PHS 1958 FOOTBALL TEAM

State Finalists

DISTRICT CHAMPIONS/BI-DISTRICT CHAMPIONS/ STATE QUARTER-FINAL CHAMPIONS/STATE SEMI-FINAL CHAMPIONS

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THE QUARTER-FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The Eagles hosted Houston Reagan in the quarter-final championship game, held at the Eagle home field, before a sell-out crowd of 14,000 fans.

Pasadena went head to head in the last game of the quarter-finals against Reagan. There was solid effort from each team, but with Webb, an all-state standout, and Broussard doing some heavy damage on the gridiron, backed by a solid offensive and defensive team, Reagan didn’t stand a chance. The Eagles would claim a 24-14 quarter-final championship victory and a place in the semi-finals.

THE SEMI-FINAL

By the time the Eagles reached the semifinal, they knew it was go hard or go home, because losing after a season-long winning streak would mean letting down the coaches, the team, and the entire Pasadena area. “There wasn’t a whole lot to do in Pasadena. We were mostly blue-collar kids. Our dads worked at the refineries. We had no cellphones or smart phones. Television was still black and white. You could go to the drive-in, but sports was the thing,” Bryan said.

In the semi-final game, the Eagles faced perennial power Corpus Christi Miller at Rice Stadium, Dec. 13. It was the largest and best stadium in the area at the time.

The first half was scoreless, with each team gaining only one penetration. In the second half, Miller scored a touchdown that would put the first six points on the scoreboard. The Battlin’ Bucs fumbled the ball and Choate secured it for Pasadena. After two running plays, Kerbow passed to Choate for a 42-yard touchdown, putting the first six points on the scoreboard for PHS, along with an extra point. But it was PHS’s strong defense that would prevent Miller from passing up their opponent’s score. The Eagles won the semi-finals and were headed to the state championship.

The State Championship

Pasadena was matched up against the mighty Wichita Falls for the State 4A Championship in Austin, Dec. 20. Predictions favored Wichita Falls, but the Eagles weren’t convinced yet.

“We were ranked 5th in the state. That was actually before the playoffs started. After the playoffs started, they had us ranked a little higher,” said Goehring. “In fact, Wichita Falls was right ahead of us.”

Kerbow scored Pasadena’s first and only touchdown in the first quarter. With their heads held high, never conceding defeat or quitting on the defense, the PHS Eagles fell to Wichita Falls, 48-6. Yet the crowd still cheered.

“We went up there thinking we were going to be the state champions. We had no idea that they were going to be that good or we were not going to play as well as we could have,” Goehring said.

“I’ll never forget that day,” Bryan said. “They ran the single wing in those days and they were really very well coached. They just out-manned us. We were proud to get there, but we weren’t happy with the way it turned, but they were the better team.”

PHS teammates said getting to the state championship would have been impossible without the support of their coaches.

“It was the change in the offensive strategy that Coach Barfield brought with him. Just the ability to run a little bit and throw the ball for sure helped [our team],” said Kerbow.

Coach Barfield (deceased), hailed as one of the best in the state, came to Pasadena from Baylor University. Prior to that, he coached at Cedar Bayou, Corrigan and Robstown.

“He brought in a new type offense that we called a pro-type offense that they had gone through and done well with at Baylor,” Kerbow said.

He was not only their leader, but also family.

“They were role models and that’s what I think inspired me to be a coach,” Bryan said.

The team’s success on the field mirrored their successes after high school. Nearly half the team played college football after graduating from Pasadena High School, with a few teammates becoming proballers, like Kerbow, who played for Rice University and then had a two-year stint with the Oilers.

Twelve wins, one district, bi-district, state quarter- final and state semi-final championship - the wins, the history and the camaraderie outweighed the losses. “I feel proud. I just wanted to thank the Hall of Fame for recognizing us this year,” Goehring said.

On April 13, 2019, the 1958 Pasadena High School Football team would make history once again as they were forever enshrined in the PISD Athletics Hall of Fame.