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TALES FROM THE PAROCHIAL LEAGUE - SPINNEY AND WELLS

Chris Cela '71
Editor's Note: In celebration of Homecoming this weekend and our fooball game with Mullen, we are delighted to share a reminiscence of another matchup on the gridiron between the Raiders and Mustangs shared by one of our Great Raider alums from the Class of 1971.

It was Sunday, October 31, 1965. Mass at Blessed Sacrament was at 9:00 o'clock in the morning and then back home for some breakfast before the 11:00 am Packers vs. Lions game with Ray Scott making the call. But the real excitement that day was the highly anticipated Mullen vs. Regis game at Regis Stadium scheduled for 3:00 that afternoon right after the 1:00 pm Holy Family vs. Machebeuf matchup. It was a glinting fall day, perfect for football.
Back in the heyday of Colorado’s Parochial League, each Sunday would find the stadiums of both Regis and Mullen hosting two football games, while the southern teams from Colorado Springs (St. Mary's) and Pueblo (Pueblo Catholic) would play home games in their cities. The St. Mary's Pirates were in the Northern Parochial League while Pueblo Catholic played teams from the southern front range. 
 
Over the years, my dad had taken us to many of the Sunday Parochial League football games at the college campus off 50th Avenue between Lowell and Federal. We would get there for the second half of the preceding game before Regis played, or sometimes, if Regis played early, stay and watch half of the later game. We loved to go down to the northwest entry gates where the players would gather and wait before taking the field for their game. When you are an eight-, nine- or ten-year-old boy, those guys were giants—an awesome sight with their helmets, pads and cool uniforms. The sound of their cleats on the asphalt and gravel paired with the pregame chatter and team chants are still vivid in my memories—they were like gladiators ready to enter the arena. 
 
In 1965, the Denver Parochial League was in its 35th season and teams would be competing for the 24th and final state-wide Parochial League football championship. The League’s history had boasted an amazing assortment of great teams from Annunciation, Cathedral, Holy Family, St. Francis, St. Joseph, Mt. Carmel, St. Mary's (of Colorado Springs), Walsenburg St. Mary’s, Machebeuf (starting in 1960), Mullen and Regis. But in its waning years, athletic and economic pressures began to move the two larger schools (Mullen and Regis) towards participation in the public-school leagues. This final season of the “Parokes”--the colloquial name of the league—also had two exceptional talents playing quarterback for their teams with Scott Spinney ’66 sporting the Raiders’ red and white and Wayne Wells donning the blue and gold of Mullen. They were in good company in the state of Colorado that year with players such as Bob Anderson of Boulder, Bradley of Lakewood and Monte Huber of Poudre. But Spinney and Wells were leading teams that could have contended with and won the public school title as well. 
 
Mullen was coming off an undefeated 1964 season, though they tied 7-7 with Pueblo Catholic in the Parochial Championship at Denver's All-City Field. The Mustangs had hired Bill Hickey, a grad of Notre Dame’s parish school whose program is still noted for its excellence and physical rigor, as their head coach. Regis was still glowing from their perfect season in 1963. John Barone, who had been a student and boarder at Mullen in his youth, was in his second season for the Raiders, having taking over for the legendary Guy Gibbs ’47. Barone was old school tough as well, and his team reflected that and executed very well.
 
Both Regis and Mullen had the advantage over other Catholic high schools at the time as they drew students from wide swaths of the Metro Denver area. Mullen’s students mostly hailed from the southside Catholic parishes and schools like Notre Dame, All Souls, All Saints, Presentation, St. Mary's and St. Rose. Regis drew from the north side (St. Catherine's, Sts. Peter & Paul, Mt. Carmel) as well as the east (St. James, Christ the King, Blessed Sacrament). Students at schools like St. Joseph's, Cathedral and St. Francis came predominantly from their own parish primary schools and close-by neighborhoods, yet those schools still fielded tough teams that could and did go toe-to-toe with the two football powerhouses on any given Sunday. During that 1965 season, Holy Family held off the Mustangs the entire first half of the game, ultimately falling 19-6, with Mullen scoring two touchdowns in the second half to prevail. Meanwhile, St. Francis battled Regis in a dogfight that saw the Raiders having to dig deep to clinch their 14-0 win.
 
Scott Spinney grew up in Blessed Sacrament Parish, very close to what was then a fairly new Machebeuf High School. Wayne Wells attended St. Elizabeth on what is now the Auraria Campus. Even as eighth graders, both had shown extraordinary athletic talent, exhibiting strength and toughness along with superior leadership abilities. That combination would serve them well on the gridiron as well as for their other teams as each went on to be three-sport athletes in high school.
 
As both quarterbacks developed and matured in their freshman and sophomore seasons, their skill sets became top-of-the-state caliber. Though only 5’7”, Spinney was a gifted athlete with great speed and Russell Wilson-like escapability, accuracy on the move and the uncanny ability to make a play under pressure. At 5’11”, Wells was a more standard QB but had such an athletic, square shouldered, perfect posture that his virtuosity was unique and fun to watch. Both had tremendous arm strength and the ability to throw the long ball, so defenses could not shorten the field on either the Raiders or Mustangs. It was a different offensive era where the running game still dominated the ratio of play calls, but having a great passing and ball handling quarterback has always been a huge advantage. After watching either quarterback play a couple sets of downs, the fans knew they were in for a treat, becoming mesmerized by the football talent and abilities to make their teammates know they were going to win and provide electrifying plays. If Wells and Spinney were playing, it was time to buckle up.
 
Wells had extraordinary ball fakes—an absolute precursor to today’s popular play fake in the NFL. Mullen could run plays off tackle, end sweeps and counter plays where Wells’ ball handling left the fans (and opponents) stumped as to where the ball was. He could put the ball on his hip after a fake handoff, roll out and create such open space that many times his receivers would be running unchecked into open spots. Even when diagnosed by the defense, his accuracy and arm strength triumphed. For a high school QB, his footwork and pocket presence were dazzling. And Spinney just made you hold your breath. Everyone knew that, although completely competent in his footwork and ball handling skills, he made plays with uncanny quickness, mobility and arm strength. He always kept his eyes downfield even in full scramble mode so pass defenses that bit too quick on the run got burned.
 
On that Halloween afternoon in 1965, the game that pitted Regis against Mullen and Spinney against Wells would determine the Paroke Northern League representative to play for the state title. The ride out to the stadium on the recently completed I-70 was marked with energy and angst in our family. My dad took the exit on Lowell to proceed to the stadium, where we found the adjoining parking lots on the campus packed. As Dave Nelson of the Rocky Mountain News reported “A crowd of 5514, standing three deep in the end zones” was ready and raucous. Indeed, the stadium was packed with the seats crammed full of bundled and red-cheeked faces of grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins, friends and classmates and legions of local sports enthusiasts and faithful Mullen and Regis alumni and faculty, hoping to add another legendary chapter to the high school playbook from the Parochial League they had come to cherish.
 
On the homefield side stood the undefeated Regis Raiders uniformed in red and white. They faced the undefeated Mullen Mustangs, clad in blue and gold. It was the stuff of boyhood dreams, and, for many, held the prospect of college opportunities, more glory and maybe a chance to carry that dream onto a professional team in some distant stadium. Having worked hard since the previous year’s contest to hone their skills, both sets of players were ready—each intending to be the dominant team and winner. Both squads were loaded with talent at all positions and the two defenses had been flawless for both clubs. With Wells and Spinney running the offenses, it was as Coaches Barone and Hickey agreed in pregame interviews: “If we can’t beat them with what we got, then they are the better ball club”.
 
“It was a dead even head knocker,” reported Dave Nelson. The Mustangs opened the scoring in the second quarter after intercepting a Spinney pass at midfield and mixing the pass and run until Dave Baker bulled in from the three for the touchdown. The Mustangs threatened again right before half but were turned back. The game went into halftime with Mullen up 7-0. 
 
As it turned out, a couple of quick kicks—a strategy rarely used these days but a highly-skilled play that can change field position, so key in tightly-fought games—had a huge impact for both teams in this game. Regis had the first possession of the second half but could not get yardage on two plays. So a quick kick by Steve Hall ’66 sent the ball 70 yards to flip the field. Two plays later, the Raiders capitalized with an interception of their own at the Mullen 18. On fourth and goal from the five, Spinney led Hall with a nice swing pass into the right end zone. The extra point was good and the game was tied at seven. The next quick kick also came in the third quarter. As reported by Joe Sanchez of the Denver Post, “a Mullen quick kick by Dan Jarvis resulted in a Regis fumble at their own 13-yard line. Four plays later Mullen was ahead 13-7 on another Baker bash into the middle, this time from the two. Rich LeDuc ’66 blocked the extra point.” 
 
Regis opened the fourth period with a 70-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown on a pass from Spinney to Greg Hoch ’66 from the 10-yard line to take a 14-13 lead and what appeared to be perhaps the pivotal drive of the contest. However, with 8:15 left to play, Dave Nelson recorded, “it took all the moxie of two-time all-Paroke QB Wayne Wells to bring Mullen back from the brink of defeat as he engineered a glittering 65-yard comeback touchdown drive.” The drive included some of the most hard-fought runs and staunch defense of the game. Wells moved the Mustangs into Raider territory with a couple signature play fake passes to the Regis 27. Three running plays gained only four yards, but on a fourth down gamble “Wells came up with the play of the afternoon as he rolled to his right and hurtled a bomb to Pat Stauter (who tucked it nicely into his tummy) in the end zone.” The touchdown gave Mullen a 19-14 lead. On the final Regis possession, the Raiders attempted a razzle dazzle triple reverse pass from their own 10-yard line, resulting in a fumble that the Mustangs turned into the final score of the game to make it 26-14. The Mustangs prevailed on that late October day.
 
The game had lived up to all the hype and more. Both teams deserved all the accolades they received. Mullen truly was a great team that year. Regis went down hard, knowing they had their chances and came up just a little short. The game had a feeling of the best being saved for last as the Parochial League was quickly winding down as 1965 was also coming to a close. The championship game would be played three weeks later in Pueblo in front of an estimated 6500 fans where Mullen capped their perfect season with a 13-0 victory over Pueblo Catholic who has also been undefeated coming into the game. It was to be the final championship contested not only for the proud Pueblo Catholic Irish Club and the Southern Colorado Parochial League, but also for the Northern Parochial League. Pueblo Catholic would become Roncalli the following year and play an independent schedule. Regis would soon join the Skyline League and Mullen the Will Rogers League. The other Parochial League schools joined new leagues as well. It was the end of an era.
 
The Parochial League is now long gone, but memories live on from this “golden era” of high school sports here in Colorado and are still being made in new ways. Tonight, the Raiders meet the Mustangs in Lou Kellogg Stadium for Regis Jesuit’s Homecoming Game in another matchup on the gridiron of these perennial parochial rivals. I hope it is another nail-biter of a game that lives in the minds of all who witness it, just like the game in 1965 has for me. Though, this time, I am rooting for a different final outcome.
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Chris Cella ’71 is a proud Raider alum who is passionate about the history and legacy of the Parochial League as well as Catholic education. He works to help provide support for both Annunciation and St. Rose of Lima Catholic Schools.
 
Sources:
 
From the Rocky Mountain News
  • The Mullen Mustangs under Bill Hickey went on to establish an unbeaten winning streak of 44 games spanning the 1964-68 seasons which was tied and then broken by Longmont High in 1996.
  • Mullen and Pueblo Catholic had clashed three times in championship play and all three had wound up in ties. It was 13-13 in 1950, 12-12 in 1958 and 7-7 in 1964. Mullen won outright titles in 1945, 1956 and the 1965 season. Pueblo Catholic won more outright titles than any other team with five, and also was in four tie championship games (three with Mullen and one with Regis). Walsenburg St. Mary’s had won three crowns between the years 1939 and 1948. Trinidad Catholic took two titles in 1952 and 1954, sandwiching Cathedral’s lone title in 1953. St Joseph won a title in the second year of Parochial League playoffs in 1940. Holy Family lifted their only state title trophy in 1947. Regis won outright titles in 1946, 1949, 1960 and 1963.
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