Munday game won't be for weak hearts

By BILL HART/Staff Writer

Fans in Munday and Wheeler need to load up on heart pills. Their football teams clash Friday in Childress, and, if it is like the previous matchups, those with weak hearts need to stay home.

They have met four times since 1984 and three were not decided until late in the game. Munday managed to pull out three of the wins, but none matched the first one, also played in Childress.

Wheeler jumped to a 14-0 first-half lead, and it was 17-7 after the first play of the fourth quarter. Munday closed it to four points with 4:01 to play when Dent Offutt connected with tight end Kregg Sanders on a 51-yard touchdown pass.

Chances of victory seemed to fade when Wheeler got a first down on its next series, but Munday held and forced a punt - to the Moguls' 2-yard line with 1:25 to play.

Offutt completed three short passes to receiver Frankie Stinnett, who managed to get out of bounds after each catch to preserve time. Then he found Sanders open for about 20 yards, getting the ball to near midfield.

Then came the killer. Offutt rolled to his right, found no one open, them scrambled to his left, spotted a wide open Todd Thompson for a 55-yard touchdown with 44 seconds left for the winning score in a 20-17 victory. The Moguls then went on to win the Class A state crown.

"Offutt was something special when he scrambled because he was always looking for his receivers," said coach Jim Edwards, who is now at Coahoma. "About 85 percent of the quarterbacks think about running when they scramble.

'After we went ahead, defensive coordinator Randy Burks told me that we had scored too quick, but I was just happy to be in front."

The touchdown pass to Thompson was redemption because he had worked his way behind the Wheeler secondary late in the first half and dropped a sure TD pass. But he had no problems holding onto the ball on the winning score.

"We made up a formation in the huddle for that play," said Thompson, who now farms in Munday after a successful track career at Baylor University. "I ran a post route over the middle, and Frankie ran a deep curl to the left. They were playing a zone (defense) and their cornerback covered the flat and their safety went with Frankie.

"Once I got behind the linebacker, I was free because I had delayed a little out of the backfield and I don't think the safety ever saw me."

The next year (1985), the two teams met again and slugged it out. Wheeler scored early for a 7-0 lead, and Munday's hopes were dampened in the second quarter when Offutt departed with a broken collarbone that ended his season.

Edwards brought in sophomore Anthony Stinnett, who was a receiver and also the backup quarterback. But he directed the Moguls to a 14-7 win, scoring both touchdowns on 1-yard plunges. The deciding touchdown came with 8:39 to play, and the Moguls held Wheeler out of the end zone the rest of the way.

Wheeler finally beat the Moguls, 17-0, in 1987 en route to the Class A state championship, scoring all of its points in the first half. The Mustangs twice had to dig in deep in their end of the field to throw the shutout.

In 1990, the two teams met in Vernon, with Munday was ranked No. 1 in the state. Wheeler jumped to a 13-0 first-quarter lead, but Munday came back to grab a 14-13 lead at halftime. Terry Collier then broke for a 92-yard touchdown run, and Tyler Thompson went 73 yards on back-to-back series in the third quarter for a 28-13 lead.

Wheeler cut it to 28-20 with 10:09 to play, but after Bobby Dockins intercepted a pass, and Perry Collier scored on a 10-yard run with 5:09 left to put it out of reach, 34-20. The Moguls reached the finals before losing to Bartlett.

Munday goes into Friday's game with a 12-0 record and Wheeler is 8-3, but records mean nothing when these two hook up.