TERRE HAUTE — In 1976, members of Terre Haute North’s football team didn’t need any outside reminders of what its all-time record was against arch-rival Terre Haute South.
Coach Glen Ankney made sure his players knew it was 0-5 heading into their Oct. 29 season-ending showdown with the Braves at Memorial Stadium.
After both high schools opened their doors in 1971, South dominated the early matchups, although most of the scores were close (15-12 in 1971, 19-7 in 1972, 13-6 in 1973, 24-21 in 1974 and 10-0 in 1975).
This time, Ankney sounded determined to halt the skid.
“We just want to remind the players of that [0-5],” he told The Terre Haute Star newspaper earlier that week. “We’re going to win it this year.”
South entered this contest with a 3-6 record, while North brought a 4-5 mark and hope for a .500 season. Each school was coming off a victory from the previous week — North 14-0 over Brazil and South 28-26 over West Vigo.
Each school had already defeated West Vigo and Terre Haute Schulte earlier in the season, so the Vigo County championship was at stake as well as the traditional Liberty Bell that goes to the North-South winner. The clash also culminated homecoming week for both schools, with Alisa Smith (North) and Mary Migaki (South) reigning as queens.
In front of about 6,000 fans, according to Star sportswriter Carl Jones, senior tailback Yancy McGoffney quickly electrified the North cheering section by racing 84 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
“I remember handing it off [to McGoffney] and there was a huge hole,” recalled North starting quarterback Dennie McGuire, then a junior and now 48 and owner of McGuire Excavating and Trucking in Terre Haute.
“I don’t think he was touched the whole play. He was very fast.”
The Patriots maintained their 6-0 advantage until South senior Sherley Ward replaced sophomore starting quarterback Cam Cameron, who left the contest after getting his bell rung, and promptly uncorked a 36-yard TD bomb to Tyrone Ellington on the last play of the first half. Mark Wehrmeyer’s extra point gave the Braves a 7-6 lead heading into intermission.
“That [South score] got us kinda down,” McGuire admitted. “But we knew Cameron was out of the game and we still felt good about our chances … I remember [to start] the second half, the seniors rallied us to keep us going.”
Midway through the third quarter, McGuire hit Alonzo Brown for an 11-yard TD strike and McGuire followed that by running in the 2-point conversion to boost the Patriots’ margin to 14-7.
“Alonzo was lined up in the slot [on the touchdown play],” McGuire said. “I faked it to Yancy, then I threw it in the end zone. He made his cut and, boom, we scored.”
But with 2:22 left in the fourth frame, Ward connected with Tony Shanks for a 13-yard TD and Wehrmeyer tacked on the extra point to tie the score and set the stage for a hectic overtime period.
The Braves got the ball first in OT, but they couldn’t reach the end zone in the first three plays. So they settled for a 22-yard field goal by Wehrmeyer to move ahead 17-14.
That put the pressure on North, but two runs by McGoffney advanced the ball to the South 2-yard line. On his third straight run, McGoffney found paydirt and the celebration began as the Patriots finally defeated South 20-17.
“Coach Ankney said, ‘We’re going to give it to the guy who got us here [McGoffney],’” McGuire reflected a few days ago. “Yancy was so determined. He knew that would be his last football game. He really wanted the ball.”
McGoffney finished with 165 yards rushing on 16 carries.
“[The postgame celebration] was so cool,” continued McGuire, who completed 6 of 15 passes for 65 yards on that historic night. “We had never won the Bell. We kinda walked around like we were numb. Coach [Bob] Clements and [assistant coach] Dan McGrath [both of South] were so gracious to us afterward too.
“I’ll always remember that.”
Ankney died of cancer in 2001, but McGuire said he should always be remembered by North football players for helping them claim the Bell for the first time in 1976.
High School
Related Photos
-
Contributed photo
Discussion
Terre Haute North Blast from the Past: ‘76 Patriots finally end drought against South, claim Bell
- High School
-
-
South’s Lough to wrestle for state title
The day didn’t start in a promising fashion for Wabash Valley high school wrestlers at the Evansville Semistate in Ford Center on Saturday — but it got better as it went along.
-
TERRE HAUTE NORTH SECTIONAL: Mooresville tops South for fourth straight title
For Terre Haute South High School girls basketball fans, it might sound good that the Braves did not miss a shot in the first four minutes of their Class 4A Terre Haute North Sectional championship game Saturday.
-
BLOOMFIELD SECTIONAL: Sullivan rebounds from tough start for title
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Sullivan struggled mightily in the first half, eerily reminiscent of its eventual elimination in the final seconds of overtime by Edgewood in last year’s Class 3A girls basketball sectional. -
CLAY CITY SECTIONAL: Eels take third straight sectional crown
Clay City stood up to the pressure and to the Shakamak Lakers on Saturday night to win a third straight Class A sectional championship in the Eel Dome.
-
NORTH VERMILLION SECTIONAL: Twenty years in the waiting
The Super Bowl came to a new city. A presidential election was ongoing. And Riverton Parke won a girls basketball sectional.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Rox clinch WRC
Class A No. 8-ranked Rockville knocked off Attica 50-35 in boys high school basketball Saturday afternoon, clinching the Wabash River Conference championship in the process.
-
THN SECTIONAL: Braves to play Mooresville for sectional title tonight
Terre Haute South continued to show what’s new and Terre Haute North unfortunately reverted back to what’s old in Class 4A high school girls basketball sectional action Friday night at North.
-
OWEN VALLEY SECTIONAL: Eagles bring Vikes down to earth
Baby steps. A baby takes that first step and grins, then attempts the second step and tumbles. The West Vigo High School girls took their first step with a victory Tuesday night in the Class 3A basketball sectional at Owen Valley.
-
BLOOMFIELD SECTIONAL: Sullivan jumps to early lead in sectional victory
Sullivan jumped out to a 9-0 lead and were never threatened in a dominant 48-25 win over Eastern Greene in a semifinal game of the Class 2A Bloomfield girls basketball sectional inside Glover Gymnasium on Friday.
-
North Vermillion Sectional: Panthers, Falcons to meet for NV title
Outstanding defense and quality passing landed Riverton Parke in the championship game of the Class A North Vermillion Sectional. The Panthers will have to get through the host school tonight in order to secure the program’s first sectional crown since 1992.
-
South swimmers don’t advance at Finals
Terre Haute South’s trip to the IHSAA girls swimming state finals at the Indiana University Natatorium was a short one Friday night.
-
South runs into talented North Central team
Terre Haute South players and coaches knew when they got off the bus Saturday afternoon that they couldn’t run with the Class 4A No. 3-ranked Indianapolis North Central Panthers.
But they tried anyway. -
BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Duncan’s OT free throws help Marshall down H-P
Jacob Duncan hit four free throws in overtime Friday night as visiting Marshall defeated Hutsonville-Palestine 51-49 in Little Illini Conference action.
-
O'Leary pours in career-high 34 for Terre Haute North
Matt O’Leary poured in a career-high 34 points, 17 in each half, to lead Terre Haute North to a dominant 69-46 home victory over Center Grove in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference boys high school basketball Saturday afternoon.
-
Davis hits layup in double overtime to lift Terre Haute North at Bloomington North
Playing without their two leading scorers against a team that — most of the time — seemed more determined to win than they did, Terre Haute North's Patriots got a driving layup from Steven Davis with 2.8 seconds left in the second overtime to escape Bloomington North with a 54-52 win in high school basketball Thursday night.
-
Sullivan stays on top of WIC for third straight year
Western Indiana Conference boys basketball teams have been trying to storm the Sullivan castle for three years now. The Golden Arrows have endured nearly every kind of strategy in the effort to breech their wall. West Vigo tried a few more on Thursday in a showdown for the WIC championship.
-
South girls looking for solid performances at swimming state finals
One individual and one relay team, which includes that same individual, will represent Terre Haute South in the IHSAA girls swimming state finals today and possibly Saturday at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Cesinger, Jones each score 24 in Clay City win
Blake Cesinger and Brylan Jones poured in 24 points apiece to lead visiting Clay City over North Central 67-53 in SouthWestern Indiana Athletic Conference boys high school basketball Thursday night.
-
Teutopolis knocks off record-setting Marshall girls in regional championship
Marshall jumped ahead 4-0 only to watch Teutopolis score the next 11 points Thursday in the championship game of the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
-
Sullivan wins battle in low post
Sullivan dominated the low block at both ends of the court Wednesday to defeat South Knox 43-30.
-
State wrestling berths won't come easily
If high school wrestlers thought regional competition was tough last weekend, they can expect the competition, as Keegan Michael Key used to say on MADtv, taken to “a whole notha level” on Saturday.
-
South pulls upset
Plainfield’s 16-5 record made the Quakers the team to beat in the Class 4A Terre Haute North Sectional.
-
Vikings break long sectional drought
You’ll have to forgive West Vigo for celebrating just a wee bit prior to the postgame handshake with South Vermillion, but its first victory in a sectional game in 11 years was worthy of celebrating.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: RP rolls past Attica
Riverton Parke jumped to a 20-point halftime lead and easily defeated Attica 59-34 in the Class A North Vermillion girls basketball sectional on Tuesday.
-
They’re the pride of Marshall
With a 24-1 record, coach Kathy Miller’s Marshall team earned the top seed in the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
-
Union season more fun with Talpas around
The Union boys basketball team has had its share of fun moments in the past, arguably the most fun being its Class A state runner-up in 2000.
-
Injury bug follows girls into postseason
Who’s healthy is the question at least three of the four teams will be asking tonight when Class 4A girls high school basketball sectional play begins at Terre Haute North.
-
Rockville needs late run to stop West Vigo
It was a game of fits and starts, but host Rockville finally overcame a stiff challenge from visiting West Vigo in a 53-46 victory in boys high basketball action on Saturday.
-
Northview holds off Plainfield
Northview got its sixth victory in boys high school basketball action Saturday night, defeating Plainfield 59-56.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Cloverdale helps Rady to career win No. 714
Brandon Dorman and Joe Fidler combined for 37 points and six 3-pointers Saturday night as visiting Cloverdale defeated Turkey Run 63-45 in boys high school basketball.
- More High School Headlines
-
South’s Lough to wrestle for state title
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Coroner: Houston Autopsy Results Weeks Away
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Severe Cold Wreaks Havoc in China
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
Snow Strands Italian Towns
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Today in History for Tuesday, February 12th
Stocks Fall Sharply As Greek Deal Is Held Up
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson after the Pebble Beach Pro Am-2/12
Exclusive Video: Bobbi Kristina Leaving Hospital
2012 Grammys: Rihanna
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
2012 Grammys: Taylor Swift
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
FUEL TV: Punk Payback Gym tips
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Absolute Lin-sanity
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
