This is the continuation of our podcast series that looks back chronologically at every Reitz Football game ever played.
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Podcast transcript:
Hello everyone welcome to this week’s edition of the ReitzFootball.com Podcast presented by Reis Tires, where we go in chronological order to recap EVERY game in the history of Reitz High School Football. I’m your host, Dan Engler.
In last week’s episode, we looked back at the Panthers’ rematch against Mount Vernon. For decades, this was believed to have been a loss for Reitz, but we’ve found that this was actually a 36-6 win for us! You can listen to that episode and all our podcasts by going to ReitzFootball.com and clicking on PODCAST in the top menu.
Now, let’s go back to November, 1920. They’re battling Boonville in their season finale in what was one of their biggest games in the program’s young history.
From the Nov. 5, 1920 Evansville Journal: “Francis Joseph Reitz high school’s football fighters will make their bow to the gridiron public of Evansville at Bosse Field at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, when Boonville’s football eleven plays in Evansville.”
Remember, the 1920 Panthers were juniors and sophomores and were going up against a Boonville program that had been playing over 15 years. Hopes were high but unfortunately, it would not be the Panthers’ day. The Giants, as Boonville was called then, outweighed Reitz by 15 pounds per man. The Panthers had used the forward pass quite effectively in their first several games, but a first-quarter Boonville interception lead to a touchdown a few plays later, and the Panthers were down, 7-0. The Warrick Countians also had a 30-yard interception return in the second quarter and built up a 27-0 halftime lead.
Reitz did get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. From the 1921 Ohihill: “Although a bad score it was an exciting game. Reitz players could not seem to get together, until the last five minutes of play when they opened up with a series of long and short passes that completely bewildered the Big Boonville boys, and ran over two touchdowns.”
Jewel Sutton scored on a 50-yard touchdown run and Johnson, whose first name is not known, had a touchdown catch. Although the thrower isn’t specified, it likely came from Ralph Woods, as he supplied every other Panther touchdown that fall.
At the referee’s final whistle, it was Boonville standing tall, 49-13. The Giants improved to 3-1 while the Panthers finished 2-2. For a little historical context, Boonville finished 3-3 after getting shutout in their last two games, 28-0 by Princeton and 48-0 by Henderson.
Next week, we’ll recap the 1920 season and look ahead at 1921.
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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Thanks for listening. Do you have questions or comments? Please email me at info@reitzfootball.com.
Until next time, this is Dan Engler with ReitzFootball.com. Go Panthers!
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1 comments
Good job, Rudy. I really enjoy Panthers Plus.