BY GRANGER HUNTRESS
The year was 1995, and from the get-go, the defending state champions from Amherst were not getting much respect. They weren’t even the highest-ranked Bulldogs in the preseason.
I have to include myself in this statement as well because I was on the Mullin Bulldog Train. Mullin, who had fallen in a close 1994 quarterfinal, 32-30, to Milford, was loaded with not only Petey Salaiz, but also Charlie Smith, Landon Buffe and Bobby Teague. Mullin was also slated to face the top team in Colorado, Weldon Valley early in the season.
I got an early taste of what was to come, however, when I drove to Hermleigh in August for a scrimmage between the two powerhouses, as Amherst steamrolled Mullin.
While Petey Salaiz was a slighter, shifty back, Amherst had the most dominating player of the time, DeWayne Miles. In 1995, Miles turned out to be unstoppable.
Listed at 6-2, 220-pounds, Miles was a beast. You can see him on the main page of the website. He’s number 34, holding the trophy.
Of course Miles wasn’t the only player on the roster. The Bulldogs had solid players in QB Ryan McNabb, RB/K Brandon Pointer and RB Tommy Traylor. Pointer may have been the best kicker in the state. To top it off, they were coached by Jack Shely.
Amherst did not dominate the regular season. In fact, they only 45’d six of their ten opponents. Part of that was due to several players being suspended for a few games mid-season. Part was Coach Shely knew he had the best player in the state, if he could just him healthy.
On the other side of the state, teams like 1994 state runner-up Milford and preseason #1-Mullin weren’t blowing through the competition either. Mullin lost regular season games to Covington in week two and Weldon Valley, CO in week four. Milford also lost Covington, 30-29, in week seven. Covington, who defeated both, didn’t even make the playoffs, having lost in week six to Trinidad, 17-14. They then lost a coin flip to Milford and Trinidad, so one of the best teams in the state watched the playoffs from home that year.
In the playoffs, Amherst dominated with Miles on the ground. They averaged over 70 points a game in wins over Miami, Jayton, Sands and Klondike, en route to the championship game. Their one weakness, however, was defense, as they also gave up an average of 41.5 points a game.
Milford cruised through Strawn and Jonesboro before their eastern ‘Battle of the Bulldogs’ (at Bulldog Stadium in Hamilton, no less) match-up with Mullin. For this round, it was Milford’s defense, behind Henry Coleman, Chris Pendleton and Jackie Winchester that kept the explosive Mullin offense silenced in a 32-27 victory. In the semifinals, the defense again came up big in a 29-6 win over Panther Creek.
So it was deemed the ‘Battle of the Bulldogs II’, when Amherst and Milford played for a second-straight title on Saturday, December 16 at the Mustang Bowl in Sweetwater.
Although defense had been such a key in the last two Milford playoff games, the eastern Bulldogs would have no answer for Miles. The star running back scored on runs of 1, 15, 35, 47 and 68-yards, giving Amherst a 38-0 lead and looking to close the door by halftime.
It was all but over when Milford, facing a third-and-long from their own side of the field came to life. Chris Pendleton was being chased in the backfield. He avoided a sack then found an open Corey Johnson downfield for a 47-yard touchdown.
Milford got the ball back and Pendleton again found Johnson for another 17-yard touchdown, cutting the Amherst lead to 38-16 at the half.
Milford couldn’t really make much more headway and the teams exchanged scores throughout the second half. Along the way, Miles returned a kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown and rushed for scores of 5, 50 and 40-yards.
In the end, Amherst, behind the herculean effort of Miles, won 72-48.
Miles finished with 420 yards on 27 carries. Milford’s Pendleton completed 19-of-38 passes for 366 yards through the air.
A complete box score is in this issue of The Huntress Report, http://sixmanfootball.com/stuff/THR/THR-01191996.pdf.
NOTES:
-- In five playoff games, Miles rushed for 1685 yards and 39 touchdowns. His kickoff return for a touchdown in the championship game gave him an incredible 40 touchdowns for the playoffs.
-- Pointer kicked a 30-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining in Amherst’s 12-12 tie over Meadow in the second round of 1994, to keep their title run alive that season. The Bulldogs advanced 6-3 on penetrations. (yes kids, that was a thing back in the days before overtime)
-- Salaiz rushed for 2685 yards during the regular season and surpassed over 10,000 for his career. He was hampered in the playoffs with a sprained ankle.
-- It was a banner year for national media attention in six-man, as Amherst was featured on The Today Show, Mullin was featured in Texas Monthly and Guthrie was filmed for an NFL-films documentary, Football in America that was shown the following year. Petey Salaiz was also featured on the Texas Country Reporter.
-- Ronnie Crumpton was the assistant coach for Leonard Buffe at Mullin that year.
-- If you want to see some current coaches’ names, look at the all-state issue of The Huntress Report from that year, where players like junior QB from Sidney Craig Steele and the junior RB from Blackwell Nathan Hayes are listed, to name a few. http://sixmanfootball.com/stuff/THR/THR-01191996.pdf
The year was 1995, and from the get-go, the defending state champions from Amherst were not getting much respect. They weren’t even the highest-ranked Bulldogs in the preseason.
I have to include myself in this statement as well because I was on the Mullin Bulldog Train. Mullin, who had fallen in a close 1994 quarterfinal, 32-30, to Milford, was loaded with not only Petey Salaiz, but also Charlie Smith, Landon Buffe and Bobby Teague. Mullin was also slated to face the top team in Colorado, Weldon Valley early in the season.
I got an early taste of what was to come, however, when I drove to Hermleigh in August for a scrimmage between the two powerhouses, as Amherst steamrolled Mullin.
While Petey Salaiz was a slighter, shifty back, Amherst had the most dominating player of the time, DeWayne Miles. In 1995, Miles turned out to be unstoppable.
Listed at 6-2, 220-pounds, Miles was a beast. You can see him on the main page of the website. He’s number 34, holding the trophy.
Of course Miles wasn’t the only player on the roster. The Bulldogs had solid players in QB Ryan McNabb, RB/K Brandon Pointer and RB Tommy Traylor. Pointer may have been the best kicker in the state. To top it off, they were coached by Jack Shely.
Amherst did not dominate the regular season. In fact, they only 45’d six of their ten opponents. Part of that was due to several players being suspended for a few games mid-season. Part was Coach Shely knew he had the best player in the state, if he could just him healthy.
On the other side of the state, teams like 1994 state runner-up Milford and preseason #1-Mullin weren’t blowing through the competition either. Mullin lost regular season games to Covington in week two and Weldon Valley, CO in week four. Milford also lost Covington, 30-29, in week seven. Covington, who defeated both, didn’t even make the playoffs, having lost in week six to Trinidad, 17-14. They then lost a coin flip to Milford and Trinidad, so one of the best teams in the state watched the playoffs from home that year.
In the playoffs, Amherst dominated with Miles on the ground. They averaged over 70 points a game in wins over Miami, Jayton, Sands and Klondike, en route to the championship game. Their one weakness, however, was defense, as they also gave up an average of 41.5 points a game.
Milford cruised through Strawn and Jonesboro before their eastern ‘Battle of the Bulldogs’ (at Bulldog Stadium in Hamilton, no less) match-up with Mullin. For this round, it was Milford’s defense, behind Henry Coleman, Chris Pendleton and Jackie Winchester that kept the explosive Mullin offense silenced in a 32-27 victory. In the semifinals, the defense again came up big in a 29-6 win over Panther Creek.
So it was deemed the ‘Battle of the Bulldogs II’, when Amherst and Milford played for a second-straight title on Saturday, December 16 at the Mustang Bowl in Sweetwater.
Although defense had been such a key in the last two Milford playoff games, the eastern Bulldogs would have no answer for Miles. The star running back scored on runs of 1, 15, 35, 47 and 68-yards, giving Amherst a 38-0 lead and looking to close the door by halftime.
It was all but over when Milford, facing a third-and-long from their own side of the field came to life. Chris Pendleton was being chased in the backfield. He avoided a sack then found an open Corey Johnson downfield for a 47-yard touchdown.
Milford got the ball back and Pendleton again found Johnson for another 17-yard touchdown, cutting the Amherst lead to 38-16 at the half.
Milford couldn’t really make much more headway and the teams exchanged scores throughout the second half. Along the way, Miles returned a kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown and rushed for scores of 5, 50 and 40-yards.
In the end, Amherst, behind the herculean effort of Miles, won 72-48.
Miles finished with 420 yards on 27 carries. Milford’s Pendleton completed 19-of-38 passes for 366 yards through the air.
A complete box score is in this issue of The Huntress Report, http://sixmanfootball.com/stuff/THR/THR-01191996.pdf.
NOTES:
-- In five playoff games, Miles rushed for 1685 yards and 39 touchdowns. His kickoff return for a touchdown in the championship game gave him an incredible 40 touchdowns for the playoffs.
-- Pointer kicked a 30-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining in Amherst’s 12-12 tie over Meadow in the second round of 1994, to keep their title run alive that season. The Bulldogs advanced 6-3 on penetrations. (yes kids, that was a thing back in the days before overtime)
-- Salaiz rushed for 2685 yards during the regular season and surpassed over 10,000 for his career. He was hampered in the playoffs with a sprained ankle.
-- It was a banner year for national media attention in six-man, as Amherst was featured on The Today Show, Mullin was featured in Texas Monthly and Guthrie was filmed for an NFL-films documentary, Football in America that was shown the following year. Petey Salaiz was also featured on the Texas Country Reporter.
-- Ronnie Crumpton was the assistant coach for Leonard Buffe at Mullin that year.
-- If you want to see some current coaches’ names, look at the all-state issue of The Huntress Report from that year, where players like junior QB from Sidney Craig Steele and the junior RB from Blackwell Nathan Hayes are listed, to name a few. http://sixmanfootball.com/stuff/THR/THR-01191996.pdf
