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The Gordo Green Waver opened practice for the 1980 season with 14 returning lettermen. The team leader was expected to be senior QB Jeff Parker (6-3, 175) who led Gordo to a 6-4 record last season.           Other starters included; running backs Ken Thomas (6-3, 205, Sr.) and Derrick Knox (5-8, 160, Fr.), receiver Tom Gosa ( 6-0, 150, Sr.), tight ends Jake Abrams (5-11, 175, Sr.) and Wayne Davis (6-2, 187, Fr,), tackles Jim Burkhaulter (6-3, 205, Sr.) and Dale Gray (6-2, 190, Sr.), guards Melvin Hardy (6-0, 180, Jr.) and John Burkhaulter (5-10, 215, Jr.).           Several of the offensive starters will play on defense. Others on that side of the football will include; Chris Stewart (5-7, 170, So.), Scott Guy (5-7, 140, Sr.), DB David Floyd (5-9, 145, Sr.) and Curly Hardy (5-11, 150, Sr.)           The schedule was tough including games against Class 4A Tuscaloosa County, Holt and Starkville, MS.

Tuscaloosa County 14   6   0   0   20     Gordo 7   12   7   0   26

Gordo opened the season with a huge 26-20 win over Tuscaloosa County. The Green Wave defense held the Wildcats on three plays at the 2-yard line in the finals minutes of the game to preserve the victory.           The ground game worked for Gordo as they rolled up 248 yards rushing as Ken Thomas led the way with 104 yards on seven carries. Most of the scoring took place in the first half as Tuscaloosa County built a 20-6 lead before Gordo cut it to 20-19 at the half.           Gordo scored late in the third quarter on a 13-yard pass from Jeff Parker to freshman running back Derrick Knox to give the Green Wave a 26-20 lead. Knox also scored on a 21-yard run in the first quarter and Ken Thomas added a 74-yard jaunt in the second period.

West Blocton 0   6   0   0   6     Gordo 14   0   14   0   28

Once again, the Gordo running attack rolled up big yardage as they ran over West Blocton 28-6 in week two of the season. Derrick Knox ran for 139 yards on 12 carries and added a 71-yard punt return in the first quarter as Gordo took a early 14-0 lead.           Jake Abrams returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown to wrap up the scoring. The defense held West Blocton to 58 yards on the ground and a total of 130 yards. Tom Gosa also caught a 52-yard scoring pass from Jeff Parker in the game.

Starkville MS 8   0   6   8   22     Gordo 7   14   7   6   34

The defense held Starkville, MS to just 19 yards rushing and 112 total yards as the Green Wave rolled to win number three by a score of 34-22. Derrick Knox ran for 64 yards on 14 carries as Gordo rushed for 316 yards in the game. Knox added a touchdown on a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter.           Ken Thomas opened the scoring with a 62-yard run on the second play from scrimmage to give Gordo a quick 7-0 lead. Stakville went ahead after recovering a fumble 8-7 but Gordo scored 14 second quarter points for a 21-8 halftime lead.

Gordo 14   7   14   0   35     Holt 0   0   0   0   0

The Gordo Green Wave shutout Holt 35-0 in week four. Ken Thomas score two first quarter touchdowns on runs of 1 and 6 yards and Abrams caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Jeff Parker as Gordo led 21-0 by halftime.           Thomas finished the night with 144 yards rushing on 11 carries as Gordo rolled up 264 yards on the ground and a total of 355 yards of offense.

Gordo 0   14   0   14   28     Fayette County 0   0   7   0   7

The Green Wave scored two second quarter touchdowns on runs by Derrick Knox for a 14-0 halftime lead and held on for a 28-7 win over rival Fayette County the next week. Jeff Parker added a fourth period touchdown on a 7-yard run and Ken Thomas wrapped up the scoring on a 5-yard dash late in the game for the final margin.

Gordo 19   28   0   6   53     Northside 0   8   0   0   8

The Green Wave entered the next week ranked No. 2 in Class 2A as they traveled to face the Northside Rams. They returned home with a 53-8 runaway victory over the Rams in a game that was never close from the onset.           Gordo led 19-0 after one quarter and extended it to 47-0 at the half. They scored almost every way imaginable as Knox ran for a touchdown and scored another on a 65-yard punt return, Wayne Davis caught a 10-yard pass from Jeff Parker, David Floyd recovered a fumble for a score, Burton raced 62 yards on a punt return and Scott Guy returned an interception 89 yards for a score.           The strange stat of the night was that Gordo scored 53 points and finished with five first downs. The defense turned five Northside turnovers into points.

New Hope MS 0   0   0   0   0     Gordo 27   7   0   6   39

New Hope, MS got a rude welcome from Gordo as the Green Wave jumped out to a 27-0 first quarter lead and cruised to a 39-0 shutout. Gordo rolled up 237 yards rushing in the first half alone. Derrick Knox set the tone for the evening when he returned the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown.           Jeff Parker scored on a 45-yard run, Knox got another score on a 31-yard run, Burton raced 66 yards for a score, Stewart got a 30-yard touchdown run and Kelvin Washington dashed 93 yards with a fumble for the final score on the last play of the game. The reserves played the entire second half.

Gordo 0   14   13   6   33     Hale County 0   0   6   0   6

After a scoreless first quarter, Gordo got untracked behind quarterback Jeff Parker and rolled to a 33-6 win over Hale County. Parker scored the first touchdown on a 61-yard run and Derrick Knox got four touchdowns on runs of 2, 2 and 20 yards and a 51-yard punt return.           The ground game racked up 362 yards rushing in the game Knox finished the night with 213 yards rushing as the freshman showed his stuff.

Gordo 0   7   21   13   41     Carrollton 0   0   0   0   0

Gordo got their third shutout of the season in a 41-0 win over Carrollton in week nine. While the offense struggled a little in the first half, the defense played well all night. The Green Wave only led 7-0 before exploding for 21 third quarter points for a 28-0 lead.           The defense held Carrollton to 26 yards on the ground and a total of 82 yards in the game. Quarterback Jeff Parker scored three touchdowns on runs of 2, 5 and 86-yards and finished the game with 170 yards rushing on 14 carries. Derrick Knox added a 45-yard scoring run and Burton and Ken Thomas got in on the action with one-yard runs.

Pickens County 0   0   0   0   0     Gordo 7   6   6   7   26

Gordo completed the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record and a 26-0 shutout of Pickens County. Jeff Parker scored twice on runs of 5 and 48 yards and tossed a 20-yard scoring pass to Ken Thomas. Derrick Knox had the other score on a 1-yard run.            The Green Wave scored in each quarter as they methodically dismantled Pickens County. The win sent them to the first round of the state playoffs as the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A.

Winston County 0   6   8   0   14     Gordo 13   21   7   0   41

Gordo hosted Winston County in the first round but were not great hosts as they defeated the Yellow Jackets 41-14. The offense rolled up 470 yards including 306 on the ground. The Green Wave built a 34-6 halftime lead and coasted to their eleventh win of the season.           Ken Thomas scored three touchdowns on runs of 5 and one yards and a 61 yard pass play from Jeff Parker. Meanwhile Parker scored on runs of 57 and 5 yards. Derrick Knox added the final score on a 26-yard run in the third quarter. Parker ran for 121 yards on 10 carries and Knox added 101 yards on 15 attempts.

Gordo 7   7   7   15   36     Susan Moore 0   0   0   8   8

In the second round of the state playoffs, Gordo rolled up 357 yards of offense and ended Susan Moore's season with a 36-8 win on the road. Tom Gosa caught scoring passes of 49 and 27 yards from quarterback Jeff Parker and Abrams returned a fumble 40 yards for another touchdown.           The Green Wave led 14-0 at the half and 36-0 before Susan Moore got on the scoreboard late in the game. Derrick Knox finished with 102 yards on 11 carries to pace the offense. Parker completed 7-of-14 passes for 171 yards and the two touchdowns.

Lexington  7   0   0   8   15     Gordo 7   22   7   0   36

Gordo returned home the next week to face off with the Lexington Golden Bears in the semi-finals of the playoffs.. Lexington tried to make a game of it early but in the end it was all Green Wave. Parker threw touchdown passes to Gosa for 23 yards and Davis for 13 yards as the Green Wave scored 22 second quarter point in route to a commanding 29-7 halftime lead.           Ken Thomas scored on a 39-yard run and Parker added a 11-yard touchdown run to wrap up the scoring for Gordo. Thomas finished with 129 yards on 16 carries and Derrick Knox added 101 yards on 14 attempts. The win sent Gordo to the Class 2A state championship game against Southern Choctaw.

Gordo 0   6   6   14   26     Southern Choctaw 0   14   0   8   22

Gordo reached the title game for the first time since winning a championship in 1968. With eight minutes remaining in the game it looked like Gordo would not win their second state championship when they trailed 22-12. But, the Green Wave's fortunes were about to change.           Freshman Derrick Knox returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown and following a two-point conversion Gordo trailed only 22-20. Then a two-yard run by quarterback Jeff Parker with 1:42 to play in the game turned Gordo from despair to elation.            Southern Choctaw had one final chance from their own 7-yard line following the kickoff. But Parker, playing defense, sealed the victory when he intercepted a pass. Gordo ran out the clock for their second state championship and a prefect 14-0 record.           Named to the Birmingham News first team all-state squad were quarterback Jeff Parker and lineman Tony Shirley. Freshman running back Derrick Knox and Ken Thomas made the honorable mention team. Gordo 1980 9/5 26 Tuscaloosa County . . . 20 9/12 28 West Blocton . . . . . . 6 9/19 34 Starkville MS . . . . . 22 9/26 35 Holt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/3 28 Fayette County . . . . . 7 10/10 53 Northside . . . . . . . . . 8 10/17 39 New Hope MS . . . . . . . 0 10/24 33 Hale County . . . . . . . 6 10/31 41 Carrollton . . . . . . . . 0 11/7 26 Pickens County . . . . . 0 11/14 41 Winston County * . . . 14 11/21 36 Susan Moore * . . . . . 8 11/28 36 Lexington * . . . . . . . 15 12/5 26 Southern Choctaw # . . 22 482 14-0 136 * Playoff game # State championship game

Amazing Seasons, a series on the greatest seasons in high school football history


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