During the early days of a global pandemic, one reader asked the question that was certainly on the minds of countless folks throughout the Recorder coverage area:
“Which Athol football team was the best of all time?”
Months later, with Thanksgiving week here (and sadly no high school football to discuss in real time), I figured what better time than now to throw some teams against the wall and see what sticks. It’s a discussion that no doubt has been bandied about the Tool Town for decades, with a few top candidates.
Former Recorder sports editor Gary Sanderson, my mentor and high school football shaman in these parts, tackled the subject nearly four decades ago in the pages of this very periodical. I’m using that article as a guide, and filling in the pieces. Let’s look at some resumes, shall we? You can decide for yourselves.
There may be no Thanksgiving football game between Athol and its friends from Orange, but dawgonnit, there will be football talk this week!
For nearly 60 years, the 1962 Athol football team has been firmly entrenched in the Mount Rushmore of Red Raider squads. And for good reason – they didn’t lose a game.
A 9-0-0 season was capped with a 50-0 thumping of Mahar on Turkey Day, as the senior-laden roster ended the dynamic campaign in fine fashion. Eighteen seniors helped guide the Red Raiders to the perfect season, led by head coach Swede Benson.
Athol played in Central Mass. in those days, and the ’62 team captured the North Worcester County Championship as well as the Central Mass. Class B Championship thanks to a 16-9 victory over Gardner. Athol thumped Fitchburg, 42-8, marking the first time in over 30 years the Raiders had won a game in that rivalry.
All told, Athol outscored its nine opponents by a 280-58 margin. The defense allowed a paltry 6.4 points per game, while the offense was certainly no slouch. Quarterback Rocky Stone, who eventually coached the program from 2000-2009, was complemented nicely by tailback William Compton. The latter’s season set the school record for points with 114, and he finished up his career with an impressive total of 202.
You can’t get very far into an article about the history of Athol football without touching on the 1962 versus 1984 debate.
At the heart of Sanderson’s article during the 1984 season was the comparison between the two teams, one that continues decades later.
The 1984 team also went undefeated (11-0-0), beating Hoosac Valley, 8-7, to win the WMass Div. 2 Super Bowl. The title tilt was the only time all season Athol’s winning margin was less than 17 points, and the Raiders showcased an impressive balance by holding opponents to single digits seven times, including a 42-6 win on Thanksgiving against Mahar. The offense put up 30-plus points seven times, finishing with a school record 325 points for the season.
Head coach Don Ferrari had ties to both teams – as the coach at Bartlett High School in 1962, his team lost to Athol, 25-8. The 1984 roster was also loaded with seniors (14), and at least two players had fathers who were on the ’62 team.
Chuck Stone was quoted in Sanderson’s 1984 article comparing the two teams.
“I’d pay to see this (1984) team play the ’62 one,” he offered. “It’d be a hell of a game.”
Sanderson summed up the comparison with a poetic final paragraph: “And when arguments last from one generation to the next, it’s a true indication that both teams were something special. That can never be denied.”
Another team in the Athol High School Hall of Fame, the 1949 squad went 8-0-1 with its lone tie coming against Northampton.
The highlight came when Athol unseated Gardner for the first time in 17 years, with coaches Dutch Connor and Terry Adams also lifting the program to victories over Murdock, Adams, Turners Falls, West Springfield, Bartlett, Chicopee and Orange.
Some 88 years ago, the 1932 Athol football team put together an undefeated 7-0-0 season that was downright dominant.
Athol allowed just 34 points in seven victories, never allowing more than seven points in a game, en route to the program’s first-ever undefeated season.
Hall of Fame coach Tom O’Brien, whose name graces the football field at the school, led Athol to a season-ending 12-7 win over Gardner on Thanksgiving, while quarterback Paul Grits led things out on the field.
1941 – Went 4-0-3 overall
1967 – Went 8-1 overall
1978 – Beat Commerce, 14-12, to win the WMass D3 Super Bowl
1993 – Lost to Lee, 42-8, in the WMass D2 Super Bowl
2002 – Lost to Clinton, 51-7 in the Central/Western Mass. D3 Super Bowl
2010 – Lost to Mt. Greylock, 34-13, in the WMass D3 Super Bowl