A History of Nebraska 8-Man Football - 1960 All-State/Final Rankings

*167 Teams played 8-Man football in 1960*

The number of schools playing 8-Man football flattened out a bit in 1960, increasing from 163 to 167.

Thirteen 8-Man football teams finished with unbeaten records in 1960.

Fremont Bergan finished the year 9-0-1, Bellwood Marietta, Bennett, Indianola, Madrid and Johnson all completed the year at 9-0.

Wolbach and Friend went 8-0-1, while Record scoring Fairfield (640 points), Amherst and Winnebago ended up 8-0.

Wausa completed their 1960 campaign at 7-0, while Lynch concluded their season with a 6-0-2 mark.

*1960 Eight-Man Football Final OVERALL Top 10*

1. Fairfield, (8-0) {640 points scored, 13 allowed}

69 Bladen……...6 - 63 Doniphan….7

100 Juniata……0 - 77 Giltner……...0

91 Davenport…0 -105 Roseland….0

80 Campbell..…0 - 55 Kenesaw…..0

Coach-Howard Zook

2. Fremont Archbishop Bergan (9-0-1)

40 Ceresco……....7 - 13 xLeigh………………….........13

40 Cedar Bluffs…7 - 14 xNorfolk Sacred Heart….0

39 Prague………...7 - 14 Valparaiso………………......0

47 Mead……….....12 - 54 Humphrey St. Francis….7

60 Millard………..20 - 1 *Millard…………………. .....0

x(11-Man games) *(forfeit)

Coach-Lou Wewel

3. Amherst (8-0) {382-93}

40 Hildreth.…….6 - 52 Overton……20

33 Loomis……..13 - 65 Wilcox……....6

47 Axtell………...7 - 53 Sumner……..21

47 Pleasanton…7 - 55 Elm Creek…..13

Coach-Cecil Stutzman

4. Winnebago (8-0) {298-65}

54 Dakota City…20 - 31 Beemer…...0

31 Roseland……..19 - 37 Homer…....7

33 Walthill………..0 - 37 Decatur…...6

41 Emerson……....6 - 44 Bancroft….13

Coach-Keith Richey

5. Friend (8-0-1) {378-68}

20 Fairmont……6 - 59 Beaver Crossing….0

41 Davenport…13 - 52 Trumbull…………..18

46 Exeter……...13 - 81 Bruning…………......0

40 Milford………0 - 18 Lawrence……….....18

21 Dorchester….0

Coach-Chuck Sukovaty

6. Fairmont (7-1) {269-74}

6 Friend……....20 - 40 Exeter…………....14

14 Lawrence….13 - 68 Chester……….. ....9

55 Bruning…….0 - 32 Milford………….....6

41 Davenport….6 - 13 York St. Joseph….6

Coach-Charles Findley

7. Falls City Sacred Heart (7-1) {303-124}

54 Salem…………….....6 - 54 Stella……………......0

33 Dawson-Verdon…14 - 14 xSeneca, Kan.…...54

25 Lawrence…………..24 - 62 Odell……………....20

27 xHumboldt………….7 - 54 Beatrice St. Joe....8

x(11-Man game)

Coach-The Reverend Dennis Hotovy

8. Lawrence (6-2-1) {390-70}

38 Davenport……...0 - 51 xNelson…..0

13 Fairmont………..14 - 69 Bruning.…7

24 Falls City S.H...25 - 73 Chester…...6

53 Bladen…………....0 - 61 Edgar……..0

18 Friend…………....18

x(11-Man game)

Coach-Don Janda

9. Johnson (9-0) {373-131}

39 Table Rock………...0 - 39 Brock…….....18

51 Sterling……………...0 - 40 Adams……...18

32 Dawson-Verdon…19 - 53 Palmyra…...18

33 Stella…………….....20 - 35 Peru Prep...20

51 Talmage…………....18

Coach-Al Stiers

10. York St. Joseph (8-1) {390-20}

20 Edgar…………….....0 - 53 McCool Junction…0

41 Shelby…………….....0 - 45 Rising City………....7

31 Bradshaw….…….....0 - 6 Fairmont………….....13

12 Beaver Crossing…..0 - 45 Utica……………….....0

33 Gresham…………....0

Coach-Jerald Melcher

If you recall, 8-Man football had so teams playing that World-Herald prep rater Gregg McBride had a set of Class A and Class B Eight Man ratings all season long, then at the conclusion of the football season, he continued with the A and B Top Tens but then combined the two for an OVERALL 8-Man Top 10.

The OVERALL Top Ten is obviously above, but I wanted to include both Class A and Class B below for historical purposes.

*1960 Eight-Man Football Final CLASS “A” Top 10*

1. Fremont Bergan, (9-0-1)

2. Winnebago, (8-0)

3. Friend, (8-0-1)

4. Falls City Sacred Heart, (7-1)

5. Johnson, (9-0)

6. Sutherland, (8-1)

7. Hershey, (8-1)

8. Spalding Academy, (6-1-1)

9. Wausa, (7-1)

10. Valparaiso, (6-2)

*1960 Eight-Man Football Final CLASS “B” Top 10*

1. Fairfield, (8-0)

2. Amherst, (8-0)

3. Fairmont, (7-1)

4. Lawrence, (6-2-1)

5. York St. Joseph, (8-1)

6. Madrid, (9-0)

7. Bellwood Marietta, (9-0)

8. Lynch, (6-0-2)

9. Bennet, (9-0)

10T. Wolbach, (8-0)

10T. Indianola, (9-0)

And then……..there’s this team in Fairfield that scores like no other Nebraska high school team has ever scored before. They blitzed eight opponents to the tune of an average score of 80 to 1.6.

That’s correct, 640 points scored. 13 given up. 100 plus points scored twice.

Who did this team play, the Sisters of the Poor eight times?

Not by a longshot. Actually, if you take away the Fairfield loss, six of the blue and gold clad Eagles opponents won a majority of their games in 1960.

Their eight opponents final 1960 record (NOT including the loss to the might Fairfield) looked like this: Bladen (4-3-1); beaten 69-6, Juniata (5-2); beaten 100-0, Davenport (4-3); beaten 91-0, Campbell (3-2-1); beaten 80-0, Doniphan (6-1-1); beaten 63-7, Giltner (3-5); beaten 77-0, Roseland (1-6); beaten 105-0, and Kenesaw (7-1); beaten 55-0.

The now, seemingly legendary backfield of quarterback Marion Fike and backs Joe Heckenlively, Tom Zook and Fenton Crookshank was lethal to say the least.

Coach Howard Zook’s 1960 Eight-Man Dream Team scored 93 touchdowns, 80 (one-point) conversions and a safety.

Seventy-four of the touchdowns came on runs and 19 came on passes thrown by Fike.

All four of Fairfield’s backs scored over 100 points in 1960. (Rushing yards were seldom kept back then. Points scored was the measuring stick)

Joe Heckenlively led the way with 220 points (30 touchdowns and 40 PATS), QB Marion File was next with 138 (20 TDs/18 PATS).

Tom Zook (who missed one game) followed with 129 points (20 TDs, 9 PATS) and Fenton Crookshank racked up 110 points (17 TDS/8 PATS.

If you figure those games consisted of four 12-minute quarters and you divided the 640 points by the number of Fairfield possessions, it’s as if they scored two points every minute.

What about Special teams? Glad you asked.

Fairfield kicked off 101 times in 8 games and received just 11 times (once after a safety). And Coach Howard Zook never did know how efficient his kicking game was because his team DID NOT punt in four of the games and did so just 5 times all season.

And what about that Eagles DEFENSE? Well, Fairfield opponents had possession 113 times during those EIGHT games and could muster just one touchdown coming on a pass play and the other on a kick return.

I did see this team play a game back in 1960. My Dad drove us down to Fairfield to watch this bunch play on the little field right South off of Highway 74.

The one thing I do remember is that Coach Zook did not substitute much. The roster was small at 16 that year and I recall seeing that famous backfield in the game to the end. They were something to behold, especially Heckenlively, who coached for many years at Kenesaw.

Last, and certainly not least, is the 1960 OVERALL All-State Football team plus the Class "A" and Class "B" All-State teams before the OVERALL squad was chosen.

*1960 8-Man OVERALL All-State Football Team*

End----Emmit Bosshamer-Amherst, 6-1, 188, Junior, (16 years old)

End----Gerald Troxel-Brady, 6-2, 190, Senior (17 yo)

Guard-Herbert Beck-Fremont Bergan, 5-10, 175, Senior, (17 yo)

Guard-Myron Petr-Lawrence, 6-2, 232, Senior, (17 yo)

Center-Robert Hoins-Fairfield, 5-9, 170, Junior, (16 yo)

Back--*Joe Heckenlively-Fairfield, 6-2, 172, Senior, (17 yo)

Back---Miles Otoupal-York St. Joseph, 5-9, 158, Senior, (18 yo)

Back---Steve McGuire-Fremont Bergan, 5-10, 175, Senior, (17 yo)

*1960 8-Man Class “A” All-State Football Team*

End----Rudy Hernandez-Hershey

End----Dale Engel-Friend

Guard-Herbert Beck-Fremont Bergan

Guard-Jim Copeland-Sutherland

Center-Tom Rice-Fremont Bergan

Back---John Tompkins-Winnebago

Back---Douglas Voegele-Falls City Sacred Heart

Back---Steve McGuire-Fremont Bergan

*1960 8-Man Class “B” All-State Football Team*

End----Emmit Bosshamer-Amherst

End----Gerald Troxel-Brady

Guard-Terry Parkening-Waterloo

Guard-Myron Petr-Lawrence

Center-Robert Hoins-Fairfield

Back--*Joe Heckenlively-Fairfield

Back---Miles Otoupal-York St. Joseph

Back---Dennis Thorell-Loomis

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