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1973 Florence State Lions football team

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1973 Florence State Lions football
ConferenceGulf South Conference
Record4–6 (3–6 GSC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRichie Gaskell (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorMike Dean (1st season)
Home stadiumBraly Municipal Stadium
Seasons
← 1972
1974 →
1973 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–17 Troy State $ 6 1 0 7 2 1
No. 4 Jacksonville State 5 2 0 7 2 0
Delta State 6 3 0 8 3 0
Livingston 4 3 1 6 3 1
Northwestern State 3 4 0 5 6 0
Mississippi College 3 4 0 4 6 0
Southeastern Louisiana 3 4 0 4 6 0
Florence State 3 6 0 4 6 0
Nicholls State 2 7 0 2 9 0
Tennessee–Martin 1 5 1 2 8 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

The 1973 Florence State Lions football team represented Florence State University as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 1973 NAIA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Mickey Andrews, the Lions compiled an overall record of 4–6 with a mark of 3–6 in conference play, tying for seventh place in the GSC. Florence State played home game at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 87:30 p.m.at Southeastern LouisianaL 0–267,000[1]
September 227:30 p.m.Delta StateW 21–185,500[2]
September 297:30 p.m.Livingston
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL (rivalry)
W 13–126,200[3][4]
October 62:00 p.m.Mississippi Collegedagger
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL
L 7–268,200[5]
October 137:30 p.m.at Northwestern StateL 14-276,000[6]
October 202:00 p.m.at Troy StateL 7–368,300[7][8]
October 277:30 p.m.at Nicholls StateW 27–116,500[9]
November 37:30 p.m.Appalachian State*
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL
W 21–75,500[10][11]
November 102:00 p.m.at Tennessee–MartinL 16–177,100[12]
November 177:30 p.m.Jacksonville State
  • Braly Municipal Stadium
  • Florence, AL
L 12–426,500[13][14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

[15][16][17]

Offseason

[edit]

Coaching changes

[edit]

Preparation for the 1973 season began before the 1972 season concluded. Durell Mock, who had led the Lions to a 3–24 record in three seasons, announced that he would resign from the head coach position after the final game of the season at Jacksonville State.[18] With the resignation, the search for a new head coach began. Unofficial reports suggested that four coaches had been chosen for final consideration. The list of coaches was made up of Southern Miss assistant coach Hamp Cook, Georgia assistant coach Byrd Whigham, and Auburn assistant coach Sam Mitchell.[19] But, it would be the fourth man on the list who got the job: Mickey Andrews.

Andrews, who had previously been coaching at Florence State rival Livingston, was announced as the new head coach and athletic director on November 30.[20] In his three years at Livingston, he coached the Tigers to a NAIA National Championship and a Gulf South Conference championship in 1971. He also played defensive back for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1962 to 1964.

Andrews brought forth multiple changes during the offseason. He brought previous members of his coaching staff at Livingston to join him in Florence. Mike Dean, who Andrews had brought on to Livingston to become a defensive coach, was selected as defensive coordinator. Richie Gaskell, who had been head coach at Carson-Newman before joining Andrews' coaching staff, joined on as the new offensive coordinator.[16]

Spring practice

[edit]

Andrews and his new coaching staff quickly became dissatisfied with the state of the team. After the first spring practice, Andrews said in an interview, "We're about as far away from being a football team as any group I've ever seen on the first day of spring practice. The best thing we had was effort."[21] During the remaining spring practice sessions, the amount of players would drop from the initial seventy to only thirty-four remaining. This along with the record amount of freshman joining the team led to a very young Florence State Lions football team in 1973.

New stadium proposal

[edit]

Off the gridiron, plans for a new stadium for the Lions were being drafted. Despite playing in Braly Stadium since 1949, it seemed that the Lions had outgrown the stadium. With the recent move to the Gulf South Conference and the construction of Flowers Hall, it seemed that Florence State athletics was about to grow. Along with this, issues were beginning to arise about sharing Braly with high school teams. There were several instances in the previous years where both Coffee High School and Bradshaw High School would play on Thursday and Friday and then, the Lions would play on Saturday. This would create poor field conditions by the time Florence State took the field on Saturday night.[22]

With these sentiments, the FSU Alumni Association led by Harlon Hill began to create plans and fundraise for the stadium. By May, the proposal would gain support from the city and optimism for the stadium was high. The proposed stadium would be built west of the Florence State campus and have a capacity of 20,000. The stadium would also have artificial turf. With the optimism, it was believed that the stadium would break ground in 1974.[23] However, it would not. It would be fifty years later in 2024 when the university broke ground on Braly's replacement, Bank Independent Stadium.[24]

Roster

[edit]
1973 North Alabama Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C John Anderson Fr
OT Tony Ayah So
WR Richard Bagwell Fr
OT Harry Bowman Jr
OT Hal Breffle Fr
HB Cornelius Brown Fr
TE Dale Courington Fr
C Paul Daniel Fr
HB Raymond Dew Fr
G Bob Dorcheck Fr
OT David Doverspike Fr
FB Jim Durden Fr
C Jerry Elkins Fr
QB Danny Everett Fr
QB Roger Ferrell So
SE Tony Gandy Fr
QB Bobby Gauntney Fr
TE Steve Grefseng So
G Tim Harden Fr
OT Wendall Hawthorn Sr
G Jerry Hodges Fr
OT Brad Holden Fr
HB Marvin Jarman Fr
G Barry Johnson So
SE Danny Kimble Sr
QB Larry Klatt Fr
SE Mike Knight So
OT Barry Kohen So
WR Lonnie Luckerson Fr
FB Carlos Mejia Fr
QB Nick Martilli Fr
G Bob McConnell Fr
HB Bill McGlincy So
HB Tony McMinn So
OT Rolando Medrano Fr
QB Chuck Medders Fr
WR Mark Merritt Fr
G Greg Miller Fr
FB Jerry Mizell So
HB Terry Mizell Jr
G Andy Morris So
HB Larry Parker Fr
OT Ben Parrish Fr
C Paul Parvin Jr
G Jim Pillow Fr
HB Steve Pope Fr
HB Jeff Porterfield Fr
G David Pruitt Fr
FL Roger Ralph So
QB Lee Robbs Fr
HB Greg Rorex Fr
TE Keith Bryant So
G Ewing Sellers Fr
HB Kiney Sexton Fr
C Mike Sheehan Fr
QB Mike Shipp Fr
C Larry Short Fr
FB Norman Simms Fr
WR Ricky Smith Fr
OT David Stallcup Fr
TE William Steffey Fr
G Troy Underwood Fr
QB Raymond Weaver Jr
HB Ricky Yates Fr
G Ted Yoho Fr
OT Tony Yoho So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Calvin Bacon Fr
DT Tommy Baker Fr
DT Joe Bowman Fr
LB Maurice Browley Fr
DT Larry Brown Jr
DB Eddie Burns Fr
DB John Calvert Fr
DE James Crawford Fr
DB Robert Crouch Fr
LB Frank Deliz Fr
DB Curtis Dixon Fr
DT Jud Driver Fr
DB Jim Ezell So
DE Danny Fromhold Fr
DT Joe Gabr Fr
DB Bruce Gentle Fr
DB Marty Gentle Fr
DB Terry Hanks Fr
S Billy Hargrove Sr
DB Robbie Hudson So
DB Larry Jefferys Jr
DE Jerome Jeffries Fr
DT Paul Jenkins Fr
DB Marty Johnson Fr
OT Charlie Kennedy So
LB James Laggis Fr
LB Curtis Lowery Fr
DT Sparks Luncheford Fr
DB Clayton Lundy Fr
DB Mike McCombs Fr
DE Spry Mitchell Sr
DE Mike Murray Fr
DB Mike Petty Fr
LB Ivan Richard So
DT Stan Romine Fr
DT Tim Searchy Fr
DE Tobin Sexton Fr
LB Elwin Smith Fr
LB Lawrence Stephens Fr
LB Steve Stewart So
LB Bill Strain Jr
DT Frank Strickland Fr
DB James Sullivan Fr
LB Ricky Swords Fr
DT John Trotter Jr
DB Terry Wray Fr
LB A.C. Wright Fr
LB Wade Yates Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Dale Mathis Sr
K Mark Turner Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Richie GaskellOffensive coordinator
  • Mike Dean – Defensive coordinator
  • Wally Burnham – Offensive line coach
  • Bob Herring – Defensive line coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Southeastern Shuts Out Florence State, 26-0". Gadsden Times. Gadsden. September 9, 1973. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  2. ^ "Kimble Sets Two Passing Receiving Records In Florence State Win". Times Daily. Florence. September 24, 1973. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ^ Carpenter, Gary (September 30, 1973). "Lions Win 13-12 Thriller". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "Andrews Says Livingston Win 'Has To Rank Among Greatest'". Times Daily. Florence. October 2, 1973. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ Stout, Harold (October 7, 1973). "Sluggish Lions Defeated By Choctaws". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ "Fumbles Costly In Lions' 27-14 Loss". Times Daily. Florence. October 7, 1973. p. 118. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  7. ^ "Troy State dumps FSU". The Selma Times-Journal. October 21, 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Gary (October 21, 1973). "Troy Trounces Lions". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  9. ^ "Florence State Whips NSU, 27-11". Times Daily. Florence. October 28, 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  10. ^ "Florence St. beats Apps". The News and Observer. November 4, 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Harris, Gary (November 4, 1973). "Lions Upend Appalachian, 21-7". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ^ Stout, Harold (November 11, 1973). "Late Mistakes Cost Lions Fifth Loss". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  13. ^ Harris, Jack (November 18, 1973). "Invading Gamecocks Rip Florence State, 42-12". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  14. ^ "Jax in tune as Florence sings blues". The Anniston Star. November 18, 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Florence State Final 1973 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". stats.NCAA.org. NCAA. 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c Thomas, Ronnie (1973). "1973 Football Guide" (PDF). RoarLions.com. North Alabama Athletics. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  17. ^ Thomas, Ronnie (1974). "1974 Football Guide" (PDF). RoarLions.com. North Alabama Athletics. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "Mock Resigns FSU Grid Post". Times Daily. Florence. November 14, 1972. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  19. ^ "FSU Coaching Prospects Narrowed To Four". Times Daily. Florence. November 23, 1972. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  20. ^ Harris, Jack (November 30, 1972). "Andrews New FSU Coach". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  21. ^ "Coach Unhappy With Initial Lion Workout". Times Daily. Florence. April 3, 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive. We're about as far away from being a football team as any group I've ever seen on the first day of spring practice. The best thing we had was effort.
  22. ^ Kelley, Pete (February 28, 1973). "New Stadium For FSU Is Badly Needed Now". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  23. ^ "DFU Pledges Support For Stadium Project". Times Daily. Florence. May 20, 1973. Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  24. ^ "UNA breaks ground on Bank Independent Stadium". RoarLions.com. North Alabama Athletics. June 14, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.