Week 2

This is the second article in the nine-week series about the history of Frankenmuth Football in celebration of 500 wins in the 69-year history.  

1960 - 1969 

1960’s – The Decade of Championships 

By Al “Chick” Rodammer 

With Coach Harry Kaczynski firmly establishing the winning culture of Frankenmuth football in the first four years, with a 31 – 1 record, a loss to end the 1959 season against a powerhouse Cass City team was motivation for the 1960 season with a talented team returning. 

The 1960 season did not start out so well as the Eagles opened the season in a non-conference game with Michigan Lutheran Seminary and battled to a 20 – 20 tie.  Fumbles, penalties, and interceptions proved costly to a big and talented Seminary team.  The Eagles opened the Thumb B schedule with a 47 – 7 rout of Lakers behind two Mike Nuechterlein to Bert Bleke TD passes.  The next week would prove to be a key game in conference play with Frankenmuth defeating Caro 12 – 0.  A 35 – 0 win over Bad Axe, a 45 – 6 win over Sandusky, where Randy Heine would score four touchdowns with one rushing touchdown, two receiving touchdowns, and returning an interception for a score.  Before a large crowd in Frankenmuth, Vassar would be the next victim in a 39 – 14 win.  A 78 – 0 win over Marlette in heavy fog would set up a rematch with Cass City for the Thumb B Conference championship.  Cass City had a streak of four straight league titles and 28 straight Thumb B wins.  On November 4, 1960, a large contingent of Frankenmuth faithful caravanned to Cass City for the showdown.  Over 5000 fans surrounded the field.  The Eagle backfield of Randy Heine, Wally Reinbold, and Jerry Reinert would dominate the Eagle attack.  Quarterback Mike Nuechterlein recalls “In the huddle after each play, I’d find out from the linemen what was available.  When the linemen had a strong lineman over them, the answer was “nothing” and I’d call plays away from him.  This game was different, every lineman wanted the play over their hole.”  The Eagles rushed for 461 yards with Heine picking up 175 yards, Reinbold 135 yards and Reinert 132 yards.  The Eagles defeated Cass City 41 – 13 and won the first Conference Championship in program history.  The ride home from Cass City was memorable.  Henry Zinck, Frankenmuth’s Chief of Police, led the way home from Cass City with his siren blaring and flashing red lights illuminating a caravan of school buses and cars that stretched over a mile.  The 1960 team would end the season with a 7-0-1 record, a #3 Class C final ranking and Saginaw News Area Champs.  Randy Heine was named a High School Prep All-American and unanimous first team All-Stater.  Heine ended his career as one of the great Eagle players, still to this day top ten in career rushing.  Jim Baker, Ken Bickel, Bert Bleke, Mike Nuechterlein, and Walt Reinbold all received All-State recognition.   

The 1961 season proved to be one of the most frustrating seasons in program history.  With only eight lettermen returning, and a rash of injuries which ended the season for many starters, the 1961 squad ended the season with a 1-6-1 record.  An opening season 13 – 12 win over Seminary, with Ken Baker scoring two rushing TDs and a season ending 13 – 13 tie with Marlette, sparked by a thrilling 64-yard run by Tom Abraham to tie the game, in between those two games were six consecutive losses.   

The Frankenmuth Eagles Football program would bounce back in 1962 with a 7-1 record with a lone loss to Thumb B Champions and Class B State Champion Bad Axe by a 20 – 0 score. This team was led by a tenacious defense which recorded six shutouts.   They opened the season with shutout wins over Seminary, Marlette, and Cass City.  The 12 – 0 win over Cass City was highlighted by two Ken Baker rushing TD’s.  A 18 – 6 win over Lakers was followed by a 27 – 0 win over Caro where Dennis Laux would rush for two scores, return an interception for a score, and pass for a TD .  After the Bad Axe loss, a 21 – 0 win over Sandusky was highlighted by two defensive touchdowns.  A Ron Loesel fumble recovery in the end zone and a Ken Baker interception return for a score. The season ended with a hard fought 19 – 7 win over Vassar, led by two Laux rushing TD’s and a Ron Loesel 40-yard interception return.  Worley and Rudy Frank would lead the defense with 57 tackles each.  Junior Dennis Laux was a first team All-State selection and Coach Kaczynski was named Michigan Coach of the Year.  Defensive linemen Dick Block also received All-State recognition.  The team would be ranked #10 in Class C to end the season.   

The 1963 season would return sixteen returning lettermen, led by four-year varsity standout Dennis Laux.  Laux would etch his name into the Frankenmuth Football record book as an all-around Eagle great as a tough hardnosed full back, and opportunistic defensive player.  He currently ranks second in career interceptions, and an overall special teams’ player as the punter and kickoff and punt return duties.   Near misses and unfortunate circumstances would doom the ‘63’ team.  A last-minute loss to open the season against Seminary, 20 – 13 was followed with a 24 – 13 win over Vassar. A frustrating 6 – 0 loss to Marlette, costly fumbles in a 6 – 6 tie against Cass City were losses where the offense struggled.  A couple of 19 – 0 wins over Lakers and Caro would set up a match with league leader powerhouse Bad Axe.  A broken arm to Laux in the first quarter would tell the story in a 39 – 0 loss.  The season would end with a 20 – 14 win over Sandusky with Roger Kroeger scoring twice.  A 4-3-1 season and third place finish in the Thumb B Conference was the final record for the season.  Laux would repeat as a consensus First Team All-State selection with Frank Piesko and Tom Worley also receiving All-State mention.  The final game of the season was a 20 – 13 win over Sandusky, marking the 50th win in program history and an overall record of 50 – 11 – 3.   

Coach Kaczynski would welcome 34 players on the team for the 1964 season.  Coach Jim Weber, who played on the first team in 1956, returns to the program as an assistant coach.  The Eagle squad would breeze through the first games of the season with convincing wins over Seminary 26 - 6, Sandusky 12 - 6, Vassar 33 - 6, and Marlette 32 - 14.  The Frankenmuth defense would again lead the way, with freshmen Gary Weiss leading the team in tackles and senior Ken Spencer with three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.  The injury bug affected the team in a 7 – 7 tie to Cass City when leading rusher Tom Johnston was unable to play due to a knee injury.  A couple of dominant wins over the Lakers 27 – 6 and Caro 26 – 6 led by two Bob Piesko TD receptions. This would set up a conference showdown with powerful and favored Bad Axe.  The Eagles led 14 – 6 at the half on a Bob Zeilinger to Ken Weiss 10-yard pass play and a Zeilinger 10-yard run.  Frankenmuth was holding a narrow 14 – 13 lead late in the fourth quarter before the Hatchets scored for the 20 – 14 win over the Eagles.  Bob Piesko and leading team rusher Tom Johnston would garner All-State recognition.   

The 1965 version of Frankenmuth Football was a tough, simple, no frills, disciplined football team.  They opened the season with a 39 – 6 impressive win over Michigan Lutheran Seminary.  The defense, holding MLS to two first downs would set a trend for the season.  The next week would give an indication of how good the 1965 team would be when they faced Bad Axe, a team they had not beaten in four years and riding a 29-game win streak in conference play.  Mark Marcet kicked a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, the first ever made in program history, for an early 3 – 0 lead.  Bad Axe countered with an interception return for a score and led 7 – 3 without the aid of a first down.  Richard Lindow scored on a 9-yard run and the Eagles led 10 – 7 at the half.  In a bruising second half, the teams played on equal terms.  Steve List intercepted a Bad Axe pass and went fifty yards for the lone second half score and Frankenmuth defeated the Hatchets 17 – 7.  From that game on, the stellar Eagle defense would shut out the next six opponents.  A 48 – 0 win over Sandusky as Steve List scored twice in the 2nd quarter on punt return and an interception return. A 25 – 0 homecoming win over Vassar, and a 34 – 0 win over Marlette, where the defense held Marlette to minus 27 yards rushing.  35  – 0 over Cass City and Terry Weiss would spark the offense with three rushing scores and two TD passes in a 42 – 0 win over Lakers.  The season ending 26 – 0 win over Caro captured the second Thumb B Championship in Frankenmuth history.  The defense allowed only an average of 58 yards per game and four first downs per game.  The defense forced 35 turnovers in 8 games led by seniors Ken Weiss, Fred Wenzel, Bob Zeilinger, Mark Marcet, Don Kaczynski, Dwight Bleke and a host of other players.  The offense was sufficient, led by Junior QB Terry Weiss and the rushing attack of Steve List, Tim Irvine, Gary Weiss, and Richard Lindow.  The Eagles finished with an 8 – 0 record, Thumb B Champs, Saginaw News Area Champs and a #2 Final ranking in Class C, only to be out voted by the Middleville Trojans by a narrow 117 vote of points to 115 points.  Ken Weiss and Mark Marcet each received 1st team All-State honors with Terry Weiss, Bob Piesko, and Gary Weiss each being recognized as Honorable Mention choices.  

Shortly after the 1965 season had ended, Coach Harry Kaczynski resigned as the head coach of the football program.  He had a ten-year record of 64 – 12 – 4, but more importantly, establishing Frankenmuth Football’s culture as one of the top programs in the state.  Starting in 1955 with four practice games to a championship season in 1965, Coach Kaczynski molded the program into a gridiron power with his ability to inspire his teams. 

1966 would bring a new Head Football Coach in Roger “Bud” Tompkins who was an All-State lineman from Traverse City.  In 1953 he enlisted in the Army and continue playing football.  In the fall of 1956, he enrolled at Northern Michigan University and played three years football there.  In 1956, Coach Tompkins and longtime Varsity Basketball coach and J.V. football coach Warren “Whitey” Wilson were teammates on a Wildcat undefeated team.  In 1960 he coached at Big Bay, Michigan and in 1963 moved to Coldwater where he was an assistant coach.  In 1966 he was named the Varsity Head Coach at Frankenmuth.   

Coach Tompkins first year in 1966 was a loaded roster with many key returnees.  High scoring blowout wins was the normal in the ‘66’ season.  A 59 – 0 opening season win over Seminary started the Tompkins era off.  A 19 – 0 win over Caro followed by a 74 – 0 whipping of Bad Axe, for eleven straight wins and nine consecutive shutouts. Quarterback Terry Weiss threw six touchdown passes in the game.  Before the Bad Axe game, the Eagle squad was a Class C # 1 team, but official enrollment put Frankenmuth one student over the Class C numbers, pushed Frankenmuth to Class B. 66 – 0 and 69 – 0 wins over Sandusky and Vassar extending the streak to 11 consecutive shutouts.  The following week against Marlette, the shutout streak ended in a 54 – 6 win over Marlette. A 74 – 0 shallacking of Cass City, where Terry Weiss would throw five TD pass TDs, rush for a score and return a 50-yard punt return for a score.  This would set up a showdown with undefeated and #4 Class ‘C’ ranked Laker High at their home field against the #2 ranked Class ‘B’ Eagles.   A heavy snowstorm swept the area and the much-anticipated game was postpone for a week.  The buildup for the game just intensified that much more.  The Eagles scored first on a Gary Weiss two-yard run but the PAT was missed.  The Lakers would score the next two TD’s and led 13 – 6 midway through the second quarter. The Eagles responded with a 44-yard TD pass from Terry Weiss to Al Poellet and tied the score 13 – 13 with the extra point.  On the ensuing possession, the Lakers scored on an 80-yard run, but the extra point was missed, and took a 19 – 13 lead into halftime.  The Eagle coaches made key halftime adjustments and in the second half, the defense tightened.  Midway through the third quarter, Steve List scored on a 34-counter play, a play not run the entire season, for a 34-yard touchdown to tie the score 19 – 19.  On the most important extra point, the first attempt by kicker Terry Weiss was missed, but off-setting penalties allowed another attempt.  The next attempt by Weiss sailed through the uprights and a 20 – 19 Muth lead.  The defense continued to stymie the Lakers and late in the fourth quarter, the Eagle offense sustained the final drive, ending the game on the Lakers one-yard line.  The offense, which average a remarkable 54.4 points a game were led by Quarterback Terry Weiss.  Gary Weiss and Steve List were the leading rushers.  Terry Weiss passed for 17 TD’s that season with his favorite target Al Poellet with 5 TD’s.  The defense followed in the footsteps of the 1965 team led by Oscar Jammer, Gary Weiss, Henry Dietzel, and Rick Monk, allowing only 25 points for the season.  With the Eagles moving to Class ‘B’, they ended the season ranked #2, with neighboring Buena Vista the number one ranked team.  There was scuttlebutt about the two teams deciding the mythical State Championship on the field, but that never materialized.  For the second year in a row, the Eagles would be ranked # 2 in their class.  Terry Weiss was a consensus first team All-State selection and Al Poellet, Gary Weiss, Oscar Jammer, and Steve List all received All-State consideration. 

The 1967 season was the first year that Frankenmuth would play a nine-game schedule.  The Eagles would be a ground and pound offense led by four-year varsity player Gary Weiss.  The offense would average 356 yards rushing per game.  The Eagles would win the first three games of the season defeating Seminary 19 – 7, and narrow wins over Lakers 7 -6 and Caro 14 – 12.  Weiss would rush for 456 yards in those first three games.  In game four of the season, the Eagles would travel to Bad Axe with a 19-game winning streak.  Bad Axe would take a 12 – 0 lead before John Simon would score on a 4-yard run to narrow the Bad Axe lead to 12 – 7 at the half.  Gary Weiss would break loose on a 48-yard run to put the Eagles ahead 13 – 12, but Bad Axe took the lead midway through the 4th quarter to take an 18 -13 lead.  The Eagles made one last attempt driving down to the Hatchets 20-yard line, but a controversial officiating call, still talked about to this day, cost the Eagles and they were unable to recover and gave the ball up on downs, and the game.  The ‘67’ team did not give up on the season, winning their last five contests, with Weiss rushing for 216 yards vs. Sandusky in  a 40 – 6 win and 285 yards vs. Vassar, a 32 – 20 win .  In a 27 – 6 win over Marlette, the game was postponed one day because of snow.  In a 54 – 0 win over Cass City, Weiss would rush for 229 yards.  A 6 – 1 conference record was good enough to capture the Thumb B title outright.  The season would end with a second consecutive shutout win over Otisville Lakeville 27 – 0.   Gary Weiss would end the season with 1787 yards rushing, still a record for most rushing yards in a regular season at this writing.  Weiss would finish his career with 3008 yards rushing and 236 career tackles.  Weiss was a First Team All-State player.   

The 1968 team was picked by many so-called experts to be the end of the Frankenmuth Football dominance.  It appeared a major revamping of the lineup would be needed.  Twenty new starting slots had to be filled with players with little to no experience.  Forty-five players reported for the ‘68’ Eagles.  The Muth squad would open against a strong Michigan Lutheran Seminary team and scored on the first play from scrimmage on a play that the team had worked on all summer, when Quarterback Chris Nuechterlein connected on a 70-yard TD pass to halfback Mike Reif.  The Eagles won this game by a 13 – 0 score.  The Eagle defense would be the catalyst for this team with shutout wins in the next five games against Cass City, Lakers, Caro and a 29 – 0 win over an unbeaten Bad Axe squad, holding the Hatchets to 28 rushing yards. A 54 – 0 win over Sandusky was highlighted by 559 yards of offense and limiting Sandusky to 23 total yards.   The next game against Vassar, which would determine the conference championship, a crowd that many Muth faithful say is the largest crowd to ever watch an Eagle home game.  The Muth team took a 2 – 0 lead when Dale Weiss tackled Vulcan star Archie MacGillivray in the end zone for a safety.  With two seconds remaining in the first half, Vassar would score on a 76-yard pass play, the first points the Eagles would give up in the season.  The second half was “All Eagles” Chip Weiss and Dale Weiss who would each score rushing TD’s for the 15 – 6 final score.  The Frankenmuth team would end the Thumb ‘B’ schedule with a 20 – 0 shutout of Marlette for a fourth consecutive Thumb B Championship.  The Eagles would end the season with a win over a strong Otisville-Lakeville team by a 14 -13 score.  With a defensive team that allowed only 19 points for the season, the no-name defense was led by Dave Trinklein, Kim Koehler, Tom Yoba, Dale Weiss, Bob Warnick, Harold Little, Bob Poellet, and Mark Schiefer.  A total team effort by a team who was predicted to not be successful.  The final season Associated Press polls ranked the Frankenmuth Eagles squad #1 in Class ‘C’, a mythical STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.  Yes, the previous Eagles team’s success was a factor in this team being State Champs, but the tradition of Frankenmuth Football and the will and determination of the ‘68’ team brought a State Championship to Frankenmuth.  Dave Trinklein was a First Team All-State selection and offensive linemen Loren Rustem received Honorable Mention honors. 

Forty-Seven varsity players, including 23 seniors reported for the defending Class ‘C’ State Champion team in 1969.  Four touchdown runs by Quarterback Chip Weiss spearheaded a 36  - 22 non-conference win over Seminary to open the season.  In the Thumb “B” Conference opener, the Eagles defeated Bad Axe 46 – 12 behind six interceptions by the Eagle defense.  Late in the game, Bad Axe lined up for a field goal attempt.  The kick was short of the goal line and Ralph Munger fielded the kick and returned the kick 96-yards for a touchdown, considered a punt return and school and state record.  The next game was against Caro, and the two teams played to an 8 – 8 first half stalemate.  A Munger 80-yard kickoff return to start the second half and the successful PAT put Muth up 16 – 8.  In the fourth quarter, Caro scored on a short pass play, but the game deciding PAT was missed as the Eagles eked out a 16 – 14 win.  Wins over Lakers, 32 – 16, Vassar, 38 – 0, and Marlette 68 – 8 ran the win streak to twenty games.  The final play of the Marlette game was a 32-yard pass interception for a TD by Frank Bender.  A 50 – 8 win over Sandusky behind Dale Weiss’ 247 yards rushing and a 60 – 6 victory over Cass City secured a fifth straight Thumb ‘B’ Conference Championship.  A non-conference win over Otisville-Lakeville is all that stood between a second consecutive Associated Press mythical Class ‘C’ State Championship.  Ralph Munger returned his third kickoff return touchdown for the season with an 85-yard return to open the game.  The Eagles defeated the Falcons 54 – 18 to secure the State Championship.  An offense that averaged 44 points per game was led by Dale Weiss with 1120 yards rushing and Munger with over 1000 yards rushing and receiving combined.  Chip Weiss at QB teamed with Tom Weber (29 receptions) and Rick List (27 receptions) for a potent offensive attack.  Coach Tompkins was named Class “C” Coach of the Year, who after four years compiled a 34 - 1 record.  Ralph Munger, Dale Weiss, and Kirby Goodwin each were All-State selections.  

The 1960’s decade ended with two State Championships, six Thumb ‘B’ Conference Championships and a 67 – 12 – 4 overall record.  A fourteen-year program record of 98 – 13 – 4 was compiled, which included 48 shutouts.  Saginaw News staff writer Dick Wood wrote an article “What Makes Frankenmuth Great?”.    Coach Tompkins and Coach Weber both stated they give the team the offense and defense instructions and then concentrate on inspiration.  Tomkins quoted “I try to inspire them through loyalty and devotion to each other and to the cause.”  From what Coach Kaczynski started in 1956, it seems each team is determined to maintain the winning tradition and to find a way to top the preceding year’s team.  What will the 1970’s bring?  The Third article in the nine-week series will be in next week’s edition.