This is the sixth installment of my special series recalling Andrew Warde High School's football rivalry with Roger Ludlowe. If you have any photos, film, or programs, please contact me at pppiorek@news12.com. Thank you.The 1969 gridiron showdown between Andrew Warde and Roger Ludlowe high schools was, without question, one of the most highly-anticipated in the long and storied rivalry between the two teams. There were many intriguing storylines to capture the interest of even the most casual fan.
The pivotal Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference clash was tabbed as "The Game" in Fairfield. The stakes were high since both the Crimson Eagles and Flying Tigers entered the game with identical 3-0 overall records, tied with New Canaan atop the league's Eastern Divison. A longtime coaching friendship, a father-and-son confrontation, and a sentimental homecoming added even more excitement prior to Ludlowe's game at Warde on Saturday, October 11, 1969.
The two starting quarterbacks in that contest 39 years ago --- Warde's Roberto "Chico" Rodriguez and Ludlowe's Mike Tetreau --- will be the featured guest speakers at the pre-game dinner for both of this year's squads at Warde Tuesday night. Both former signal callers will be reminiscing about that much-anticipated game, no doubt.
Warde's longtime coach, Fern Tetreau, was hoping to end Ludlowe's prolonged supremacy in the series, which included three straight one-sided triumphs. In addition, Tetreau, the former head coach at Ludlowe, was facing his good friend, Tigers' Coach Emil Taft, in one of the most congenial and sportsmanlike rivalries anywhere. Adding even more intrigue to the contest, Tetreau faced another unusual challenge as his son, Mike, was the quarterback for the rival Tigers.
"We always managed to have fun with the idea that Dad and I were on opposing teams," Mike Tetreau, now a coach with Fairfield Pop Warner football, told me via email. "We talked a lot of football every day all year long, except the week before the game. Then we still talked, but somehow we stayed away from football as a topic," he added.
According to an article in the Bridgeport Post dated October 9, 1969, "Town loyalties will be divided between both camps Saturday, with the exception of Mrs. Tetreau, who must remain neutral for obvious reasons. The choice of this writer is the Flying Tigers, but one thing is certain, there will be a winner in the Tetreau household."
The stage was set prior to the big battle. After building Ludlowe into a football powerhouse in the 1950s, Fern Tetreau's previous few seasons at Warde prior to 1969 were on the lean side with only a handful of victories each season. However, the Eagles boasted their best team in quite some time heading into the showdown with their cross-town rivals.
Taft continued the winning tradition at Ludlowe. His 1968 squad posted an impressive 8-2 record. The 1969 squad, second-ranked in the state by early October, had already demolished three opponents by a combined score of 158 to 19. Warde, on the other hand, was impressive as well, outscoring its opponents by a combined 95 to 56 before meeting the Tigers.
The Tigers' attack was led by top-flight signal-caller Tetreau, powerful runners, first-class receivers, and tough linemen. Fullback Kevin Prendergast and halfbacks Chris Brown and Ben Jacobellis led the strong Ludlowe ground game. The veteran senior backfield carried the Tigers to a crushing 42-6 victory over the Eagles in 1968.
Mike Tetreau was impressed with the talent on the 1969 Ludlowe squad. "We were a team of mostly seniors. We had mostly two-year and some three-year starters," pointed out the former Ludlowe signal caller about the experienced-laden Ludlowe squad of nearly 40 years ago. "We were averaging close to 50 points per game," he recalled.
"Prendergast and Brown were our co-captains," Mike Tetreau continued. "Kevin was just a great football player, a 230-pound fullback and linebacker that could run, back in the day when being 200 pounds made you a lineman. He had a huge junior year, so he was the one everyone was keying on.
"One game as a junior, he ran off tackle, and it took all eleven defensive players to bring him down," Tetreau continued. "Needless to say, we re-ran that film a lot and ran that play a lot during games."
As for Brown, he was a 190-pound halfback and linebacker with very good speed, remembered Tetreau. "He also had good hands and made his share of receptions. He really came into his own on offense as a senior. He and Kevin were the linebackers over the middle that no one got by in our 6-2 defense."
Tetreau admitted that Jacobellis was the team's best athlete. He was a star in basketball and in track as a pole vaulter. "Ben played left halfback. He was our 'go to' back and scored over 100 points that season, which is just about two touchdowns per game. He had excellent speed and good size at 175 pounds. He was a very good receiver, too."
Seres was Ludlowe's split end and typically the fastest player on the field, Tetreau pointed out. "One game he caught four touchdown passes. He could get open deep. His patterns were superb, so if someone played off, we threw to him on short posts and 'outs' all game long. Dave and I spent a lot of off season time together working on our timing. We saw it all pay off senior year," he stated.
"We also had Harold Stone as a junior at tight end. He was All-FCIAC the next year. So with this kind of talent at the skill positions, defenses were not sure who to stop or focus on. Everyone scored a lot. That is why we averaged 43 points per game over the season. Each week it was someone else stepping up," he added.
The younger Tetreau relayed a story from the previous week which served to inspire the Tigers even more. "We played Darien the week prior to the Warde game. We started off slow, not really having a good first half by our standards," he mentioned.
"Warde had played the day before, so a number of their players came to watch our game. There was some good natured 'trash talking' from behind our bench. Fortunately for us, that trash talking made sure that our team was 'up' for the Warde game. (There was no) no getting caught offguard or looking past Warde."
The Eagles also boasted a solid quarterback in Rodgriguez, a junior, who had already tossed eight scoring passes, and three top runners in Alan Cassidy, Tim Carthens, and Bob Orciuch. The Eagles' Dave Abraham was a top receiver in the FCIAC, while Doug Forstrom and Joe Skalski bolstered the Eagles' line, with Bob Mattice and Rene Chennell doing likewise for the Tigers.
So, what was the atmosphere like at Warde the day of the game? "It was fun," the Tigers' former quarterback admitted. "There was plenty of talk in the schools. Everyone was 'pumped' for the game, players and students alike. I just came across a headline that said 8,000 attended the game. That is a big event in Fairfield. Everyone was there!"
The game, though, didn't quite live up to the hype preceding it. The Tigers quickly disspelled any upset notions the Eagles may have entertained. Ludlowe scored early and often in a crushing 40-8 victory at the Warde field.
Jacobellis, who notched a pair of touchdowns, Prendergast, Brown, and the younger Tetreau tore the Eagles' defensive corps apart with their slanting, twisting, bruising, and scrambling ground maneuvers to drop Warde from the unbeaten hierarchy.
"We had a very experienced offensive group," explained the Tigers' Tetreau, who later returned as an assistant coach under Taft in 1979 when Ludlowe played Warde twice. "We expected to score. Our defense was very good, also. Warde had a couple of turnovers early. One of our trademarks was starting fast. I believe we scored 27 or so in the first half. Once we had a lead, Benny, Kevin, and Chris gave us a ground game that could really keep the clock moving in our favor.
"Our take on the game after was that it was closer than the score," he continued. "We took advantage of the turnovers. Warde didn't quite get untracked offensively. And because they didn't quit, we knew we had played a good football team when the game was over."
Ludlowe, which moved to 4-0 overall, remained tied atop the FCIAC East with New Canaan as both clubs sported 3-0 league marks. Warde fell to 2-1 in the conference and 3-1 overall.
"We were used to winning," added the younger Tetreau. "Our JV year we went 9-0, and our junior season we went 8-2. (After the Warde game) as seniors we were 3-0. We were used to scoring a lot of points: 60, 50, and 48. That's 53 points per game."
That was more than enough to beat Warde and to be ranked second in the state.
Paul
Please sign the AWHS Guest Book.
Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.
Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film".
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