Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right: High School Football in Illinois

Chapter 4: The Games

4 The Games Glenbrook North 19, East St. Louis 13 (OT): 1974 To this day, there are confusing twists to Glenbrook North’s dramatic 19–13 overtime victory over East St. Louis in the championship game of the 1974 Class 5A playoff that haven’t been explained to everybody’s satisfaction and continue to leave others shaking their heads in disbelief. For example, even players who were there wonder if the Western Union telegram that Glenbrook North coach Harold Samorian read during halftime really was sent by Chicago mayor Richard J.Daley.Or was it just another inspirational ploy by Coach Sam? “All Chicagoland is pulling for you to bring home the state championship. Ignore the underdog rating. In our book you are the best. Borrow from West Point their slogan ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ Good luck. Richard J. Daley, Mayor.” Jack Moller, the Spartans’All-State linebacker, wasn’t sure it was for real.“I thought it was a hoax, a gimmick he was using to jack us up. I never saw the telegram until a few years later when it appeared in a newspaper article. I guess it really was for real,” he said. Even the very last play of the game was fodder for debate.The official play-by-play reported that Glenbrook North’s Rick Voight intercepted East St. Louis quarterback Maurice Tolson’s fourth-down pass at the goal line. But the intended receiver, Kellen Winslow, thought Moller had “stuck his hand in and tipped the ball.” In fact, defensive back Brian Edwards picked it off. It was the same Brian Edwards who had charged up from his deep position in the secondary to tackle Evanston’s Brian Rosinski short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt, preserving Glenbrook North’s 7–6 victory in the playoff opener. “On fourth down, East St. Louis had a great wide receiver in Eugene Byrd, who went to Michigan State. He was the primary target,” Edwards recalled.“Barry Marks and Steve Potysman were covering him. I looked in my area. I could see [Tolson] was looking for Winslow.When he threw it, I went for the ball. I hit it with my right hand and it went straight up in the air. All I could think of was Winslow was 6–5 and I was 5–10. I caught it and Winslow fell on top of me. “The game was over. I couldn’t believe it just happened. It went from ‘Oh my God, where is my receiver?’ to ‘Catch the ball’ to ‘I can’t believe we have won.’ Someone grabbed the ball. I don’t have it. I would love to know where it is. It was on the 112   / Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right ground and I went to get it but we started to celebrate and someone took it and ran off with it. It’s probably on eBay right now.” It was the most improbable and stereotypical game of all, a state championship between all-white Glenbrook North and all-black East St. Louis, the rich kids from the North Shore pitted against the poor, hardscrabble ruffians who lived by the Big Muddy. Some said the fate of the Illinois High School Association’s newest postseason event was at stake. If so, they agreed, the outcome saved the state playoff. Samorian evaluated East St. Louis’ talent, examined the scouting reports, and determined that the Flyers “should have been 50 points better than us.” East St. Louis sent three players to the NFL. Glenbrook North sent three players to Harvard. East St. Louis crushed Naperville Central 35–0 in the quarterfinals and Chicago Catholic League power Gordon Tech 46–0 in the semifinals.When the Chicago Tribune listed pre-playoff favorites, Glenbrook North wasn’t one of them. Glenbrook North was coming off a 7–2 season, having lost to Deerfield in the final game for the conference title.There were high expectations for 1974. Samorian determined he had good team speed, very intelligent players, and a good defense headed by Moller,an All-State candidate at middle linebacker. He brought up sophomore running back Greg Woodsum,shifted Bill Rogan from fullback to guard to team with Gary Rockoff, and installed Don Broadbridge at quarterback. Broadbridge had started as a third-stringer on the freshman B squad. “We knew the state playoff was...