Recalling the Brawl - 1975
The 1975 edition of the Backyard Brawl was considered one for the ages as well as both a culmination and beginning of sorts for two former players.
Andy Peters, a senior defensive end for the Mountaineers at the time, grew up in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania and considered the Panthers out of high school. His cousin had married former Pittsburgh standout Paul Martha, the number one draft pick for the Steelers in 1964, and he became Peters' idol.
But the Panthers had been struggling on the field and when Peters went to Martha to seek advice on his college choice the former Pittsburgh star instructed him to explore at all of his options instead of settling on the home-town team. That advice eventually led Peters' eyes to Morgantown and a young up-start coach named Bobby Bowden as well as his business-like assistant Frank Cignetti.
"My mother was from New Orleans and my dad was from Pittsburgh so my mother loved Bowden's southern charm and my father liked Cignetti's Ivy League flair about him," Peters said. "They were hugely impressed and that sold my parents."
Peters would sign with West Virginia but would lose to the Panthers during his sophomore and junior seasons, something that was particularly painful because of all the ties he had in Pittsburgh as well as how many of his former teammates he would run into when he was back home in Western Pennsylvania.
"Many of the players I played against in the WIPAL were going to Pitt. Pitt and Penn State were the talk of my area so anytime those games came up it was about hometown pride," Peters said.
Peters would have one last chance against the Panthers Nov. 8, 1975 inside old Mountaineer Field.
West Virginia was coming off a disappointing 4-7 campaign in 1974 that almost resulted in Bowden being ran out of town, but there were obvious signs of change in the young coach that were apparent from early in the spring the following year.
"He was less of a CEO and more an engaging coach out on the field and pushing, motivating and inspiring us to do better," Peters said.
West Virginia would start it's resurrection under Bowden as the Mountaineers reeled off six wins against two losses to start the 1975 season heading into the matchup against the hated Panthers in front of a sold out crowd at old Mountaineer Field.
Like West Virginia, the Pittsburgh football program had been transformed and rebuilt under Johnny Majors entering Morgantown at 6-2 behind the talents of all-American running back Tony Dorsett.
While Pittsburgh entered the game with a high-powered rushing attack, it was apparent early in the game that the Mountaineers were prepared as they threw the Panthers a curve ball in their defense of the option. The Mountaineers assigned Peters the responsibility of denying Dorsett the pitch, forcing quarterback Matt Cavanaugh to hold the ball and take several big shots early in the game.
Those shots to Cavanaugh mostly from Tom Pridemore, forced the Panthers to go away from the option after the Mountaineers stayed consistent in their defensive looks preventing Dorsett from catching the pitch.
"It was a stroke of genius. It really forced them to change their game plan and make him run in between the tackles," Peters said. "It was really effective."
Also aiding the Mountaineers' efforts was the fact that the coaches had picked up on the Panthers' signals allowing the defense to adjust and align after the opposition would break the huddle to best defend the Pittsburgh offense.
On one of those aforementioned inside handoffs, Peters disengaged his blocker and drilled Dorsett to the turf causing him to fumble the football. It was in that instance that the mindset for the senior changed.
"I had the best tackle of my life. I hit him on the rise, picked him up and threw him down. That's when I realized we could beat these guys," he said.
While the game was tied at zero heading into the break, in the second frame the momentum swung back and forth with West Virginia gaining two leads before relinquishing them to the Panthers putting the score at 14 in the fourth quarter.
From there, the two teams would fail to capitalize with the Mountaineers getting one final possession with only seconds left to play.
Quarterback Danny Kendra would fire a pass to Randy Swinson, who hauled it in and got out of bounds in order to set up a game-winning field goal attempt with only seconds remaining on the clock from the leg of the relatively unproven Bill McKenzie.
The kick would sail through the uprights, giving West Virginia a victory over Pittsburgh and Peters the enjoyment of finally overcoming the Panthers on the football field.
"When he put that ball through it was just bedlam out on the field. Everybody ran out of the stands," Peters said. "It was by far the greatest win in my whole time at West Virginia. That win meant more for me than any of them and to come out and do it in my senior year was fantastic."
Fans poured from the seats onto the playing field as there was a state of euphoria overtook those inside the confines of old Mountaineer Field.
"All of these fans were running toward us and patting us on the back. It was like winning the lottery. It was fantastic and all the frustration of losing to Pittsburgh was evaporated by that win," Peters said.
And while Peters' career at West Virginia was coming to a close, the roots for the careers of one of the people in the stands was just beginning as offensive lineman Jay Krohe took in the scene of the victory.
A McKeesport native never had much interest in his hometown Panthers but his experience in Morgantown sealed the deal on where he wanted to spend his college career.
"After the game I walked up Campus Drive to the corner of Campus Dr. and University Ave. and saw thousands of Students and a huge Bonfire in the middle of the road and I knew at that moment that WVU was where I was going to college," he said.
Soon after Krohe had made a complete transformation from simply not caring about Pittsburgh to despising the Panthers and he would soon find himself in the middle of future Backyard Brawls.
"I realized the passion that West Virginia had in wanting to beat Pitt. That passion has never left me," he said.
As for Peters, the defensive end would eventually meet his old nemesis Dorsett, who would go on to have a hall of fame career with the Dallas Cowboys, and the two discussed the game in line at an autograph session that the former Pittsburgh running back was attending.
The matchup between the two one-time rivals had come full circle.
"I made my way up to him and said we haven't seen each other since Nov. 5 1975," Peters said. "I told him he had a pretty rough day and he looked up and said who are you? I said I was number 95 and I got some shots on you that day. He laughed and asked me if I wanted an autograph. And I said yes."
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