Friday, December 16, 1977 | Plano Daily Star Courier
Plano Senior Highs Wildcats face possibly the best balanced team in the state Saturday at 2:30 p.m at Texas Stadium for the Class AAAA State Championship.
Port Neches-Groves is well-rounded in all areas, according to Plano Coach Tommy Kimbrough.
“As an overall team, they are the best we’ve faced.”
Who are the standouts for the Indians, who stand 14-0 on the season and won the state championship in 1975?
Coach Kimbrough feels the team has many standouts but points at five players as leading the pack.
Heading his list of standouts are #44, running back Justin Eicher, quarterback David Fry, split receiver Ronnie Delcambre, linebacker Ted Brack and defensive tackle Bruce Miller.
“Eicher is an outstanding tailback,” Coach Kimbrough said. “ He weighs 190 lb. and is a power runner but also possesses speed to go along with his power.”
Eicher has 11 touchdown runs this season and 1220 yards for a 7.2 average.
Fry is a junior quarterback and weighs 165 lb. “He is an outstanding passer,” Coach Kimbrough said.
Fry has passed 100 times for 10 touchdowns and 876 yards. He has completed 47 of those passes and thrown only four interceptions. His backup is senior Mitch Carter, 190 lb. Carter has thrown only nine passes and completed three for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
Delcambre has been the prima donna for the Indians in the playoffs. The 160 lb. senior has 10 touchdown receptions and has caught 24 passes for 532 yards. He has caught six touchdown passes in the playoffs and two of those came last week in the 19-0 semifinal win over San Antonio Lee.
Defensively, Ted Brack is a consensus all-state linebacker. He was named to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine’s prestigious high school squad. He tips the scales at 197 lb.
Bruce Miller, 235 lb., is the largest player on the roster for Port Neches-Groves. He anchors the impressive defensive line of the Indians which boasts an eight-man front.
There are other players for Port Neches-Groves that will also play significant roles in the state championship game.
They are Howard Kern at offensive guard, a three year starter weighing in at 200 lb. Jeff Cooley at 213 lb. at guard is a two-year starter.
Mark Moss at defensive end tips the scales at only 158 lb. but his quickness allows a strong pass rush. He leads the Indians in quarterback sacks.
Robert DeRutte is playing his first season of football since the ninth grade in the Indians’ secondary. He is 6-6 and 192 lb.
Fullback James Shipley is the team’s leading scorer with 16 touchdowns and a 5.2 per carry average for 1182 yards.
Port Neches-Groves’ second leading receiver is son of Coach Doug Eldridge, Randy. He has 12 receptions for 189 yards and no touchdowns.
Randy Ethridge provided the big play of the game last week against San Antonio Lee. He raced 90 yards on the opening kickoff to score a touchdown.
Plano at A Glance:
PLANO WILDCAT TEAM STATS – Playoff Games
| Plano | Opp | |
| First Downs | 50 | 52 |
| Rushing Yardage | 652 | 511 |
| Passing Yardage | 323 | 480 |
| Passes c a | 20-47 | 26-60 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 6 |
| Fumbles Lost | 4 | 4 |
| Punts | 22-38.1 | 22-35.0 |
| Penalties | 14-175 | 10-187 |
Score by Quarters:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| Plano | 10 | 19 | 27 | 21 | 77 |
| Opponents | 17 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 44 |
Port Neches-Groves At a Glance:
PORT NECHES-GROVES INDIANS TEAM STATS – Playoff Games
| PN-G | Opp | |
| First Downs | 64 | |
| Rushing Yardage | 919 | |
| Passing Yardage | 250 | |
| Passes c a | 15-39 | |
| Interceptions | 4 | |
| Fumbles Lost | ||
| Punts | 19-35.6 | |
| Penalties | ||
Score by Quarters:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| PN-G | 27 | 34 | 13 | 20 | 94 |
| Opponents | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 19 |
