In 1991 I became the head football coach for the Lovington Wildcats. I served in that capacity for 15 years, and because of a lot of talented football players, outstanding assistant coaches, and tremendous community support, we won 127 games. Along the way, the Wildcats captured four state championships, finished as state runner-up three times, and qualified for the state playoffs in 11 of those 15 seasons.
Those years gave me a deep appreciation for Lovington athletics and for the people who make this community special. That is one reason I wanted to write Wildcat’s Tale 2.0. My hope is to increase the readership of the Lovington Leader while giving readers an inside look at the athletes, coaches, traditions, and stories that have made Lovington one of New Mexico’s great sports towns. (87 state championships. More on that in later columns).l
But every story has a beginning.
Have you ever thrown a pebble into a still pond and watched the ripples spread across the water? One small splash creates wave after wave, reaching places far beyond where the pebble first entered.
That’s what today’s column is about—the ripple effect.
Every ripple has a starting point.
The pebble was dropped on July 25, 1956, the day I was born in Muleshoe, Texas.
The first ripple I actually remember came in 1962. My dad was serving in the United States Air Force, and we were stationed at Amarillo Air Force Base. Before long, he received orders to be deployed to Germany, where our family lived in the small city of Hof/Saale, just a few miles from the Czechoslovakian border. At the time, Czechoslovakia was behind the Iron Curtain and controlled by the Soviet Union. Because of my dad’s military assignment, our family could not cross the border without special security clearance.
As a young boy, I didn’t appreciate the significance of living in the middle of the Cold War. I simply knew we were living in another country. Looking back now, I realize those experiences broadened my perspective long before I knew what perspective even meant.
After three and a half years in Germany, my dad retired from the Air Force, and we returned to the United States. We settled in Abernathy, Texas, where Dad became assistant manager of By-Low Foods in Lubbock, commuting daily the 20 miles.
Then another ripple changed everything.
By-Low decided to open a new grocery store in Lovington, and Dad was selected to help manage it. In the spring of 1969, while I was in the seventh grade, our family moved to Lovington.
I still remember my first day of school. My first class was science with Mr. Hugh Clardy, who would later become one of the head football coaches at Lovington High School. For some reason, he rarely called me “Speedy,” the nickname everyone else knew. To him, I was always “John” or “Mr. Faith.”
The next ripple arrived that fall.
As an eighth grader at Central Junior High, I went out for football. My coaches were Jerry Brown and his assistant, Mike Allen. Jerry had been part of the 1960 State Champion Lovington football team, along with players such as John Carrell and Leo Buck Lowry, a group that helped set the standard for future Wildcats. Jerry Brown was a tough, no-nonsense coach who expected discipline, effort, and attention to detail. Mike Allen was equally dedicated and had a gift for teaching the fundamentals in a way young players could understand. Together they made us better players and better young men. Remember those names because they will play an important role in my future and future Wildcat’s Tale columns.
I started at quarterback. Behind me in the backfield were Tommy Willard, Johnny Ponder, and Ariel Aranda. Our team also included Danny Johnson, Rocky Reynolds, Ricky Mason—my best friend—and many other outstanding teammates. We finished the season 6-0 and won the Border Conference championship.
Back then, Lovington had two junior high schools. I attended Central Junior High, home of the Kittens, while students across town attended Taylor Junior High, home of the Tigers. The rivalry between the schools was intense, but once we reached high school we became teammates, classmates, and lifelong friends. Some of my closest friends, including Jeff Cearley and Greg Hogue, were former Taylor Tigers.
When I got to Lovington High School, more ripples followed. I earned 11 high school sports letters, and I also found another interest that would stay with me for life. In journalism class with Mrs. Marchbanks, I learned how to put thoughts on paper and how stories can connect people. That class, along with Wildcat’s Tale, the school newspaper, guided by our student editor, Melanie Bridgforth Ridenour, helped shape the way I have always looked at Lovington and its people.
After graduating from LHS, I attended Oklahoma Christian College, later to become a university, on a partial baseball scholarship. I received that scholarship, partly on the recommendation of Jerry Brown, who would also attended Oklahoma Christian. I played four years of baseball at OCC and as a senior earned all conference and NAIA honorable mention All American.
Upon graduating from OCC and being married to my high school sweetheart, Pam Roberts, I was anxious to begin my job as an educator. And the next ripple occurred, with my first job in 1978. I was hired as an assistant, baseball coach and football coach in Artesia, New Mexico. Based on the recommendation of the aforementioned Mike Allen who was my coach at Central junior high and high school baseball back in Lovington and was now the head baseball coach in Artesia. It was in Artesia that I learned about football under the guidance of defensive coordinator TW Harvey and head coach Mike Phipps.
My next job was in Lovington, New Mexico when I was hired as the defensive coordinator by none other than Jerry Brown, who had been named head coach that year. We would work together for the next 10 years , as the Wildcats would win 80 games and three state championships. We had a remarkable run from 1986 to 1990 going 54-6-1. At that point, Jerry retired and I became the head football coach of the Lovington Wildcats. My dream job.
Looking back after all these years, it’s amazing how one decision by a grocery store changed the course of my life. If By-Low hadn’t opened a store in Lovington… if my dad hadn’t been transferred… if our family hadn’t moved… I probably never would have worn a Wildcat uniform, coached Wildcat football, or spent a lifetime surrounded by the people and traditions that make Lovington special.
One pebble.
Countless ripples.
And this is only the beginning of the story.
The Tale goes on..
Around the Sports World
Congratulations to Spain for winning the World Cup with hard fought victory over Argentine, 1-0, and Lionel Messi, who many consider the greatest football player of all time. What a salute to Messi by the crowd in New Jersey. FIFA, with the help of American cities, put on the greatest World Cup tournament off all time.
Local news from LHS
Ah, the first day of school. It may seem a little strange to start classes in July, but there are some real advantages. Students may grumble about the shorter summer, but Fridays off is a pretty good trade. For student-athletes, it could be even better. They’ll settle into the school-and-practice routine sooner and be ready for that first football game in just a month. It will be interesting to see how an earlier start and Fridays off affect athletics.