Friday Night Memories - Football and Homecomings

Old Brooksville

Sep 6

4 min read

An American tradition, and certainly in Brooksville as far back as 1916, are the Friday night memories, with football battles, homecoming queens, looking for that certain someone in the crowd, the music, the fanfare, the exhilarating plays, the whistles, the marching bands! That tradition continues today. Support your local team. Many former Leopards have gone on to excel not only in the NFL and Major League Baseball, but in life as well.

Thanks to the following for their contributions

John White

George Allen Jr.

Lou Charity

The Heritage Museum

The very first Hernando High football team (1916)

Some of the names based on graduates at that time include

William Faulkner, Chauncey Kennedy, Rainey Martin, Cabel Patterson, Lannie Shane and Bill Taylor

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The Early Hernando High Football Teams

During the early years of the 20th century, it was hard to field a team based on sheer numbers. The number of able-bodied Hernando High young men was indeed "slim pickins." Many young men could not afford the equipment or had the time due to having to work on family farms or businesses after school or dropping out of school for a job out of necessity. It was also seen as a barbaric sport to many. My father, who was born in 1901, referred to football as a "game of savages" yet he grew to love watching the Gators during the 1960s.

The late Alfred McKethan who played during the earlier Hernando High teams in the 1920s once recalled "It was rough...it's always been a rough sport. Players back then had to play both offense and defense. Most schools from the area didn't have teams so we had to play bigger schools like Leesburg, Ocala and Plant City."

The late Ran Saxon played on early 1930s teams once said "We used to play on a field full of sand spurs. We took cold showers in those wooden shacks they had back then. We also had to furnish our own rides to away games. We'd usually get a bunch of guys in one car. We'd go to Masaryktown to get our shoes. They'd be big old working shoes and this guy down there would put these big heavy cleats on them. They sure hurt when somebody stomped on you, yeah...and we had no face masks either. They'd rush in and hit you in the face. It was tough, alright."

1923

Anderson Snow, End

Maurice Mimms, QB

Clifford Lee, Guard

Arthur Durshimer, Guard

Albert Burns, Center

Carl Schiller, HB

Bill Cobb, HB

Gordon Kitchen, RB

Lynn Lee, Tackle

Coach Haines

1924

Anderson Snow, End

Jesse Hill, QB

Adrian Bell, Guard

Arthur Durshimer, Guard

Albert Burns, Center

Mac Hammond, HB

Alfred McKethan, End

Bill Cobb, HB

Gordon Kitchen, Tackle

Lynn Lee, Tackle

Maurice Mimms, RB

Coach Haines

1925

Charles Cox, Center

Charles Svihra, Guard

Basil Hull, Guard

Jack Endsley, Tackle

J.T. Evans, Tackle

Frank Saxon, End

Anderson Snow, End

Art Durshimer, RB

J.A. Sewell, RB

Alfred McKethan, QB

Coach Duvall

1926

Hampton Cox, Center

Charles Svihra, Guard

Robert Maze, Guard

Lewis Kilpatrick, Tackle

Quincy Morgan, Tackle

Mart Gary, End

Basil Hull, End

Eddie Hafner, RB

Mac Hammond, HB

Lehmann Varn, Back

Edward Varn, Back

Alfred McKethan, QB

Johnny McCool, QB

Coach Duvall

1927

Robert Dick, Center

Clifford McCall, Guard

Donald Reeder, Guard

Jack Endsley, Tackle

Jesse Deioe, Tackle

Herbert Dick, Back

Basil Hull, End

Lehmann Varn, HB

John Dawson, Back

Edward Varn, Back

Scott Hull, Back

Herman Morgan, QB

Russell Smith, RB

Coach Myers

1928

Leslie Bell, Center

Curtis Stambaugh, Guard

Mayo Cox, Back

Donald Reeder, Guard

Rollo Moyer, Back

John Dawson, Tackle

Lehmann Varn, Tackle

J.T. Daniel, End

James Varn, HB

Edward Varn, Back

Russel Smith, RB

Boo Durshimer, Back

Buck Hope, Back

Herbert Dick, End

Nevitt Cook, QB

Scott Hull, RB

Coach Myers

1929

Leslie Bell, Center

Mayo Cox, Guard

Robert Mills, Tackle

Cass Maze, Back

Angus Griffin, Tackle

Joe Snow, Back

Hope Saxon, Back

Herbert Dick, End

Nevitt Cook, QB

James Varn, Back

Buck Hope, Back

Boo Durshimer, Back

Scott Hull, Back

Coach Hufford

1930

Robert Ghiotto, Center

Mayo Ansley, Guard

Don Sellers Guard

Angus Griffin, Tackle

Wade Hull, Tackle

Joe Snow, Back

Hope Saxon, End

J.T. Daniel, End

Robert Mills, Back

Boo Durshimer, QB

Buck Hope, HB

Bill Burkett, Back

Horace Gant, Back

Cass Maze, FB

Coach Hufford

1931

Mayo Cox, Center

Robert Ghiotto, Guard

Horace Gant, Guard

Hansel Boyd, Back

Randolph Saxon, Tackle

Wade Hull, Back

Robert Mills, Back

Joe Smith, Linebacker

J. Don Smith, Back

Hope Saxon, End

Kermit Wysong, End

Coach Hufford

***

The 1928 Hernando Leopards

The circle on the left remembers Henry McKinney who passed away early in the season

1935 Hernando Leopards

The 1938 Hernando Leopards - The first local undefeated team

Won 9, Lost 0, Tie 1- West Coast Conference Champs

Back: Franklin Emerson, Vernon Webb, Crume Lamb, Eddie McIntyre

Front: Malcolm Shephard, Charles Keathley, "Stump" Hardy, Red Webster, Neil Kinnear, John Patterson, Jake Varn

1943 Hernando Leopards

1947 Homecoming Parade on Broad Street at the corner of Brooksville Avenue. The Sinclair gas station is now the Country Depot and to the right is Spencer's Tangerine Grill and Murphy's Drug Store.

The 1951 Hernando Leopards

Hernando High Football Program 1959

1967 Hernando High Cheerleaders. (L to R) Janet Bishop, Terry Fisher, Sharon Paquin, Leopard Betsy Cook, Susan Fickett, Jean Wolfe, and Jenny Lewie

1967 Homecoming Parade

Seen here down North Brooksville Avenue. Behind them is old Brooksville Avenue, paved over for the courthouse extension 20 years later. At the corner is Thompson's Western Auto and across Jefferson is Herb Williams Ford.