The Gene Brodie era began in the 1970s and his influence
on the program will be felt for decades upon decades.
But, the first half of the decade wasn't to shabby,
either.
In 1970 for
example, the Devils went 7-3 under second-year coach Ray
Dalton. The three losses all came to ranked teams
-- Thomasville (16-14), Moultrie and Valdosta.
In 1972, Wilbur
Lofton came to Tifton as the Tift County head coach.
He went 6-4 in that first year after opening with three
straight losses. His reign may be best known,
however, for the lack of numbers in the mid-70s.
The famed Dirty
Thirty played in 1973, but the numbers were nearly as
low in 1974. Despite low numbers, spirit was high.
They had the
misfortune of taking on powers like the state and
national champion Thomasville teams of William Andrews
and Coach Jim Hughes and some pretty good Valdosta and
Moultrie teams, as well.
Lofton's last
year began with seven losses in eight tries with the
lone win being a 6-0 triumph over Monroe. Lofton
won his last two games in Tifton, though, as the team
finished 3-7.
In 1976,
everything changed. Brodie and his core staff
arrived keeping only a young Mayo Tucker from the
previous year's staff. From that point on, nothing
would be the same.
The first year
Brodie arrived, trouble with the GHSA caused a probation
period, but soon thereafter, Tift became a fixture in
the playoffs.
The Devils went
6-4 in 1976 watching Dougherty, Central Thomasville and
Valdosta all go 9-1. Tift lost to Central 3-0 and
Dougherty 7-0. Tift lost its four games by a total
of 30 points.
In 1977,
Brodie's team went 6-4 again, but the program was
building. The first playoff appearance for Brodie
since winning the 1975 state title at Central Macon
would come in 1978, which was also the first year of the
AAAA classification.
In 1978, Tift
went 8-2 in the regular season. They lost to
Valdosta and Crisp County in regular season and lost at
Thomasville in the playoffs.
Momentum was
building still in the last years of the decade, and in
1979, Tift fielded a state runner-up in Brodie's fourth
year.
Tift won 13 of
its 15 games that year losing the title game 20-10 at
Clarke Central in front of the largest crowds ever at
Clarke Central. The Gladiators rolled up 353 yards
of total offense that night including 313 on the ground.
In that season,
the Warner Robins game was a satisfying victory, but the
two wins against Valdosta were sweet indeed.
Tift had never
before beaten Valdosta twice in one year and has not
repeated the feat since.
Tift had not
beaten Valdosta since 1967, but the Devils won in Death
Valley 13-12. In the playoffs, Tift hosted the
Cats and beat them 24-6 rolling up 357 total yards
compared to Valdosta's 194.
In the state
semifinal game against Warner Robins, the Demons came in
ranked No. 2. Tift was ranked No. 4 and spanked
the Demons 51-10 at International Stadium.
Kenny Hobby
threw for a school record 420 yards in that win as Tift
amassed 520 total yards of offense. The Tift
defense got into the act with seven interceptions.
Individual
standouts in the 1970s include Tim Case ('78) who played
for a national champion Georgia team. Theopolis
Bryant was an all-state linebacker in 1972 and played
for Kansas State. Hobby and Landy Ewing were both
all-state in 79 and Ewing was the AAAA Lineman of the
Year. Ewing signed with Georgia and Hobby inked
with Auburn and started as quarterback as a true
freshman.
Danny Morris
was a standout running back in the late 70s, and
Theopolis' brother Larry was an all-region defensive
player.
