PHS ’58 EAGLE FOOTBALL TEAM

The story of Pasadena High School’s 1958 football team remains one of the most celebrated in PISD Athletics Hall of Fame history.

With some of the finest coaches at the helm - head coach Bob Barfield, and assistants Sam Sailer, Jack Fink and John Maguire — the team would be remembered as the first — the ONLY Pasadena ISD football squad to compete for state championship glory. “It was a great season,” said John Bryan, No. 82. “No Pasadena team before or since has ever gone that far.”

It’s been 60 years since that pivotal time in PHS history. And now, the team has reunited to be inducted into the district’s 2019 Athletics Hall of Fame. “I feel like all of the players on our ‘58 team are being recognized individually for being a part of a great team,” said Charlie Goehring, an Eagle starter and current Hall of Fame committee member. “I’m very proud and my family is very proud too.”

The road to state was paved with some bumps along the way, but those bumps would give way to an impressive football season.

NON-DISTRICT GAMES

During the first season non-district opener in Odessa, Sept. 12, 1958, several mistakes by PHS that weekend led to a 21-8 upset. On the upsidethe Eagle squad had the opportunity to fly on an airplane - a first for the majority of the team. During the long trip home, Pasadena decided that losing was no fun and no longer an option.

That feeling drove them to two victories against Houston Lamar and Texarkana High Schools and a 12game winning streak.

District Games

In the pre-season district predictions, the Eagles were ranked by experts as third or fourth behind Galena Park, Baytown and Spring Branch, but over time, they proved their critics wrong. A decisive victory against Galveston Ball preceded the big showdown against their rival, their white whale, the Baytown Ganders.

The team clearly brought their a-game that day, beating Baytown 28-0. One of the team captains, Lawrence Broussard put the first few points on the board, scoring on a 46-yard sprint. Minutes later, Randall Kerbow passed to Goehring for a 24-yard touchdown, and then passed to Robbie Robinett for the extra two points before halftime. Bobby Crenshaw scored one touchdown when he blocked and recovered the ball in the Baytown end zone. During the second half, Randall Kerbow passed to Carl Choate for the final touchdown of the evening.

Not only did they gain more confidence after the Baytown victory, but they earned the respect of sports experts across the state - eventually turning the eyes of Texas upon PHS. “Baytown beat us the two years before. Then, we beat them 28 to nothing,” said Goehring, a former starter for PHS. “That was one of the highlights for me and I think for the rest of the team because for some reason Pasadena always had a hard time beating Baytown.” Their victory over Baytown set the stage for the football game against the defending 1957 district champs, Galena Park - another rival closer to home.

With their confidence high and determination set to full-throttle, the Mighty Eagle wave continued to surprise experts and topple the competition, this time in the district showdown, beating Galena Park in a hard-fought game, 10-6. The Galena Park victory was followed by good wins

BI-DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The Eagles came out of the regular season play with a 9-1 record and an undisputed district championship. While Pasadena was defeating Brazosport, Port Arthur’s Memorial High, won the right to compete against Pasadena in the bidistrict game, Nov. 28.

Port Arthur didn’t back down at the bi-district championship game. It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Eagles would score, with Broussard, Gerald Batchelor, Choate, another team captain, getting some crucial yardage, along with Kerbow scoring in the fourth quarter. With that, Pasadena’s defense took over and held on for a 6-0 victory.