One Old Dawg on Canine Superiority

Cue melancholy music.

You have to hand it to One Old Dawg. He takes it hard, but always keeps the hope for his beloved Bulldogs.

On the way back from an out of town trip Saturday, he had to turn off the radio a few times to regroup after some of Tennessee’s antics. A hard day, for sure.

Today, he’s looking ahead and leans back in his desk chair, taking a break from preparing what he might say to  the Athens Academy Football team this week (he’s the FCA chaplain). “Look Dawg fans, I am already real tired of long, sad Saturdays, we’ve got to get these guys in gear and back on the winning track. Saturday morning I would have laughed if you had told me we would score thirty-one points on Tennessee and still lose; but what do I know?

 

“There are so many good players today, any team can win or lose on any given Saturday. The ball didn’t bounce our way last weekend―nothing we can do but shake it off and keep moving. You’d better believe when the Missouri Tigers stalk into town, they’ll be snarling not purring.”

He glances over at the newspaper clipping his mama saved from the 1965 North Carolina, Georgia matchup and remembers, “Fifty years ago we were traveling to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels, (what is a Tar Heel anyway?). I misspoke last week saying we had North Carolina and Ken Willard ahead of us. Actually, Willard had graduated and was a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers. I was happy about that because he was a big, punishing runner I didn’t particularly enjoy tackling.

“The Tar Heels were off to a slow start. They were even at 3-3 coming into our game but those three losses were by a narrow margin. Neither team had scored more than twenty-four points in a game, making this game the surprise of the season. They beat us 14-7 in the first quarter, we beat them 14-7 in the second. In the third, they tacked on another fourteen points, so they had a 35-21 lead going into the fourth quarter. We drove down and scored mid quarter to cut the lead to seven. Then our defense toughened up, and we got the ball back late in the quarter.”

We are sad to report that One Old Dawg reinjured his back on this series. He continues.

“I was on the sidelines long enough to see us score. It was late in the quarter so we decided to go for two, but they intercepted in the end zone. It’s 35-34 and just a few minutes left on the clock. I remember thinking that’s it. We’re out of time.

 "The team doctor had given me a shot for pain, and I could hardly keep my eyes open as they carried me into the locker room where I lay half-asleep on a training table, suffering our loss. All of sudden the door flew open and the team came storming in jumping and shouting. After missing the two-point conversion, we had executed a perfect onside kick, which Bill Cloer recovered on their forty-seven-yard line. It only took us two plays to score but we missed a second two-point conversion making it 40-35, but a few minutes remained on the clock.

“After we kicked-off, our defense stymied the Heels again. On fourth down with about two minutes to go, they went for the first down and failed giving us the ball on their twenty-four-yard line. We scored again and won 47-35.

One Old Dawg laughs. “In those days that sounded more like a score in basketball than football. We were 5-2, but with only one conference loss, we were still in the hunt. We had Florida, Auburn and Tech to go.”

In the Atlanta Journal, the headlines read in bold face type, “Bulldogs Rock Tar Heels.” Sportswriter, Furman Bisher, highlighted  Ronald Jenkins for outstanding play.

Jerry Varnado and Ronald Jenkins at '64 reunion.

 

He also commended Lynn Hughes, (All SEC, All American) and Preston Ridlehuber, (Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets).

Preston Ridlehuber, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado, Pat Hodgson

And he gave a shout out to Randy Wheeler (Buffalo Bills).

 

Bisher said, “Georgia hadn’t been involved in a game in which this many points were scored by two teams since beating Newberry, 82-13 in 1922.”

One Old Dawg grows serious as he ponders the greater meaning of what he learned in that 1965 match-up with North Carolina. “I’m reminded of Luke 18:1, ‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.’ Often in life, there are situations that seem hopeless, but the Bible consistently encourages us not to give up but to keep trying. It had been a hard fought game; we were tired, and when we missed that first two-point conversion, we were discouraged. But our coaches had driven it home that no matter if you are winning or losing, it’s not over until it’s over. On October 30, 1965 we were able to secure a victory because we did not give up, we kept trying.”  

As always, One Old Dawg offers his thoughts on the upcoming game―this week with Missouri, “Take nothing for granted! These Tigers have claws and teeth and know how to scratch and bite. With two conference losses already, many consider them out of the race for the SEC east title. That is probably true, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. We’re 3-1 against this pack of felines, but one of those was the 1960 Orange Bowl. Since they joined the SEC, we’re 2-1. The two wins were in Columbia, MO, the loss was between hedges―a pattern that needs to end this Saturday. We’ve already whipped a Jaguar and we have two Tigers and a Wildcat to go, it is time to establish Canine superiority.  Sic ‘em Dawgs.”

And there you have it. One Old Dawg is unapologetically a Dog man.

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