Gator Talk - Super Sophs Leave An Impression
Monday, October 19, 2009 | Football
By Norm Carlson, Assistant Athletics Director/Gator Historian
In the spring of 1969, Florida offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Fred Pancoast came up with a plan that would lead to a stunning defeat of Houston, a pre-season choice that year as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Freshmen were eligible to play on the varsity the previous season and little was known about the best group of first-year players in Gator head coach Ray Graves' decade at Florida. When these players trotted on the field as sophomores on Sept. 20, 1969, the Cougar staff and players thought they were just another group of young guys who might or might not amount to something.
In the disappointing 1968 season, the Gators were an I-Formation, option team with an average and limited passing attack. They had a senior All-America tailback in Larry Smith and run-first quarterbacks in Jack Eckdahl and Larry Rentz. In the spring of 1969, Pancoast and staff members gave every indication that this was the way Florida would operate again that season.
However, the wide-open offense that was developing was built around sophomores like quarterback John Reaves, flanker Carlos Alvarez, split end Andy Cheney, tailback Tommy (Touchdown) Durrance, fullback Mike Rich and tight ends Bill Dowdy and Jim Yancey.
Upfront on offense Florida had experience. The guards were senior captain Mac Steen and rugged Skip Amelung, along with junior Donny Williams and senior Wayne Griffith at tackle. Sophomore Kim Helton made the first of his 33 consecutive starts as the Gator center from 1969-71.
Gator coaches Pancoast and Bubba McGowan visited the New York Jets in the summer to pick up tips on what offensive plays would work best against Houston's unusual (for that time) pass defense.
Houston ran a two-deep zone with man coverage underneath by the corners; something the Jets saw in the NFL and victimized with quarterback Joe Namath's ability to make throws into the open hole in the deep zone. Pancoast firmly believed Reaves-to-Alvarez could exploit the weakness in that defense.
So the groundwork was laid to spring a surprise on Houston. All that was left was to execute the plan.
Pancoast designed a pass play to get the offense cranked up early. It was called“69 Fade,” to be used the first time the Gators got possession of the ball outside their own 20-yard line. That came just two minutes into the game when Florida took over at the 26.
Tailback Jerry Vinesett lined up in the I-Formation on the first two plays and ran off right tackle twice, putting the football on the 30 at the right hash mark. On third down, Alvarez was split almost to the left hash mark, drawing man coverage by the Cougar cornerback, who had no help deep.
Quarterback Reaves dropped back and threw a perfect strike to Alvarez, who was a good 10 yards behind his defender.
“John threw a wonderful pass and I wasn't concerned about catching it,” Alvarez recalls. “I was worried about getting caught from behind. I knew there are 70,000 fans up there staring at me and if I got caught from behind it would be the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
He caught it and easily beat his defender to the end zone on a 70-yard touchdown play. Before Houston could recover, it was 38-6 in the first half and then 59-34 as Reaves launched five TD passes into that hole in the deep zone. The victory sparked Florida to a 9-1-1 record and a berth in the Gator Bowl that season.
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