BHS football 1964: ‘A season of triumph; a season of despair’

By RANDY FORST
BGNN sports editor

(This is the first in a series that will continue through the fall.)

I’ve been thinking about this article for a long, long time. I was eager to do it, but also very apprehensive. Apprehensive, because it was such an important time in Barberton history, and I knew it would stir up a lot of difficult memories, especially from the Magic players from that year.

But the more I got into that season, the more I knew it was a story that needed to be told. I am convinced
that if a Hollywood screenwriter would get a hold of all the facts from that season, he or she would be able to make a great film. The Garfield and Alliance games alone could make a good Friday Night Lights episode. So, here we go. Travel back in time with me to “1964: A season of triumph; a season of despair.”

It is doubtful that in the long history of Barberton Magics football there has ever been a season that was both as successful and as tragic as the 1964 season. The 1964 Magics, under head coach Tom Phillips, ended their season 8-1, and while they averaged just 18 points a game, defensively they only gave up six per game, including three shutouts. The schedule was tough, including games against state-ranked teams Elyria and Akron Garfield, and games against always tough Hoban, St. Vincent, and rival Cuyahoga Falls.
Talentwise, the Magics were absolutely loaded. Joe Mollric, Joe Suboticki, and Terry Brown were named to the Beacon Journal All-District first team, and lineman Paul Walker was named Beacon Journal Player of the Year.

Second team honors went to Bob Mittlestead, and Russ Shriner, and Tom Cheatham and John Vargo made third team. Paul Okolish, Victor Bradshaw, and Bob Papp were also named Honorable Mention. That’s an incredible 12 players on the All-District team including honorary captain Ken Sennett. In addition, Okolish, John Vargo, John Kepler, and Dave Kapes, all junior starters, were named All-District the following year. The 1963 Beacon All- District team featured outstanding Magic junior, Ken Sennett as first
team quarterback. Sennett was also named to the 1964 team as honorary captain.

Many long time Magic fans maintain Ken Sennett was well on his way to being one of the greatest Barberton quarterbacks in a school with a history of great quarterbacks.

In class in the middle of the season, the talented teenager died suddenly from a health issue.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of that fateful season.

With the help of some of Sennett’s teammates, classmates, and Akron Beacon Journal archives, we are paying tribute to Sennett and those who kept and continue to keep his spirit alive.

For the next several weeks, we will share memories of 1964, a season that left shaken not only the Magics football team and Barberton High School, but the city and state. Pain and shock from a life lost too soon echoed across the country.

The 1964 season at a glance:
• Sept. 11: Elyria 6-0
• Sept. 18: Cleveland Lincoln 19-6
• Sept. 25 Hoban 26-0
• Oct. 2 at St. Vincent 10-8
• Oct. 9 Akron Garfield 7-6
• Oct. 16 Cuyahoga Falls 22-0
• Oct. 23 Alliance 8-14
• Oct. 30 Akron Buchtel 40-6
• Nov. 6 Canton Lincoln 21-14