Introductorally, the editorial staff would like you to know that the enclosed photocopy is the most prized and valuable artifact housed in our collection, one that is kept in a hermetically sealed case and held under lock and key in a safety deposit box in a bank known only to the Gray Eagle office staff. Even your correspondent and editor lacks the security clearance required to locate and access this artifact. This clipping is the only known original and authentic copy of the Rochester Times Union report of a Brockport State game that is the mother lode of events that illustrate the ups and downs characteristic of the program's history and the players' experiences; one that provides clear and incontrovertible evidence of an oft-told, truly inexplicable and, without-a-doubt, the most controversial episode found in Golden Eagle lore, the famous Missed Game-Winning Big Game Kick of 1970.
Let us begin.
Before there was Scott Norwood, there was Gene Rudgers. And before there was Gene Rudgers, there was a rock-'em, sock-'em game of football. Mansfield, a member of the tough PSAC, had come to town looking to feast on bird. They were treated to a game bird alright, and the fight was on.
BIFF! POW! BOOM! The teams battled up and down the field all afternoon. Down 21-14 late in the game and eschewing a third-down punt, we scored when Butts hit Duke with a beautiful pass, bringing us within a point of the Mountaineers, and the crowd to the ropes surrounding the field. Again eschewing the punt, we went for two but, according to one of our featured actors in this drama, the flight path of a duck of unknown origin and species intersected with that of another Driscoll pass, the ball dropped harmlessly to the ground, and the duck exited stage-left. It looked like we were on the ropes, but a few minutes remained.
BIFF! POW! BOOM! The Golden Eagle defense pounded the Mounty offense and held. We had the ball back and our O-Line proceeded to carve up the opposition. With thirteen seconds to go and the ball within chip-shot range for a field goal, we again eschewed the punt, and the aforementioned Gene Rudgers - until now a stalwart of the line - motioned for his pal, holder Gary Loudenslager. It is at this very point that the game - and our hopes - collapse under the weight of the unfolding drama, accounts of what transpired diverge, and our story enters the pantheon of fantastical Golden Eagle lore.
It goes unsaid that the ill-fated kick sailed wide right. To this day, Gene claims that Gary missed the tee when placing the ball, setting it down a full three inches right of center, thus forcing Gene to swipe at the ball rather than follow through directly. Gene claims that he pulled a groin muscle in the act, and his abilities were diminished for the remainder of the season.
For his part, Gary insists that his placement was dead-on and that Gene, possibly distracted by a duck of unknown origin and species hobbling around in the end zone, simply missed the kick.
Well, the primary actors in this drama have long entertained us with their contradictory and hyperbolic accounts of this episode. And some of us have long wondered what actually happened back there, as we were just going about our business protecting these two .....
...until recently, when photographic evidence emerged that captured the precise moment in question.
We'll have that picture for you soon!
Frank Connell, #75
Right Tackle doing his job on that play
Rochester, NY
Note:
Aspects of this account have been fact-checked by Mike Driscoll, Ron LaDuke, and John Owens. Mike reports that the aforementioned touchdown pass was, indeed, a beautiful one. Duke reports that it was the only one he saw from Butts all season. Johnny confirms the BIFF! POW! BOOM! that characterized the game and claims to have told Coach to, and I quote, "eschew the punt" on all three aforementioned occasions.