Jackson Highway Gang

From: Scott Portis

To

Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 1:57 PM

Subject: Re: Coach Ward

Joe, thanks for the blog. We all know the prowess of Coach Robinson, not only as a player but a very savy former Coach of the Mustangs. I am proud to be a next door neighbor of his mother-in-law and get to see Coach quite often, along with his brother-in-law and another former famous Mustang QB Lynn Brandon, when they come to visit. We stand in the back yard and talk Mustang football and often relive some of our old games.

Joe, I am reminded of the "Jackson Highway Gang" as we were known, a rough bunch of uncouth "country boys" as our city slicker friends called us. As I remember, the city boys would come calling to our field on Saturday for a little game of tackle football. Jimmy and Joe Fortner, Lynn Brandon, Mike "The Toe" McLemore, the Lumpkin boys, Donald Blankenship, Roy "Geno" Dill, the Chandler boys, Ralph Joyner, Chandler Peeples, Tommy and Bobby Crews, Scott and Tommy Portis, Ray Ivy, John Mitchell Smith, and least we not forget the female persusion- Ms Becky Presson and Ms. Betty Ann Portis made up the team. Geno Dill's mother looked out the window once and called her son over and said "Roy, you boys must take it easy on Betty Ann and Becky". Roy's reply "Mom, Betty Ann and Becky need to take it easy on us. Have you seen them hit?". As I remember, Betty Ann was a vicious tackler and was probably the second fastest runner on the field. Betty Ann was a little "salty" even when she got to high school. She went in the Lexington dressing room after a basketball game one night and "punched out" one of the Lexington players who had been holding her during the game. She probably could have made the high school football team. Anyway, you will remember that we broke Carl Holiday's arm one Saturday and Johnny Pitts fell victim to the brutality of the "Jackson Highway Gang" the very next Saturday-he got the same treatment and wound up in Dr. Douglass office for a cast. There was no third Saturday as word had gotten around and the white "arm bands" these guys were wearing was proof enough.

I am sure that these early days of playing football grew out of our love for the game but the town of Huntingdon has been a "football town" as long as I can remember. People like Coach Pudor, Coach Ward, Coach Bobby Hays, Coach Robinson, Coach Sturdivant, and Coach Mansfield have all been great leaders and motivators and have helped propel this love for the game. Football is such a character builder-it demands much, but the rewards in self esteem, self worth, team work, and respect for others in victory or defeat are worth the price.

Joe, thanks again for a good story and for remembering a great football player, Jerry Robinson, and his coach, Coach Ward.

Scotty Portis