.OYEER
Mke Bumgamer Picks Up Key First Doum^ Mounties Win 21-14^
Best Season Since ^64
K1b(s Momitelo qnarterlMMik Mike BumgEraer (7)
>1* knocked Into mbit bjr nn unidentified Beat Oneton
defender after picking op a key flret down In km’b
HMtee By Ouy Stewart
game-winning tonchdown drive Friday at EO’e
Arrowhead Stadlnm. Mountlea won, tl-14, cloalng out a
Ihie 8-g aeaMn In Southweatem Oonferenoe play.
fOnge Mountain's Hountalneera
ck>aed out their moat successful
football season In 13 years Friday
night at Bast Oaaton with a 21-14
victory over the Warriors.
ITie win gave Ooach Bobby Jones’
charges a final 7-8 record In South
western Conference play and an 8-2
overall mau-k.
ITie Mountaineers marched 68
yards in the fourth period to snap a
14-14 tie and complete their season
with two straight wins. They won six
atralght In early season and were
ranked as the lOth best 8-A team In
North Carolina before losing back to
back games to Shelby and South
Point.
Friday’s victory left them In a tie
for third place with South Point In
the final SWC standings. The Red
Raiders were upset 26-30 by R-S
Central In their finale Friday in
Belmont and dropped out of a three-
way tie tor the title. Shelby and
Chase finished as co-champs and
advance to the Western N. C. High
Schools Activities Association
playoffs.
Mike Bumgarner, KMHS senior
quarterback who led the Mounties to
a 19-8-2 mark In his three years as
Held general, had the honor of
scoring the Mountaineers’ final
touchdown In their last year In the
WNCHSAA, which folds after the
1976-77 school year. Bumgarner
sneaked across from the one yard
line with eight minutes to play and
Bruce Valentine booted the third
straight extra points to provide the
victory margin.
Richard Ross, a 158-pound senior
halfback, gained his weight In yards
seriously after halftime, but at
tempted several passing "bombs”
that didn’t go off. KM’s defense held
Bast quarterback Grant Hoffman to
three completions In 16 attempts for
SI yards but In all fairness to the
Warrior signal caller, many perfect
passes were dropped by his
receivers.
Bumgarner, who led the SWC In
touchdown passes a year ago, put
oidy one pass In the air as the
Mountaineers elected to go with a
solid running attack.
KMHS threatened three times
without scoring. The Mounties drove
Inside the Warrior 10 every time,
losing the ball once on a fumble, and
again on a loss of downs. The third
drive Inside the 10 was halted by the
final buzzer.
THE STATISTICS
Thursday, November 11, 1976
rushing smd scored two long touch
downs do lead a KMHS ground
assault which netted 369 yards. It
was KM’S best night of the season In
rushing the football.
Rosa, whose 26-yard fourth period
TD toppled Oieriyvllle 21-20 a week
earlier, scored two first quarter
touchdowns on runs of 58 and SO
yards, then the Mountaineers
slacked off a bit until the game-
winning drive In the fourth period.
The Warriors, coached by former
KMHS athlete Jerry Adams, got a 20
yard TD run and a 10 yard scamper
from Richard Dill to tie the score at
14-aU at halftime.
The Warriors never threatened
First Downs
KM
17
EG
7
Yards Rushing
369
134
Passes
0-1
3-16
Yds. Passing
0
31
Passes Int. By
0
0
Fumbles Dost
2
0
Punts
3-26
6-88
Yds. Penalized
66
70
SCORE BY QUARTERS
TEAM 1 2 3 4T
KM 14 0 0 7 31
EG 7 7 0 0 14
SCORING
KM—Ross 63 run (Valentine kick)
BG-DIU 20 run (Patterson kick)
KM — Ross 39 run (Valentine
kick)
EG—Dill 10 run (Patterson kick)
KM — Bumgarner 1 run
(Valentine kick)
8-2 A Good Season,
But Wait Til Next Year
,Then Scores Winning TD In 21-14 KMHS Victory
■C.T.
Kings Mountain High’s foot
ball coach, Bobby Jones, might
‘be wishing his life away but the
j Mountaineer mentor says he
^ can’t wait until the 1677 football
scMcn.
Jones, you see, has all but 10
players returning off this year’s
KMHS team, which closed out Its
most successful season In 12
years last week with an 8-2
record.
Tile future Is Indeed bright.
"Our big goal this year was to
get In the playoffs,” Jones says,
"and we Just barefly missed out.
But even though we didn’t make
‘the playoffs, you couldn’t have
asked for a better bunch of guys.
I'm already looking forward to
next year because we have a lot
of people coming back."
Jones said he would have been
tlekled at the beglnlng of the
year if someone had t(dd him the
Mountaineers would finish 8-2.
“But,” he adds, "I’m not really
ever satisfied.”
Normally, an 8-2 record would
get a Southwestern Conference
team Into the playoffs. But this
year, three clubs — Shelby,
Oiase and South Point — went
Into the final game of the season
-with Just one loss i^ilece. South
Point’s 26-20 loss to R-S Central
psvTsnted a tta-breaklBg vote of
.^1
9TeWf\RT
the SWC coaches.
"I thought It would be hard for
anyone to go undefeated,” noted
Jones, whose coaching record at
KMHS stands at 84-22-4 for six
seasons. "I thought If we had a
good year It would be about 8-2."
The Mountaineers, who tied
South Point for third place, made
the biggest Improvement of any
team in the league. They finished
only 4-B-l a year ago, thus, they
doubled their vlctoiy output.
"The biggest key to our suc
cess,” says Jones, "was the
boys’ attitudes. “That, and the
fbct that our assistant coaches
did a real outstanding Job."
Jones made several changes In
the coaches’ assignments for ’76,
and they apparently paid off. He
assigned the various coaches
(Please Twa Ts Page 8B)
-
f -
XtaiiB Btonatala qaarterbaek Mike eeateni OoafereBoe tootball finale
Bumgarner (7) meaka Into the end with East Gaston at the Warriors’
none with the wtontog toaohdown In Arrowhead Stadium. Bumgarner’s
toaith qnartor at Frtdajrto fiaaih- ID snapped a 14-14 He and gave the
Mountatoeer* a 21-14 victory. The
win ^ve the Mountaineers an 8-2
record and their heat finish since
1964, when the Mountaineers cap
tured their last Southwestern
Oonferenoe title.
m
43
ROtmDINO OORNBB - Btogs Maantoln reserve
•qnarSsrhaok Jhnmy HaD (8) trlea to circle end on the
Bast OashMB dafanae hut la ahont to be etoppad by the
Whrrlore’ Onry OtHagsr. Also coming qn fMt lor Kant
Gaston la John Lewla (24). AcHon came In Friday’s
Southweatem Oonferenoe grid finale at Eaat Oaoton.
TOUCHDOWN RUN - Kings Mountain halfback
Richard Rosa (43) Is shown on one of'bis two flret half
touchdown runs In Friday’s 21-14 season-ending victory
at East Gaston. Throwing key blocks lor the Moun
taineers are Kelly Land (67) and Scott EMls (87). The
vtctory gave KMHS a final 8-2 record.