1970 Florence State Lions football team

The 1970 Florence State Lions football team represented Florence State University—now known as the University of North Alabama—as a member of the Mid-South Athletic Conference (MSAC) during the 1970 NAIA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Durell Mock, the Lions compiled an overall record of 5–5 with a mark of 1–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the MSAC. Florence State played home game at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

1970 Florence State Lions football
ConferenceMid-South Athletic Conference
Record5–5 (1–4 MSAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumBraly Municipal Stadium
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Mid-South Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Jacksonville State $ 5 0 0 10 0 0
Tennessee–Martin 4 1 0 7 3 0
Troy State 3 2 0 6 4 1
Delta State 2 3 0 3 6 1
Florence State 1 4 0 5 5 0
Livingston 0 5 0 4 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 127:30 p.m.at Northwestern State*
L 21–42[1][2]
September 197:30 p.m.State College of Arkansas*
W 28–17[3]
September 267:30 p.m.at Delta StateL 13–26[4][5]
October 32:00 p.m.at LivingstonW 21–14[6]
October 10at Arkansas Tech*
W 28–26[7][8]
October 17Henderson State*
  • Braly Stadium
  • Florence, AL
W 30–20[9]
October 247:30 p.m.Troy State
  • Braly Stadium
  • Florence, AL
L 23–28[10]
October 312:00 p.m.Samford* 
  • Braly Stadium
  • Florence, AL
W 24–10
November 141:30 p.m.Tennessee–Martin
  • Braly Stadium
  • Florence, AL
L 7–35[11]
November 211:30 p.m.at No. 15 Jacksonville StateL 28–5513,000[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[13][14]

Offseason

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After the 1969 season, head coach Hal Self resigned from the position to take over the school's athletic director position full-time. Self had served as both head coach and athletic director in 1969 after the resignation of H.A. Flowers. Durell Mock, who had played under Self at Florence State from 1949 to 1952, was selected to become the second-ever head coach of the Lions.[13]

In the summer before the 1970 season, Florence State would leave the Alabama Collegiate Conference with Jacksonville State, Troy State, and Livingston to become charter members of the new Mid-South Athletic Conference.[15] This football-only conference would become the Gulf South Conference.[16]

Personnel

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Roster

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1970 Florence State Lions Football

Quarterbacks

  • Steve Coates - Freshman (5'11, 185)
  • Allen Elkins - Sophomore (6'1, 195)
  • David Elmore - Freshman (6'2, 175)
  • Randy Elmore - Sophomore (6'1, 185)

Halfbacks

  • Lee Long - Freshman (6'2, 190)
  • Marvin Parks - Freshman (5'9, 190)
  • Leonard Thomas - Junior (5'9, 195)
  • Mike Wilburn - Freshman (5'8, 180)

Fullbacks

  • Cary Alexander - Freshman (5'9, 175)
  • Larry Brom - Freshman (5'11, 205)
  • Stanley Graham - Freshman (6'1, 190)
  • Carl McCulley - Senior (5'8, 185)

Flanker backs

  • Danny Kimble - Freshman (5'10, 170)
  • Bobby Joe Pride - Junior (5'9, 170)
  • Jim Trimble - Sophomore (6'1, 165)

Split ends

  • Bobby Burcham - Freshman (6'0, 168)
  • Jody Gamble - Senior (6'0, 185)

Tight ends

  • Jimmy Isbell - Junior (5'11, 185)
  • Roger Mathis - Senior (6'2, 215)
  • Dale Hancock - Senior (6'1, 225)
 

Defensive ends

  • Dale Burleson - Freshman (6'2, 190)
  • Doyle Steele - Freshman (5'11, 190)
  • Tommy Warhurst - Sophomore (6'0, 215)

Centers

  • Bob Griffith - Freshman (6'1, 215)
  • Gary Stapler - Junior (5'10, 205)

Offensive guards

  • Gary Counts - Senior (6'1, 230)
  • Bill Morton - Freshman (5'10, 215)
  • Frankie Patterson - Sophomore (5'11, 210)
  • Bill Strain - Freshman (6'2, 195)

Defensive guards

  • Steve Borden - Freshman (5'10, 185)
  • Wendell Hawthorne - Freshman (5'11, 215)
  • Richard Jaggers - Freshman (6'2, 250)
  • Ronnie McKinney - Junior (6'1, 195)
  • Wayne Owens - Sophomore (6'0, 200)
 

Offensive tackles

  • Howard Byars - Senior (6'1, 230)
  • Mike Naves - Freshman (6'2, 210)
  • Bobby Thomas - Junior (6'0, 205)

Defensive tackles

  • Bob Duvall - Freshman (6'5, 230)
  • Ed Franks - Senior (5'9, 235)
  • David Harbin - Freshman (5'11, 230)
  • Dennis Buffaloe - Freshman (6'0, 190)
  • Al Carter - Freshman (6'0, 220)

Linebackers

  • William McCormack - Junior (6'2, 210)
  • Hezzie Morgan - Freshman (6'1, 190)
  • Leroy Baker - Sophomore (6'1, 210)

Defensive halfbacks

  • Palmer Byrd - Junior (6'1, 180)
  • Selma Hill - Freshman (5'9, 185)
  • David Hines - Freshman (6'0, 165)
  • Wayne Oldham - Freshman (5'10, 185)
  • Ganum Smith - Senior (5'9, 175)
  • Ronnie Williamson - Senior (5'11, 190)
  • Stanley Steadman - Freshman (5'10, 165)

[13]

Coaching staff

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Florence State Lions coaches

Head coach

Assistant coaches

  • David Kirk - Defensive Secondary Coach
  • Billy Hill - Quarterback Coach
  • Henry Platter - End and Flanker Coach
  • Larry Marshall - Interior Line Coach
  • William Hamilton - Backfield Coach

[13]

Statistics

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Team

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Florence State Opp
Scoring 223 273
First Downs 153 193
  Rushing 86 130
  Passing 49 59
  Penalty 18 4
Rushing yards 1825 2689
  Avg per game 182.5 268.9
  Rushing touchdowns 22 28
Passing yards 1337 1193
  Att-Comp-Int 212-95-21 201-91-21
  Avg per game 133.7 119.3
  Passing touchdowns 23 24
Total Offense 3162 3882
  Avg per game 316.2 388.2
Fumbles-Lost 28-15 20-11
Penalties-Yards 40-390 45-504
Florence State Opp
  Punt-Yards 51-2045 37-1450
   Avg per punt 40.0 39.2
  Punt Return-Yards 11-157 32-352
   Avg per punt return 14.7 11.0
  Kickoff Return-Yards 42-986 34-745
   Avg per kickoff return 23.5 21.9
  Interceptions-Yards 21-189 21-147
   Avg per play 9.0 7.0
Touchdowns Scored 31 37
Field Goals-Attempts 2-5 5-10
  PAT-Attempts 29-31 28-32

[14]

Individual leaders

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Offense

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Passing statistics
NAME POS CMP ATT YDS CMP% TD INT
Randy Elmore QB 91 205 1318 44.3 8 21
David Elmore QB 4 6 19 66.6 0 0
Allen Elkins QB 0 1 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 95 212 1337 44.8% 8 21
Rushing statistics
NAME POS ATT GAIN AVG TD
Carl McCulley FB 140 591 yrds 4.2 7 TDs
Leonard Thomas HB 87 499 yrds 5.7 6 TDs
Randy Elmore QB 128 438 yrds 3.4 6 TDs
Bobby Joe Pride FL 38 177 yrds 4.6 3 TDs
Larry Brom FB 23 70 yrds 3.4 1 TD
Mike Wilburn HB 13 38 yrds 2.9 0 TDs
Allen Elkins QB 1 1 yrd 1.0 0 TDs
David Elmore QB 2 7 yrds 3.5 0 TDs
TOTALS 432 1821 yrds 4.2 23 TDs
Receiving statistics
NAME POS CTH YDS TD
Danny Kimble FL 25 470 yrds 3 TDs
Leonard Thomas HB 23 267 yrds 4 TDs
Bobby Joe Pride FL 16 254 yrds 0 TDs
Jim Trimble FL 9 102 yrds 1 TD
Jody Gamble SE 7 84 yrds 0 TDs
Dale Hancock TE 5 62 yrds 0 TDs
Carl McCulley FB 4 60 yrds 0 TDs
Mike Wilburn HB 1 19 yrds 0 TDs
Larry Brom FB 4 11 yrds 0 TDs
Jimmy Isbell TE 1 8 yrds 0 TDs
TOTALS 95 1337 yrds 8 TDs

Defense

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Defense statistics
NAME POS INT
Palmer Byrd DHB 6
Ronnie Williamson DHB 5
William McCormack LB 3
Ganum Smith DHB 2
Leroy Baker LB 2
Tommy Warhurst DE 1
Others 2
TOTAL 21

Special teams

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Punting statistics
NAME POS PUNTS YDS AVG
Jody Gamble SE 51 2045 yrds 40.0
TOTALS 51 2045 yrds 40.0
Kick return statistics
NAME POS RTNS YDS AVG TD
Bobby Joe Pride FL 18 623 34.5 1
Leonard Thomas HB 11 214 19.4 0
Jimmy Isbell TE 3 34 11.3 0
Larry Brom FB 3 34 11.3 0
Ganum Smith DHB 1 21 21.0 0
Allen Elkins QB 2 22 10.4 0
Bobby Burcham SE 2 19 9.5 0
Ronnie Williamson DHB 1 16 16.0 0
Danny Kimble FL 1 5 5.0 0
TOTALS 42 988 yrds 23.5 1 TD
Punt return statistics
NAME POS RTNS YDS AVG TD
Leonard Thomas HB 6 105 17.5 0
Bobby Joe Pride FL 5 52 10.4 0
TOTALS 11 157 yrds 14.3 0 TD's

[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Demon Football History vs North Alabama". nsudemons.com. Northwestern State Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Patterson, Greg (September 13, 1970). "Lions Lose To Northwestern". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ^ Kelley, Pete (September 20, 1970). "Florence State Wins 28-17". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "1970 Football Schedule". gostatesmen.com. Delta State University Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Harris, Jack (September 29, 1970). "Mistakes Kill Lion Chances". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ "Livingston Loses, 21-14". The Tuscaloosa News. Tuscaloosa News. October 4, 1970. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  7. ^ "1970 Football Schedule". arkansastechsports.com. Arkansas Tech University Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  8. ^ Bannecke, Craig (October 11, 1970). "Lions Squeeze By Ark. Tech 28-26". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  9. ^ Thomas, Ronnie (October 18, 1970). "Lions Come Alive In Last Half To Down Reddies". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  10. ^ Kelley, Pete (October 25, 1970). "Troy Edges Battling Lions 28-23". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  11. ^ Harris, Jack (October 25, 1970). "UTM Spanks Florence St. 35-7". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ^ Thomas, Ronnie (October 25, 1970). "Jacksonville Mauls Florence State 55-28". Times Daily. Florence. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  13. ^ a b c d Burleson, Al (1970). "1970 Football Guide" (PDF). RoarLions.com. North Alabama Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Thomas, Ronnie (1971). "1971 Football Guide" (PDF). RoarLions.com. North Alabama Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  15. ^ "Conference Now Reality". The Tuscaloosa News. Tuscaloosa. August 8, 1970. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Google News Achieve.
  16. ^ "Gulf South Conference History". gscsports.org. Gulf South Conference. September 1, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2024.