Crawfordsville entered Friday’s game 2-0 for the fourth time in five years so the question was asked, when was the last time a Crawfordsville team went undefeated? Well, the team we are going to talk about today was not undefeated, but it was unbeaten.
Which team was that? The 1968 team of course.
No, they were not undefeated, as they tied Central Catholic in the second game of the season. Still, they deserve to be mentioned as one of the best football teams in the long history of Crawfordsville football.
Prior to the season, Crawfordsville Coach Glenn Knecht thought this team would be exciting and he turned out to be right as his 10th football team provided him with his 10th winning season in a row.
The season started off with a thrilling win over then arch-rival Lafayette Jeff. It was about as exciting as it could get as the Athenians posted a thrilling 21-20 victory with Brad Cowan scoring the final touchdown and extra point with just 4:48 to play. In the game, the Athenians rushed for 209 yards against the Bronchos.
Then came the only blemish on the season as the Athenians let a 13-0 halftime lead slip away and allowed the Knights to earn the 13-13 tie. That was a game the players and coaches still think about to this day.
From that point on the Athenians were perfect. They went on to post seven straight victories. In those seven games the Athenians’ defense allowed just 13 points as they beat West Lafayette 19-0, Lebanon 12-7, Noblesville 19-0, Fountain Central 42-0, Frankfort 20-0, Carmel 35-6 and Brownsburg 34-0.
Overall for the season the Athenians outscored their opposition 215-46. In their five Sagamore Athletic Conference games, the Athenians outscored the opposition 120-13.
The defensive unit may have been the best ever. In addition to allowing a microscopic 5.75 points per game, the team forced 29 fumbles and recovered 18 and also picked off 12 passes. On the other side of the ball, the Crawfordsville offense had just eight fumbles and lost four and threw just eight interceptions giving the team a plus 18 in the giveaway/takeaway category in nine games.
If this defensive unit isn’t the best ever, it would have to be one of the top two or three. In fact that team has to be mentioned whenever the conversation come up about the best defensive teams ever. The defensive team from the 1989 team was awfully impressive as well. Those two teams probably would have to rank No. 1 and No. 2 but I’ll leave that up to those who know more about Crawfordsville football than me.
Crawfordsville found all kinds of ways to win games that year. The team had a strong ground game led by Dave Churchill who led the team with 583 yards on just 89 carries and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. Cowan added 391 yards on 97 carries and a team-high seven touchdowns, while Don Frederick added 310 yards on 73 carries.
Keith Bullock was not asked to throw the ball a lot, but still managed to throw for 599 yards and 12 touchdowns. He completed 38 of 113 passes, but had a huge game against Carmel as he threw for five touchdowns in that 35-6 win. He also had a three-touchdown game when he threw for 206 yards and three scores against Noblesville.
The defense did more than its fair share. In fact, the defense saved the game against Lebanon as Frederick picked off a Tiger pass in the end zone with just 12 seconds to play to preserve the victory.
And even the depth of the team paid off in the final game of the season as they went into the game with three starters out due to injuries.
The unbeaten season was the first since 1909 when Crawfordsville had a team finish 8-0. The Athenians were also undefeated in 1906 when it went 2-0. The only other team which ended the regular season without a loss was the 1989 team which went 12-0 before losing in the semistate.
Barry Lewis has been involved in Montgomery County sports for nearly 50 years. He has a passion for keeping its rich history and tradition alive.
