12/27/2024
āRemember the Indiansā
By Donald McMath (written 2006?)
I remember the Indians, the Cape Charles Indians, and their coach Carl Kane. This is the 40th anniversary of one remarkable football season at Cape Charles High, and one memorable game in particular.
Most people remember vividly where they were on historic days and what they were doing. This October Friday night I can remember where I was when the Indians beat, not just upset, the team from Poquoson 34-13. I remember because I was playing on that team, which went on to be Eastern Shore District Champs, and to an undefeated season.
We were cannon fodder for Poquosonās homecoming. Us, the smallest Group 3 high school in Virginia to field a football team. They were a top team in the old Peanut District. I remember being uneasy about the prospects of this game from the minute I saw their name on our schedule.
Coach Kane arrived back at Cape Charles from much success at Northampton the same year, 1962, that I arrived in 8th grade. Coach Kane was also the principal, so his WWII combat veteran presence was everywhere. Today Iām thankful for that, back then I wasnāt. For any success Iāve had in my life, I owe a large part to him and his five year influence he had on me.
We played and lost to Group 1 Virginia Beach High 20-0, but later they had to forfeit most of their wins, so we found ourselves on the way to an undefeated season. The next year Virginia Beach High moved and became First Colonial High. Is there a team on the Eastern Shore today that would want to be on First Colonials schedule?
Back to Poquoson in October 1966. We left the dressing room and made our way out to the field at the same time as our opponents. Their band and cheerleaders were in two lines from the end zone to the fifty yard line to cheer their team onto the field in front of the largest and loudest crowd I had ever seen. We as guests were to go first, and around their band to the visitorsā side. Coach Kane said something to our co captains and I found myself following them and the rest of our twenty man team through their band and cheerleaders to our bench. I remember thinking that this little stunt might make them more fired up than they already were. The uneasy feeling grew.
When the game started, we almost immediately knew that we could play and stay with Poquoson. We held them and we scored on them. We took the lead and kept it. Toward the end of the fourth quarter, word came from Coach Kane to throttle back the passing game, the heart of our offense quarterback Billy Parks, to half back Donnie Stiles, and run out the clock. The play I most vividly remember was a dive play over my side of line. Donnie Stiles took the hand off, burst through the line and ran untouched for our final score. The large homecoming crowd was silent. We had won.
On the way back to the dressing room, we again ran into the Poquoson players. I remember being shocked at the sight of many of them openly weeping over the loss they had just endured. Some memories never fade. Today when I see old friends from this team, this game is sure to be topic number one. Topic number two is usually trying to answer the question ā how did Coach Kane do what he did with such success? With so small numbers to work withā¦
Cape Charles High, not only was he the coach but also the principal. He had no paid assistants. He was the trainer and the bus driver. The twenty boys in this picture represent about one half of all boys in grades 9-12 in 1966. In the three season of 64, 65, 66, when I was a starting player we won 22 of 30 games. We lost to Atlantic twice by a total of five points. We never lost to some good teams from Onancock, Central, Parksley, and Chincoteague.
Of the boys on this team, six made All District Team at some point. Donnie Stiles made it twice at two different positions, three played football in college. Two as scholarship players, one as a walk on.
