With Torry Locklin’s recent coronation as the Class 3A player of the year, it set wheels in motion.
Locklin is the first Rockdale player to be named the player of the year.
My natural curiosity compelled me to seek out just exactly who was the Class 3A player of the year back in the day—namely 1976—when the Tigers last hoisted the championship trophy.
Now, I know for sure they did not hand out individual awards for the championship games and if they did, it would have most certainly been Robert Luetge.
The bruising 185-pound Tiger running back bulled his way to 173 yards including a 40-yard touchdown to open the scoring and send Rockdale on its way to a title.
As far as my research took me, there was not a player of the year chosen by anyone.
You have to remember, this is long before the 24-hour sports cycle and before we were inundated with mere participation awards and loaded all-district teams.
Looking back, Kermit Goode of Hallettsville was probably the biggest name in Class 2A so he would be a likely candidate.
However, the Tigers stuffed Goode for 63 yards on 24 carries in their 9-0 victory over the Brahmas in the state semifinals.
Goode was named first-team All-State by the TSWA.
Goode attended the University of Texas with very little success.
Sealy had a sophomore running back that had everybody salivating, but he hadn’t really made his mark yet. Went by the name of Eric Dickerson.
The late-great David Overstreet was also a star, but Big Sandy was a Class B school. That’s right, Class B.
As far as Rockdale goes, Luetge is as good a candidate for player of the year as any.
He was named the Central Texas player of the year after starting at running back, defensive end and was also the Tigers’ punter.
He ran for 1,115 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns in 1976. Had an 87-yarder against Llano. Also got off a 79-yard punt.
He was named second-team All-State as a defensive end.
Linebacker Randy J. Morgan and tackle Mario Garza were named first-team All-State, but linebackers aren’t usually chosen as players of the year and linemen have even less of a chance—just like the Heisman Trophy.
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