1984

A MOMENT OF GLORY NOT REMEMBERED

It was the last game of the season against the Guntersville wildcats and the county championship was on the line for both teams. The aggies were loaded with talented players on both sides of the ball. However, the week before the game the defensive side of the ball took a huge blow when they lost their starting corner ( Chad Beasley) to a concusion that he had suffered against Austin High. With Chad out that meant that his backup who was only a sophmore and had never played more than maybe three minutes in a varsity game had to step in.
The night of the big game came and the stands were packed on both sides of the field. Both teams traded leads through out the game untill the wildcats drove the ball down to the aggie 13 yard line and on the next play linebacker Paul Swatek hit the Guntersville quarterback causing him to fumble the ball in which the second string sophmore picked it up and ran 87 yards untouched ( thanks to Edwin Murrey) who took out anyone who had a chance to tackle him.
After reaching the end zone there should of been an over excited kid jumping up and down but, the young sophmore passed out cold and had to be awakened with smelling salt that coach Thorne had on hand.The aggies took a 21-14 lead and never looked back, the game was put away when tailback George Williams scored late in the fourth quarter to make the final score 28-14 giving the aggies the title.
The reason that I can tell you this story is not from memory but from film footage, well half is memory and half is footage. You see I am that young Sophmore that passed out cold after scoring his only touchdown and even though I don't remmber crossing the endzone, I want to say thanks to all my teammates who made it possible for me to reach the endzone and I'm glad I could help give all of you something to laugh at year after year and thanks for giving me something to "remember"

-Steven Miller

1 week before our first game (Arab), I had a disaster in our final full pads practice in a half-line drill....my good friend Randy Sewell, playing defensive tackle at the time, hit me so hard that it broke 2 vertabrae in my back....after a trip to the hospital, I had to go face Coach Cole and break the news to him.....I sat out for 6 weeks in a brace....I missed 5 games but long story short....I played in the final 5 games ( I also fumbled the first time that I ran a kick-off back against Oxford) when I was allowed to return to the team .Although the season won-loss record was not great, the fact that I did play & contribute to my team meant everything to me after having an almost season ending injury...it's a pleasure to run as a tailback when you're behind John Hannah & Alan Cole....although the Class of '69 is long gone, the memory of that year will always be with me and we did beat BOAZ that year..on an extremely long touchdown run by Rodney Lowery.....Alan, John and I talk about it often....I wish the 2007 Agggies well!!

Bobby Stewart
Class of 1969

As a junior, punter Bennett Oliver was elected to the all-county team. The following year, as a senior, Oliver was elected to the all-county team again - this time as the center.

I'm not sure a player has ever been voted to the all-county teams two different years at two different positions.

Dewayne Bowen
Class of 1984

Aggies Beat Boaz!

The 1982 Aggie football team, young and short on 'numbers', started the year a dismal 0 - 6. But on the seventh Friday night that year the team rose to the challenge when its arch-rival, the Boaz Pirates, invaded Aggie stadium. The Pirates were heavily favored to end a fairly long winning streak Albertville was enjoying.

Legendary coach Vernon Wells was just about fed up with losing by the mid-way point, and he often let us know in his own 'unique' way. We devised a plan in practice that week to expose Boaz's defensive line as being soft on the run. 20-dive would be the first play.

Led by the running of junior tailback Brad Powell and the emotional leadership of senior wideout Mike Gentry, the Aggies came to play that Friday night. Although I only saw the field on punts and kickoffs, as a junior I still remember the electricity on that field and sideline that night as we went ahead for good in the 4th quarter to take an improbable 14 - 13 victory over Boaz.

Although this Aggie team didn't win another game that 1982 season, and lost a 40 -0 heartbreaker to Scottsboro in our homecoming game; that beat-down of Boaz set the tone for several more years of Aggie dominance over the Pirates.

The following year, both Boaz and Scottsboro were ceremoniously blown out byan Aggie squad that ended with 8 wins against2 losses. Those losses were to eventual 4A (the biggest division back then)state champion Johnson High School and a 3-point last second decision to the Grissom Tigers. As the '83 county champs, only Guntersville managed to score a point against theAggies, as both Boaz and Arab were handed large shutout losses that year.

The morning following the '82 Boaz victory, Powell, Stoker and I traveledin about a 1976 yellow Mercury Capri towatch another great victory as Texas defeated Auburn. The Auburn campus (as well as downtown Albertville at 7 a.m.) was treated to the shouts of "Aggies beat Boaz!" from the three juniors riding in that Capri.

I think the 1982 Boaz win was one of the best of the 80's because it proved that, even at our lowest point, the Aggies were stillsuperior to the Pirates.....

Dewayne Bowen
Class of 1984