THIS DAY IN REGION FOOTBALL HISTORY: 9/20

1952 – Morton High School plays its first ever varsity football game. The Governors, coached by Maury Zlotnik, travel to the shores of Lake Michigan where they lose to the Whiting Oilers 52-18.

1963 – Tom Kurt and his Griffith Panthers get the best of a good Gary Wirt team, shutting out the Troopers 33-0. The gold and black went 8-0-2 in ‘63 – the only season they’ve ever ended without a defeat.

1968 – After a long career as the head of the Horace Mann football team, Don Elser coaches his last game against Lew Wallace and comes away with a 20-0 shutout victory at Gilroy Stadium on Glen Park’s far north side.

1974 – Wirt running back Brian Doyle put his Trooper teammates on his shoulders in the fourth quarter and carried them to a 12-6 victory over East Gary Edison in front of a full house at Trooper Field near the sandy shores of Miller Beach.

1991 – Brad Smith invites Les Thornton and his Griffith Panthers out to Bulldog Turf for a mid-September matchup. With the old Crown Point Courthouse as the backdrop, the game lives up to the hype and the Bulldogs come away a 20-19 winner in an overtime thriller. It’s the second time since 1985 these two have gone to OT.

1986 – Marty Jamrose takes his team of 15 Gladiators up to Ft. Pioneer in Robertsdale for a date with Clark. The five mile bus ride back up the Boulevard would be a happy one for Gavit, who came back to Woodmar with a hard fought 13-7 win to even up their record at 2-2.

1991 – Leroy Marsh welcomed Kirk Kennedy to Munster for the first time. After the pregame handshake, Leroy and his stable of Stangs defeated the Devils 34-12.

1996 – Don Howell and Hobart travelled to LaPorte where they showed little mercy to the home team. The Brickies, who finished the season with 12 wins, punished the Slicers 62-0.

2002 – Valpo improved to 4-1 with a 17-10 defeat of conference rival Chesterton.

2013 – Zac Wells and his purple Pirates move their record to 4-1 with a 56-7 beating of the Wolves at Ames Field in Michigan City.