Mater Dei Football: 1957

Mater Dei (26) vs Lincoln (0): Reitz Bowl 1-0

Friday, September 6, 1957

Mater Dei, hampered by 70 yards in penalties the first half, scored 14 points in less than seven minutes of the third quarter to sink Lincoln 26-0 in Evansville’s 1957 football opener last night at Reitz Bowl.

About 2,500 fans were on hand, but they didn’t have half the fun a Collie dog had by refusing to leave the players alone on the field during most of the game. The dog interfered throughout the first half, much to the delight of the fans and to the disappointment of the players and officials.

Coach Len Will’s Mater Dei team, holding a great size advantage and showing more football savvy, could have named its own score after knocking the Lions off their feet with its third quarter blitz. But immediately after scoring their fourth quarter touchdown with 5:10 remaining in the third period, the Mater Dei regulars left the contest and let the reserves mop up.

Ed Claybourne, making his debut as the Lincoln coach, had his Lions battling all the way, but Mater Dei’s defense, which permitted only 64 yards on the ground, was too much for the East Siders.

Mater Dei had all the edge in the statistics, getting 218 yards rushing and 70 yards passing for a total of 288. The Wildcats scored 14 first downs. Lincoln added 67 yards passing to its 54 on the ground for a 131 total. The Lions made six first downs.

Jerry Browning, who was a star fullback last season as a sophomore, but was moved to the quarterback slot, directed the Wildcats to a touchdown the first time they got the ball.

This came after Lincoln’s Porter Merriweather was stopped on a fourth down situation, and the Wildcats took over on the Lion’s 49 yard Line. Larry Kramer, Bucky Killebrew, and Browning moved the ball to the 35 and then Ron Tepool picked up 10 yards on an end-around play. Tepool got 15 more yards on a pass from Browning to put the ball on the 10-yard stripe and little Bob Clausheide, a 140 pounder, went the final distance down the middle.

The second Wildcat Touchdown came with only 48 seconds left in the half. The drive started when John Meredith recovered Porter Meriweather’s fumble on the Mater Dei 33. A holding penalty and a loss moved the Wildcats back to the 16. But then Browning threw a perfect strike to end Leroy Prange, who moved the ball to the Lincoln 35 for a 49 yard advance. Kramer ripped off a 26 yard gain after that and two plays later Browning cracked over from the one yard line to make it 12-0 at the half.

After the intermission Mater Dei scored a touchdown just six plays after the kickoff. A 26 yard run by Killebrew was the big gainer in the 57 yard drive. It was climaxed when Kremer hit pay dirt with 8:41 left in the third quarter. A Browning to Tepool pass was good for the conversion attempt and the West Siders moved into a 19-0 lead.

Browning scored Mater Dei’s other TD on the most exciting play of the game. He took Frank Boyd’s punt on Lincoln’s 45, cut to his left and angled into the end zone, running Mater Dei’s lead to 25-0, Titzer ended the scoring with an extra point kick.

After that, the Wildcat reserves took over and they allowed Lincoln only one good look at their end zone. This came in the last two minutes when the Lions pushed to the Mater Dei five. But Kremer intercepted Porter Meriweather’s pass for a touchback, and the Wildcats took over on their 20 yard line to run out the clock.

Touchdowns: Clausheide, Browning (2), Tepool
Touchback: Kremer

  MATER DEI   LINCOLN
First Downs         14            8  
Rushing Yards       218          94
Passing Yards         70            7
Pass Completions/Attempts      4/16         1/8
Interceptions           1            0
Total Yards       288          91
Punts           4            6
Fumbles/Lost        2/1         3/2
     

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Mater Dei (33) vs Booneville (7): At Booneville 2-0

Friday, September 13, 1957

Mater Dei began rolling after a slow start here Friday night to crush Booneville 33-7, for its second win in two starts.

Booneville opened up with a 7-0 lead in the opening period when end Jake Clark scored on a 15-yard pass play from halfback Danny Clutter. Clutter plunged for the extra point.

Mater Dei exploded with three touchdowns in the second quarter to fashion a 20-7 lead and wrapped it up with another pair in the third period. Halfback Larry Kremer led the Wildcats scoring parade with a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Jerry Browning also scored one as did Bucky Killebrew and end Leroy Prange.

Gary Titzer added all three Mater Dei extra points on place-kicks.

The loss was the second in a row for Booneville. Memorial beat the Pioneers 19-7 last week. Mater Dei downed Lincoln 26-0 in its opener last week.

Touchdowns: Kremer (2), Browning, Killebrew, Prange.

Statistics not available.

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Mater Dei (25) vs Memorial (12): Reitz Bowl 3-0

Saturday September 21, 1957

The brilliant all around play of quarterback Jerry Browning overcame Mater Dei’s acute fumbling tendencies Saturday afternoon and propelled the Wildcats to a 25-12 victory over Memorial.

A sprinkling of about 1,500 fans in Reitz Bowl watched Browning play a big part in all of Mater Dei’s touchdowns as the undefeated Wildcats scored their third victory of the season.

The 5-10, 190 pound junior scored once on a 51-yard run, passed for two more TD’s, and set up still another with a 41-yard punt return. All told, Browning accounted for 179 yards of the 278 net yards gained from scrimmage by the wildcats. He carried the ball 11 times and gained 134 yards for a 12.2 average. And he connected on six of nine passes for another 45 yards.

Except for Browning’s inspired play, Mater Dei might have found its 10 fumbles, including five recovered by Memorial, too much of a handicap to counterbalance.

The Tigers’ first touchdown, which sent them into a 6-0 lead at the outset was a direct result of a Wildcat bobble, and twice long Mater Dei drives were wiped out near the Memorial goal by fumbles.

Ironically, it was Browning whose fumble gave the Bengals their first score. Jerry failed to scoop up a punt on a run inside his own five yard line. Memorial recovered on the three.

Ron Magness gained one yard and Mike Mooney went around right end for the last two. There were eleven minutes in the opening period when Magness’ try for the extra point was blocked, leaving the Tigers with a 6-0 edge.

Mater Dei drove from its 41 to the Memorial 6 late in the opening stanza before Browning’s fumble ended the drive.

However, the Tigers had to punt from their 14 and Browning returned the kick from the Wildcat’s 46 to the Memorial 12. Then Dave Heathcotte took over and on his second try scored through the line for seven yards and the touchdown. Browning scored the extra point on a quarterback sneak, and the Wildcats led 7-6 with 10:40 to go in the half.

Following the kickoff, Mater Dei turned the tables by taking advantage of a Memorial fumble for its second score. The fumble resulted on the Tigers’ 26, and Browning picked up a first down with a 10-yard scramble to the 16. After three running plays and a penalty left the Wildcats with a fourth down on the 10. Browning passed to Nunning in the end zone for the TD. That made it 13-6, which is the way the first half ended.

Mater Dei recovered a fumble on its 44 early in the third period and three plays later Browning rolled out to his right and raced 51 yards for the Wildcats’ third touchdown. A fine block by end Ron Tepool gave Browning running room on the 30, and Jerry was home free. There was 9:45 remaining in the period when Browning missed the extra point kick, which left the count at 19-6.

Memorial got back within striking distance when the Tigers scored their second touchdown following Quentin Merkel’s 61-yard kickoff return. Merkel’s dash placed the ball on the Wildcats’ 227, and Ken Kissel scored from the three on the seventh play from scrimmage. Magness’ conversion attempt again was blocked and it was 19-12 with 5:20 to go in the third quarter.

Mater Dei immediately drove 63 yards to the Memorial five before Memorial recovered a fumble on the seven as the third period ended.

The only scoring in the final frame was set up when Memorial’s Mooney sliced a six yard punt off the side of his foot. The ball went out of bounds on the Tigers’ 25, and on the next play Browning hurled a short pass to Tepool who ran for the TD. This time it was Kremer who threw the key block on about the 15 that sprung Tepool loose. Kremer’s kick for the extra point was no good.

The defeat was the second in three games for Memorial this season. The Tigers also lost for the second straight year to Mater Dei, a team they had beaten three times and tied twice in the first five meetings between the cross-town rivals.

Touchdowns: Browning, Heathcott, Nunning, Tepool.

  MATER DEI MEMORIAL
First Downs         11            6  
Rushing Yards       233          87
Passing Yards         43          23
Pass Completions/Attempts        3/9         3/8
Interceptions           0            0
Total Yards       276        110
Punts           2            7
Fumbles/Lost      10/5         3/2
     

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Mater Dei (28) vs North (0): Reitz Bowl 4-0

Friday, September 27, 1957

 

Mater Dei’s big, bruising Wildcats held the Huskies of North High to minus 30 yards rushing last night in grinding out a methodical 28-0 win before a chilled crowd of about 1,500 at Reitz Bowl. The triumph was the fourth in a row for Mater Dei, while North took its first setback against one victory.

Jerry Browning, 190 pound quarterback was once again the big man in Mater Dei’s offense He scored two touchdowns himself and passed for a third as well as doing a masterful job of directing the team through the game.

Browning got his first touchdown with 3:06 left in the first period when he skirted end for 15-yards to cap a 68-yard Wildcat march. He went two yards in the fourth quarter and hit Dave Heathcott on a seven-yard pass for a TD in the second.

Ron Tepool tallied the other six-pointer for Mater Dei on a spectacular play when he snatched teammate Killebrew’s fumble in midair to complete a 36-yard scoring play.

North was not completely blanked offensively. Quarterback Bill Buck went to the air lanes 28 times and found his receivers on 13 occasions for 132 yards. Most of his completions were on short passes into the flat or just over the line.

After Browning’s touchdown in the opening quarter, the Wildcats tallied again in the second period after Browning intercepted one of Buck’s heaves and returned to the North 27. Four plays moved the ball to the seven, and on the next play Browning, after executing a beautiful fake which found most Huskies converging on Bob Clausheide, passed to Heathcott for the score.

A fumble gave Mater Dei it’s opening in the third quarter. Don Findley took a punt on his 13 and returned to the 16 where he fumbled as he was hit and Tepool recovered. On the next play the Wildcat end grabbed the ball out of the air after Killebrew bobbled a handoff from Browning and carried it over.

The Wildcats took advantage of another break to add to their final tally with 2:10 gone in the final quarter. A short North kick went out of bounds on North’s 47 and it took Mater Dei only three plays to reach the end zone. Browning started it by finding Heathcott behind a Huskie pass defender and laying the ball in his hands for a 42-yard gainer to the five. Killebrew carried to the two and Browning went over.

Gary Titzer placed kicked three extra points and Browning passed to Killebrew for the other after a penalty set the Wildcats back to the 36.

Touchdowns: Browning (2,) Heathcott, Tepool

  MATER DEI     NORTH
First Downs         13            6  
Rushing Yards       133          31
Passing Yards       100        123
Pass Completions/Attempts      7/12       2/38
Interceptions           3            1
Total Yards       233          93
Punts           4            6
Fumbles/Lost        1/1         1/1
     

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Mater Dei (39) vs Owensboro Catholic (21) Reitz Bowl 5-0

Saturday, October 5, 1957

Explosive Touchdowns, featuring long scoring runs by Jerry Browning and Larry Kremer, lifted Mater Dei’s unbeaten Wildcats to their fifth win yesterday as they defeated Owensboro Catholic 39-21 at Reitz Bowl.

There were hardly more fans than players at the contest to see Coach Len Will’s Wildcats down the Kentuckians who, before yesterday, had split even in two games with Evansville teams this fall. Reitz smothered the Aces 40-0 but they rebounded 26-12 over Memorial. The victory snapped a 4-4-1 record for the two clubs in their 10-game rivalry. It was the largest score ever piled up by a Mater Dei against the Aces. It was also Owensboro Catholic’s top point production.

Browning, a bruising 190-pound quarterback, scored two touchdowns to strengthen his grip on first place in the Evansville high school scoring race. He has nine touchdowns and a conversion for 55 points. One of his TDs was a 56-yard run with an intercepted pass.

Kremer, who finished with a minus 0.3 yard average per carry, also scored twice. He got a 62-yard touchdown when he recovered a fumble and he took one of Browning’s passes for a 65-yard TD play,

The game was not as close as the score and statistics indicate. According to the figures, Owensboro Catholic would seem to be the winner, outdowning Mater Dei 18-9, outrushing the Wildcats by 11 yards, and out passing them by 82 yards. But Catholic’s great success came in the final quarter when Coach Will sent in the reserves. At that time the Aces started rolling. They scored two TDs in the final period, collected five first downs, got 38 of their 111 rushing, and 99 of their 236 passing yards.

Both teams were aerial-minded. The Ace, with quarterback Bill Johnson doing the throwing, fired 29 passes and completed a dozen. Mater Dei, with browning doing almost all the passing, completed 6 in 20 attempts. Mater Dei took advantage of two Owensboro Catholic fumbles to score twice in the first six minutes of the game. The Wildcats kicked off to open the contest, but after Owensboro had moved from its 25 to Mater Dei’s 33, Johnson fumbled. Kremer came flying toward the ball, scooped it up on the run and went winging for a touchdown with 8:16 left in the period.

Mater Dei kicked off again. On Owensboro’s first play, Dave Gillis fumbled with Bucky Killebrew recovering for Mater Dei on the Aces 22. Killebrew then went to the 19 and Browning drove to the 7.Little Dave Heathcotte, a 138-pounder, took it over from there to make it 12-0 with 7:35 left in the opening period.

Owensboro Catholic fought back and scored in the first two minutes of the second period. The drive started on Mater Dei’s 41 and ended when Johnson fired a 15 yard pass to Tony Roulds in the end zone. Roulds converted and it was 12-7.

Mater Dei took the ensuing kickoff and marched 63 yards to score with browning plunging over from the 5 yard line. This made it 18-7 before the half ended.

Mater Dei scored twice in the third period. Taking the opening kickoff at the start of the second half, the Wildcats drove 59 yards to pay dirt with Killebrew scoring from the one. His 11 yard sprint was the big gainer in the push.

The Wildcats other TD in the third frame came when Kremer took Browning’s pass into the end zone on a play that covered 65 yards. Only 55 seconds were left in the quarter when Kremer made it 32-7. Mater Dei got its last touchdown with only 45 seconds gone in the fourth period. Browning intercepted Johnson’s pass and raced 56 yards for the touchdown.

Owensboro’s two touchdowns in the fourth quarter came on a 70 yard pass play from Johnson to Tom Clark and a five yard run by Bob Nix.

Touchdowns: Kremer (2), Browning, Heathcotte, Prange, Killebrew.

  MATER DEI   CATHOLIC
First Downs           9          18  
Rushing Yards       122        133
Passing Yards       154        236
Pass Completions/Attempts      6/20    12/29
Interceptions           4            0
Total Yards       276       369
Punts           4            1
Fumbles/Lost        3/3         3/0
     

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Mater Dei (0) vs Reitz (33): Reitz Bowl, 5-1

Friday, October 11, 1957

Reitz’ magnificent Panthers blew Evansville’s "game of the year" apart with a three touchdown explosion in the first quarter last night as they marched to their fifth win by trouncing Mater Dei’s previously unbeaten Wildcats 33-0 before7.500 fans at Reitz Bowl.

Bill Coleman, the tremendous all-state halfback, played one of his finest games in leading the unbeaten Panthers to the lopsided victory over a husky Mater Dei club, which carried a 5-0 record into the battle. Running with the power of a bulldozer and the grace of a gazelle, Coleman scored three touchdowns and converted three times to add 21 points to the Panthers’ winning margin.

It was Reitz’ most convincing victory of the season. With Coleman picking up 103 yards on 12 carries for an 8.6 average, coach Herman Byers Panthers amassed 299 yards rushing and 109 yards passing for a tremendous 408-yard output.

Mater Dei, which carried a 278.8 yards per game average into the battle, collected only a total of 62 yards against the rock-ribbed Panther defense. Unable to cope with the great defensive play of Reitz’ Tom Trainer, Larry Coleman, Bernie Johnston, Charlie Hape and many others, the Wildcats managed only 43 yards rushing and 19 passing.

Coleman not only spearheaded Reitz’ attack, but he settled a personal duel with Mater Dei’s Jerry Browning. Coleman’s 21-point output gives him 69 points for the season. Browning went into the game as Evansville’s leading scorer with 55 points. Coleman also went to the front as the city’s leading ground gainer. He now boasts a total of 599 yards on 52 carries for a terrific 11.5 average per try.

The Panthers, who must be the best team ever ranked second in the state grid polls, weren’t long in flexing their muscles. They scored on their fourth play after the opening kickoff with halfback Ralph Simpson, a bespectacled junior who may fill Coleman’s shoes next season, going over from the five. The Panther’s speedy march to Mater Dei’s end zone started when Simpson returned Ron Tepool’s opening kick 27 yards to Reitz’ 43 yard line. Fullback Gary Brunson moved to Mater Dei’s 46 on the first play, and then quarterback Fred Gross, probably the most underrated of the Panther stars, flipped a pass to Trainer which covered 31 yards and moved Reitz to the 15. Coleman then blasted to the five yard line on Reitz’ third play, and Simpson ripped across the goal line with 10:19 left in the first quarter.

Mater Dei ran only two plays after the ensuing kickoff before LaRoy McElwee, a fine substitute tackle, recovered Browning’s fumble on Mater Dei’s 23 yard line to set up the Panthers’ second touchdown. An offsides penalty prolonged the drive, but the inevitable finally came when Gross passed five yards to Trainer in the end zone. Coleman converted for the second straight time, making it 14-0.

Mater Dei couldn’t move after receiving the kickoff and Browning had to punt. Coleman returned the kick to Reitz 42, and the Panthers were away on a 58 yard scoring march. Simpson advanced to the 45 on first down, and Coleman moved to the Wildcat’s 49. Gross then sneaked seven yards to give Reitz a first down.

Then Coleman ripped off his longest run of the game, racing 43 yards around left end to go all the way untouched. His kick on the conversion attempt was wide, and the first quarter ended with Reitz holding a 20-0 lead.

Mater Dei made Reitz work for its second period touchdown. But their attempts proved futile in the last 52 seconds of the half when Coleman climaxed a 61 yard march on a two yard plunge to make it 27-0.

The Wildcats, with Browning and Tepool playing tremendous on defense, held the Panthers scoreless in the third quarter. Mater Dei also fashioned its biggest threat in the period. The Wildcats moved to Reitz’ 20 before they ran out of gas.

Reitz’ last touchdown came in the first two minutes of the last quarter. The march started late in the third frame when Coleman intercepted Browning’s pass on Reitz’ 42. He ended the 58 yard push with a 16 yard sprint through left tackle to run the final count to 33-0. The victory was Reitz’ first in intra-city competition and its third in the SIAC. Bedford leads the conference with a 4-0 mark. But should the Stonecutters go undefeated, the Panthers still have a good chance of winning the title as they play six conference games to Bedford’s five.

  MATER DEI      REITZ
First Downs           7          17  
Rushing Yards         43       299
Passing Yards         19       109
Pass Completions/Attempts      4/14      6/12
Interceptions           2           2
Total Yards         62       408
Punts           4           0
Fumbles/Lost        2/1        2/1
     

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Mater Dei (45) vs Central (0): Reitz Bowl, 6-1

Saturday, October 19, 1957

Mater Dei’s high-flying Wildcats rolled to a 32-0 halftime lead at Reitz Bowl last night and then went on to post the highest score of the 1957 Evansville football season by handing Central a surprising 45-0 defeat before 2,500 fans.

With Jerry Browning chalking up three touchdowns, the Wildcats posted their sixth win against a single defeat in their march toward the most successful season in the West Side’s school history. The 45-0 score represents Mater Dei’s second highest scoring output. The Wildcats buried Lincoln 67-8 in 1952.

Central, losing for the second time against three wins this season, absorbed one of the worst defeats in its gridiron history, which began in 1896. Only a 50-0 loss to South Bend Central in 1927 and two loses to Memorial 46-0 in 1938 and 59-0 in 1939, have been worse.

Mater Dei used almost everything in scoring the exciting victory. Browning and halfback Larry Kremer turned in 45-yard touchdown runs. Browning also ripped off a 94-yard TD with a pass interception, and Bucky Killebrew got a 47-yard TD run on another interception. Browning also passed to Dan Townsend on a 51-yard scoring play. Central salvaged only one thing from the game. Coach Dan Howard’s Bears outgained Coach Len Will’s Wildcats 242 yards to 205 yards on the ground. But they had 18 more running plays than the Wildcats, who needed very little time in ripping the Bears to pieces.

With end Ron Tepool, center John Meredith, and tackles Artie Scheller and Jim Horstketter leading the way on defense. Mater Dei had Central’s attack completely stopped until midway in the third period. But then Jim Greer, a powerful 164-pound sophomore fullback, came in to pep up Central’s running attack. Greer had the most success of all the Central ball carriers, getting 83 yards on 8 carries for a 10.3 average. Dan Greenwood, the Bears’ speedy halfback, helped greatly, getting 73 yards on 18 carries for a 4.0 norm.

Mater Dei scored both times in gained possession of the pigskin in the first quarter. Tepool blocked Don Gibbs’ punt, and Clausheide recovered on the Bears’ 22 to set up the Wildcats’ first TD of the period. Browning scored the touchdown, going over from the 3. Mater Dei closed out the half with two electrifying pass interceptions. Central drove to the Wildcats’ 12 before Browning grabbed Parish’s pass on the 6 and went 94 yards for a TD. On the last second before halftime Killebrew took Parish’s aerial on his own 23 and went all the way to score. A jolting block by Tepool sprang Browning loose on his long run, while a similar move by Gene Schulz assured Killebrew of his TD.

The Wildcats scored only once in the third period when Browning rolled out from his quarterback post and raced 45 yards around right end to make it 25-0 with 3:30 left in the quarter. Mater Dei’s final TD in the last frame was a beauty. Browning hurled a long pass to end Dan Townsend. He caught the ball with a Central defender hanging onto him and shook loose to score on a 51-yard play.

Central almost avoided a shutout. After the ensuing kickoff, the Bears started rolling. With Greer and Greenwood sparking the drive. Central moved to Mater Dei’s 1. But parish fumbled on a quarterback sneak and Paul Adler recovered on the 1-foot line for Mater Dei to wipe out the threat in the last seconds of play.

Touchdowns: Kremer, Browning (3), Killebrew, Heathcott, Townsend

  MATER DEI   CENTRAL
First Downs           9            8
Rushing Yards       205        242
Passing Yards       110          30
Pass Completions/Attempts        5/7         4/8
Interceptions           3            1
Total Yards       315        272
Punts           1            1
Fumbles/Lost        1/0         4/3
     

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Mater Dei (42) vs Davies County (19): at Owensboro 7-1

Thursday, October 24, 1957

Mater Dei, 8th-ranked team in Indiana, turned in a hot football performance on a cold Owensboro night Thursday by defeating Davies County 42-19 for it’s seventh win against one defeat. Jerry Browning, Mater Dei’s sparkling quarterback, led the Wildcat’s drive. The 190-pounder, who is Evansville’s leading scorer, ran his season’s total to 85 points with two touchdowns. He also gained almost half the Wildcats’ total ground yardage of 247 yards with a 112-yard output. He carried 14 times for a 3.7 average.

Halfback Dave Heathcotte, a scrappy 139-pounder, and fullback Bucky Killebrew shared the spotlight with Browning. Heathcotte added two TDs for the Wildcats. He scored once on a 57-yard pass play from Browning and again on a 50-yard run with a Davies County fumble. Killebrew scored on a 36-yard run. He added 91 yards to Mater Dei’s rushing total in 10 carries for a 9.1 average.

Gary Cambron, big Davies County fullback, paced the Panthers, gaining 57 of their 89 yards on the ground to compile a 5.3 average on 11 carries.

Mater Dei scored on the first time it got the ball after the panthers punted from their own 45. In 10 plays Mater Dei scored on Bob Clausheide’s five-yard blast through tackle. The Wildcats’ next TD came on Browning’s long pass to Heathcotte, making it 14-0 before the first period ended. Mater Dei got two more TDs in the second frame to shoot into a 28-0 halftime lead. The first touchdown came on the very first play of the quarter when Heathcotte scooped up Larry Elliot’s fumble at midfield and went all the way to score.

Browning returned Melvin Wilhite’s punt 45 yards halfway in the quarter for mater Dei’s fourth touchdown of the half.

The Wildcats made it 35-0 in the third period when they marched 84 yards with Killebrew going the last 36. Browning closed out Mater Dei’s scoring with 8:15 left in the game. His 11 yard run capped an 83 yard drive. Gary Titzer converted for the sixth straight time to make it 42-0.

Coach Len Will then sent in his reserves and Daviess County scored three times in the last eight minutes. Johnny Newman raced 74 yards with the ensuing kickoff for a TD after the Wildcat regulars had departed. He also converted to make it 42-7.

Quarterback Roy Hayden and halfback Elliott got the other Panther touchdowns. Hayden plunged one yard for his. Elliott traveled 15 yards with 1:30 remaining to end the scoring.

It was the third loss against as many wins for Coach George Claiborne’s Panthers.

Touchdowns: Browning (2), Heathcotte (2), Clausheide, Killebrew.

  MATER DEI  DAVIES CO
First Downs         13          10
Rushing Yards       247          89
Passing Yards         57          47
Pass Completions/Attempts        1/5       9/15
Interceptions           0            2
Total Yards       304        136
Punts           1            6
Fumbles/Lost        3/2         2/1
     

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Mater Dei (12) vs Bosse (6): at Enlow Field 8-1

Friday, November 8, 1957

Mater Dei had to rely on the superb defensive performance of Jerry Browning to turn in a hard-earned 12-6 triumph over Bosse last night at Enlow Field. The 190-pound junior quarterback thrilled the 1,700 fans present by snaring four passes thrown by Bosse’s Ron Volkman at crucial stages of the game. Two of the interceptions cut off blossoming Bulldog scoring drives and another set up Mater Dei’s winning touchdown in the closing minutes of the contest.

Browning also scored the first Wildcat TD in the third quarter as Coach Len Will’s team completed the most productive grid campaign in Mater Dei history. The victory was the eighth against a single setback by Reitz 33-0.

The defeat was the fifth in eight games for Bosse and the fourth in a row. The Bulldogs didn’t give up easily, though. Running hard and tackling with savage force, particularly in the first half, the game was probably Bosse’s top performance of the year. Except for Browning, the East Siders, who entered the game 19-point underdogs, would have had an easy victory.

The Bulldogs took charge of the game during the first half and left the field in possession of a 6-0 advantage. During the first two quarters, Bosse’s running attack, which has been somewhat subdued in earlier games, accounted for 130 yards. The Bulldog line, headed by Doug Carmack, Jerry Scott, Carroll Brown, and Eddie Epperson, checked Mater Dei with but 29 yards rushing.

Despite their statistical superiority and the fact that their running game was moving well, the Bulldogs’ touchdown came through the airways and was set up by a break. After Volkman had punted dead on the Mater Dei three earlier in the second quarter, the Wildcats ran two plays before Bucky Killebrew fumbled with Bosse recovering. On the first play Volkman found DeLuc in the left corner of the end zone and hurled a 13-yard strike. Cliff Ford’s extra point attempt was off to the right.

Mater Dei came out for the second half determined to change things and wasted no time getting the tying touchdown. The Wildcats took the kickoff and moved 61 yards in only 8 plays, with Browning hitting over guard for the final yard. He also had a 30-yard run in the drive. Ed Cooper blocked Gary Titzer’s extra point try and the score was deadlocked, 6-6.

Bosse, which stayed on the ground almost exclusively in the first half, took to the air following the Mater Dei score. The change in strategy quickly backfired. Browning picked off two of Volkman’s heaves in the third quarter, once on his 32 and again on the Mater Dei 19. Then in the final period he hauled in one on his own 15 and returned to the Wildcat 47 to set off on the winning march.

A pass from Browning to Larry Kremer that covered 29 yards to the Bosse 24 was the key play. Three plays later Mater Dei was on the six. It took four plays to put the ball over with Killebrew driving the last inch with 2:20 remaining.

Bosse, thanks to its big first half edge, held a slight statistical advantage. The Bulldogs gained 199 yards on the ground and 18 passing for a total of 217. Mater Dei was one yard short of that figure, with 168 yards rushing and 48 passing. The Bulldogs held a 12-11 first down lead.

Touchdowns: Browning, Killebrew

  MATER DEI     BOSSE
First Downs         10          12
Rushing Yards       168        209
Passing Yards         48          18
Pass Completions/Attempts      4/10         2/9
Interceptions           5            2
Total Yards       216        217
Punts           4            1
Fumbles/Lost        2/1         2/1
     

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Season Statistics (Numbers adjusted for missing stats in Booneville game)

  Mater Dei Per Game Opponents Per Game
First Downs         99          11           97      10
Rushing Yards     1402        156      1753    195
Passing Yards       701          78        355      39
Pass Comp/Attempt  41/105       5/12     12/98   1/11
Interceptions         21            2            6         1
Total yards     2203        245      2108    234
Punts         28            3          32        4
Fumbles/Lost    25/15         3/2     34/20     5/2
Points Scored       250          28          98      11
         

Touchdowns (37): Browning (13), Heathcott (6), Kremer (4), Killebrew (5),
Tepool (3), Prange (2), Clausheide (2), Nunning (1)Townsend (1).

Record:   8-1

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