Plenty of gridiron history in Red Oak-Shenandoah rivalry
When Red Oak and Shenandoah face off Friday night with a playoff berth on the line, it won’t be the first time these two schools separated by 22 miles have met for such high stakes.
Last year was a similar scenario, with Red Oak winning 34-6 to clinch their first playoff berth under the current Iowa High School Athletic Association system.
The Tigers have the edge in the rivalry over recent years, winning eight of the last 10 meetings, with Shenandoah winning in 2007 and 2011.
Red Oak needs a strong win (13 points on tiebreaker system) to ensure they make the playoffs.
The Tiger-Mustang rivalry is one that dates back nearly a century. The game during one point from the 1920s through the 1950s, was a traditionally played on Armistice Day, or what we now know as Veterans Day.
One of the first Armistice Day wins for Red Oak over Shenandoah took place in 1928 when the Tigers won 7-0. It was the first win for Red Oak over Shenandoah since 1919. They did have a tie in 1922.
The Red Oak Express described the crowd at the time as one of the largest in the history of Red Oak, with a reported 6,000 in attendance.
The other front-page story at the time was about a Villisca man charged by police with stealing 65 chickens from a farm.
Shenandoah would take back control of the rivalry from Red Oak, but there were some close instances over the following years.
The 1934 game ended with Red Oak driving the ball downfield and inches away from scoring and taking the lead. They lost 7-6.
The 1935 game was even closer, ending in a 6-6 tie. Red Oak’s Ross Griffith scooped up a blocked punt and returned it 36-yards for the Tigers’ only touchdown. The Express reported there were concerns of playing the game on Armistice Day that year because of expected snow. The snow stayed away but the game was played in bitterly cold temperatures.
Gerald Bogan, a young sports writer from Clarinda at the time, picked Red Oak to win the 1935 game over Shenandoah, basing it on how Clarinda played against both teams.
One of the more memorable Armistice Day games took place in 1953 when the Tigers rallied from two touchdowns down to win 14-13 in front of thousands in attendance and temperatures dropping into the teens.
Shenandoah scored on their first two drives in the game, including a 51-yard touchdown run by Leonard Gourley.
The Tigers scored twice in the third quarter. The first touchdown was scored by Roger Burns, who was set up for the opportunity thanks to a couple of big runs by Dick Thompson. Later in the quarter, Bill Moates blocked a punt and set up Red Oak at the Shenandoah 27. A few players later, Burns scored a touchdown and Thompson kicked the extra point for the win.
The win clinched second place for Red Oak in the then Hawkeye Seven Conference. They finished 4-1-1 in 1953 as Atlantic won the conference title with a 6-0 record.
In the years that followed, the Red Oak-Shenandoah game eventually moved away from being played on Veterans Day. It’s impossible to play on that date now as the regular season wraps up in October under scheduling formats.
Since, the rivalry has been played early in the regular season. One such classic took place Sept. 2, 1994 when the Tigers defeated the Mustangs 34-31 in double overtime.
Red Oak trailed 21-13 with less than two minutes in the game when quarterback Kyle Roberts tossed a touchdown pass and them completed the two-point conversion pass to Michael Platt to tie the game and force overtime.
Vern Olson, Red Oak Express sports editor at the time, noted in the Sept. 7, 1994 edition that Red Oak fans "inched as close" to the field as was possible during the dramatic final few minutes.
"Whether crowding near the field or on the bleachers, they stood cheering," wrote Olson.
Red Oak had the ball first in overtime and Stuart Peterson gave the Tigers a lead with a two-yard touchdown run. Shenandoah responded with a touchdown and tied the game 28-28, extending the game.
The Mustangs had the ball first and scored a field goal to take a 31-28 lead in the second overtime. Roberts took the challenge and eventually scored the game-winning touchdown, giving Red Oak the win and snapping a two-season long winless streak for the Tigers.
This rivalry has undoubtedly led to many memories over time. When the two face off Friday night, it certainly will create some more.