First, can I say how happy I am to be back. Keeping Montgomery County sports history is a passion of mine and I have always looked forward to sharing with you and I am glad to have that opportunity once again.
While we are about two weeks away from the beginning of the 2024 football season here is a look back from where we came from and other preseason tidbits.
Prior to the 1971 season there were four teams in Montgomery County playing football. Those four were: Crawfordsville, Coal Creek, Ladoga and New Market.
By far Crawfordsville had the longest history. Its program started in 1901 and the first recorded score was a 5-0 loss to Attica on Oct. 26. The first win for the Athenians was recorded Nov. 2 when Crawfordsville defeated county foe Waveland. The team ended the first season 1-4. Attica beat the Athenians twice and Waveland and Waynetown defeated the bigger school once.
Crawfordsville posted an undefeated season in 1906 when it went 2-0 and was undefeated again in 1909 when it posted an impressive 8-0 record under head coach Dave Glascock.
Little did anyone know that would be the last undefeated season for the program. It did have an unbeaten team in 1968 when Glenn Knecht’s team went 8-0-1. The lone blemish that year was a 13-13 tie with Central Catholic.
Leaping to 1958, New Market began its football program. Unfortunately, it did not enjoy a lot of success. Records are not available for the 1958 season but from 1959 to 1970 the team compiled a record of 6-85-1. That included seven winless seasons. In 1967 the team were 0-9 and then went 0-10 the next two seasons. The best season for the school was a 2-7-1 year in 1970, the final year before consolidation.
Ladoga began playing in 1961 and compiled a 42-41-4 record under the leadership of Bill Bays all 10 seasons. The Canners’ best season came in 1967 when the team went 7-3. In its final season in 1970 the team was 1-9.
Coal Creek began playing in 1964 and had a great run under head coach Pat McDowell, who would go on to become the first North Montgomery head coach in 1971. The Bearcats went 32-21-2 and that included the undefeated 9-0 team in 1969. That team also won the Wabash River Conference title with an 8-0 league record.
As we all know, consolidation began in 1971 and next time we will begin from there.
Barry Lewis has been involved in Montgomery County sports for nearly 50 years. He has a passion for keeping its rich history and tradition alive.
