Good old No. 12 shares his memories of 1984 Redskins
By DICK STEELE — Keep Sporting, Keep Fit
ˇ˛The year 1984 was like any other year, it had its good days and times and bad ones too. Here are a few highlights:
. one gallon of gas was $1.10
. Average income per year was $21,600
. Average cost of a new home - $86,730.00
. Recession continued to be a problem in the US and 70 US banks fail in one year.
. the Olympic Games are hel in Los Angeles.
. AT&T broke up.
. the first Apple Macintosh went on sale.
. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom hit the theaters and Magnmum P.I. was big on TV.
. And the Morris Redskins finished the first perfect football season at 13-0 and a 4A state championship.
That was 25 years ago and the starting quarterback on that title team was Jim Feeney.
"It does not seem that long ago," Jim said. "My son Austin is a sophomore at Morris High School and it seems like only yesterday he was born. Things go by fast."
"The championship is something that everyone on the team still cherishes. When we (team members) get together and stay in touch, that's one thing we all have in common. There is so much tradition here at Morris, year in and year out, the team wants to win the conference, but there's always that goal to be a state champ. That's what Dan Darlington brought to Morris, that mentality. It was a great thrill and for a high school moment, that by far is my best school memory."
When the '84 team players were freshman, the squad finished at 0-9.
"To be honest, and I don't know this for a fact, but I think we only scored three or four touchdowns on the season. It was an ugly 0-9 year," Feeney said. "I believe as a group we were rather small and had not really developed at that point.But when you go through the system, a lot of us played three sports and those that did not were able to get into the weight lifting program that Dan (Darlington) and Denny (steele) had. Everybody participated in summer workouts with conditioning and getting ready for the season, so I think it was that and the coaches knowing how to develop us and each year our bodies started to develop more"
Feeney added that when the sophomore year came around (under Jay Roth), they started to see improvement. Many of the players participated in JV games which also added to the experience factor.
"We were a senior dominated team and when you mix in some junior players like Tom Brady and Doug Sharp, they helped us get to the next level," Feeney said.
When Feeney talked about the teams early failures and then great success, he attributes it to hard work.
"I was fortunate enough to understand and know as a kid growing up what it was. That was instilled in me through my dad," Feeney said. "To this day, he's the most important person in my life, and I wish he could be here today. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said this, and it has always stuck with me "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
"I don't care if its on the football field or in the business world, but whatever you are doing, if you can outwork that person across from you, you're going to be fine in life."
The 1984 offensive team had Tony Cheshareck, Bob Clubb and Randy Ralls as receivers. Dale Yard was the fullback, Doug Sharp the tailback and also Lon Larson with Feeney at quarterback. During the playoffs, Mike Feeney (sophomore) moved into fullback.
Scott Trotter, Brian Barkley, Dan Lenart, Troy Householder, Tom Brady and Kent Peacock took care of the line action. The kicker was Remzi Joas and the punter was Keith Kennedy.
On the defense, Joe Eschenbaum, Eric Leasure,Tom Brady, Dan Almer, Yard, Rick Stump, Paul Delrose, Paul Newinski, Eric Davy, Cheshareck, Don McGowan and Wes Shaw were a standout unit.
The '84 team beat Ottawa 41-21, Streator 22-6, Plainfield 18-0, Geneva 28-12, Batavia 48-0, Kaneland 48-0, Sycamore 26-3, Oswego 33-6 and Waubonsie Valley 41-6 to finish off the season 9-0. During the playoffs, Morris beat Metamora 22-3, Lincoln 16-0, Bethalto 27-7 and
Benet Academy 31-14 to capture the 4A state championship.
Feeney added it is now fun to watch his son Austin, a sophomore quarterback play at Morris. Jim Feeney wore the No. 12 on his uniform, also his cousin John Goolsby now at St. Francis, who is setting records as starting quarterback, and Austin all put on the number 12 Redskins jersey. The Morris sophomores had a record of 8-1, losing only 3-0 to St. Rita. The Redskins freshman recorded a 9-0 mark, so the talent comtinues to come through the ranks.
Feeney played college football at Millikin University and finished with a CPA degree. He later joined Edward Jones and has an office in Morris. Jim and wife Wendy have three children, Austin and daughter Brenna, a freshman at Morris Community High School and a member of the popular and talented Poms squad, and Nolan, a fourth grader at ICS in Morris.
It's always great to see Morris students/players, if its possible, come home to work and raise their families.
We have a new leader in our NFL prediction column. Professor Don Neushwander has tied Nick 'All Business" Vidito for the lead of our weekly picks. Neush was nine right/four wrong for the week, while Nick and this writer were both 8-5. Tony The Wonder Boy Darin fell off his winning pace at 7-6. Grundy County States Attorney/Morris Great/NIU standout/Outdoorsman/Sheldon Sobol totaled 7 right and 6 wrong. Neush and Nick lead the pack at 69-32, Tony and I are 68-33 and the guest (missing one week) at 59-29.
The Bears, Morris, Coal City and Minooka all got hit hard this weekend. The Morris/Mendota game was one of the most frustrating games I have ever watched. I know the local teams can't be happy With their performances, even though they lost to better teams. I also know they will bounce back next year.
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