1966 NCHS Season

From 7-18-14

When the curtain opened on the 1966 season, our team & fans knew they had a lot to live up to. The loss in the last year's state tournament stopped a 42-game winning streak, and was only the 2nd loss in 71 games. The Rams had lost some outstanding talent but returned 3 seniors, Wayne Hall, Bob Richardson, Steve Smith, juniors Gary Wilkerson, Eddie Hinton, & sophomores Terry Schell & Richard Allen.

All the Newton Co. fans knew that these guys were very talented, fundamentally sound & well-disciplined. With 4 Region Championships in the previous 5 years, a '64 State Championship, the Rams' tradition created high expectations. When Wayne Hall (who was an all-state & 2-time all region player) went down early in the season with a sprained ankle, it presented problems. The Rams lost 2 games before Hall returned. With Richardson scoring 18.4 ppg, Wilkerson with 10 ppg. & 12.5 rebounds pg, and Schell averaging 10 ppg., the team soared with Wayne Hall's return & won 19 straight! The streak was stopped in the last game of the regular season at Chamblee HS. The Rams stormed through the sub-region tournament at home & headed back to South Hall's gym to face a familiar rival, Winder. NCHS won 50-47 over Winder to reach the finals (& familiar foe, Hart Co.) in a great game before a turn-away crowd. The Rams won 69-63. In the state tournament the Rams had two close victories over Hapeville & Crisp Co. Now they were to face the #1 team in the state, Troup Co. who had a 31-1 record (& we were 32-3). In a great game before a packed house at the Georgia Tech coliseum, the Rams won in overtime, 57-55! Here we were, nearing our opportunity to win a second State Championship in three years! We were living good! We were staying in a new hotel across the expressway from the Ga. Tech coliseum & all of our guys had rooms overlooking the coliseum. We were preparing to face the defending state champs, the Cairo Syrupmakers (28-3), who were coached by one of the finest coaches, anywhere. Coach Tommy Taylor had coached his players all through grammar school in his recreation league, and now he had his senior-led team ready for their 2nd straight title run! In a great ball game, we lost in the finals, 55-46. All the Cairo starters were outstanding players & received college scholarships. One of their "wings", Burt Maxwell, went 8 for 8 from the field (& never missed a shot), & we fell 55-46. As I look back on that game, I feel that I may have "paralyzed by analyzing" all the myriad of offenses that the Syrupmakers had in their arsenal. I also made a mistake when I gave a copy of the film to Coach Taylor. The film was shown on TV stations in South Georgia, and that was a "no-no" in the GHSA rules. Our seniors' year came to an end with the best 4-year average of wins (33 per year), & is not likely to be broken under present GHSA rules. The record of 131 wins & only 9 losses was the best 4-year record in the 8-year run of 232 wins, 22 losses, & 5 Region Championships in 6 years. The Rams' home-court unbeaten streak was extended to 108 consecutive wins, creating statewide interest & was even being noticed nationally.