In 1981, county went wild for first LHS-WJ showdown
It was billed as “The Hicks vs. The Slicks Between the Bricks.” And it was the biggest high school football game in Jones County history.
At the conclusion of the 1981 season, Laurel and West Jones were left at the top of their respective divisions in the first year of state high school playoffs in Mississippi. And on a Friday the 13th, in the middle of November, the Laurel Tornadoes and West Jones Mustangs would face off for the first time, in the district championship game.
The entire community became engulfed in madness for days leading up to the showdown. Half of the town proudly sported the cardinal and gold of the “slicks” from Laurel, while the other half adorned themselves in the green and gold of the “hicks” from West Jones.
And even the “bricks” of R.H. Watkins stadium would need extra attention for this tilt, as additional bleachers were set up in the east end zone to add seating to the cavernous 6,500 seat football coliseum. Some estimated the crowd at the game to be over 8,000.
An estimated 8,000 fans crammed into Watkins Stadium “Between the Bricks” for the first West Jones-Laurel showdown in 1981. The stands in Soso are sure to be filled Friday night when the two rivals will square off in the season-opener for both teams. (Photo by Brad Crowe)
The pavement on Old Bay Springs Road and Springhill Road took perhaps their worst beating in years as carloads of crazed students and supporters made pilgrimages up and down the asphalt in the days leading up to the game. There was to be no doubt as to which team held the allegiances of each vehicle’s occupants, as pleasantries were exchanged and shenanigans were plentiful. A rivalry was born.
“It was the most exciting thing that I have ever been a part of,” said Dena Burnette Moore, who was a West Jones cheerleader that night. “The whole community was involved. What sticks out most about that game was how packed it was Between the Bricks!”
By 1981, Laurel had been playing football for well over seven decades and was an original member of the powerful Big Eight Conference, Mississippi’s premier league since 1927. And although the Tornadoes had survived a 5-5 regular season, they were still, well, Laurel. Coach George Blair’s squad had defeated Meridian 8-0 and Hattiesburg 12-7 to advance to the showdown.
The Tornadoes were loaded with talent. Linebacker Ricky Lindstrom and defensive end Sam Albritton signed to play for Ole Miss. Quarterback Mike Dewitt signed with LSU and offensive lineman David Sullivan signed with Air Force.
Upstart West Jones, on the other hand, was the new kid on the block. The school was still in its teenage years of its existence, having been around for only 16 years.
“Up to then, we had always been considered a notch below Laurel,” WJ coach Mike Taylor said. “But we had hard-working kids, and it took some time to build our program. And our fans were always behind us.”
And even though Taylor’s team was ranked No. 5 in the state by The Associated Press, many felt that the 8-1 Hicks were the beneficiaries of a softer schedule in the Southern Athletic Conference.
“We were excited and nervous going into the stadium,” Taylor said. “We dressed in their gym across the street and walked in the stadium on the Laurel side … they really taunted us. But on the other side, we saw a whole half of that stadium in green.”
The atmosphere at game time was nothing less than electric. It really had the sound and feel of a college game, and the crowd noise definitely had an impact, both head coaches later said. No one was allowed to cross over to the other side of the stadium before, during or after the battle.
“It was indescribable,” Taylor said. “It was the greatest atmosphere of any ballgame that I ever coached in.”
From left, Janie Overby, Joyce Baldwin, Dawn Easterling and Lisa Musgrove show off shirts from the first matchup between West Jones and Laurel. (Photo LLC archives)
“It was one of those moments that you never will forget,” said Bruce Ratcliff, a senior receiver and defensive back for the Tornadoes that season. “We didn’t take them lightly. We all knew each other from playing summer baseball.”
The first half was almost like two heavyweight fighters sizing up each other. Laurel struck first on a nine-play, 74-yard touchdown drive capped by Jeff Fuller’s 1-yard plunge.
West Jones answered, turning two Tornado turnovers into touchdowns to wrangle the lead back to the visitors. And with just over a minute until halftime, Laurel quarterback Mike Dewitt found Chris Hudson on a wheel route behind the Mustang secondary for a 38-yard touchdown strike.
The halftime score was in Laurel’s favor, 14-12. It was apparent that this would be no lopsided prize fight.
“We were so prepared by offensive line coach Bud Moore,” said Mark Musgrove, the Mustangs’ starting center that night. “He told us all week that we had better be like a rooster pulling a freight train that night.”
And that offensive line got the train rolling for West in the second half.
That’s when Mustang running back sensation Ronnie Ducksworth took over.
“I hope that we can do something to shut Ducksworth down,” Blair told the Leader-Call in a story the day before the game. “If we don’t, it will be a long night for us.”
As it turned out, it was a long night.
After putting the ball in the air some early, West Jones seemingly flipped the game plan for the final two quarters. It was Ducksworth left, and Ducksworth right. He could not be stopped.
“I think I met his (Ducksworth’s) thigh upside my head a couple of times,” Ratcliff said. “I should have just run into a brick wall instead. I still have nightmares.”
The Tornadoes ran only two offensive plays in the entire third quarter. They couldn’t derail the Ducksworth train.
“After halftime, we went to a one-back offense and split the receivers out wide,” Taylor said. “And he (Ducksworth) ran the ball really well.”
The junior running back touched the football on 39 of the Mustangs’ 67 total plays. He finished the night with 209 yards rushing and four touchdowns. It was Ducksworth’s fifth game of the season to rush for more than 200 yards.
In the second half, the Tornado offense continued to cough up the ball, ending up with five total turnovers, dashing any hopes for a comeback. The Mustangs turned all five of those turnovers into touchdowns as they piled up 332 yards of total offense on the night.
And with that, the Hicks beat the Slicks between the Bricks, 32-14.
West Jones fans celebrate the Mustangs’ 32-14 victory over Laurel in this photo taken of a photo that appeared on the front page of the Leader-Call in November 1981.
“It was one of the highlights of our lives … Us Soso boys were ready to show them something,” Musgrove said. “And the fact we were playing in the historic Watkins Stadium, it just meant so much to us.”
Moore said, “When we won, Coach Taylor told the football players and cheerleaders to go to the buses immediately after the game. I remember falling and John Easterling picked me up over his shoulder and carried me onto the bus.”
And the Mustang football team tossed the West Jones community over their shoulders and carried them to a new level of high school football excellence.
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