A Decade of Friday Night Lights

Midway and the south of the river area have always been a community rich in family tradition. Many of the kids today at Midway are 3rd generation students. Names like Woody, Collier, Davidson, Gordon, are just a few of the families with deep routes in the Midway community. But over the last decade, there has been another family name that has emerged as one deep in Midway tradition.

Anyone scanning the player roster this year may ask themselves where the Campbell kids are. For only the 2nd time in a decade, Rusty and Dottie Campbell do not have a son playing football for the Green Waves.

For nearly an entire decade, the Campbell name has been synonymous with MHS Football. Now that he is free on Friday nights, SORSN reached out to Mr. Campbell for an interview.

SORSN: Tell us about the Campbell family football roster.

Rusty: Other than the 2002 year, Dottie and I have had a son playing for MHS for the past 10 years.
Joe Played 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Jake played 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
We did not have one playing 2002.
Matt Played 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

SORSN: The Campbell family has not only been apart of recent history, but also Midway’s early years. Your dad was once the head football coach for the Waves. Did your dad ever tell any stories from those days that you can recall? Any players that he used to talk about?

Rusty: Yes, he has told a lot of stories about coaching at Midway. He can name everyone that played for him. He has told stories about Brad Gordon, Paul Collier, Alton Lingerfelt, Wimp Thompson, Joe Parks, Sam Gray, Jimmy Shipwash, Wayne Waldroup, just to name a few.

I remember a couple. Wimp Thompson was the kicker and had gone out to the coin toss to decide who gets the ball. Dad told him that if we win the toss we want the ball. So Midway kicked off to start the game, and then the start of the third quarter Midway was kicking off again. Dad called time-out and asked the ref what was going on. He told Dad that Midway had won the toss but Wimp had elected to kick. When dad asked Wimp about it, he just said "I like to kick Coach."

Another story was that the team was heading up into the mountain to play Crossville but when they left they only had ten players. They stopped at Coach Branson's dads station (the junction) and picked up Joe Parks, who was no longer in school, as their 11th man. Dad said "Joe was a heck of an athlete".

SORSN: Is there a greater thrill than seeing your kids take the field?

Rusty: Maybe when they were born. It would run a close race.

SORSN: Now I’m going to put you on the spot by asking for a favorite football memory from each of your boys.

Rusty:
Joe - Catching two screen passes at Rockwood and lumbering through would be tacklers (All in slow-Joe motion).

Jake - Seeing (two warriors) Jake and Lucas Collier helping each other off the field after beating Oneida. I also liked watching Shane Gordon get a hold of Jake's shirt tail when he was pulling and follow him through the hole.

Matt - #1 The sack at the end of the Rockwood game to put them out of field goal range. #2 Just getting to watch him play for the only three games his senior year before his injury. Matt was one of the best LB's I have seen in High School football.

SORSN: What are some of your favorite memories of Midway football that don't involve your kids?

Rusty: I had just moved to Midway from Kingston. I went down to watch a game for the first time at MHS. The game was already going on. I walked up on the fence behind the team just in time to see coach Wheaton sling a Coke up against the fence where I stood. My pants got wet, no big deal, but I will never forget the look on Coach Wheaton’s face. I was intimidated.

SORSN: Was there, or perhaps is there still, any trash talk among the brothers as to who was the better football player?

Rusty: No, Joe and Jake played together; Joe had to get on to Jake to keep him from fighting during nearly every game.

SORSN: What do you think your kids have taken from their experience as Midway athletes? In your opinion, will it affect the rest of their lives? If so, how?

Rusty: Memories and friends (Teammates, Coaches, and Teachers).

Yes, definitely it has and will have a huge impact on the rest of their lives. A coach is for Life. It may be an assistant coach that has such an impact but they all definitely impact the kids for life. Joe and Jake will still go see Coach Branson, Coach Ruffner, and Coach Moser for advice.

Matt goes to Coach Ruffner and Coach Moser to see what he can help with and later, he will need advice that I can't give him and Matt will go see one of them.

A coach has as much of an impact on a student as his parents and sometimes even more. And that includes all sports. Players will always come back to see their coach, and a lot of times needing advice. There is more to coaching than X's and 0's.

SORSN: Your daughter, Michele, is at MHS. Have you asked her to suit up to help extend the Campbell streak?

Rusty: I asked her if she wanted to learn how to kick and punt. Dottie let me know real quick the answer to that. She has been helping paint the field before game day though. Michele did make a lot of tackles during this past years powder puff game.

SORSN: What's the hardest hit you ever saw one of your kids take? Did it hurt you more than it did them? Did you ever wish they didn't play the game?

Rusty: Joe made it on the sports news Hardest Hits segment one Friday night where he was the one getting hit. We were playing South Pitt. We had just punted the football and Eddie Moore had fielded it, (Moore went on to play LB for UT). Joe was with-in an arms length of Moore when Moore cut, and when Joe cut he was blind sided at full speed by a big tackle. I was filming so I did not see the hit, I just seen him disappear from the lens. A couple of folks in the stands told me that Joe just got hit, I looked up and he was attempting to get up but was struggling. He came to the sideline and sat out a play, which was unlike him, and then he went back in. That night on Channel 12 they showed the hit. It was bad. It didn't hurt me as bad, but almost.

Matt's knee injury hurt me worse than anything in sports, including when I played. But I am glad he got to play as long as he did. However, I never once wished they did not play.

SORSN: Now that it's over, could you imagine them NOT playing football at Midway?

Rusty: Dottie and I both will say Midway was the only place to raise our kids. Our kids are who they are because of the Midway community.

SORSN: Many may not have actually seen you at the games because you were always perched a top the press box filming the game for Coach Moser. How many years did you film the games? Have any stories that you would like to share from being atop the press box?

Rusty: I started filming games I think in 1994 for coach Branson, so I filmed for 12 years for MHS. I guess until this year I was the only person that had ever filmed for Coach Moser, even when he was coaching junior high. I was actually filming little league since Joe was 7 years old with a big VHS Panasonic that sat on your shoulder. I used it all those years until last year. Coach Moser bought one of them little new cameras last year and had me film with it. I hated it.

In the quarter finals up at Cloudland in 2001 they had a double-decker press box. I got into some name calling with one of their assistant coaches which were up above us. He started it though! In fact there were a few times I would get into it with the other team's coaches or fans. But Coach Gordon, being always calm, would keep me out of trouble.

SORSN: I know from peering through my own camera taking pictures that it’s tough to follow the game and see what all is happening. Were you able to enjoy the game while filming? Did you do it to take the edge off watching your kids?

Rusty: You are correct; you cannot watch the game while filming. I would always get a copy that night or the next day so I could watch the game. NO, most folks that sat around me knew I was kinda edgy anyway.

SORSN: Ever been to the Highland Games and visited the tent for "Clan Campbell"? Do you think it's a coincidence that the most prominent color in the Clan Campbell tartan is GREEN?

Rusty: No but I always wanted to go. I think Green is very appropriate. I don't think the boys would look good in a kilt though.

SORSN: From 1996 to 2006, how many Midway football games did you see? Perhaps it would be easier to count how many games you missed.

Rusty: I never missed a game or a scrimmage. I would like to do it all over again too.

SORSN: What could the school, or the county, or even the state do to improve the scholar-athletes experience at schools like MHS?

Rusty: All schools should have a web site as good as SORSN. It is awesome to be able to go on there and see the highlights, the archives and see pictures from last week’s game. The community and the county need to back SORSN to keep it going, always.

SORSN: Thanks Mr. Campbell, your check is in the mail.

SORSN: Do you look forward to seeing your grandkids play at MHS?

Rusty: I sure do. I hope Coach MO and Coach Gordon are still there to coach them and I can bring their pictures up on SORSN.



Thank you for your time Mr. Campbell. We know that your wife, Dottie, has been sick recently and you have been with her. We pray for her recovery.

Coach Lee Eble

On February 7, 2007, one of the pioneers of the Midway High School basketball program passed away at the age of 81. Lee Eble had an instrumental role in the development of the basketball program at Midway. Coach Eble was the basketball coach at Midway from 1950 to 1954, which included one of the best boys teams ever at Midway, the ’53 team that made it to the regional finals where they lost to eventual state champion Lenoir City.

Coach Eble loved basketball. He not only coached at Midway, but at his home town of Oakdale and at Kingston which included some very good teams led by Gene Raymer and the Collier Kingston boys. And like many men his age, Mr. Eble was a veteran also; serving in the Army Air Corps. In a Veterans Day interview with the Roane County Newspaper in 2001 from his room at Wellington Place in Kingston, Coach Eble described his fondest memories of his time in the service as “making friends and playing basketball.” [story]

Park Waldroup, class of 1955, recalled for us his time with Coach Eble.

“I first attended Midway in fall 1952. At that time the starting 5 was Buford Sitzlar at center, Don Johnson and Joe Woody at Forward, and Starlen Moore and Boyd Woody at guards. The next year the starters were Ed and Max Rose at forward, Brad Gordon at center, and Joe Thompson and Russell Alexander at guards.

I noticed in Did You Know section on SORSN.com, there was a comment ‘from 1947 to 1952 Midways teams were known as the Jumping Jacks....’ Actually Coach Eble came up with that name in the fall of 1952, because although the team was not particularly tall they were great leapers, especially Buford Sitzlar and Don Johnson. I had not seen or talked to Coach Eble in nearly 50 years, and when I saw the ‘Jumpin Jacks’ reference on the web site, I remembered him coming up with that nickname one day in practice.

To verify it, and also because I wanted to thank Coach Eble for all he had done for us as a coach and teacher, I looked him up on switchboard.com and called him several months ago. Even though we had not talked for almost 50 years and even though I was a minor player on the team, he remembered me well and we had a great talk. He verified that in fact he did coin the term ‘Jumping Jacks’ at that time. I did not know at the time how ill he was nor did he say anything about it, so I was rather shocked to learn of his death.

Coach Eble characterized to me what a coach should be all about. He emphasized sportsmanship, hard work, team play, and all the things that athletics should contribute to life.”

Though his time at Midway only consisted of a few years, Coach Eble left a positive impact on many of his players and helped bring the game of basketball to a small, rural community located south of the river.

Midway versus Cosby, March 1987

“The night Cosby almost tore the Pit down”
It was the 1986-87 season, the first year in many that the Midway Greenwave boys basketball team had gone into the season under new leadership, as longtime Coach Stanley Galyon had hung up his whistle for good at the end of the previous season. A strapping young coach from Oliver Springs, Coach Darrell T Ruffner, assumed the reigns as Midway’s head basketball coach.

The 1986-87 Greenwaves would follow in the successful tracks laid down by their predecessors and have a very fine run through the regular season, ending the season with big wins over Rockwood and Harriman and close losses to Meigs and Kingston. The regular season district crown was hotly contested and the Greenback/Midway rivalry was especially fierce. The Cherokees crushed the Greenwaves during the football season by 33 points however; the Waves had pay back in mind as they owned Greenback on the hardwood. Midway beat Greenback 3 times that year, ironically, with the smallest margin of victory being 33 points.

The Waves had 5 seniors on the team (pictured right): Randall Woody, Lance Easter, Jerry Pennington, Robie Viar, and Tony “Batman” Williams.

The starting five consisted of Randall Woody, Jerry Pennington, Robie Viar, Preston Woody, and Tony Williams. A young Craig Moser was usually the first off the bench and Wayne Long 2nd. The Waves cruised through the district tournament and won the regional by 20 points over Boyd Buchanan. With the regional championship in hand, the Greenwaves earned the right to host Cosby at the Pit. This is where our story begins.

The first sign that this would be a ballgame to remember came early in the week. With scattered reports that TSSAA officials were “looking into the length of the floor and seating” at the Pit as a possible reason for not allowing Midway to host the substate game, to say the SOR community was in a bit of an uproar would be an understatement. Unconfirmed rumors had Cosby lodging a complaint to the TSSAA and requesting the Midway/Cosby game be held in a more fitting setting, possibly Roane State or Kingston (or as Yankees north of the bridge call it Roane County High). Around midweek, young Coach Ruffner, and the Sage of South of the River basketball, Mike Hayes, set about the task of “officially” measuring the floor. While most all who played basketball in the Pit knew that the floor was fairly short and thought to be around 84 feet (remember the difference when playing at Harriman or Kingston), amazingly the official measurement from baseline to baseline came to be 94 feet, which happened to be the exact measurement needed by the TSSAA to host the substate game. It was game on, in the Pit, SOR style with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

The Cosby Mountain Goats, a talented team then & now, were deep with basketball tradition and traveled very well. ”Energetic” was an understatement when referring to the Cosby fans for this game. Cosby High School closed at 11:30. The school brought 5 bus loads of supporters and arrived at the gym around 4:30. They packed the visitors side. When the team arrived via police escort, the fans went crazy.

The Midway fans were just as stoked. Coach Ruffner had the young gladiators playing 4 quarters of intense pressure defense and they were a sharp shooting squad. By 30 minutes before tip-off, the “Pit” was packed. A humongous sign on the floor announced, “Welcome to the Pit.” Wave fans were fired up, Cosby fans were loud long before the game started and the gym was about 110 degrees by tip off. Every seat was filled, people were standing on the overhang and in the aisle ways, it was SRO - Standing Room Only.

Despite generally playing poorly throughout much of the game, the Waves led most of the game and were leading late in the 4th quarter until Cosby rallied to tie it up and force overtime. Emotions on and off the court were high and much talking and unpleasantries were exchanged throughout the game. “The Pit was LOUD. One of the loudest events I have been to….it was rockin”, commented Craig Moser.

The overtime was hotly contested and came down to the wire as well. To the Waves demise, their deadly shooters could not come through late in this game and Cosby eked out a hard fought victory, winning by 2.

It was in these final moments of the game when the Cosby fans nearly demolished “The Pit”. In the waning minutes of the overtime, the Cosby fans crossed the line and became an overzealous mob. In the final seconds of the overtime and a couple minutes after, all hell would break loose in the Pit. About a half dozen holes were punched into the ceiling on the visitors side (see “low ceiling in Tales from the Pit story”) leaving ceiling tiles scattered along the bleachers, the boys visiting locker room was trashed, the outside trash cans were turned upside down and set on fire, fights broke out in front of the school between the fans and the fire alarms began ringing. It was a scene like no other in and in front of the gym and one the single Roane County Sheriffs deputy assigned to the game could never hope to control. Finally, about 20 minutes later the crowd and cooler heads prevailed, and the Cosby fans and players loaded their vehicles and headed far east with a State tournament berth. The Wave fans and players went home brokenhearted at what would be the last boys substate hosted at the Pit. The Cosby players were reported as “mooning” and “shooting the bird” to the Midway fans and players as their bus headed up Highway 72.

When asked about the game, Coach Ruffner stated “The comment I remember most came from a fan who said ‘we not had a killin in a week, things are really boring’. This was the start of what has become a great relationship between our schools. If we were in trouble Cosby would come to our aid without hesitation.”

While the loss to Cosby still burns in the minds of many of us “middle aged” followers of the program, maybe some of the younger fans and players don’t exactly realize the intensity or history of this rivalry. With the number one ranked and 24-1 overall record Cosby team coming to SOR this Friday, February 10, 2006 the SORSN staff asks the fans, coaches and most of all the players to show up, be enthusiastic (don’t cross the line like Cosby did) and to put up 4 quarters of your very best basketball. Those who watched the Vols defeat the to-be-top ranked Florida Gators earlier this season can tell you anything can happen when a tremendous effort by the players is met with great enthusiasm by the crowd.

Vindicate the 1987 team, defend the honor of the Pit, go Greenwaves beat Cosby!

Gateway to South of the River

If you haven’t traveled to SOR lately, then you may be shocked as you leave Kingston headed south.

Typically, as you would round the curve at Southwest Point baseball field heading south, you would begin whispering a small prayer that there wasn’t a big log truck heading north. There was barely enough room to meet a Chevy Geo on the bridge, much less a transfer truck.

With palm’s sweaty and butt cheeks squeezed tight, you would approach the bridge with all hopes of making it across without leaving some paint on the side of the bridge or on a passing car.

As dangerously narrow as this bridge may have been, this structure of steel, concrete, and asphalt had a since of pride about it…..after all, it was the Gateway to South of the River.

The old bridge has now been replaced by a much more attractive and much, much, much wider bridge. But though it is a pleasure to drive across the new bridge, a piece of SOR history now seems gone.

Just think how many times your directions to outsiders included “…..go across the green bridge…” Or for those who still remember, “….go across the blue bridge…” That’s right. The bridge was once blue. Former DOT employee and SOR historian Ed Rose informed me that when they were painting the bridge green, a woman pleaded with him to paint it “anything but green!” To which he replied that if she wanted to buy the paint, he would paint it any color she liked.

The old bridge served many purposes. Not only was it an ideal geographic landmark for giving directions, but it was also a great place to dispose of high-jacked pumpkins during Halloween. Many pumpkins have been stuck on top of the metal railings to give a “Headless Horseman” type of decoration during Halloween night.

Built in 1929, the bridge stood the test of time and served as the Gateway to South of the River for 76 years. The bridge has seen many changes over the years including when it was raised 15 ft due to the rise in the river in 1942.

So as we stop to remember the old bridge, below is the TVA video clip of the bridge being dropped into the river.

MHS Football - the 2nd Year

Midway Football class of 1979

Midway defeated Sunbright 24-14 on a Saturday night to clinch the championship of the 1st annual Volunteer Bowl.

Pictured from left are: Hal Galyon, Randy Rose, Ronnie Woody, Tim Watson, and Greg Isbill who was named MVP.


The caption under this picture in the Roane County News read: "These 6 Midway football seniors take a break from the sweltering July heat for a quick refreshment during Friday's opening practice session. Standing from left are Ronnie Hackworth, Ronnie Woody, Hal Galyon, and Randy Rose. Greg Isbill and Mike Wilson are kneeling.

The Dog Biscuit Chant

The dog biscuit chant started in the mid to late 80's, reaching its peak during the high water mark for MHS football 1989. This was also about the time that Bernie Kosar and the Cleveland Browns were also peaking in the NFL. In the old Cleveland stadium, one endzone was called the "Dawg Pound", where a lot of the rowdiest Brown fans used to sit. They were known to throw batteries, quarters, beer bottles and their favorite, Dog Biscuits, at opposing players.

As the battles with District 3-A foe Greenback, and very local rivals Meigs County and Kingston were heating up, one could expect a couple of times a game at least for the MHS faithful, led by Ralton Emory’s Dad and Mom (known only as Mr. and Mrs. Emory) and Bob Griffin to start an almost Tibetan monk style chant of "Greenwave, Greenwave, Greenwave". This chant would roll over and over until the entire East side bleachers and a majority of the fence walkers (those sober enough) would participate. It was an awe inspiring show of the power of the Greenwave faithful and very intimidating to visiting teams. During one of these rallies, I do believe a young Lance Wheaton (or insert your favorite Greenwave player of the era here) was quoted as saying "We need to throw the fans a dog biscuit to get them to settle down".... Thus the legend of the dog biscuit chant was coined.

Midway Football's Family Tree

The South of the River area has always been known as a tight community. In 1984, the Knoxville News Sentinal wrote an article titled "Midway Football has a Special Togetherness." Here are a few facts about the "Football Family" of the 2004 team.

2004 Football Family.

The Fence Walkers

It’s easy to tell when it’s football time south of the river. The coolness in the late evening air, rows of cars lining highway 70 leading to the school; however there is one key element that is at every game...year after year...something/someone that you may have never noticed or gave any thought to...but take them away, and the game is not the same. They are the fence walkers! Ah yes, the fence walkers can be seen at every game, home or away, and they are just as much apart of Midway football as the green and white colors.

Who are the fence walkers? Those who make up the fence walkers are simply this – Green Wave Football fans! They are there to lend support, have friendly chats with the referees, trash talk to the opponents, and provide the Midway coaching staff with "what you should’ve done" suggestions. The fence walkers are not the kids throwing the Nerf football around in front of the bleachers; they are not the students playing grab-tail with their friends; the fence walkers are fans who rarely miss a play – in fact, many can be seen sprinting down the sidelines in hot pursuit as a Midway player breaks a long run. They’ve also been known to aid in tackles when other teams are driven out of bounds. Paintrock native Archie Edgemon stated, "I recall when a couple of Midway players drove a Tellico player a long ways out of bounds, into the fence, and into the heart of the fence walkers who could not contain themselves as they assisted with the tackle as best they could. It's the only time that I've seen the Coppers called on the fence walkers."

One popular story of the fence walkers came during the ’88 sub-state game against Donnellson Christian ("the bunch from Nashville"). The Waves had the ball on the goal line and QB Lance Wheaton stretched the ball over the goal but nope, no signal. Same thing next play, Wheaton stretches the ball over the goal, no TD signal. Coach Branson turned to the fence walkers and yelled "did he score?" To which the fence walkers replied without hesitation, "Twice!"

The faces may have changed, some have gone...some have joined...some have been along the fence for decades, but as long as there’s Midway football there will be the fence walkers.

How 'South of the River' got its name

Ah yes, the famous "South of the River" slogan, now simply referred to as "SOR", is carrying on the tradition and spirit from the mid to late 1970's "South of the River Trash" logo. The SOR Trash actually started in the mid 70's as the "River Road Trash". A group of fine young Midway football players, who all lived on River Road (Gary Crabtree, Wade Ray, Terry Gordon, Cotton Branson, Donnie Bray, and others), started the sub-group "River Road Trash". The name was such a big hit, it caught on and evolved into the name "South of the River Trash" to include all the Midway community and promote spirit and pride in the area in the late 1970’s. Hats and T-shirts were made and sold by the hundreds at the Hilltop grocery and at Duncan's in Kingston. These became famous the world over, sort of.
Seen here in this photo taken in 1979, former US Senator Jim Sasser along with then MHS student Ron Woody on the steps of the US Capitol building in Washington DC, both proudly wearing the famous "SOR Trash" hat. These hats were part of the outstanding Green Wave team of '77 that went 9 and 2 and the '78 team that went 8 and 3.

Special thanks to Randy Rose for this historic moment.

The Football Field Hump?

During 2003, great efforts were put into the MHS football field to make it one fine piece of sod. One goal was to remove the "hump" from the middle of the field, which has been attempted numerous times over the years. Many new comers may not realize the stories behind that historic hump. As you may or may not know, the hump in the field (according to Midway historian Ed Rose) was due to the fact that a train used to run from the copper mines in the lower Dogtown area to the river at Laurel Bluff. The ore would then be loaded on barges that carried it to the steel mill in Harriman. Laurel Bluff was a fairly sizable trading area back in that day, as was the big city of Harriman. The train track eventually became Dogtown Road which eventually was rerouted around the "new" high school. This new high school combined the heated rivals Fairview and Paint Rock into one mega superpower. The hump also had a strategic importance as well; considering it had about a 5 ft elevation change over about a 10 yard span in one area, a good offensive coordinator such as Stan Branson could plan plays for certain areas of the field. Popular plays of the late 80's early 90's were Scott Carroll running down the hill on the option, and a certain tall TE on the hump down the center of the field (short defensive backs had no chance).