
4-0

2. St. Xavier
8-3
3-1

3. ELDER
8-2
2-2

4. La Salle
3-5-2
1-3

5. Roger Bacon
4-6
0-4

Season Highlights: After years of losses to Moeller, the Panthers' annual goal had become to "Beat Moe", and the 1981 team was no exception. The Panthers had five games to prepare for the annual battle with the Crusaders, and Coach Bachus' warriors set out to work. The season opener against Western Hills was a display of the Panthers' offensive capabilities. Dan Dalton at quarterback completed 7 of 12 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Tim Bleh and Bryan Pitchford both passed the 100-yard rushing mark, Bleh with 124 and Pitchford with 103, picking up the majority of the team's 375 total rushing yardage. Five Panthers scored touchdowns: Bleh had 2, and Dalton, Pitchford, Don Eckstein, and Dave Hotel had one each. Mark Robben kicked 5 PATs and a 33-yard field goal, and at the final horn the score stood Elder 44, Western Hills 14.

The offensive fireworks continued in Game 2 against Woodward, a one-sided win for the Panthers. The defense held the Bulldogs to only 88 total yards. Dan O'Brien at quarterback passed for 200 yards on 9 completions of 13 attempts; Tim Bleh led the ground gainers with 105 yards of the 247 total rushing yards. Dave Autenrieb and Bleh each scored twice, while Pitchford and Doug Schroer added one TD. Robben's 3 PATs made the final total, 39-0.

Lima Senior visited the Pit and received the same treatment. Bryan Pitchford's 3 touchdowns rushing, Don Eckstein's 5-yard scoring run, and TD passes from O'Brien to Autenrieb and Andy Hemmer, and Robben's 5 PATs resulted in a 41-14 whitewash of the Spartans. The team's rushing totaled 401 yards, of which 162 yards was picked up by Tim Bleh.

Game 4 was against Dayton Carroll. The Patriots waged a close contest on their home turf, but the Panthers pulled out the win, 23-13, thanks to 4 interceptions (2 each by Jim Stagge and Ed Cummings), and 3 rushing TDs by Bryan Pitchford. The final tune-up for Moeller was against Roger Bacon. The defense picked up their second shutout of the season, holding the Spartans to only 136 yards; the offense totaled 315 yards and Tim Bleh with 2 TDs and Dave Autenrieb with one provided the scoring. Final score: 20-0, Panthers.

Moeller and Elder met again at Nippert Stadium. Again both teams were undefeated at 5-0. A crowd of 26,000 filled the arena and watched in amazement as Elder scored on the first play from scrimmage: an 80-yard pass from Dan O'Brien to Dave Autenrieb. Mark Robben kicked the PAT and the score was 6-0 with 12 seconds gone on the clock. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Moeller's defense stiffened and the Panthers would not score the rest of the game. Elder still led 7-6 at the half, but Moeller scored a touchdown and a field goal in the third quarter to take the victory, 15-7. The win was Moeller's 40th consecutive GCL victory.

The Panthers rebounded the following week against Lima Shawnee, 35-9, with a 68-yard TD pass from O'Brien to Autenrieb the big play of the game. St. Xavier and Elder then faced each other to battle for second place in the GCL. With 11 years of frustration behind them, the Bombers were primed for revenge. The Bombers scored first and last, with TDs in the first and fourth quarters. The Panthers scored 11 points in the second quarter, on a Dan-O'Brien 4-yard run and two safeties resulting from two Bomber mistakes, but it was not enough. The Bombers took the contest, 14-11.

Elder then met La Salle in Game 9. Tim Bleh's 122 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns led the Panthers to a 20-7 win. Elder then returned to Nippert Stadium to finish the season against Oak Hills. The Panthers picked up their first victory over the Highlanders, 21-0. Single TDs by Bleh, Eckstein, and Andy Hemmer ended the Scots' winning streak over the Panthers at two.

Scoring honors for the season went to Tim Bleh, with 11 TDs and 66 points. Dan O'Brien passed for 873 yards, completing 54 out of 111. Bleh was the leading rusher with 161 carries for 940 yards; the receivers were led by Dave Autenrieb with 16 receptions and 496 yards and Andy Hemmer with 20 receptions and 270 yards. Steve Mazza's 182 tackle points led the defense. The defense intercepted 15 passes on the season; Jim Stagge contributed the most to that total with 5.

For the first time, two Cincinnati teams represented Region 4 in the state playoffs: Moeller and St. Xavier. The Crusaders beat the Bombers in the regional final, 18-7, then went on to defeat Upper Arlington in the state semi-final, 14-0. Moeller then went on to face Canton McKinley in the state finals, but were defeated, 13-0.

 

HONORS
AP OHIO STATE ALL-STAR TEAM
Third Team Offense
Matt Cupito
Special Mention
Steve Mazza
Honorable Mention
Dave Autenrieb
SWOFCA ALL-DISTRICT ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense
Matt Cupito
Second Team Offense
Dave Autenrieb
First Team Defense
Steve Mazza
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ALL-CITY ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense
Matt Cupito
First Team Defense
Steve Mazza
Honorable Mention
Andy Hemmer, Dave Autenrieb, Tim Bleh, Mark Robben, Jim Stagge
CINCINNATI POST ALL-METRO ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense
Matt Cupito
First Team Defense
Steve Mazza
Honorable Mention
Andy Hemmer, Tim Bleh, Jim Stagge, Dan Dalton
G.C.L. ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense
Matt Cupito, Tim Bleh
Second Team Offense
Andy Hemmer, Jim Marx, Don Eckstein, Dave Autenrieb
First Team Defense
Steve Mazza, Jim Stagge, Ken Mullen
Second Team Defense
Tom Stoll, Dan Dalton, Bruce Hoffbauer
Honorable Mention
Dave Hotel, Bud Duwel, Joe Trischler, Bob Crowley, Ed Cummings, Art Kessnick
Dest Defensive Back
Steve Mazza
TEAM AWARDS
Most Valuable Player
Parents
Best Offensive Lineman
Andy Hemmer, Matt Cupito
Best Defensive Lineman
Tom Stoll, Steve Mazza
Best Offensive Back
Tim Bleh
Best Defensive Back
Jim Stagge, Dan Dalton
Most Improved Player
Bruce Hoffbauer
Mr. Panther
Marty Berning
Mr. Z. I. P.
Marty Berning, Bert Hughes

 

Team Roster

Number
Name
Position
Class
72

Arlinghaus, Michael
DT
Jr.
28

Autenrieb, David
WR
Sr.
35

Barnhorst, Jay
FB
Jr.
60

Berning, Martin
ILB
Sr.
17

Bleh, Timothy
TB
Sr.
21

Brown, James
DHB
Jr.
67

Burke, Timothy
OG
Sr.
73

Buzek, Gregory
OT
Jr.
16

Carroll, John
QB
Jr.
99

Cipollone, Mike
DT
Jr.
43

Crowley, Robert
ILB
Sr.
18

Cummings, Edward
WR
Sr.
61

Cupito, Matthew
OG
Sr.
8

Dalton, Dan
QB
Sr.
89

Doll, Michael
OLB
Jr.
85

Doll, Ronald
ILB
Jr.
71

Duwel, Paul
C
Sr.
30

Eckstein, Donald
FB
Sr.
88

Gorman, Douglas
OLB
Jr.
81

Hemmer, Andrew
DE
Sr.
22

Hemmer, William
DHB
Jr.
51

Hoffbauer, Bruce
C
Sr.
65

Hopkins, Mark
G
Jr.
83

Hotel, David
E
Sr.
15

Hughes, Robert
DHB
Sr.
32

Irwin, Michael
DHB
Jr.
77

James, Timothy
G
Soph.
5

Jansen, Timothy
QB
Jr.
31

Kemen, Steven
SS
Jr.
80

Kessnick, Arthur
OLB
Sr.
50

Klosterman, Ronald
C
Jr.
70

Klusman, Thomas
DT
Jr.
45

Koppenhoefer, Keith
ILB
Jr.
91

Kraemer, Michael
TE
Soph.
95

Langenbrunner, Doug
ILB
Jr.
62

Lanzillotta, Jeffrey
OG
Sr.
86

Mannix, Steven
OLB
Jr.
23

Marshall, Peter
DHB
Sr.
78

Marx, James
T
Sr.
69

Matre, Anthony
ILB
Jr.
33

Mazza, Steven
FB
Sr.
53

McCarthy, Timothy
OG
Jr.
54

McCullough, Michael
MG
Sr.
34

Moehring, Joseph
TB
Jr.
87

Mullen, Kenneth
OLB
Sr.
75

Niehaus, Daniel
OG
Jr.
90

Niehauser, Steven
ILB
Jr.
6

O'Brien, Daniel
QB
Jr.
36

O'Shaughnessy, Robert
DHB
Sr.
24

Owens, John
WR
Jr.
42

Pille, Briggs
FS
Soph.
25

Pitchford, Bryan
TB
Jr.
74

Raterman, John
DT
Jr.
3

Robben, Mark
K
Sr.
52

Robbins, Chris
C
Jr.
4

Royer, Mark
SE
Jr.
9

Sagers, Jon
WR
Jr.
82

Scherer, Kevin
TE
Jr.
19

Schroer, Douglas
TB
Jr.
44

Schubert, Robert
DHB
Jr.
41

Shelton, Richard
DHB
Jr.
20

Stagge, James
SS
Sr.
76

Stoll, Thomas
OT
Sr.
63

Trischler, Joseph
G
Sr.
68

Turner, Douglas
OT
Sr.
55

Ventre, Steven
MG
Sr.
64

Vollman, Michael
OG
Sr.
66

Welch, Michael
G
Jr.
40

Wills, Mark
FB
Jr.
79

Wright, Jeffrey
OT
Sr.

No. of Players
70
 

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