For those of you who were unable to attend, it was a special night at North Forsyth as the 1971 state championship team was inducted into the Sporta Hall of Fame. Look at Deborah Nifong's profile for some photos of the event. It was good to see everyone, including Coach Nifong and Mr. Gibson. It was my first visit to the football stadium since 1974 when I dropped by a football game to see if anyone of the graduates dropped by. It was a real tonic to me because I have been homebound due to my mother's passing four weeks ago. Congratulations to all the players and coaches of the 1971 team. It was a thrill for me to meet some of Claude Smalls' relatives and I have emailed his brother Carl Claude's memorial Webpage. He live in Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I thought of him and Randy Woodall, whose sons accepted in their stead. I only wish one of Chip Picot's daughters could have been there in his stead.
You know as I read this, I think I reverted to my old days on the Norland. How appropriate!

Steve,

It was so good to see you there Friday night and I apologize that I did not get to talk with you 1-on-1. Somehow, I got waylaid. But I agree 100% with your sentiments in your message. It was a great event and it was good to see almost half the team show up. My daughter was there and she was impressed that so many made it to the event.

By the way, Deb Nifong gave us an audio CD with the radio broadcast of the last play of the 1971 championship game. I have to tell you that it still sends chills up my spine and brings a tear to my eye to listen to it. What a moment in history November 26, 1971 was indeed! I hadn't even turned 17 yet. Incredible just to think I was only 16 years old that night. If you or anyone else wants an MP3 file of that audio, just let me know and I'll email it out.

I am so sorry for the loss of your mother, Steve. I know you were her lifeline for these last years of her life. May she rest in peace and may your heart be healed.

God bless,

David

What a team. What a season. What a time in our lives. That team, for that time, helped us look beyond our physical and cultural differences. We all basked in the glow of the spotlight that was focused on that team and we were one, if only for awhile.

North Star whose flame burns crimson, white, and blue...

Rico,

You old softy.

David

I think all three of us qualify as softies - Steve

I would like to put in two cents on this if I may. I was so sorry that I couldn’t be there that night but two months earlier I had promised my two youngest that we would return to Dollywood during Fall Break and I needed to keep that promise, especially to my last two children.
I like you Rick, do see that that night was a defining moment in the lives of so many that night - and remember, on both side of that field. I remember running into someone at NCSU the next year that was friends of Tommy Tate. Remember him? You should. If it hadn’t have been for him, the game would have ended right then in a tie and all of this would have been mute. He was the one that faced masked Eddie Summers. Yes, Co-Champions would have been nothing to sneeze at, but to own it all to ourselves was even sweeter. Anyway, this friend said that Tommy had never forgiven himself for that play and it was hard on him for quite some time after that.
David, I too, was only 16 and wouldn’t be 17 until the next summer. Pressure; don’t remember a thing except for worrying about rather Steve Petree would get the ball back there with only his right hand. David, I do remember you coming up to me and grabbing me by the shoulders and looking me square in the eyes and say “Boyce, if you’ve ever made one, you’ve got to make this one tonight.” Still, after those “awakening words”, I could only think of Steve Petree.
All I remember after Mike looked up at me and asked “Ready”, I gave him a nod and the snap was made, I took my two steps, kept my head down, and …… then looked up and went jumping through the air with Mike to mid field and just rolling on the ground. Never knowing that all of that practicing, all of that kicking in the front yard of my house, all of those hours spent making that shoe into a “steel toed” shoe, all of it was for that one kick – that one moment in time. I cannot bear to think of what life would have been if it had gone far right or left or short. I just can’t think of what would have been.
Can you?
I just now realized that it was 38 years ago TONIGHT.
Yes - Lives changed…….on both sides of the field.

Boyce,

Yeah, I iced you. But it was not my intention to ice you. I believe I was half out of my mind at the time. If I had to act that quickly at my age today, we'd be in deep trouble. Fortunately we were young and full of spit and vinegar and the pressure seemed more like fun than stress. I do remember all of us linemen saying to each other "block in, block in" just before we broke the huddle and lined up on the ball. HP stacked the middle with big tall guys and we blocked them at their knees. But you were the man, Boyce. A 16-year-old kid with a shoe lace tied around your ankle pulling your squared toe up.

I remember it seemed like an eternity for me to get up off the field and run in any direction after "the kick". In reality, it could have been just 30 seconds, but it seemed like forever to me. I have no memory of shaking hands with the HP Central team after the game. Did we, or did they just walk away to their buses? We really do need to find that film one day. Someone needs to preserve it on DVD if we ever do get it back.

I am like you, it is hard to imagine us not winning that game. I guess we'd all be where we are today regardless, but that Tate fellow would not have carried that baggage around with him all those years. Which reminds me, I sent my sisters and my kids an email with the audio file attached, and I wrote a few paragraphs about redemption. You probably don;t remember this, but I clipped a guy in the 2nd half of that game which brought back a really long end sweep that had taken us deep into HP Central territory. We were penalized and the drive failed. We ended up punting away, the score still tied. Later with time run out on the clock, when Tate grabbed Ed's face mask and you made that winning kick, I was redeemed. So, I have to say that I'm not willing to go back and trade with Mr. Tate. I like the way it turned out just fine, even it I am being a bit selfish.

Bill Patterson did not make it to the ceremony either. I would have liked to have seen both of you. Maybe we'll all get together sometime next year. Hope so.

Have a blessed Christmas this year. See you soon.

Oh, FYI....Rick Hardy became a Grandfather this week. He can tell his new grandson when he grows up about having to work the night of "THE GAME" and missed seeing Golden Toe Shore make one for the ages.

Ol’ David,
Yes, I’m so glad for the “youth” in me at that time in my life for I too, would not want to know how it would have felt to have carried a burden like that for the rest of my life. I know that “Coach” always said that we win as a team and we lose as a team, but I wouldn’t have wanted to try to use that to pick me up every day for the rest of my life if I had of missed that kick.

Thanks a million for sharing your final thoughts of the final seconds of the game.
I think that it would be great if others would chime in and share their thoughts on the final minutes or seconds of the game.
Until I read what you had written, I never knew what anyone but myself thought at those final moments.
I also remember that just after that fumble that gave them back the ball with 16 seconds left, thinking “well it’s over now!” And then, Robert breaking though to sack him for big yardage and then with only 6 seconds left, little Ed intercepted that pass and didn’t make a good return, he made a great return of 40 yards. You GO ED! It’s a wonder that our players in the moment of excitement didn’t clip someone then, and with offsetting penalties, game over.

If you could email me that MP3 of the final minutes, I would appreciate it. I’m so glad you posted that video to the web. It was great to see what I missed. I have caught myself wishing that it had a rained 3 inches that night so that it would have been postponed the event so that I could have been there, but I know that would be very selfish because it would have probably knock out many others that were there. And I got my moments of fame 36 years ago and they keep carrying on today.
Anyway, I do hope that others will post their thoughts and feelings of what happened.
Have a great one!
Boyce
PS - Just for the record, it was a “round toed” high top regular shoe (other than the homemade hard form fitting plastic piece in the end of it) I didn’t get a “square toed” until 4 years later when Lou Holtz talked with me in his office in mid winter of my Jr. year. Then he left for the NY Jets

Boyce,

Great stuff. It's fun to pull out those old memories and feel them again. It reminded me of an old Colt League baseball experience of mine. I made the All-Star team only once in my 5 or 6 years playing baseball, and we were playing a Newton-Conover team down in Shelby. I recall that it was the only time I ever played at night under the lights. They had this pitcher who was faster than anything we'd ever seen. Faster than the Northwest and Mineral Springs pitchers for sure. But he only had the fast ball, nothing else. He fanned our 1st three batters in 9 pitches, most of them caught looking. I batted 5th and was 2nd up in our next turn at bat. I nervously awaited the 1st pitch and watched it zoom by me before I could even start to swing, right over the plate. So I swung hard on the next pitch, probably had my eyes closed tight, and hit the sweet spot of my bat. It was like butter on bread leaving my bat and it was gone, 5 or 6 feet over the top of the fence, but about a foot past the right field foul marker. I was a lefty batter and got on that pitch early, purely by luck. I got halfway to first base when I realized it was a foul ball. I walked back slowly to the box, picked up my bat and stuck out on the next pitch. I never hit another ball that night. I always wondered what if that one had been 13 inches more to the left. I'll never know. It was the only ball I ever hit over any fence in any game. I think we lost that game 2-0.

Yes, I'd like to hear more stories about our 1971 championship game. Maybe someone can fill in the blanks in my memory, like what did I do after the game? I cannot remember anything. I know I did something, but I don't even remember going home. Funny.

I sent you a message. Send me your email address and I'll send you the MP3.

Later.

Dave and Boyce,

It's fascinating to me to be allowed into your heads. I love the description of The Shoe that sent the ball through the uprights with what became known as The Kick...was that shoe even legal?

I believe there must've been a good bit of atmospheric elasticity that night. Instead of the random respiration that maintains a pressure balance, there was a collective breath drawn in, held, and then let out with a force that surely must have created a bulge over Forsyth County.

Dave, I agree you shouldn't want to trade places with Tate, or necessarily even to feel sorry for him. Life is a wonderful, terrible, simple, complicated thing. Who can say how the pieces all fit together? I sure can't...all I can say is that it's full of surprises - big and small, good and bad. I was surprised this morning. Jane and I were in Oxford doing the grandparent thing and we were watching one of the morning shows that did a bit on Tom Petty. A little of Running Down A Dream played, and Jane said (in that buttery Johnston County accent of her's), "Until this very moment I thought David wrote that song."

Rico,

Bestill my beating heart. Please tell Jane, "You ARE ... my biggest fan."

Wow, I would love to pen a tune as driving and just plain "cool" as Running Down a Dream. Unfortunately, I can only come up with ditties like, Stuck in Bluesville, I Miss You Baby, Flight of the Song Bird and Generations.

OK, back to NFHS 1971 football. You are probably close to accurate about the drawn in breath, the long pause, and the huge exhale as an analogy. I guess we knew the importance of the event. We were in uncharted territory for North. Did anyone even think we'd be in the playoffs after the drubbing we took on Homecoming? I doubt it. I know that the coaches knew they had something special that year. And we had not peaked going into that HP Central game. Now, us kids, we didn;t know much at all about peaks, or momentum. We were finally on the Space Mountain ride at Disney World after standing in line forever. No way were we going to step off before it was over. So, Rico, when two teams nearly equally talented converge on a given night where conditions are good and mistakes are few (both teams made a few) it falls to luck to decide the winner. We got the break and thank God for it. I am lucky to be counted as part of that great moment in time. I will always feel that way.

So Grandpa, have you bought the little one his first guitar yet?

First...it's Papa.

Second...maybe I ain't done buying guitars for myself yet!

Dave, Boyce, and Rick: I remember that night well, because, well, being too ugly to get a date, I came to the game with my Dad. Dad is a perpetual pessimist. I think he feared North would lose, and he was trying to prepare me for it. Anyway, all throughout the game, he kept saying, "Now, Steve, I hear High Point Central is good. Don't be surprised if you lose." (Dad was never a sports fan, so I wonder where he heard this stuff!). Anyway, Boyce, when you kicked that field goal, I saw my father change and he cheered as much as anyone else. Always wanted to upbraid him for that, but in my working class home, you never challenged your Dad!

Steve, Dave & Rick,
First of all, for 104 views to this discussion, I find it hard to believe that we’re the only ones with something to say or that we have been back to this site 104 times. I would like to challenge anyone that is reading this to give us your thoughts about that night, that moment, that season, whatever comes to mind - especially those that were watching from the stands. Because those of us that were down on the field, we don’t remember what happened after that final play. What did you see? Were did you go? What did you do?

Dave, I too wonder where I spent that evening celebrating. After that kick, it was all a blur to me. Rick, no I did go out and get “…….” fill in the blank if you like but I just didn’t do that kind of stuff at that time in my life.
Steve, as for ‘challenging you dad’, I’m proud of you. I wish more children, teens and young adults would feel like that now.

Now, Dave, at that time in my life, I probably would have went right along with your comment about “it falls to luck to decide the winner.” But now, through the years of wisdom, I see it as “opportunity.” I believe that when you are prepared for that job and the “opportunity” presents itself, then you are prepared to do the job correctly. Our team was prepared. By the talents given to our coaches and their commitment to prepare us, when the opportunity presented itself, we preformed those tasks as needed.

Yes, I will admit it, HPC was a good team, they were very prepared for that night, but in those final three plays, we were better prepared. Take the man blocking Robert McCullough, he wasn’t prepared to last that long in a game, Robert was. Coach Hayes saw to that. Robert beat him and sacked Shaver for those long 13 yards, but also putting into Shaver’s mind that the next time he had to get rid of the ball sooner. Shaver wasn’t prepared for the pressure from our defense that “wouldn’t give up”. Remember – “Bend but don’t break!” - Hayes favorite line. The very next play, maybe Shaver, thinking of his last one, wasn’t prepared to say cool and just heaved it up for grabs. But after that, Eddie, did what he was prepared to do by our coaches that made us run those “Gassers” and “Suicides” and going through those “4th quarter drills”. REMEMBER, those hot summer two a day practices – that was in preparation for that night – that opportunity – that one defining moment in time. “Little Ed Summers” was prepared to run like the wind.

And then, our defense turned into offense. Now that transformation is not something that just happens, they were prepared over and over for that transformation and they did it flawlessly. They just didn’t stand there watching him run, they had been prepared to “get ahead of him” and block for your teammate. “Don’t you let me watch that film and see you ‘lolley-gagging around’” were the ringing words from Coach Nifong in their ears on that final play. Remember those words?

But then, probably in anger because he wasn’t prepared to handle defeat, good ol’ Tommy Tate, grabbed Ed’s facemask. Accident or Anger! We’ll never know unless he steps forward to give us his insight on that moment. But what ever.

And then the last play. That offensive line was prepared to “Block in – Block in” had been drilled into your minds so much that no one could have penetrated that night. Don’t you know that HPC was giving it their very, very best? But it wasn’t good enough. Maybe they had never prepared a play or scheme to ‘break a line’ to block a field goal. We all had plays and schemes to ‘block a punt’, but what about a field goal. I don’t remember one.

As for that kick, asked my brother, Myron, or the 4 brothers that were our neighbors, now many times they would help me after practice to kick in my front yard. We use to kick up to and over a hundred a day even after football practice. Coach gave me a ‘bag of balls’ and a tee and I wore them out. Those that helped run up the balls, bring them back, and even tried to “ice” me (back then we just called it “rattle” or “distract”) should get most all of the credit for “preparing me for that opportunity” because without practice, you ain’t going to be perfect.

Well, I’ve said enough right now, but I still wonder where I went that night besides ending up in my room, in bed for just another Saturday morning.
See you next time,
Boyce

Boyce,

Well said. Very well said. And I agree with you. We were well trained, better prepared to snatch that win out of a tie game than HP Central. Everything fell into place so quickly. And I do remember all those drills and the tasks and duties the coaches "instilled" in us. Their hard work, and ours too, paid off when everything was on the line. Yes we were the better team. No doubt. And whether you call it luck, fate or destiny, we took that final opportunity and cashed in on it. We were and always will be the best 4A team in the state in 1971 and 1972.

Now, if we could just remember what happened after the game.

Dave

Great insight, Boyce. It made me think of a commercial that's on the radio. To paraphrase, it says you don't become a master by doing 4,000 things - you become a master by doing 12 things 4,000 times. The hundreds of kicks in your yard prepared you to be able to execute when the time came, and everyone took care of their assignment. Hey Boyce, Dave has a good way with words (makes me sick, actually)...the two of you should arrange an afternoon together, compare and organize notes, and write a story about it.

Rico you are the word smith. I am just the guy plagiarizing pieces of another man's life, or so the song goes.

But it would be fun to help assemble a good story with first hand remembrances from the coaches, team mates, cheerleaders and spectators. Sounds like we need a genuine skull session. If we only had that game film!!!

A skull session with those in the know seems like a good idea. From what I've seen of the skulls, caps or other headgear should be required.

BTW on a related subject...I think Johnny Evans deserves his own thread.

Boyce, Dave, and Rick: You know I once thought in my post high school years that that entire football season would make an excellent sports film. I even thought of a title I thought fitting - An Evergreen Autumn. Could you imagine what NFL films could do with that story, the games, the rebound from the racial problems, the merged school from Mt Tabor and Atkins? It would make a good book, too. Maybe, Dave, you and Rick could do the soundtrack. If not, I know someone in California who could.

If James Mattingly II is available we should get him to do the mushy sentimental bits of the soundtrack.

Man, lots of good ideas. Now who has time to make all this happen? We'll be lucky to get a skull session together. But who knows what next Spring may bring......maybe.

Steve, if you haven't seen it, you should check out Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do" about a fictitious 1964 Erie, PA garage band that made it to the top...for a short while. It's definitely worth the time to watch it. Rick and I know the dialog by heart, pretty much. Definitely not a football movie, just a great and hilarious feel good movie.

G'nite gentlemen.

True that...it's a great movie and a fabulous soundtrack.

Well, I will weigh in now.. you are not going to believe it,but I had to work that night. I did not go to the game, because I was working at Food Fair in Oldtown at the time and chould NOT get off work, even tried to quit, but they woudnt let me...I could kick my self time and time again for missing that game!!!!

Fred...you ain't the only one. I was working at Town & Country Restaurant in King. Bummer.

David, Boyce, Fred, and Rick: You know something that could be done to commemorate that year and I don't think it would be that hard to do. When I was a junior at UNCC and we went to the NIT, I think the Charlotte Observer put together a book of their newspaper stories for each game. I do church histories and I know the Carolina Room at the Main Library in Winston-Salem has copies on microfilm of old Journals (and Sentinels, although I can't recall if they still had an evening paper then). I think the annual still has the dates of the games. For those of us of a certain age, I think it would be a real keepsake. Let me know what you think.

Steve,

Good idea. I've thought about doing just that from time to time, although I know I used to have a scrap book of many of those newspaper articles somewhere at my Mother's house. I may even have them stored up in my attic. I'll try to find what I have and let you know, but the library idea is a good one, if someone has time to do the research. I probably will not have that kind of time for a while.

Well guys, I need to let you know that my mom, that year and our senior year, kept every article that came out in the WSJ & S about the football team and I have a complete scrap book of all of the articles, even some from High Point after the game.
And then, Our dear old Terri Lyn Martin (boy would I love to give her another hug for this) , put together a scrap book for me after the season with most of the same articles and even a poem written by Mrs. Wall our English teacher. We even have some articles written by the now famous "Big Walt" Joyce from the "Norland". 8)
I even have a very well kept 8x10 of the championship team picture that was taken in the gym after the season. And an individual photo of me kicking with that shoe on.
I need to set down at the scanner and scan these items and see whom would be interested in them.
Times are hard as a photographer, think I could make anything off of these items.

Boyce: 2011 is the fortieth anniversary of the state championship. It would be nice if we could commemorate it in some way. After all, it is the only time North won a state championship in a major sport. And the story is so compelling, done after a history of racial conflict. It brings back memories of other times when sport transcended itself: Tom Landry and the Cowboys giving Dallas a new image after the Kennedy assassination, East Carolina beating Miami after Hurricane Floyd, the Saints winning the first game in the rebuilt Louisiana Superdome, the many times black athletes showed they could compete with the best, from Jackie Robinson to the Texas Western team that beat an all-white Kentucky team. I think it could reignite some community pride. It would also be nice if it could be done before Mr Gibson and Coach Nifong are called Home.

Just a thought.

Steve,
I think that that would be a wonderful thing to do. I, too, would like to see something done before Coach Nifong scores another touchdown on the streets of gold.
There ought to be enough 'retired' players to help to head up an event like this inviting all of the team, coaches, cheerleaders, teachers, and classmates and guest, an to be able to sell tickets to cover most of the cost for the players and coaches meals. We might be able to get some corporate donation from the community names that were prominent during that time. If we could get a 'big name' to MC the event would be helpful. Johnny Evans might be one that would draw but would also add a twist to it with his ties to HP Andrews. If only that film would resurface somewhere.
We need to get a site for all of those interested in this to go to and register and kick in their ideas and/or donations to the event.
Does anyone know if the Coach has any of the old films???
We could take parts of the "March to the Championship" and pieced together with newspapers stories and voice over’s from former players, and then up on stage we could reenact the last 13 seconds with whatever team mates that are there.....go on....I know that I'm rambling and dreaming. Hey, with the recollection I seen so far for all of us old farts, once the game was over, no body knows what happen next.
Anyway, now is the time to get started to do it the Thanksgiving weekend of '11, the same weekend forty years ago.
Let me know if you get more interest than mine.
Thanks,
Boyce

Boyce: Tell you what I really had in mind. At present I am finishing up the first drafy of a history of the Baptist association which should be finished in the not-too-distant future. I was thinking of writing a book - a sports history if you will - of that season. Never have done a sports history before but I think it has all sorts of possibilities. Let me know what you tbink, and I deliberately posted this where I did so I could get others thoughts.

I say "go for it" Steve.
I'll help in anyway I can.
IF you have the time, and you can still make a living doing it, all power to you!
If you need more material to make a "mini series" out of it, we'll go back to the NWJH days to make it happen.
Boyce

Steve,
Now that I have looked over those that have written in this forum, I don't think that there is enough interest to the whole idea.
You, David and myself just can't be enough to make a project like that work?
Know what I mean?

Boyce: A lot of what you say is true, but writing has been a hobby of mine, and let's be frank. We've no guarantee some of the personalities involved will be here at the 50th anniversary. To be frank, we may not be here. I think it would be great if Coach Nifong and Mr. Gibson could live to see something to commemorate it. The fact that Claude, Randy, and Chip have passed also reminds us that we may be reading obits of classmates in the not too distant future. I feel we owe it to the next generation to tell this story even if it is only one copy in the North Forsyth library. Anyway, that's what I am thinking, and while I would like to make a few bucks on it, I have busted my buns on a lot of other things I thought worthwhile where I saw no financial return. We shall see. I think I am going to make this a matter of prayer.