Hatboro-Horsham alum and professional sports photographer Darryl Rule followed his alma mater’s football team in the days leading up to and including Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game. This is his behind the scenes account of his final day with the team. To view photos chronicling Rule’s experience, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Behind the Scenes with the Hatters – Day 4
Game Day.
Weeks or anticipation and months of practice have all come down to Thursday morning. Six o’clock wake up call, and it’s off into the crisp fall morning air. Coach Chris Long also is up and about at six o’clock.
“Even all these years later, when I first got up at 6:00, the first thing on my mind was the game,” he said. “I still get just as amped up as I did back in my senior year, 1988.”
Long was a tight end and defensive end for the Hatters that season, which concluded with a win versus Upper Moreland.
“The rivalry back then, it was real,” Long said. “We truly despised each other. That season, we were the Freedom Division champs, but Upper Moreland had a really good record. And if they would have beaten us, they would have had a better record and had bragging rights. So going into the game, there was a lot of hype because they would have called themselves the true champs.”
He continued by saying, “But unfortunately for them, they got the ball first, and we stopped them three-and-out. And then on the first play from scrimmage, we ran 45 Power, and our fullback, Brian Liott, destroyed their end, and Chris Horstman ran 68 yards for a touchdown. That was the beginning of the end for Upper Moreland.”
Still all these years later, memories of games 25 years ago are as fresh as if they had happened just last week. THAT is what makes Hatbor-Horhsam vs Upper Moreland such a great community tradition.
The first stop of the morning is the team breakfast. Usually the team has a pasta party the night before a Friday night game, but for this one, the Gehlhaus Family is hosting the boys for breakfast. The Gehlhaus family was kind enough to invite us over to take part in the get together. Thanks so much for that!
Not many high school students would be up and about at 7 a.m. on a day when there is no school; however, right at the scheduled start time of 7:15, players start arriving for their morning meal. They are greeted by a nice spread of oranges, granola bars, apples and bananas. In the kitchen, the smell of coffee and ham, egg and cheese sandwiches and other goodies permeates the house. By 7:30, most of the team is gathered, some sitting on the living room floor, some at a table in the dining room. Conversation is hushed, but the mood is good as the team enjoys their last few minutes of downtime before heading over to the stadium.
About 7:30, coach Kapusta and coach Thompson arrive to have breakfast with the team. Kapusta is very upbeat and in good spirits. Mrs. Gehlhaus comments that she couldn’t believe the players were on time for breakfast. The coaches reply that they were on time because they most likely didn’t sleep the night before. Coach Kapusta tells the group in the kitchen that he was just about to fall asleep, but then started thinking and ended up tossing and turning for the next three hours. Sleep is at a premium this morning. Discussions turn to
which family members will or won’t be attending the game, grandmother’s birthdays and some Penn State Football.
Shortly thereafter, it’s time to head off to the stadium to begin preparations for the game. Just as with Monday’s practice, the sound of loud music can easily be heard from outside the walls of the stadium as player file into the locker room. Inside, players begin the process of dressing for warm-ups. Today takes a bit longer as players need to add additional layers to combat not just the Upper Moreland Bears, but also the near freezing temperatures. Some may not like the cold, but to me, the low to mid 30s temperatures are what the Thanksgiving morning game is. Crisp air, seeing your breath in the air, and hard hitting football.
Players mill about the room, singing to music, heading to the training room to have ankles taped, and adding eye black to teammates’ faces. You have to look good and feel good to play good. In small groups, the players head out to the field to begin warming up. First out are the QBs, punt returners and kickers.
Upper Moreland is already on the field as the Hatters come out, and the sight of each other elicits hollers and yells into the early morning air. Slowly, the whole team takes the field, and coach Long goes about the routine of getting the guys stretched and ready for action. After stretching, the team runs through some offensive sets. Coach Kapusta paces around amongst his players and tells one, “When we get in the end zone here in a second, get these guys hyped up now!
Three former Hatters standouts are on the field as coaches – former lineman Brian Haupt, coach Long and the great running back in program history, Brian Flowers. Throughout the warm-ups, the three occasionally glance across the field at the Upper Moreland players, and one can only wonder what memories or thoughts are going through their heads. All three went out winners in this rivalry as seniors, and you know they are hoping for the same for the seniors playing in today’s game.
Around 9:30, warm-ups are wrapped up, and the team heads back to the warm confines of the locker room. Outside the locker room, coach Long shares some more memories of this rivalry. He speaks about coming to the game as a youngster every year because his dad was an administrator at Hatboro-Horsham.
“Every year, you knew where you were going to be on Thanksgiving morning,” he said. “Even when I am 75 years old, I know where I’ll be.”
Interestingly enough, Long grew up in the Upper Moreland schools until moving to Hatboro-Horsham in elementary school. He said, “I knew a lot of those guys I played against in that 1988 game, so that made things even more interesting.”
With that, Long heads off to the coaches room. Inside the players’ area, the music is still on, but players are more focused on the task as hand. Many players sit on benches or in folding camp chairs. Some have their eyes closed, partly resting, partly running through their responsibilities in the coming hours.
Around 9:40, Principal Dennis Williams makes his one visit to locker room to talk to the team. He again reminds the players that this is the biggest game of their lives. “And for some of you seniors,” he said, “it will be your last game. The last game with your guys. The guys you ride with, the guys you die with.”
There isn’t much yelling, but the emotion in his voice is very clear. He said, “In 20 years, when you come back, these are the guys that you are going to get together with on Wednesday night. And this is what you are going to talk about.”
With that, he tells them to take care of business and turns and walks out of the room.
Shortly after Williams leaves, coach Long, red HH stocking cap on his head, enters the room, and the players gather around him. He looks around the room, adjusts his hat, and in a soft voice, starts to address the players. The hushed tone won’t last long.
“I’m proud to be a part of this team,” he said. “You guys finally understand what it means to be brothers, and what it means to go to battle together, and treat each other with respect. Cherish that time. Since we first got here, you guys were a bunch of misfits. One of the seniors put it that way. Yeah, I would agree with that. But you are so far from that group now, and I am proud to be associated with you!”
He continued “As a former Hatter myself, I know what it takes to wear the Red and Black, and knowing the pride it takes to wear that, I am proud of you. Today, as you’ve already been told, is without a doubt the most important game you’ll ever play. Today, you will run faster, you will hit harder, and you will want to win more than any other game because this is everything! I am 42 years old, and I talk about one game when I get together with my friends, this one.” He tells the players that he can remember every play from his last game in the Red and Black, and remembering “45 Power” and Liott’s huge block are proof of that.
He closes his speech with “Win the game, win the battle, play with pride, YOU’RE A HATTER! BE PROUD OF THAT!!!!”
The locker room erupts in a loud roar, and the emotions of the past two weeks are about to be brought to the field. Coach Kapusta comes in and speaks to the team as well. Then it is off to the field. The team huddles in the tunnel, then bursts through the paper sign held by the cheerleaders and onto the Hatter Stadium turf. Game time is finally here!
The Hatters win the toss and defer to the second half. The Hatters’ defense holds on Upper Moreland’s first drive. One the Hatters’ first possession, FB Jeff Panara rumbles for a long touchdown run, and the Hatters – up 7-0 - are feeling sky high. However, shortly after the Hatters score, the Bears complete a long pass and tie the score at 7. The teams defenses start to dig in, and the 7-7 score holds until late in the second quarter when Hatter senior QB Jack Morris runs a quarterback keeper around the right end and scores to make it 14-7 Hatters. With less than a minute to go until halftime, the Bears run out the clock and head to the locker room.
The warm locker room feels good after being out in the cold, but the players are itching to get back on the field. Morris steps to the middle of the room and yells to his teammates that they have 24 minutes left in a season that goes back nine months. He implores them to finish strong and win the game. He quietly goes back to his locker and sits down with the rest of the seniors. After a few minutes, the coaching staff enters the room and talks to their assigned position groupings. Coach Long is in one corner talking with the fullbacks while Coach Haupt talks to a couple of the linemen, Coach Kapusta enters the room and calls the players over to the chalk board, and they begin diagramming some plays while discussing the adjustments they want to make in the second half.
The conversation is far from one-sided as the players ask questions, pass on observations they saw in the first half, and make suggestions on what might work in certain situation. For unknown reasons, halftime stretches on for nearly 35 minutes (twice what the normal halftime), so the team has plenty of time to talk.
Finally, halftime is over and the team heads back to the field, 24 minutes from the ending the seniors have been dreaming of since they were grade school kids running around in the field with their friends. Unfortunately, the Upper Moreland Bears have other plans, and shortly after halftime, Upper Moreland RB Tyler Whitmore breaks tackles for a long touchdown run down the far sideline, and the Hatters sideline is stunned. The game is tied at 14, and the Hattera need to regroup on their next possession. Up and down the sidelines, players can be heard encouraging their teammates, imploring them to give extra effort.
The teams again trade punches defensively, and the score is tied at 14 after three quarters. Twelve minutes remain in the game and in the 2013 edition of the Hatters Football program. Early in the fourth quarter, Bears RB Nick DeLucas breaks another long run, and just like that, the Hatters find themselves in a 21-14 hole. The Hatters get the ball three more times in the fourth quarter. On their final drive, they drive to midfield and are faced with a fourth-and-two with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Morris attempts a pass to the near sideline, but the pass is broken up, and with no timeouts left, the Hatters season has come to an end.
After the traditional post-game handshakes, the offensive and defensive players of the game are announced, but for the Hatters, the loss culminates months of practice, film study, and bonding. Although they did not accomplish their goal on this day, the seniors in today’s game will always be remember as the group that helped establish the “New Era” of Hatters football. Setting the foundation for generations of future Hatters to build upon. For this group, they did accomplish that.
And with that, this behind the scenes look at the Hatter Football program and their preparations for the Thanksgiving Day game comes to an end. As a 1996 graduate of HH, it was a privilege and an honor to spend time with this group of players and coaches. I appreciate your openness and candor. I appreciate you welcoming me into your daily routine. A special thanks goes out to Coach Mike Kapusta – thanks a lot coach for allowing us access to things not usually seen from the outside. As a Hatter alum, I am proud of what you have put in place here at HH and wish you nothing but success in the future. Also, big thanks to AD Lou James and Principal Dennis Williams for allowing us into your school to get a behind the scenes look at all the hard work your students put into Spirit Week. They are to be commended for a job well done. And it was fun to get a bit of a “Blast-from-the-past” walking around the halls for the first time in 17 years. Also thanks to coach Brian Haupt, coach Chris Long, former HH head coach Dave Sanderson, men’s basketball coach Dennis Steinley, Jr. and senior QB Jack Morris for taking to time to answer a few questions for us. This piece would not have been the same without your memories and stories. I hope everyone who has read this four-part series has enjoyed it, learned a little bit, and has enjoyed the behind the scenes look at one of the greatest high school football rivalries in Pennsylvania. Until next time…
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