Riverheads, Chilhowie a rematch 42 years in the making
Patrick Hite, phite@newsleader.comPublished 1:18 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2017 | Updated 5:39 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2017
When Riverheads and Chilhowie meet Saturday afternoon in Salem to decide the VHSL Class 1 state football championship, fans are hoping the weather will be a little nicer than the last— and only — time the two teams played.
Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-40s for Saturday's noon kickoff at Salem Football Stadium, but that will be balmy compared to the 1975 Region C championship game.
Riverheads and Chilhowie met Friday night, Nov. 14, 1975, in what many fans in attendance dubbed the Ice Bowl.
Terry Meeks, the Riverheads quarterback, remembers practicing on Thursday night at Staunton Memorial Stadium, where Friday night's game would be played.
Meeks said the weather was really nice on that Thursday, but a cold front came through overnight and the temperature dropped throughout the day Friday leading up to the game.
"I think the wind chill was down to about 5," Meeks said by telephone from his home in Richmond. "I can remember they had coffee cans with charcoal in them lit on the sideline for us to keep our hands warm."
Riverheads lost the game 25-7, scoring its only touchdown on a blocked punt with 23 seconds remaining in the game. Brian Fitzgerald picked up the ball at the Chilhowie 20 and ran it in for the score, according to the account of the game in the News Leader.
Still, just playing in the game was an historic moment for Riverheads and all of Augusta County. The Virginia High School League playoff system had only been in existence for a few years, but in 1975 Riverheads won the Alleghany Highlands District championship and became the first Augusta County School to earn a playoff berth, finishing the regular season 9-0-1, the one tie coming in a 7-7 contest with Wilson.
"It was the first time in the history of Augusta County that any school had gone undefeated," said Tony DeMacio, who was the Riverheads coach for 11 years, including that 1975 season. "That program, at that point, was starting to take off."
By 1974 the coach led Riverheads to a one-loss season, only losing to Parry McCluer. Jim Stout, the school's athletic director at the time, remembers losing to Parry McCluer on the last play of the game and missing out on the postseason.
"In those days, you were 9-1, you stayed home," Stout said earlier this week by telephone.
Meeks said it was a gradual climb for Riverheads under DeMacio.
"He was committed to being good in every area," Meeks said. "He really changed the whole complexion of how football was played at our school."
Then, the next season, Riverheads earned that playoff berth.
Riverheads was led by Bernard Stewart, who finished with 21 touchdowns and 1,044 yards in 1975.
But it may have been the defense that was most impressive for the Gladiators that season. The unit's nickname was the Night Stalkers, which came from the black helmets earned and worn by the best defensive players on the team. Stout said Riverheads only allowed 45 points for the entire regular season.
"You do the math on that," Stout said. "That's 4.5 a game. That's unbelievable."
Doug Brubeck, who now lives in Atlanta, was a free safety on that Night Stalker unit. He recalls how Riverheads used to shut opposing offenses down.
But he also remembers that wasn't the case against Chilhowie.
"The main thing I remember about the other team is that they were big, fast and really tough," Brubeck said. "They pretty much manhandled us."
Chilhowie finished with 248 total yards that night and scored all their points in the second half. The Chilhowie coach was Ron Ball, who went on to much success at both Stuarts Draft and Wilson Memorial, in addition to serving as athletic director at Robert E. Lee.
Ron Ball, center, was coach of the 1975 Chilhowie team that beat Riverheads for the Region C title. It was the last time these two schools played until this Saturday's state title game. (Photo: Submitted)
Stout said that, at the time, he didn't know much about Ball, but that would change over the years. After Stout moved from Riverheads and began working in the Augusta County School's central office as supervisor of athletics, he helped hire Ball as the Stuarts Draft coach.
In the News Leader's story about the game, Ball said the win was dedicated to one of his players, sophomore, David Neikirk, who attended his mother's funeral Friday afternoon and arrived in Staunton just before the start of the game.
Meeks, who played college football at Richmond and was on George Welsh's coaching staff for two seasons at the University of Virginia, remembers it being an emotional game for Chilhowie because of Neikirk.
"That really inspired his teammates to play their best," Meeks said. "They just outplayed us that night."
Chilhowie lost the next week to Clintwood, but finished the season 9-3 in Ball's second year as head coach. The team lost its first two games of the year before winning the next nine in a row.
Meanwhile, Riverheads returned to the playoffs the following season, losing to Parry McCluer 7-6. The Gladiators wouldn't return to the playoffs until 1983 and wouldn't get a playoff win until 2000, the year Riverheads won its first of four state championships.
Patrick Hite, phite@newsleader.comPublished 1:18 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2017 | Updated 5:39 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2017
When Riverheads and Chilhowie meet Saturday afternoon in Salem to decide the VHSL Class 1 state football championship, fans are hoping the weather will be a little nicer than the last— and only — time the two teams played.
Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-40s for Saturday's noon kickoff at Salem Football Stadium, but that will be balmy compared to the 1975 Region C championship game.
Riverheads and Chilhowie met Friday night, Nov. 14, 1975, in what many fans in attendance dubbed the Ice Bowl.
Terry Meeks, the Riverheads quarterback, remembers practicing on Thursday night at Staunton Memorial Stadium, where Friday night's game would be played.
Meeks said the weather was really nice on that Thursday, but a cold front came through overnight and the temperature dropped throughout the day Friday leading up to the game.
"I think the wind chill was down to about 5," Meeks said by telephone from his home in Richmond. "I can remember they had coffee cans with charcoal in them lit on the sideline for us to keep our hands warm."
Riverheads lost the game 25-7, scoring its only touchdown on a blocked punt with 23 seconds remaining in the game. Brian Fitzgerald picked up the ball at the Chilhowie 20 and ran it in for the score, according to the account of the game in the News Leader.
Still, just playing in the game was an historic moment for Riverheads and all of Augusta County. The Virginia High School League playoff system had only been in existence for a few years, but in 1975 Riverheads won the Alleghany Highlands District championship and became the first Augusta County School to earn a playoff berth, finishing the regular season 9-0-1, the one tie coming in a 7-7 contest with Wilson.
"It was the first time in the history of Augusta County that any school had gone undefeated," said Tony DeMacio, who was the Riverheads coach for 11 years, including that 1975 season. "That program, at that point, was starting to take off."
By 1974 the coach led Riverheads to a one-loss season, only losing to Parry McCluer. Jim Stout, the school's athletic director at the time, remembers losing to Parry McCluer on the last play of the game and missing out on the postseason.
"In those days, you were 9-1, you stayed home," Stout said earlier this week by telephone.
Meeks said it was a gradual climb for Riverheads under DeMacio.
"He was committed to being good in every area," Meeks said. "He really changed the whole complexion of how football was played at our school."
Then, the next season, Riverheads earned that playoff berth.
Riverheads was led by Bernard Stewart, who finished with 21 touchdowns and 1,044 yards in 1975.
But it may have been the defense that was most impressive for the Gladiators that season. The unit's nickname was the Night Stalkers, which came from the black helmets earned and worn by the best defensive players on the team. Stout said Riverheads only allowed 45 points for the entire regular season.
"You do the math on that," Stout said. "That's 4.5 a game. That's unbelievable."
Doug Brubeck, who now lives in Atlanta, was a free safety on that Night Stalker unit. He recalls how Riverheads used to shut opposing offenses down.
But he also remembers that wasn't the case against Chilhowie.
"The main thing I remember about the other team is that they were big, fast and really tough," Brubeck said. "They pretty much manhandled us."
Chilhowie finished with 248 total yards that night and scored all their points in the second half. The Chilhowie coach was Ron Ball, who went on to much success at both Stuarts Draft and Wilson Memorial, in addition to serving as athletic director at Robert E. Lee.
Ron Ball, center, was coach of the 1975 Chilhowie team that beat Riverheads for the Region C title. It was the last time these two schools played until this Saturday's state title game. (Photo: Submitted)
Stout said that, at the time, he didn't know much about Ball, but that would change over the years. After Stout moved from Riverheads and began working in the Augusta County School's central office as supervisor of athletics, he helped hire Ball as the Stuarts Draft coach.
In the News Leader's story about the game, Ball said the win was dedicated to one of his players, sophomore, David Neikirk, who attended his mother's funeral Friday afternoon and arrived in Staunton just before the start of the game.
Meeks, who played college football at Richmond and was on George Welsh's coaching staff for two seasons at the University of Virginia, remembers it being an emotional game for Chilhowie because of Neikirk.
"That really inspired his teammates to play their best," Meeks said. "They just outplayed us that night."
Chilhowie lost the next week to Clintwood, but finished the season 9-3 in Ball's second year as head coach. The team lost its first two games of the year before winning the next nine in a row.
Meanwhile, Riverheads returned to the playoffs the following season, losing to Parry McCluer 7-6. The Gladiators wouldn't return to the playoffs until 1983 and wouldn't get a playoff win until 2000, the year Riverheads won its first of four state championships.
