Published October 23, 1961
Let Me Go - San Benito halfback Johnny Casas (27) tries to tear away from the one-hand grip of Mission’s Edmundo Cantu (25) in the Greyhound Eagle football game Friday night. This play came late in the third quarter as Casas picked u p four yards. San Benito won its seventh game of the season, 33-0. (Staff photo)
Editor’s Note: In observance of the 50th anniversary of the 1961 San Benito Greyhounds, the San Benito News will feature in each weekend edition the story that covered the game of that week 50 years ago. This is the game featuring the San Benito Greyhounds vs. the Mission Eagles.
San Benito News
San Benito broke Mission in the first two quarters Friday night, then toyed with the Eagles in the last half while winning their seventh straight game of the season, 33-0.
A homecoming crowd of 5,000 saw the Greyhounds take their third district 16-AAA victory without a defeat. San Benito stands alone at the top of the league heap following Rio Grande City’s 12-2 loss Friday night to Pharr-San Juan-Alamo.
After building an easy 27-0 lead before halftime, San Benito Head Coach Jake Helms started emptying his bench as the San Benito second and third teams played most of the last two periods.
The Hound first team, though, came back in the fourth quarter long enough to add another six points on the longest run of the night, a 78-yard sprint by half-back Jim Helms.
The Hounds’ first touchdown was next to effortless, coming with less than three minutes gone in the game. After receiving the opening kickoff, it took the Greyhounds but five plays to march 60 yards for a six-pointer.
Fleet Gene Uptegraph cracked the scoreboard first when he rambled 43 yards around his right end, outdistancing the Eagle secondary for a 6-0 San Benito lead with 9:05 left in the first period.
Then Upty kicked the first of three extra points, and the Hounds were in control, 7-0.
Late in the first period, the Hounds started a 54-yard march for their second score. The drive consumed nine plays and picked up three first downs.
Again it was Uptegraph who provided the scoring punch. He crushed over from a yard out for the touchdown and then again kicked good on the extra point try for a 14-0 Greyhound bulge with 10:08 remaining in the second period.
Less than two minutes later, San Benito was back at the Mission goal.
Robert Cortez scooped up a Mission fumble on the kickoff to put the Hounds back in business with a first down on the Mission 30.
Helms first lost six, then gained 13 to put the ball on the Eagle 23. Then on third down, the flanking Helms headed to the right side on a delayed reverse play, stayed just inside the right sideline, and went over at the flag with 8:14 left before halftime.
Upty again booted true and San Benito had its comfortable 21-0 margin.
After a Mission punt following the kickoff, Ray Saldaña led the second string San Benito offense with a touchdown.
With a first down on the Eagle 36, Saldaña gained eight yards down to 28 on an off-tackle play to the left side.
Then on second down, on the same play, Saldaña slanted through the line and won a foot race to the flag and the Hounds went up to the tune of 27-0 with 5:08 remaining in the first half.
The extra point try by Upty was blocked by Mission’s Morris Lewis.
San Benito’s Raul Saldaña covered a Mission fumble late in the second 6period to kill a Mission march at the Hounds’ 47.
From there, the Hound reserves drove down to the Eagle two-yard stripe before the clock caught them.
On the last play before intermission, quarterback Charlie Fincher completed the only successful pass of the night when he hit Johnny Casas on the Mission seven-yard line.
Casas fought his way to the two but time ran out there.
For the first half, San Benito led in first downs, 10-2; in rushing yardage, 217-9; in passing, 16-0; and in number of plays run, 32-19.
A bad snap from center on a punting try by Mission gave San Benito the ball with a first down at the Eagle 20 early in the third quarter, but the Eagle defense rose up to stop Hound reserves at the 14.
After the Eagles had picked up a pair of first downs up to their 40, though, Uptegraph stepped in to intercept an Eagle aerial at midfield and made it back down to the Mission 28.
Again, though, the Eagles playing a spirited game through most of the last half, halted the Hounds at the 26, and took over there.
Later, an Eagle punt rolled out on San Benito’s 11-yard line as the Hound first team came in on offense once again.
Jim Lewis and Helms combined efforts for a first down out on the 25 and then Upty, quarterback Eddie McKaughan, and Helms picked up a first at the 37.
A 15-yard illegal use of hands penalty set the ball back at the 22.
From there, though, Helms headed wide to the left side from his right halfback post, did a bit of fancy footwork at the line of scrimmage and broke into the clear at the 30.
His 78-yard crowd-pleaser came with 8:25 left in the game. There was no extra point to leave the score at 33-0.
After the kickoff, San Benito’s Virgil Garcia intercepted a first down Eagle pass at the Mission 31 and scampered over the goal with the ball. The play, however, was called back after a penalty and San Benito given the ball at its 46.
Neither squad threatened in the remaining four minutes.
Halfbacks Again Pace Hounds In Statistics
Again last week, San Benito’s halfback combination divided scoring and rushing honors in the Greyhounds’ 33-0 victory over Mission.
Jim Helms, the squad’s scoring and rushing leader thus far, rolled up 139 yards on the ground and Gene Uptegraph accounted for 15 points.
Helms’ 139 yards came on 11 carries, giving him a per-carry average of just over 12 yards. He scored two touchdowns for 12 points, bringing his scoring total for the year up to 62. He has gained 715 yards on 87 carries.
Uptegraph’s 15 points brings his season scoring count to 43. He gained 75 yards on seven carries against Mission for just under an 11-yard-per-carry average.
Uptegraph has gained 466 yards on 84 carries.
Fullback Jim Lewis accounted for only 15 yards on five carries. Quarterback Eddie McKaughan rolled to 24 yards on two carries and halfback Robert Cortez picked up 31 yards on seven trips.
All other San Benito ball carriers accounted for 73 yards on 15 carries.
Uptegraph punted three times Friday night for a 33-yard average. His longest was for 38 yards, the shortest 24 yards.
San Benito passed only twice against Mission, completing one. That one completion came on the last play of the first half, a 16-yarder from quarterback Charlie Fincher to halfback Johnny Casas.
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