LHS football was Barrington's nightmare, Part 1
• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.
Throughout the 1960s, the North Suburban Conference was an eight-team league featuring North Chicago, Zion-Benton, Barrington, Crystal Lake, McHenry, Dundee and Woodstock.
The first game of an eight-game season was the weekend after Labor Day, the last game was the first week of November. The IHSA playoffs didn't begin until the fall of 1974.
When the preseason football rankings came out every year in the 1960s, Barrington was either the league favorite or one of the favorites. However, during a four-year stretch, Libertyville beat Barrington each year, keeping them out of first two of those years, causing them to share the title the other two.
Libertyville had great football success throughout the 1930s and early 1940s. But after winning a title in the fall of 1943, Libertyville High School went 15 years before winning another. In Coach Bob Tunnicliff's fifth season as head coach, LHS finished the season as undefeated champions. LHS shared the 1960 title.
LHS football fortunes changed in the fall of 1961 as Mundelein High School was opened, splitting off with LHS. With half their players now attending MHS, the LHS football fortunes dropped dramatically.
They finished 1961 with a 3-3-2 record. 1962 followed with a 3-5 record; 0-6-2 in 1963. Mundelein had similar struggles, not having a winning record until their fourth season.
Although the 1964 LHS team was competitive in most games with a strong defense, they lost their first five games. Heading into the sixth game, they were to play undefeated Barrington.
Predictably, Barrington held a 14-3 lead heading into the final quarter. But three LHS fourth quarter touchdowns - a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Bill Thomas for the first, a Thomas to Dick Wrast pass for the second, and a run by Wrast for the third - gave LHS a 22-14 win, dropping Barrington into second place.
The confidence gained from this win propelled LHS to win their final two games of the season and finish 3-5. Defensive leaders Jerry Rapplean and Ron Graber were named All-Conference, along with end Bud Peterson, the senior class outstanding athlete.
The 1965 team was again led by a strong defense that only allowed 45 points all season behind Defensive Coordinator Mike Jerikian. LHS won the first four games of the season, allowing just 6 points. North Chicago beat LHS in the fifth game of the season. Barrington would beat North Chicago the sixth week, while LHS would beat McHenry, setting up a seventh week showdown.
Barrington scored on the first drive of the game to take a 6-0 lead. Before the half was over, Libertyville took a 14-6 lead on a touchdown run by Rich Cappocioni and a touchdown pass from Bill Thomas to Tom Henrichs.
The second half was scoreless to give LHS the win. Fortunately for LHS, North Chicago lost three games that year, which allowed LHS to share the title with Barrington. LHS All-Conference players included Brian Brahe, Tim Shafer and Thomas. Defensive stars "Red" Miller and Bill Graham also received coaching recognition.