This is the continuation of our new Flashback Friday series, as we look back chronologically at every Reitz game ever played.
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Allow me to guide you back in time to late November, 1919. Reitz was fresh off a 14-13 come-from-behind victory over the Ricadonia Independents. You can listen to that story and all our podcasts by going to ReitzFootball.com and clicking on PODCAST in the top menu. Now, the young West Side team is headed into their last game of the season, which will be a Thanksgiving day showdown against the second team of Boonville High School.
The Boonville Giants, as the high school was called back then, had an exceptionally strong second team, according to the Nov. 27 Press, which previewed that afternoon’s game.
“Reitz high school footballers arranged to go to Boonville to play the high school second team there at 3 p.m. Thanksgiving day. Besides the 14 men on the squad, 35 rooters, Coach Murphy and Principal E. E. Morley make up the party [which would] leave on the 11 o’clock traction.”
Reitz did not disappoint as they shut out the Warrick County school, 26-0. Scoring touchdowns for the Panthers were Earl Hooker, Bill Reed, Ralph Woods and John Terrell, who set a school record with his 40-yard run. Hooker also added two extra-point kicks, setting a single-game scoring record of eight points.
This was the first game of a double-header at Boonville, with their first team winning the second game, 10-6 over Petersburg.
While we’re not sure what the win/loss record of Boonville’s 2nd team was, Reitz finished 4-4 with the win. And with the end of the 1919 season, next week we’ll look forward to 1920. But before we completely wrap up 1919, let’s look at some interesting trivia.
There was another game played at the Reitz High School Field three days later. On Sunday, November 30, the Ricadonias defeated another amateur team, called the Invincibles, 7-0. However, some interesting names appeared for the Ricadonias: Ewers at quarterback, Hooker at left end, Reed at left guard and Ralph Woods at center. These four players had helped the Panthers defeat the independent team just eight days earlier, and now they were playing for them!
Then, five days later on Dec. 5, Boonville and Reitz squared off again on the basketball court. Hooker and Reed, once again playing for Reitz, helped the Panthers win, 21-8. Obviously the eligibility rules of 100 years ago were much different than they are today!
Remember, this podcast is brought to you free of charge by our friends at Reis Tire. As the series continues, we’ll eventually cover all 1,000+ games. With every edition, we’ll preview and recap the next game in chronological order.
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