By Steve Lang, News and Publications
Ever a team leader, quarterback
Larry Hill promptly answered Dr. Wayne Sheehans question:
What changes do you notice about the Sul Ross campus? The library has a third floor and new bricks.
Fellow members of the Lobos 1982 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) also noticed the changes, along with familiar sights, during last Saturdays (July 7) 25-year reunion. A total of 30 former players, coaches and trainers attended.
Sul Ross, 9-0 and ranked fourth in the NAIA Division II poll in 1982, lost a heart-stopping, 44-43 triple-overtime contest to William Jewell (Mo.) College before a packed house at Jackson Field. The Lobos bid for a game-winning two-point conversion was stopped short of the goal line in the NAIA quarterfinal playoff contest.
I dont think a day goes by when I dont think about this team a little bit, said
Larry Hill, Bulverde, head football coach at Smithson Valley. Former head coach
Joe George, now an assistant at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, felt the flood of memories as well.
The thing about it...in less than a minute it gets you right back, he said. This is really good for me; I found out whats happened with these guys over the last 25 years....Its very special. When you win a championship, youve got a bond for life.
George, who guided the Lobos to a 28-12 won-lost record during four seasons as head coach (1979-82) will be the fifth representative of the 1982 team to be inducted into the Sul Ross Hall of Honor, during 2007 Homecoming festivities in October. He joins Larry Hill (1992); Burnett Williams (1997); Andrew Hill (1999); and Albert Garcia (2003) on the honor list. Dr. Chet Sample, then the Sul Ross athletic director and now dean of the School of Professional Studies, was inducted in 2006.
Where are they now?
Larry Hills Smithson Valley teams have reached the 5A state semi-finals five times in the past eight years, including three berths in the championship game. Two of the finals losses have occurred on the last play of the game. Hill, a second-team NAIA All-American and TIAAs Offensive Player of the Year in 1982, still holds several Sul Ross passing records. He was elected president of the Texas High School Coaches Association for the coming year.
Burnett Williams, Houston, is an associate principal in the Fort Bend Independent School District. He was a second-team All-TIAA tight end.
Andrew Hill, Lockhart, is a warehouseman in Austin. He was a first-team All-TIAA runningback and still shares the single-game record of four touchdowns.
Maurice Stephens, Leander, is a personal trainer and teaches developmentally challenged children. He joined Larry and Andrew Hill in the first-team All-TIAA backfield and shares Andrew Hills record of four touchdowns in one game, as well as 205 kickoff return yards in a single contest.
David Roensch, Channanhon, Ill., has worked in the energy industry since leaving Sul Ross. He was named the TIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year and shared honors as Lineman of the Year. He was one of six Lobos (Larry Hill, Stephens, Joel Bellinger, John Creek and Henry Paige) to receive NAIA Division II All-American recognition. His son Jeff is a 2007 Sul Ross graduate.
Don Bandy, Wimberley, owns an equipment installation business.
Joel Bellinger, Sutherland Springs, is an elementary physical education teacher and officiates high school and collegiate football games. He was a first-team All-TIAA offensive tackle.
Joey Caceres, Rio Grande Valley, has been a teacher and coach for 21 years.
Curtis Marcel Clay, Lockhart, works for the Texas School Safety Center in San Marcos and is a country soul singer, touring with The Platters.
John Creek, Sonora, was a coach and now is self-employed in the oilfield transport business. He was a second-team All-TIAA defensive lineman.
Ray DeLeon, Allen, is director of Technology Risk for Fidelity Investments.
Gerald Echard, Rowlett, works as a personal trainer and service coordinator.
Tommy Escamilla, Monahans, a team trainer, works for Bass Enterprises Production Co. as a production clerk/warehouseman.
Albert Garcia, Edcouch, an assistant coach, has coached for over 20 years, currently at Pharr (North).
Tommy Holmes, Panhandle., taught social studies and coached at Texas City until February, when he began working in management for Carson City Feedlot, Panhandle.
Ben Keck, Lubbock, is a nurse manager in a health care facility.
Oscar Marroquin, Marble Falls, worked for the Federal Government for 22 years before retiring and founding a vegetable and fruit import business.
Bob Moran, Fullerton, Calif., an assistant coach, is now on Fullerton College coaching staff.
Todd Mund, Llano, has played professional golf, worked in the golf business and trained horses.
Joe Sanchez, Jr., Mission, an assistant coach, continues to teach and coach, now serving as athletic coordinator and head football coach at Pharr (San Juan Alamo Memorial).
Wayne Thorp, Mertzon, served in the U.S. Navy and now works for Tom Thorp Transport, oilfield trucking and construction.
John Watson, Lampasas, works for Performance Food Group.
Wade West, Boerne, is in the trucking business with Sysco Foods.
Rene Cortinas, McAllen, serves as Sanchez defensive coordinator at Pharr SJA Memorial.
Gilbert Morales, McAllen, owns a medical equipment business.
Also attending were David Dillard, Imperial; James Justice, Pfluegerville; and Henry Paige, Hayward, Calif.
Sample, assisted by Sheehan, organized the reunion, assisted by Saul Garza, Sul Ross Alumni Association director. Team members received a campus tour and returned to Jackson Field, where they were photographed in Lobo jerseys. Ray Hendryx of KVLF Radio, Alpine, and Sanford DeVoll, who had close ties to the team, were among the many Alpine and Sul Ross faithful who exchanged memories. A moment of silence was observed for deceased team members Sam Collins and Joe Garza, and former Physical Education and Athletics Department secretary Bobbie McDaniel.
In general, Sul Ross ties remain strong after a quarter-century.
I tell people all over about the Alpine mentality, said
Williams. Everybody smiles, waves and speaks to you here. We need more of that in the world.
The best days we ever had were back here in Sul Ross, echoed
Sanchez.
Every step you take...every time you go around the corner, memories come back,
Larry Hill said. It was a special time; I knew it was great the, but when you step away from it, you really appreciate it.
