Tweet      Share on Facebook                

The 1972 game between Tuscaloosa and Mountain Brook appeared to be just another game. Tuscaloosa entered the game with a 7-0 record and seemed to be on their way to a playoff spot. The Black Bears were ranked sixth in the latest poll and were winners of their past eleven straight games.           Mountain Brook was suffering through the first losing season in the school's brief seven year history. The Spartans were 1-6 as the two teams prepared to meet in the their homecoming game on Oct. 28, 1972.           The Spartans jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 15-play, 61 yard march and scored on a one-yard run by Phil Mulkey with 4:45 left in the first quarter. In the second quarter the Black Bears saw a promising drive end with a missed 18-yard field goal and the first half ended with Mountain Brook leading 7-0.           With 2:28 remaining in the third quarter, Tuscaloosa tied the game on a 24-yard run by Clarence Hester. The drive began at the Spartan 39 when a bad snap from center on a punt gave the Bears possession of the football in good field position.          The Bears got another break when a second bad snap on an attempted punt was recovered at the Mountain Brook 27. This time Hester scored from the 18 yard line just three plays later. The extra point was good but Tuscaloosa was offsides on the play and the second try was missed. The Bears still led 13-7.           Quarterback Jeff Porterfield directed the Spartans on a drive to win the game by tossing a 33-yard scoring pass to Chris McGehee with just 34 seconds remaining on the clock. Limbaugh was good on the point after try and the Spartans led 14-13.           The Spartans preserved the victory on a last second interception to take away any hopes the Bears had of a miracle comeback. The upset was complete. The Spartans had knocked off the mighty Black Bears.           Mountain Brook finished the season with a 3-7 mark while Tuscaloosa ended their year at 9-2, losing to eventual state champions Banks in the semi-finals of the state playoffs. Tuscaloosa .......................................   0   0  7   6 -13 Mountain Brook ..............................   7   0  0   7 -14   Mountain Brook - Phil Mulkey 1-yard run (Ty Limbaugh kick) Tuscaloosa - Clarence Hester 24-yard run (Earl Bailey kick) Tuscaloosa - Clarence Hester 16-yard run (Earl Bailey kick missed) Mountain Brook - Jeff Porterfield 33-yard pass to Chris McGehee (Ty Limbaugh kick)
Mountain Brook 1972 9/1 14 John Carroll . . . . . . 20 9/8 16 Vestavia Hills . . . . . 0 9/15 6 Erwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 9/22 0 Berry Birmingham . . . 3 9/29 7 Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 10/6 6 Shades Valley . . . . . 19 10/13 6 Huffman . . . . . . . . . . . 34 10/28 14 Tuscaloosa . . . . . . . . 13 11/3 0 Homewood . . . . . . . . . . 6 11/10 27 Jess Lanier . . . . . . . 0 96 3-7 137 * Playoff game	Tuscaloosa 1972 9/1 10 Holt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9/8 35 Druid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9/15 21 Sidney Lanier . . . . . 14 9/22 35 Selma . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/29 14 Jess Lanier . . . . . . . 6 10/6 48 Tarrant . . . . . . . . . . . 14 10/13 35 Tuscaloosa County . . . 14 10/20 13 Mountain Brook . . . . . 14 10/27 OPEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/3 21 Lee Huntsville . . . . . 7 11/17 17 Enterprise * . . . . . . 7 11/24 0 Banks * . . . . . . . . . . . 21 249 9-2 119 * Playoff game

  The Memorable Games, a series on the important and memorable games in high school football history

David Parker
  AHSFHS.org
  dparker@ahsfhs.org

comments powered by Disqus