'South Bend was buzzing.' 50 years later, Washington football state championship lives on

SOUTH BEND — Mike Miller remembers Nov. 16, 1973, vividly.

“South Bend was buzzing,” he recalled.

Miller was a senior on the South Bend Washington football team that year. The team was 11-0 and heading to School Field for an historic event: the first ever IHSAA football state championship game.

“When we left Washington, we had an escort from the South Bend Fire Department,” Miller said. “When we went by the fire department on Sample Street, they had their ladders over the street, and we went through those ladders on our way to School Field.”

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A few hours later, the Panthers had earned the right to call themselves state champions.

Washington defeated Indianapolis Cathedral, 19-13, in front of a sold-out crowd in downtown South Bend. It was one of three state champs crowned that year under the new IHSAA format, joining Mishawaka Marian in Class 1A and Greenfield-Central in 2A.

The 1973 Panthers team will be honored Friday at halftime of Washington’s game against South Bend Clay. It’ll be held on the same field the Panthers won a state title a half-century ago.

“It’s special, because we are the last team to win a state championship from a South Bend public school in football,” Miller said. “I know Washington made it down there (in 2011) when they played Indianapolis Cathedral … It’s amazing. We’re still proud.”

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Four years prior in 1969, Washington was crowned the "mythical" state football champions following a 10-0 season. Before the IHSAA implemented an official state tournament, the state champ was determined by The Associated Press, with a group of sportswriters and broadcasters from across the state voting for who they thought was the top team.

Washington was voted state champs in 1939, 1943, 1944, 1953 and 1969.

Finally, in 1973, an official state tournament was announced by the IHSAA. It would feature three Classes, with four teams from each Class earning playoff spots based on their regular seasons.

“It felt different, because when Washington won it in 1969, there weren’t any divisions or playoffs, so they won it outright,” Miller said. “What we were told back in the day was since there were so many teams left out, that they felt those teams should be part of the championship. They wanted to break it down, so they went with enrollment so that way every team could have a chance at winning a championship.

“We didn’t necessarily agree to that because we felt we were the best team in the state, and not just in Class 3A. That just didn’t sit right with us.”

Regular season dominance from the Panthers

Expectations were high for Washington going into 1973 following a 7-2 campaign. For Miller, he knew his senior year was going to be special after how his first high school football season went.

“We knew we were going to be good in 1970 as freshmen,” Miller said. “We went 8-0 and won the NIC freshmen championship, so we knew we were going to be good.”

The Panthers opened with back-to-back shutouts of Gary West Side (19-0) and East Chicago Central (43-0). They then squeaked by Elkhart Central, 25-22, in a game Miller said was its hardest of the season.

Following a 51-0 shutout of Michigan City Elston, Washington played three more tight games in a row, edging Elkhart Memorial, 13-9, South Bend Riley, 9-0, and South Bend Adams, 16-7.

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They then closed the regular season with three straight shutouts, beating Mishawaka 32-0, LaPorte 26-0 and South Bend LaSalle, 7-0 to finish the regular season a perfect 10-0.

The unbeaten mark earned Washington a playoff berth. In the 3A semifinal game, the Panthers scored three first-half touchdowns on its way to a 27-14 road win over Hammond Gavit. Miller scored the first and last touchdowns of the game, while Al Rzepka threw a touchdown pass to Armond Thompson, then ran for one in the second quarter.

A chance to host the first state championship game

With Cathedral upsetting No. 1 Bloomington South in the other semifinal game, that meant the state title game would be played at School Field, even if there was discussion to play it elsewhere in South Bend.

“We had a chance for that game to be played at Notre Dame," Miller said, "but with it being the first state championship game, the South Bend Community School Corporation wanted to hold it at School Field."

Notre Dame still contributed to the festivities, installing new lights at School Field and stenciling both schools’ logos and colors on the field.

Cathedral went up, 6-0, after the first possession, while Washington countered with a touchdown: A 7-yard run by Jerry Jennings’ and extra-point kick from Rzepka made it 7-6 Panthers through one quarter.

The Panthers built the lead to 13-6 on a Miller touchdown run in the third, only for Cathedral to draw even with a score and PAT of its own.

The game remained tied at 13 until late, when Miller would prove to be the hero. His 22-yard touchdown run with 3:35 in the game put the Panthers ahead by six. Miller then had the key defensive play, intercepting a Cathedral pass to seal the state championship.

Jennings finished with 111 rushing yards and Miller 64 in the game.

“I don’t know how anybody could ever be happier,” Washington coach Robert “Beans” Van Camp said in the Nov. 17, 1973, South Bend Tribune article on the game.

Fifty years later, the legacy of the 1973 South Bend Washington football team lives on.

“That team was one of the best,” Miller said. “I’m going to always say that because I was part of it. I don’t think anyone can take that away from us. It’s just a great feeling that will always be there. We will always be part of that in the city of South Bend.”

Friday night high school football schedule

INDIANA

Friday, Sept. 15

Elkhart at Penn, 7 p.m. (NIC)

South Bend Adams at Mishawaka Marian, 7 p.m. (NIC)

South Bend Clay at South Bend Washington, 7 p.m. (NIC) (School Field)

Bremen at Jimtown, 7 p.m. (NIC)

Mishawaka at Plymouth, 7 p.m. (NLC)

Goshen at Northridge, 7 p.m. (NLC)

NorthWood at Warsaw, 7 p.m. (NLC)

Wawasee at Concord, 7 p.m. (NLC)

West Noble at Fairfield, 7 p.m. (NECC)

LaVille at Caston, 7 p.m. (HN)

Triton at Culver, 7 p.m. (HN)

New Prairie at South Bend Saint Joseph, 7:30 p.m. (NIC)

South Bend Riley at Indianapolis Washington, 7:30 p.m.

John Glenn at Knox, 7:30 p.m.

Lake Central at LaPorte, 8 p.m. (DC)

Merrrillville at Michigan City, 8 p.m. (DC)

South Central at Hammond Bishop Noll, 8 p.m. (GSSC)

Saturday, Sept. 16

Osceola Grace at Grand Valley Christian, 6 p.m.

MICHIGAN

Edwardsburg at Three Rivers, 7 p.m. (WC)

Niles at Otsego, 7 p.m. (WC)

Buchanan at Benton Harbor, 7 p.m. (LAC)

Berrien Springs at Brandywine, 7 p.m. (LAC)

Dowagiac at Parchment, 7 p.m.

Cassopolis at Hartford, 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Washington 1973 state football champs to be honored