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Hazlewood just missed the playoffs the past two seasons as they went 9-1 both years. Each loss cost them a shot at the playoffs at a time when only four teams qualified for the Class 1A post season. They entered the 1970 season as the third ranked team behind Madison Academy and Autaugaville.

Falkville             8     Hazlewood             18

Head football coach Gwin Holland missed the opening of the season after being hospitalized with ulcers. The Hazlewood Golden Bears avenged their only loss in 1969 by opening the season with a 18-8 win over Falkville at home.

Hazlewood 7   0   8   14   29     Brooks  0   8   0   0   8

The next week, Hazlewood faced Brooks in their first road game of the young season. The two teams traded touchdowns in the first half before the Golden Bears took control of the game after halftime. Aaron Goode scored the first touchdown on a 30-yard scamper for a 7-0 edge on the Bears' first possession.           Brooks took an 8-7 lead just before the end of the first half. The Bears marched 99 yards and scored on a two-yard run by Anthony Muston. Miles Cross scored on a three-yard run and Thomas King got the final score of the evening for the Golden Bears. The final score was 29-8 and the Bears were 2-0 and riding an eleven game winning streak.

Hazlewood 0   0   0   0   7     East Limestone 0   0   0   0   0

Coach Holland returned to the sidelines to see his Bears defeat East Limestone 7-0 in week three. Hazlewood scored on a 15-yard pass from Muston to Miles Cross with 39 seconds left in the first half for the only score in the contest. Muston also preserved the victory with an interception on the final drive of the night for the hometown Indians. They had driven from their 10-yard line to the Hazlewood 20 before the miscue sealed their fate.

Hazlewood             17     Tanner             7

Hazlewood traveled to Tanner for their third road game in a row in week four. They returned home with a 17-7 win and a 4-0 record. The Tanner Rattlers were 3-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A before the loss. The Bears were still ranked No. 3 in Class 1A.

Elkmont 7   0   0   13   20     Hazlewood 0   0   0   0   0

The Golden Bears finally played a home game and defeated Elkmont 20-0. The defense limited Elkmont to just 54 yards of total offense and recovered three fumbles. The Bears grabbed a 7-0 lead following the first Elkmont fumble on a Thomas King 8-yard run. They scored twice more in the fourth quarter on runs by King and quarterback Johnny Yates.

Lexington 0   0   0   6   6     Hazlewood 14   20   14   0   48

Hazlewood jumped out to a 34-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 48-6 win over an outmanned Lexington team. The offense rushed for 310 yards and the defense did its share of scoring in this game. Miles Cross raced 33 yards with an interception to get the scoring going and Richard Garner returned another pick 95 yards for a score. Muston also found Glen Jones on a 62-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. Lexington did not get on the scoreboard until very late in the last quarter.

Hazlewood 7   0   7   13   27     Hatton 0   0   0   0   0

The Bears exploded in the second half after leading only 7-0 at the half for a convincing 27-0 win over Hatton in week seven. Thomas King got things going with a 75-yard first quarter run. He scored the second touchdown on a 10-yard run and Aaron Goode scored on an eight-yard run for a 21-0 lead. Muston passed to Goode for the last score of the evening.

Hazlewood 0   20   28   13   61     Waynesboro 0   0   0   0   0

Hazlewood traveled to Waynesboro, Tennessee for a game the next week and came back to Alabama with a 61-0 victory. Coach Holland was hospitalized again and missed the game but it mattered little in the end. The defense capitalized on five interceptions to assure the rout. Wayne Kirby returned one for an eight-yard touchdown and King returned another 30 yards for a score. John Jones scored on a 70-yard run in the third quarter.

West Morgan 0   7   0   0   14     Hazlewood 7   14   7   0   28

Hazlewood grabbed the No. 1 spot in the state polls with a 28-14 win over West Morgan and a loss by the top ranked team from Autaugaville. King rushed for 202 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns. The Bears led 21-7 at the half before West Morgan cut the lead to 21-14 in the third quarter. The Bears got back their two touchdown lead on a 63-yard run by King with 1:41 left in the third. The defense held the rest of the game for the win.

Courtland 0   0   0   6   6     Hazlewood 7   7   7   0   21

Halfback Thomas King scored on runs of 16 and 56 yards and Muston found Clinton Jones on a 76-yard scoring play to produce a 21-6 win over Courtland as the Bears wrapped up the 1970 regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. It was the first undefeated season of any kind for the Golden Bears and assured them of their first trip to the state playoffs.

Autaugaville 0   0   8   8   16     Hazlewood 0   7   13   0   20

The No. 1 ranked Golden Bears defeated Autaugaville 20-16 in front of a packed stadium in Town Creek for the first playoff win in the school's history. Hazlewood cruised to a 20-0 lead in the third quarter before Autaugaville mounted a furious comeback attempt that fell short.           King found Glen Jones open on a 72-yard halfback option pass for the first score of the evening early in the second quarter. The Bears marched 62 yards in six plays with the second half kickoff to take a 14-0 lead on 10 yard run by Clinton Jones. Willie McCoy got the last touchdown after an interception by Thomas King. Autaugaville cut the lead to 20-16 with 1:38 remaining but could not get into Hazlewood territory again.

Hazlewood 6   6   0   3   15     Ranburne 0   0   6   8   14

The next week in the semi-finals of the playoffs, Hazlewood used a 35-yard field goal from Steve Burden with 3:23 left in the game to defeat Ranburne 15-14 on the road. Once again, Thomas King got things going when he returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead. He also got the second touchdown on an 11-yard run with 6:31 left in the first half for a 12-0 lead.           Two second half touchdowns gave Ranburne a 14-12 lead. The final score came with seven minutes left in the contest. Junior quarterback, Johnny Yates marched the team to the five-yard line setting up the field goal by Burden on fourth down and five. The defense recovered two fumbles and intercepted two passes while the offense committed no turnovers in the win.

Ohatchee 0   0   0   0   0     Hazlewood 7   13   8   6   44

The game was suppose to be a close matchup of good teams. It did not turn out that way as Hazlewood routed the Ohatchee Indians 44-0 in the Class 1A state championship game.          Hazlewood used a powerful and speedy running attack and a relentless defense to claim their first ever state championship. Led by Thomas King at tailback the Golden Bears seemingly scored at will against the Indians' defense. They gained nearly 400 yards rushing in the game to completely dominate the line of scrimmage. King rushed for 124 yards and scored on runs of 34, 11 and 25 yards.          King got four of those touchdowns, one on a 35-yard screen pass from Anthony Muston and three others running the football. Muston threw two other scoring passes, one to Glen Jones good for 59 yards and the other a six-yarder to Wayne Kirby. The Indians managed only two first downs the entire game with both coming in the second half and one of those on a penalty.           Hazlewood finished the 1970 season riding a 22-game winning streak. Their coach had missed much of the season in the Hospital but returned to guide them through the playoffs.           Ed Garner was named to the Birmingham News first team all-state squad while Steve Burden made the second team as a guard. Honorable mention players included back Tony King. Hazlewood 1970 9/4 18 Falkville . . . . . . . . . 8 9/11 29 Brooks . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9/17 7 East Limestone . . . . . 0 9/25 17 Tanner . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 10/2 20 Elkmont . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/9 48 Lexington . . . . . . . . . 6 10/16 27 Hatton . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/23 61 Waynesboro TN . . . . . 0 10/30 28 West Morgan . . . . . . . 14 11/6 21 Courtland . . . . . . . . . 6 11/20 20 Autaugaville * . . . . . 16 11/27 15 Ranburne * . . . . . . . . 14 12/4 44 Ohatchee # . . . . . . . . 0 355 13-0 79 * Playoff game # State championship game

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


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