Unlocking the Archive: Amanda-Clearcreek football has a storied history

As we continue our journey with local football teams, this week we feature the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces.

It is no secret that the Aces have had some powerhouse teams, especially the 1999 and 2000 teams which won back-to-back state championships.

Those teams were the stuff of legends.

But this week, we are going back to an earlier time - the 1965 team.

This team would not be considered one of those spectacular teams as they finished the season 2-7-1.

Wait! 2-7-1? Why are we talking about this team when the Aces have such a storied history in football?

Well, let's go back to the 1965 season opener.

The Aces played Westall and defeated the Mustangs 20-12 in a game that broke a 17-game losing streak that had stretched back to the 1963 season.

The Aces racked up 284 yards rushing as a team but were led by Gary Young, the fleet-footed halfback, who scored three of the Aces TDs on runs of 44, 66, and 21 yards.

Coach John Young commented in a Lancaster Eagle-Gazette article on the game by heaping praise on the very young line - both offense and defense -- for the way they opened up holes and stopped Westfall when it counted.

Safety Rick Stone came up with a big play near the end that saved a possible tie when he knocked down a Westfall pass into the end zone. Linebacker Tim Bost also pounced on a loose ball at a key part of the game.

To celebrate the return of high school football this season, the Eagle-Gazette will be publishing photo galleries of local teams on Mondays leading up to the season. This week is Amanda-Clearcreek, but if you missed last two weeks which were Lancaster and Fisher Catholic, be sure to go to LancasterEagle-Gazette.com and check it out.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Unlocking the Archive: Amanda-Clearcreek football has a storied history