Sunday, October 19, 1997

Sweetwater Mustangs hold longest winning streak in area 11-man football

By Bill Hart / Abilene Reporter-News

Sports smorgasbord, while wondering whatever happened to former Goldthwaite athlete Doug Holtzclaw:

-- The Sweetwater Mustangs have won their last 35 regular-season games, currently the longest streak by an area 11-man school. Their last loss was in 1994 to Big Spring in the second game of the season.

Six-Man Gordon has the longest area streak at 36. The Longhorns tied Zephyr in the first game of the 1994 season, otherwise the record would have been 46 games. The last time Gordon lost a regular-season game was in the 1993 opener to Zephyr.

Gordon also has the current longest winning streak in the state, 22 games, after beating Gustine Friday night....

-- One of the walk-on football players at Texas Tech is freshman quarterback Shae McCutchen, son of former Tech running back Doug McCutchen, who played high school football at Bronte.

Shae played football at Amarillo Tascosa where his dad is on the coaching staff. Doug was Tech's first 1,000-yard rusher (1970).

Other walk-ons at Tech are former Winters quarterback John Paul Belew and Keith Cockrum of Goldthwaite, who is now playing some on defense as a Raider back as well as being on the special teams....

-- Former Cooper wide receiver Gary Grigsby, who was on Ray Overton's next-to-last team, has been coaching in the Fort Bend middle school system for the past 10 years, but recently finished his master's degree at the University of Houston. He graduated from Baylor in 1987....

-- Former Wylie football player Ken Blackman didn't start for the Cincinnati Bengals last week against the Tennessee Oilers because of a pulled hamstring muscle. It was the first time he hasn't started this season. He's doubtful today against Pittsburgh....

-- No one should have been surprised that Sul Ross beat McMurry in Alpine two Saturdays ago. The Indians have won only twice there in the last 11 years and only six times in 22 years.

McMurry head coach Steve Keenun also coached at Sul Ross and during his two years there, the Lobos won only two games, one against McMurry. The other was over Midwestern. Alpine is a long ride home winner or loser...

-- Recent wondering whatever happened to found former Cooper and Baylor University linebacker Steve Malpass selling heavy oil field equipment in the Houston area. He's married and has two daughters....

-- How popular are high school radio broadcasts? Well, KVRP in Haskell sold a record 51 spots, or 104 commercials, for last Friday's Munday-Knox City neighborhood rivalry contest.

The old record was 50 when Haskell and Stamford played in a key district game in 1993. Then came 41 sales when Albany met Schulenburg for the Class 2A state championship game in Waco. All sales were in Albany, none in Schulenburg...

-- Permian football coach Randy Mayes and University of North Texas football coach Matt Simon were roommates at Eastern New Mexico University during their college days.

A rumor heard in Andrews last week (and other places prior) has it that Mayes may be joining Simon's staff in the near future -- perhaps as early as next season....

-- When Hayden Fry sent his Iowa Hawkeyes against Michigan Saturday, it was his 403rd game and only Amos Alonzo Stagg (548), Pop Warner (457) and Bear Bryant (425) have coached in more games. Former Rice coach Jess Neely had been No. 4 (402).

Fry, who played high school football at Odessa High, previously coached at Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas.