More News

Click here to see the video

Forty years after a group of "farm kids" took the county by storm as Paint Branch High School's first football team—and an undefeated one, at that—they returned full-circle to their home turf last Friday night to be the last team to ever walk off the school's current field.

Twenty-eight players, three coaches and four managers returned for PB40, a celebration of 40 years of athletics as the school prepares to start construction on its new building and stadium.

Despite the decades between the '69 team and their glory days, it was as though nothing had changed, the team members said. As they waited outside the stadium for the game against rival Springbrook to begin, they hugged and teased each other about Head Coach Mike McNerny's severest form of punishment: making players hunt for a blade of grass he could whistle from.

It's a form of punishment that was necessary, McNerny said, if only to create a bond within the team over having a common enemy.

"It was a new school, so one of the difficulties we had was coming together and establishing tradition," he said.

The thing the team cared about the most was each other, he said, something that helped bring them together. Despite tense race relations in the county at the time, "it never touched the school and it never touched the team," he said.

The team was unstoppable, the teammates remember.

Twins and teammates Brian and Bruce Smith, a rambunctious duo who were a part of the schools drama club and track team in addition to playing football, reflected on one memorable time when Brian cleared the way for Bruce to run a touchdown.

"It was wide as a truck," Bruce remembered. "The only thing I remember seeing is the bottom of your feet," his brother said.

The two said the foundation of their success in life came from McNerny's coaching and being part of such a trailblazing team. Their team created a buzz that can still be felt throughout the school, according to school Athletic Director Jeff Sullivan.

"I just met [McNerny] tonight and got chills through my body," he said. When the '69 team walked into the current team's pre-game spaghetti dinner, they were greeted with a round of applause and a standing ovation, he added.

"It was just moving," he said. "The kids were really into it. You know, they want to win this game for the '69 guys."

It's a relationship that goes both ways, the 1969 team said.

"The guys are coming together as a team," said former captain and running back Ron Jeffries. "That's the way we got together in 1969 and that's the way we want to do it tonight. We're here as a team to support the team of 2009."

Four quarters and a tough loss later, Springbrook is headed to the playoffs. But the memories from the game, which brought back alums from as far as California and St. Luis, are what will likely stand out to the '69 team.

"The biggest thing is right here now," Jeffries said, putting his arms around teammates Dave Walter and Don Blocher. "We're coming together after all these years. It's tremendous the way this all came together."