Blast from the Past: 1982 Stoney Creek Jr. Midgets were untouchable!

Published 4:38 pm Monday, April 24, 2023

BY C. Y Peters

 One of the best Jr. Midget football teams came out of Stoney Creek in 1982.  David Crockett coached the team with assistant coaches Perry Perkins, offensive coordinator;  Terry Peters, defensive coach; Pat Hampton, line coach; Kyle Nidiffer, defensive coach and Burt Johnson, business manager.

    Not only did this team go undefeated all season, but they never allowed a point to be scored against them.  In the first few games, they beat Happy Valley 28-0, then Cloudland 33-0.  They then blanked Johnson County and Central before beating Happy Valley for a second time 27-0.  Their lowest scoring game came when Hampton forfeited, allowing the Creekers a 6-0 win.  They would finish the regular season with a 20-0 win over Johnson County, and a 33-0 win at Central.

   The Creekers would face a good Johnson City team which they won 27-0.  The big test would come when Eastside, the Elizabethton boys club team, who was undefeated, challenged the Stoney Creekers.  When the dust had cleared, the scoreboard read Creekers 45-Eastside 0.  A large crowd was on hand at Unaka High School to witness the game.  The Creekers record stood at 12-0. They put up 360 points and their backs rushed for over 5,000 yards.

 Most of the boys had played together since they were in grasscutters.  Chris Crockett, son of Coach David Crockett, was the quarterback.

David Harrell, Johnny Ensor, and Ralph “Duck” Buckles were the running backs and fullback.  On defense, Shane Taylor, John Cable and Barry Laney were the key players.

   Coach Crockett said, “This was the finest group of boys assembled on a team that I have ever had the pleasure to work with.”  The offensive line consisted of Will Hampton at center, Hayes and Taylor at guards, Mike Hooks and Joe Wilson at tackles. Mike Marley and Mark Peters were the ends.

   The team was selected to play in the Pop Warner Bowl game and would have to travel to Gastonia, North Carolina and play the Gastonia Police Academy Pop Warner team that had not lost a game in three years.  This would be the first team that scored on the Creekers all year and would lead 6-0 until 1:57 left to play when David Harrell would score the tieing touchdown and then he would add the two-point conversion for the unbeaten Stoney Creek team.

  Former player Mitchell Parlier said, “It was the greatest touchdown I ever saw. The play was a pitch to the right and David went right but it was all blocked up, so he went back around and to the left but pursuit was there, so he reversed again to the right and got into the end-zone, and we won the game. He looked like Barry Sanders, it was awesome but you should have seen the size of the other team; they were huge and I remember looking over at one on the defensive side, and he had a mustache and that’s pretty wild for 11- 12 years old.”

  Melody Crockett said, “David talked about this team all the time!

If you knew him, you knew he loved that “coaching moment “ with his Stoney Creek team! He was so proud of the Stoney Creek Youth Football team and their picture is in our home office! He always displayed it proudly! I also have the championship trophy that this team brought home! Great Memory! David would be so Proud!

   A large crowd gathered at the 19E bypass and Broad Street to welcome the team back home.

Johnny Ensor said “that we had good coaching but the dads that were nearly always there hanging out coaching all of us was a big part of us being good. And that has been missing for a long time in youth sports.”