SPORTS
NFL re-watch series: The Catch
After a week off, NFL re-watch is back with one of the most memorable moments in league history that unfortunately came at the expense of the Dallas Cowboys.
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cowboys 28-27 in the NFC Championship game to punch the franchises first ticket to the Super Bowl. The 49ers scored the final touchdown in the last minute thanks a young quarterback leading the way named Joe Montana.
Throwing off his back foot as defenders bore down on him, he threw up a pass from that looked like he was throwing the ball away only for his receiver Dwight Clark to come out of nowhere to snag it with his fingertips.
The play would simply be known as “The Catch” in NFL lore is still considered one of the leagues most memorable moments. It not just the improbable play in a high pressure situation, but what it would come to represent as the decade wore on.
Dallas was coming out of the 1970s with the moniker America’s Team. Even with quarterback Roger Staubach retired, there were many players from that era that were still mainstays for the franchise.
The team still had Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett and Randy White to lead the offense and defense while Coach Tom Landry had turned the team into an institution of excellence by that point.
Danny White stepped in at quarterback and the Cowboys kept on winning, getting to the NFC championship game in 1980 before losing to divisional foe Philadelphia. The 1981 season was no different with Dallas going 12-4 and making it to the conference championship game for the fifth straight year.
San Francisco was the young upstart team that the 1970s had not been kind to. The 49ers had not made the playoffs since 1972, where they had lost to the Cowboys as Staubach came off the bench to throw two touchdowns in the final minute and half to come from behind to win that game.
San Francisco had an unproven head coach named Bill Walsh, who employed a short passing attack that became known as the west coast offense.
Emphasizing timing and spreading the ball over the field, it continues to influence offenses to this day as the passing game grew to be more sophisticated.
He drafted Montana in the third round of the draft in 1979 to run the show, despite him not possessing the prototypical size or arm strength the league values at quarterback.
The team made some strides in 1980, but a lackluster defense held the team back and the 49ers posted a 6-10 record.
The team shored up that side of the ball in the draft, with the first five picks being defensive players, with four of them being defensive backs. The biggest name was Ronnie Lott, who would go on to make the Hall of Fame and was versatile enough to play every defensive back spot.
San Francisco was the feel good story of the season, posting a 13-3 record. The defense that had been its Achilles heel the previous year finished as the league’s second best.
Most importantly, the 49ers had crushed the Cowboys in their week six matchup earlier in the season 45-14.
Even with that going for them, many longtime fans felt the longstanding excellence of Dallas and its experience in big games would come through when the teams were slated to face each other in the conference championship game, even at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park.
The game was a relatively sloppy one. The team’s combined for nine turnovers, with the 49ers contributing six. With the Cowboys not able to take advantage of that many opportunities, you get the feeling that San Francisco was the better team that year. If Dallas was going to beat that team on the road, it needed all of those turnovers to stop scoring drives that kept the game within reach.
While the game would end dramatically, what makes it so memorable would be what it would go on to represent. The 49ers would go on to win their first Super Bowl. The franchise would win three more that decade and would easily be known as the team of the 1980s.
What do you remember most about “The Catch?”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
-
NEWS2 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS2 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS2 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS2 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS2 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS2 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS2 years agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS2 years ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint