THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR INDIANHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE ATHLETICS

For 11 seasons, the Centerville / Indian Hills Community College Golden Falcons Football program saw spurts of glory – the 9-win season in 1967 under Mark Hopkins, the 1971 conference championship under Al Daniels, and numerous All-American honors in between. But the success of the 1974 team brought the small-town program from Centerville to the grandest of stages in the national spotlight.

On Saturday night, the 1974 Golden Falcons will officially be inducted into the Indian Hills Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. Members of the Golden Falcons will travel to both Centerville and Ottumwa over the weekend before the official ceremony at halftime of the Indian Hills Men's Basketball game at the Hellyer Center.

Under second year head coach Jim Spry, the 1974 Golden Falcons put together an undefeated regular season in what proved to be the final year of Indian Hills Football. In the program's 12^th year of existence, the Golden Falcons soared to the No. 1 overall rank in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Football Poll during the regular season before finishing the year at No. 2 in the national poll.

The Golden Falcons' remarkable regular season saw unprecedented victories over the likes of previous No. 1 nationally ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, a 57-0 shutout in the regular season finale over No. 13 Iowa Lakes Community College, and a pair of wins over Ellsworth Community College, widely regarded as the Golden Falcons' toughest opponent throughout the year.

Despite its unheralded run to a flawless record, the Golden Falcons finished second in the national poll, awarding No. 1 ranked Ferrum College (VA) the mythical NJCAA Championship. For their efforts, Spry's team was selected to participate in the 9^th annual Wool Bowl in Roswell, NM, the NJCAA's lone bowl game that season that pitted the southwest region's top program in No. 5 nationally ranked Mesa Junior College (AZ) against the distant Golden Falcons from Centerville.

In the words of Terry Hersom of the Ottumwa Courier, "For coach Jim Spry and his unbeaten Indian Hills group, the Wool Bowl is like getting a Corvette for Christmas when you'd asked Santa for a Ferrari."

Rankings aside, Spry noted the golden opportunity that was presented for his program when learning of the team's selection to the Wool Bowl.  "We'll just take what we got and be happy – our kids were disappointed about the ratings, but the bowl trip soothes the wound. We've got an opportunity that 175 other football teams would love to have."

The Golden Falcons boarded a bus at midnight on a Wednesday and made the 1,000-mile trek down Highway 2 to Roswell, joined by nearly 100 boosters from Southeast Iowa to take on Mesa, an institution that outweighed Indian Hills' enrollment by more than 9,000 students, on November 30.

Riding a 14-game winning streak that dated back to the previous season, the Indian Hills defense saw its 12-quarter scoreless streak snapped as Mesa jumped ahead early only to see the Golden Falcons strike back with a pair of scores to take a 13-7 lead. Indian Hills maintained its edge until a late fourth quarter Mesa touchdown, and a second-chance PAT allowed the home team to take a one-point advantage and hand the Golden Falcons its lone defeat on the year.

Despite the loss in the final game of the NJCAA Football season, the Golden Falcons saw their fair share of praise and accolades from around the nation. Lorenzo Turner was elected as the Wool Bowl's Outstanding Defense Player and garnered All-American honors alongside Percy McBride and Matt Cumberworth while multiple individuals earned tours in professional football, including Ron Baker's 10-year career in the NFL.

The 1974 Golden Falcons left their mark on the Centerville community as well as the junior college football landscape, and to this day, remain the only Iowa team to compete in the Wool Bowl, and the only undefeated team in school history.

James Louis, member of the 1974 squad, on his time at Indian Hills

"Being selected to the Indian Hills Hall of Fame is truly an honor of achievement. Being remembered as part of something special during a period of our lives some time ago, says to our friends, family, and special loved ones, this group of athletes did it right.

Our lives were simple then - go to class, study, practice, and return to our living quarters (The Big White House). From the very beginning I realized and quickly learned that education was first, but competitive athletic accomplishments could be achieved only after the proper sacrifice, which our team seemed willing to commit only after several weeks of hard work and hours of preparation.

This is truly an honor, which actually hit me by surprise. I am truly grateful for being remembered after all this time."

Jerome Kater, member of the 1974 squad, on his time at Indian Hills

"My two years at Indian Hills totally grew me up in responsibilities caring for myself, my finances, my school work. Athletics came naturally so I totally enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of a great football program in 1974 and play with some of the finest athletes in the junior college ranks.

It was truly amazing how such a small program could bring players in from all around the country. I was blessed to establish some lifetime friendships as a result of my short stay in Centerville and my participation as a football player. I look forward to meeting up with the guys again and being at the campus for I have not been there since 1974."

Frank DeCamp, member of the 1974 squad, on his time at Indian Hills

"I am so grateful to be a part of a wonderful team and truly honored to be an inductee into the  Indian Hills Hall of Fame with a fantastic team. I will never forget the memories that Indian Hills has provided for me.

I believe my time at Indian Hills was one of the best decisions I ever made. Playing on the best junior college football program, getting to know the team and all the great players we had from all around the country and us eating our meals at a small café on the square - we were very good and we played as a unit. But what was unbelievable was the talent we had with great coaches - coach Spry and coach Van Ort and our equipment manager, Harlod Kepner. They are great people. There are so many great memories and I am very honored and so grateful to be one of many inductees to the Hall of Fame with an undefeated Indian Hills football team."

Larry Van Oort, offensive coordinator of the 1974 squad, on his time at Indian Hills

"I had the thrill and privilege of coaching football at IHCC from 1971 to 1974. During my first two years, I coached the defensive line and linebackers alongside coach Ron Oswalt, an outstanding defensive coordinator. During these two years, most of the players lived in a dormitory across town from the campus.

The end of those two years was tumultuous: one, the dormitory closed and, two, the head coach and coach Oswalt left. This left coach Jim Spry and me to not only stabilize the football team's returning players, find new housing for them, but to also rebuild the team with new additional players. We did so very successfully - the next two years we went 7-2 in 1973 and 10-0 in 1974 capped off with a trip to the Wool Bowl in Roswell, New Mexico.

What were the reasons for our success? Coach Spry and I kept it simple. He agreed to coach the defense and I coached the offense while supporting each other during practice drills and game planning. We were fortunate because the 1973 returning players displayed maturity and trust in us two coaches because we treated them as partners in the challenges we faced. The incoming players in 1973 and 1974 all fit together because each of us agreed to subordinate our individual egos for the excellence of the team. Clearly, it worked.

The thrill and the privilege I experienced during my time coaching at IHCC have given me the luxury of incredible memories and relationships with people I never otherwise would have:

• Lonnie Love's 102-yard punt return to beat far-away Grand Rapids CC in the last few minutes in 1973—the first game of the season.
• Tony Galbreath's 55-yard touchdown run on a draw play against Northeast Oklahoma CC also in 1973. I can still feel the vacuum he created as he hit their secondary.
• Kirk Englebart's 50-yard touchdown pass to Hernando Johnson to beat Grand Rapids, also the first game of 1974, winning 14-7.
• Alphie Fulton's herculean effort to play in that same game while completely out of shape.
• Watching Ron Baker and Matt Cumberworth cleanly execute trap, sweep, and bootleg blocking with authority and technique game after game.
• Relying upon Tim Mosher and Pat Henry to get the push and protection needed. They made the football coach's motto ring true: "The Lord loves the teams that have great tackles."
• Smiling inside while watching the three best receivers I've ever seen: James Lewis, Lloyd Henry, and Percy McBride, run, catch, and block. They were three Palominos. James Lewis's catching touchdown on a glance pattern thrown by Tim Hotop at home against Northeast Oklahoma, Lloyd Henry's catching a 40-yard touchdown against NIACC, and Percy McBride's making an impossible catch-and-run that led to our win against Waldorf.
• We had a stable of selfless tailbacks, fullbacks, and slotbacks. Mulbauer and Singleton hitting the traps perfectly, Hernando Johnson and Chuck Tschopp on the counter play; Cleo Ingram on the sweeps.

Understand that all these offensive memories were hand-in-glove with our stout, proud defense. We were a football team in the truest sense of the word. Thanks, fellas, for the memories."