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 Birmingham
Vulcans vs.  Memphis
Southmen
Sunday October 12th,
1975
Attendance 18,000
The Liberty Bowl
Memphis
The Birmingham Vulcans went into the Liberty Bowl needing a victory to get
the second half of the 1975 season off to a good start after finishing behind
the Southmen in the summer standings of the WFL. The last time Birmingham
traveled to Memphis, the Southmen pummeled them midway during the 1974 season.
This trip to Memphis ended on a much more pleasant note, with the Vulcans
staging a late defensive stand deep in Vulcan territory to clinch a hard fought
18-14 win.
The early going was tense, but Memphis scored first, mounting a 60-yard, 8-play
drive. QB Danny White, who also handled the punting chores, ran 20 yards from
punt formation for a surprise first down to keep the drive going. He then passed
20 yards to Ed Marshall for the TD. Jim Kiick was stopped shy of the end zone on
the action point attempt. The remainder of the half was scoreless and the
Southmen took a 7-0 lead into intermission.
Birmingham took the second half kickoff and drove 64 yards in 10 plays to
take the lead. Vulcan QB Matthew Reed started the drive but was shaken up on a
tackle that also saw his jersey ripped off. Denny Duron came on in reserve and
engineered the drive the remainder of the way, hitting a key pass to Art
Cantrelle for 27 yards. Johnny Musso carried it in for the TD from 3 yards out.
Duron then passes to TE Jim Bishop for the AP and the Vulcans held a one point
advantage.
Toward the end of the 3rd period the Vulcans upped their lead, scoring on
a 5-play drive from the Southmen 20. This was set up by William Bryant’s
recovery of a Willie Spencer fumble, which he returned to the Memphis 20 yard
line. Reed passed to Dennis Homan for 14 yards to the one-yard line, where
Cantrelle carried it in for the score. The AP attempt failed and Birmingham led
15-7 with 5:22 to go in the 3rd.
Memphis came right back, however, with a 60-yard drive in 8 plays to draw
closer. A 30-yard pass from White to Marshall accounted for the TD. Kiick again
was again denied on the AP attempt and the Vulcans’ lead was a single point,
15-14.
With 11:17 remaining the Vulcans drove to the Memphis 4-yard line, but the
drive stalled, so Ron Slovensky kicked a 22-yard field goal to give the Vulcans
a bit of breathing room, 18-14.
After each team tried to generate some offense, Memphis mounted a late
drive towards the winning score. Memphis faced 2nd down at the Vulcans 13 yard
line. After an incompletion on 3rd down, White found Marshall on 4th down in the
end zone. Vulcan defenders Larry Willingham and Jim McKinney converged on
Marshall and the ball. Willingham got a hand on the ball and McKinney hit
Marshall hard, jarring the ball loose. Although the ball was laying on the
Liberty Bowl turf, the official behind the play signaled touchdown, eliciting
cheers from the hometown Southmen fans. However, another official, who saw the
play cleanly, pulled the official aside for a quick conference, where the play
was correctly ruled and incompletion. Marshall was knocked out cold by
McKinney’s hit, having to be carried from the field while the two teams were
screaming back and forth while the officials conferred.
Matthew Reed downed the ball 3 times and the game ended with fans throwing
bottles, cups of ice and anything else that could be thrown, towards the Vulcans
and the officials. Most of the projectiles missed their targets, but some staff
and other Birmingham folks were hit as they hastily made their exits from the
Liberty Bowl floor and into the relative safety of the dressing room.
Art Cantrelle, the games leading rusher, picking up 124 yards on 27 carries, was
the first Vulcan to surpass the 100-yard mark. Joe Profit gained 42 yards,
Johnny Musso picked up 37 yards before leaving with a knee injury, and Bill
Rudder picked up 23 yards.
Willie Spencer was the leading Southmen ground gainer with 50 yards, while
Jim Kiick was held to only 10 yards on as many carries. Danny White was 16 for
32 for 206 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. Reed was 7 of 21 for 63 yards,
with 2 picks, while Duron was 1 of 1 for 27 yards.
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