From the archives - A look back

[Cooley]

Southwest Roundup : North Texas Rebounds to Surprise Texas Tech

Running back David McGinty raced 20 yards for a touchdown to cap a stunning second-half comeback Saturday night and propel North Texas State from a 24-10 halftime deficit to a 29-24 victory over Texas Tech at Lubbock, Tex.

Quarterback Scott Davis, who scored once himself, guided the North Texas 63 yards in 6 plays and sent McGinty spinning around right end for the winning touchdown with 3:54 remaining.

Davis sparked the pivotal drive with a 27-yard pass to split end Thomas Greene for the Eagles, ranked No. 5 in Division I-AA.

Field goals of 51, 55 and 46 yards by Keith Chapman and a 46-yard touchdown run by linebacker Rex Johnson with an intercepted pass kept North Texas close until the Eagles' closing heroics stopped the favored Red Raiders.

The comeback overshadowed a good performance by Texas Tech wingback Wayne Walker, who turned 2 passes into touchdowns and gave him a total of 184 yards on 5 receptions.

"These kind of wins are so hard to come by for our football program," North Texas Coach Corky Nelson said. "It's not very often that we can go on the road and beat a Southwest Conference school with the tradition of Texas Tech."

Nelson admitted Walker's electrifying touchdown in the opening seconds made it appear the Eagles were in fro a tough evening. But, Nelson said, the turning point may have come when cornerback Kim Phillips was put in to defend against Walker in the second half. Walker, after gaining 163 yards in catches in the first half, got only 21 the second half.

Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes said that the Raiders had plenty of scoring opportunities but "just couldn't ring the bell."

[GreenEggs&Ham™]

Corky Nelson was probably drunk during most of the 2nd half, but damn I loved it when he was coaching. You felt like NT had a shot at beating just about anybody including the Longwhorns and their paid off refs. Booze was like some sort of Underdog Pill for Corky. "There is no need to fear, Corky is here !"

[FirefightnRick]

Other than Phillips shut down effort in the second half Keith ChaPmam hit three monster field goals,....someone correct me if I'm wrong.... want to say the distances were from 51, 48 and 46?

This was the birth of our tortilla tradition captured and brought back to Denton. The Tech student section pelted our group all game long. But Mean Green faithful calmly collected them as the game progressed, and as soon as the final tick went off the clock proudly threw them back...in their faces!

Rick

[gruu]

That was the best drive back to Denton from Lubbock ever...

[SilverEagle]

Corky Nelson was probably drunk during most of the 2nd half, but damn I loved it when he was coaching. You felt like NT had a shot at beating just about anybody including the Longwhorns and their paid off refs. Booze was like some sort of Underdog Pill for Corky. "There is no need to fear, Corky is here !"

#1 If you were put in charge of a football program that had the kind of administrative support that North Texas has always been known for, wouldn't you drink too?

#2. What was that quote from Abraham Lincoln when he was told that General Grant was a drunk?........

[TheWestie]

I miss the tortillas. We need to bring that back for Apogee.

Maybe sponsored by Freebirds?

[ragpicker]

I remember that night well. I was in deep East Texas by a tiny town called Minden with my car antenna connected to a clothes hanger which was in turn wrapped around an outside basketball hoop. KNTU would very weakly come in and out, but I still recall Bill Mercer's excitement when Tech failed to complete a final desperation pass to the end zone, thus insuring our victory. Fortunately, a few years later we began broadcasting on 100.7 (The Word?) and our football and basketball games came in loud and clear throughout that part of the state. Alas, we are no longer with that station and the one that replaced it is no more than a foolish redundancy of the weak KNTU signal when it comes to broadcasting games. I don't know why that change was made, but unless it was somehow unavoidable, it was a foolish decision. I have often thought that because it was a religious station that God was punishing us for dropping it. He does seem to be a bit peeved with us of late.

[CurveItAround]

Thankfully, the world wide intertubes have resolved this issue for most. Good ol' KNTU is now worldwide.

[greenjoe]

I was there. We collected tortillas thrown by Tech fans all night and threw them back after the win.

As long as Scott Davis was in the game I always felt like we had a good chance to win.

I'd like to have that feeling again. Soon. Frequently.

GO MEAN GREEN