If you think this year's defense is awesome...

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

It's gotten a bit lost now, but this week is an appropriate time to review the Fort Scott Community College football team of 40 seasons ago. That year the Greyhounds went 11-0 and won its first and, as of now, only national championship.

The FSCC team that will play in the Citizens Bank Bowl Sunday afternoon is the only other team in school history that has won 11 games in a season. The 1970 team didn't have playoffs to fight through before its bowl game, but it did have to get by Garden City in its final game of the regular season to win the conference championship. The Broncbusters were the only team that season -- bowl game included -- to lose to the 'Hounds by less than 16 points.

Tailback Tommy Reamon, an NJCAA Hall of Famer, is revered for his exploits that season: 1,582 yards and 23 touchdowns, including 224 yards and three scores in the Shrine Bowl, the national championship game, against Mesa, Ariz.

There were other offensive greats as well, including quarterback Kurt Neiman, who threw for 1,311 yards to finish fourth in the nation in passing. Kicker Steve Hall was the leading scorer in the nation among kickers with 65 points -- he could hit 40-yard field goals during a time that college teams didn't emphasize the kicking game at all.

But if you think this year's defense is awesome, you ought to look at these numbers from 1970:

* The Greyhounds allowed 36.7 rushing yards per game. And that was second in the nation (Who was first?). During the first seven games, they allowed only 11 yards a game on the ground.

* The 'Hounds were second in the nation in total defense, allowing only 95.6 yards per game.

* The 1970 team allowed only 68 points the entire season (6.1 points per game). Mesa scored 20 of those in the bowl game.

* The 'Hounds shut out five opponents.

* They held opponents to negative-yards rushing in three different games.

* This is one that I have not ever personally seen or heard of until Tuesday: On October 24, 1970, FSCC held Coffeyville to negative yards rushing and passing in a 34-7 rout. The Red Ravens rushed for minus-11 yards and passed for minus-10.

Defenses and offenses have both changed greatly since 1970, but those numbers are impressive, no matter which era you look at them from.