WELCOME TO THE HAWKEYES 1998 PAGE....
".....THE FINEST TEAM AND GROUP OF YOUNG MEN WE'VE HAD THE PLEASURE TO COACH...."
-The Hawkeye Coaches
TEAM HISTORY... (contd)
.....1998 was back
to the future...It marked the return of
Coach Tellep, this time as head coach,
and the return to the grey jerseys.....
Coach Tellep was assisted by John Guzay,
who had no previous football coaching
experience, but had successfully lead
his middle school little league baseball
team to the championship...And he was
intstrumental in recruiting/evaluating
new talent, which had a major impact on
the team...he also had two sons in the
program, one on the Irish, the other
with the Hawkeyes, which made for some
interesting dinner conversations at
home....Fortunately, despite the very
dismal '97 season, the team returned 15
veterans, combined with a very strong
draft, made for a very talented, deep
team...All which helped Coaches Tellep
and Guzay lead the team to not only its
first winning season in two years, but
also to its 2nd championship.....After
starting off with a tough 7-0 loss to a
tough Irish team in the blistering sun,
the team reeled off 8 straight wins,
including a 13-7 win over the Irish to
put them into a first place tie, which
is how they finished the regular season
with identical 5-1 records....This set
up a one game playoff between the two,
in the beginning of a grueling playoff
schedule, playing 4 games in the next 10
days...They beat the Irish 18-6, making
them 1st place winners of the regular
season....They then went on to badger
the Badgers 33-8 in the first round of
the playoffs, then Lash the Lions in the
title game 33-12 to make them Lakewood
Middle School Champions of 1998!!!!!!...
In a rematch of old rivals, a young but
tough Lion team had upset the Irish with
an impresive 13-0 shutout....The Lions
were going for the 3-peat, a streak that
had started with their victory over the
Hawkeyes in the '96 title game....The
Hawkeyes moved the ball well to open the
game, and scored first on a pass from QB
Pete Lazard to TE Keith Richards, the
extra point failed and the team lead 6-0
going into the 2nd quarter...But, on the
first play of the second quarter, the
Lions broke a 65yd td run off tackle to
tie the score....Thats the way the half
ended tied 6-6...But in the second half,
it was all Hawkeyes, led by Ronnie
Greenfield....First it was FB Mike Bezak
scoring around end to make it 12-6, and
they never looked back...Ronnie
Greenfield scored on an interception,
his third such score in three games,
followed by Greenfield scoring on a
broken pass play, then followed by a
Greenfield td on an option play....when
the dust had cleared, it was 33-6...the
Lions scored a meaningless td while all
the 2nd and 3d teamers were playing at
the end of the game...The Hawkeyes had
the win and the championship!!!! They
completed an amazing turn around, from
worst to first!!!!
1998 RECORDS...
OPP..SCORE..REC..PLACE
Irish....0-7......0-1...3d
Lions....12-0.....1-1...2nd
Badgers..21-6.....2-1...2nd
Irish....13-6.....3-1...1st (tie)
Lions....12-6.....4-1...1st (tie)
Badgers..33-6.....5-1...1st (tie)
Irish...18-6.....6-1...1st *1st Place Playoff
Badgers..33-8.....7-1...1st *Playoff
Lions.....33-12....8-1...1st *Title Game
1998 PICTORIAL REVIEW...
Greenfield Td......Richards Td.....Bezak Td
A.Solomon Td.....D.Lewis Td1....D.Lewis Td2
Campbell Td......Greenfield Td......Trela Td
G'field Reverse..G'field Int Irish.G'field IntLions
Richards Td Lions........Bezak Td Lions.....We're#1
1st Place......Team Celebrates....Rec Champs 98
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Email: jim_tellep@hotmail.com
