Field Goal!

From: Terry Brewer
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 12:19 PM
Subject: Coach Ward blog

Doc,
Hey, it's Terry Brewer here and I just wanted to say hi and thanks for the effort on behalf of Coach Ward. I had the privilege of being on Coach Ward's last Mustang team and also being Johnnie Compton's brother in law for many years. I knew early on the esteem that Johnnie held for Coach and I soon learned as I entered high school that he was not alone. All who came in contact with him where immediately aware of the aura that was Coach Ward. He had such an overpowering presence. He was also my principal for 3 years. Needless to say, I kept my nose clean and avoided any opportunities to face that potential trauma.

I can remember many humorous events that happened on the practice field with Coach Ward but the one memory that will always be foremost occurred the week of the Trenton game in 75. I know most Mustang fans will remember that game. It was the state's #2 vs. #3 in the game of the year in West Tenn. The game was hyped by the media and the entire town was fired up for the contest. But, all week long, Coach Ward kept stressing the kicking game--particularly field goals. Now,. up to that point in the season, we hadn't ATTEMPTED a FG. We hadn't even had a #1 kicker for the most part. Several people had been in the running but none had been consistent enough for Coach. Finally, sophomore Todd Hall had earned the job but had only had the chance to kick XP's. Well, the whole team had bought into the hype of the game and heard from the town folk about how good we were and by Thursday, had gotten a little too cocky. We had spent more time working on FG's that week than the entire season leading up to it combined. As the Thursday practice wound down, we were getting a little rowdy and just going through the motions as we finished up our kicking practice. After a poor snap, a lackadaisical effort and a missed kick, Coach Ward stopped practice and chewed our butts for a moment. He finished up his rant by saying, (quoted as I remember--maybe not exact but close) "a field goal is going to win this game for you". For all that remember, of course it came down to Todd kicking a 32 yd FG in the 4th quarter to put the Mustangs ahead and ultimately lead us to the win. It's like he knew how even the 2 teams were and how the game was going to evolve. Also, on the kick, a Mustang on the sidelines jumped up on the sidelines when the "good" signal was given and and bashed Coach (accidentally) in the head with his helmet. Of course it didn't phase Coach Ward but it should have driven him to his knees.

I typed a lot more than I intended when I started typing this but I couldn't help it. I add my condolences to Little Paul and Bobby--they both know how I felt about their dad. Hope my story triggered a fond memory for the Mustang faithful.

Terry