By Scott Seman

The 1975 Milton-Union football season was a year that promised either transition and change back to a winning culture, or one of continuing a trend toward mediocrity. Coach Wat Farrar and the Bulldogs were coming off a disastrous ’74 season, finishing one and nine and ranking last place in the last year of competing in the SWBL that contained multiple schools. The revamped SWBL brought in teams like Carlisle, Bellbrook, Valley View, and Dixie, schools most kids in Milton had never heard of, let alone knew where they were.

The Bulldogs opened the season on the road against Wapakoneta, a big powerhouse school that overpowered them with its size and depth. Milton came back with a win, but it suffered another loss and faced a season on the brink of potential disaster.

Sitting with a record of one win and two losses, Coach Farrar knew he needed to address the mental aspect of the team. On Monday afternoon, when the team showed up for practice, there was a track hurdle in the doorway. Every time anyone went into or out of that locker room, they had to step over that hurdle, a very distinct reminder of the fact that this team had a big hurdle to overcome to turn the season around. The Bulldog co-captains, Mike Sergent and Mark Bowman, knew how critical this game would be. The opponent that week, the Dixie Greyhounds, were a formidable team that Milton had never played.

The game was a defensive struggle, and late in the game, Joe Vagedes intercepted a Greyhound pass and ran it back for a touchdown, securing a Bulldog win. The hurdle came down, and the Bulldogs were on a mission to turn the season around and have a chance at a League Title.

The Homecoming game in ’75 was against the Oakwood Lumberjacks. The festivities were canceled due to an incredible storm of wind, rain, and sleet, a deluge of weather that, by today’s standards, would have resulted in postponing the game as well. However, in ’75, it was game on! Milton had to win to keep their hopes alive for a league title, but in this game, no one could move the ball. The field was an incredible mud bowl, and the fans and players will never forget the freezing weather but, more importantly, “The Catch.”

Late in the game, Milton had the ball in Oakwood territory and was trying to move the ball, running what Coach Farrar would call a “46 Wedge”. Essentially, the fullback off right tackle, into a scrum of humanity, the old “three yards and a cloud of dust,” but this time a slosh of mud. However, with little time left and no real hope of running for a score, Coach Farrar sent a play into the huddle that will forever be remembered as “The Catch.” 46 Backside Pass was a fake to the fullback off the right tackle, with the quarterback walking away from the play, but this time holding the ball. Meanwhile, the left-side tight end is streaking down the middle of the field for a pass.

The quarterback, Donnie Howell, made the fake hand-off so well that everyone thought the fullback had the ball. Donnie walked with his back to the line of scrimmage, then turned and threw a perfect spiral downfield to a wide-open, all alone tight-end, Sam Niswonger. The ball was sailing in the wind, and Sam reached up, in stride, with his soaking wet hands. With his fingertips, he pulled down the ball and raced into the endzone, all alone, with the winning touchdown pass. Of all the balls thrown and caught in Bulldog games, none was more important than this catch!

The Bulldog season was about to be complete. Bellbrook had taken a league loss, and the two teams, on the last Friday of the season, were playing different opponents, each needing a win to secure a share of the SWBL title. Milton was on the road at Carlisle and, late in the game, winning by just one score. The Carlisle team had a strong-armed quarterback, and the Bulldog secondary was facing a strong test, having key seniors injured and a sophomore 15-year-old kid on the field as a defensive back, trying not to give up a big play. Mike Sergent, the senior co-captain, would call the defense in the huddle. On the last possession of the Carlisle team, they were throwing the ball every down. Mike would get the call from Coach Jones and, in the huddle, say, “43 Cover Cold, Seman, don’t get burned!” I was on the field for the last play, I did not give up a big play and we won the game and shared the League Title with Bellbrook. That Class of ’76 Seniors turned the Bulldog fortunes around, and from that ’75 Championship Season, Milton would win three more titles in the following four years. A cultural changing season with a hurdle, The Catch and The Last Play are memories that 49 years later still bring a huge smile of a time we all will never forget.

Rock the Hill was made possible by so many generous local sponsors. Please patronize those who invest in the community: O'Reilly's, West Milton Optical, The Gym of West Milton, Lala Sugarland, ReVive It, Clark's Pizzeria Of West Milton, Patterson's Flowers Inc., The Treasure Chest, Chasteen's IGA, HomeTowne Bakes by the mad baker, Wertz Hardware, New Ethic Barbershop, Tate’s Tasty Treats, Pearson House Restaurant, The Salon on Miami, Village Peddle, Wertz Variety Store, M. Jay Salon, Angel Haven, CynSational Barbers, Old Mason Winery and Vineyard Inc., Napa and Milton-Union Public Library.

Sarah Gregory, with Project Revival, shared other sponsors who contributed and believed in the project's mission: Flawless Signs, CPR, Abbey Credit Union, Premier Health, Duke Foundation, and the Miami County Visitors and Convention Bureau. These main sponsors see what is happening in the small town and want to be part of bringing people together in a big way to help flourish what is already growing.