By By Adam Robinson
Sports Editor
An 11-0 record, 484 points scored and only 28 given up, and eight shutouts in 11 games. That resume of stats was what the 1969 T.R. Miller Tiger football team did to earn the team the schools first state championship in football.
After defeating Abbeville 41-14 in the first round of the playoffs (semifinals) the 1969 team capped off their undefeated state championship season with a 27-0 spanking of Aliceville in Brewton in the state championship game.
Current T.R. Miller Tiger head coach, who has helped lead T.R. Miller to four state championships as a coach, was not even in high school at the time.
This football season, Riggs, the T.R. Miller quarterback and the school will honor the 1969 team with their 40th year reunion.
The game will be played on Friday, October 2 against Calhoun.
Riggs said he along with his son Mikel will put a video together that will be shown at the program.
During the 1969 season, only the top four teams made the playoffs after a points totaling and you had a semifinals and a finals Riggs said. The next year they went to three and then four and then there were just two rounds.
Riggs said that he thinks that the players will enjoy having the ceremony for them and enjoy getting back together.
The 1969 team was not scored on until the sixth game of the season against Monroeville. “They were ahead like 28-0 in the fourth quarter and threw an interception and they ran it back for a touchdown and that was the first time they had been scored on,” Riggs said. “The defense gave up six points to Evergreen and 14 points to Abbeville. If I am not mistaken, they were way ahead of Abbeville and they scored late in the second half.”
Greer Horton and Bucky Phillipi were team captains of the 1969 team. Mack Wood was the head coach that year and Frank Cotton, Larry Mickwee and Hinton Johns were assistant coaches.
Riggs said that there is also talk of them getting state championship rings that they never got.
Riggs said there had been talk before discussing it, but nothing happened.
Please contact Riggs at 867-8436 or at jamieriggs33@gmail.com with addresses or emails of team members, cheerleaders, coaches and administrators.