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Story Archives: Vidalia, LSU's Cupit loved contact
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Vidalia, LSU's Cupit loved contact
George Cupit was all over the field as a standout player at Vidalia High in the early 1970s.Before and during the play.Cupit played on the offensive line, tight end, defensive line, linebacker and in the offensive and defensive backfield for the Vikings."It didn't matter where I played," Cupit said. "I just loved contact. It was all the same to me. The thing was that I could hit and take the pain. I couldn't understand nobody else being like that. If you were running off tackle, I was going to hit you with everything I had."Faircloth said Cupit was one of his great players."George was very intelligent and really knew the game," Faircloth said. "He was 6-foot-2 and tough as a boot."The admiration was mutual."Coach Faircloth instilled a passion for the game in us," Cupit said. "We loved him. We would run through the wall for him. He inspired us to play. He was like another dad."Cupit was penciled in at right tackle prior to the 1972 season his junior year.But when the Vikings found themselves down to Cathedral 12-7 at halftime of their season-opener, Faircloth moved Cupit to fullback."It was 100 degrees that day and I was laying over there sucking air at halftime," Cupit said. "Coach Faircloth came over to me and said he was moving me to fullback. I didn't really want to play fullback. I had as much fun blocking at tackle or tight end than I did running the football."Cupit would end up rushing for 100 yards in the second half as Vidalia won the game 34-18."I think I was done at tackle after that," Cupit said."Robby (Savant) got hurt against Cathedral in the first game, so I moved George back to the backfield and Wayne Randall to right tackle and we just took off," Faircloth said. "George was a bull. He was run slap over you. Other coaches were calling George and Robby Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Vidalia finished 6-3-1 in 1972. The Vikings went 8-2-2 in 1973, allowing only 14 points during the regular season, stringing together a streak of holding opponents scoreless for 37 straight quarters before being scored on by St. Louis in the playoffs. The 37 scoreless quarters tied a mark set by Springhill in 1969. It would be broken by Teurlings Catholic in 1982 when they held opponents to 44 straight scoreless quarters."We hardly talked about the shutout streak," Cupit said. "We just wanted to do our jobs and keep developing during the year. All we were concentrating on was winning games. Our fans started getting into it, but we just took it play by play."Vidalia blanked Wisner 21-0 in its season-opener as Cupit scored twice. But Cupit and Savant both suffered knee injuries in the contest.Without both players, Vidalia lost to Ponchatoula 14-0, the only team to score on the Vikings during the regular season.Vidalia bounced back with a 29-0 win over Cathedral, holding Cathedral standout running back Barr Brown to 64 yards.After the win over Wisner, Vidalia lost to Ponchatoula 14-0. Cupit and Savant were both still nursing injuries."It hurt my feelings losing to them, especially the fact I was on the sidelines and they kept yelling, 'We want 33,'" Cupit said. "I got in on special teams and tried to get some licks in there. But I was smart enough to realize this wasn't a district game and our objective was to win district and get to the playoffs."The streak began the next week as Vidalia blanked Tallulah 14-0.That was followed by an 8-0 win over Oak Grove.The Vikings then blanked Block 17-0 to improve to 5-1.Then came a 0-0 tie with Delhi.Cupit had a 60-yard run in the final minute to the Bear 24-yard line, but a 38-yard field goal was just wide, ending the game without a point. Delhi finished with 67 total yards."We should have scored a touchdown in that game," Cupit said. "It was very disappointing. It felt like a loss. The game still brings me bad memories."Vidalia and Mangham then played to a 0-0 tie as the Dragons managed only 64 total yards.The Vikings celebrated Homecoming with a 33-0 win over Waterproof as Cupit scored twice.The defense held Newellton to minus-20 yards rushing and 46 yards passing in a 15-0 win over the Bears the following week to give the Vikings the District 2-2A title as Cupit again scored twice.After a first round bye, the Vikings kept the scoreless streak going with a 14-0 win over Homer in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs."We were feeling good," Cupit said. "We had a great week of practice. We had some coaches coming in recruiting and they were all telling us we looked good. It was just another step to where we wanted to end up."But then came the 13-12 loss to St. Louis in the quarterfinals."I had a 101-degree fever that week and wasn't able to practice," Cupit said. "That is still one of the worse nights of my life. The only thing I can compare it to was at LSU when we lost to Georgia my senior year after leading them 17-0 at halftime. We were undefeated and ranked No. 11 and they beat us 24-17."Vidalia's defense finished the season allowing 58.8 rushing yards a game and 26.1 passing."We had so many good players," Cupit said. "And once you got inside our 30-yard line we were a different defense, especially close to the goal line. We just bowed up then. We loved a challenge."Cupit was named top player on offense and defense in the district while also earning all-State honors. He tied with Tallulah quarterback Warren Trimble for the Offensive Player of the Year. Trimble is now head football coach at Richwood High.Cupit lettered four years in football and three in basketball and track at Vidalia.Cupit said he was not surprised at the success of the 1973 team."In junior high we won Miss-Lou championships in football and basketball every year," he said. "We went undefeated in basketball. That group of seniors just did not know how to lose. That word was not in our vocabulary. I think it was more our attitude than talent."Cupit was recruited by every college in Louisiana, as well as Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi."The day before signing day I saw six guys in red coats walking down the hall and I was thinking, 'Wow, George is going to sign with Ole Miss,'" Faircloth said.But signing day saw Cupit sign with LSU."In the end the end I always wanted to go to LSU," Cupit said. "I had a couple of schools offer me a car, though,"Cupit was red-shirted in 1975. He lettered in 1976, collecting 16 solo tackles and seven assists.As a middle linebacker his junior and senior years, Cupit called the defensive signals."It was definitely a dream to go to LSU," Cupit said. "It was just a matter of resetting goals."The 6-2, 237-pound Cupit was the lone returning linebacker in 1978."George has excellent speed, but one of his strongest points is his lateral movement, a must for anyone playing the 'backer posts,'" LSU head coach Charles McClendon said before the season.Cupit admitted he was not ready for what playing football at LSU meant to so many people."When I walked out of the dressing room after a game everybody wanted autographs," he said. "I was thinking, 'What is this all about?' When you are 19 years old, you don't think about stuff like that."Cupit said he did not feel the pressure to succeed at that level."The pressure was doing things, showing up on time for meetings and following rules or you would lose your starting job," Cupit said. "It was a job and you had to work hard at it."Cupit said he enjoyed playing for McClendon."We were on pretty good terms," he said. "There were some guys who didn't like Coach Mac, but those were mostly guys sitting on the bench thinking they should be playing."LSU went 8-4 in 1977, losing to Stanford in the Sun Bowl. Cupit finished with 58 tackles and recovered a fumble.The Tigers went 8-4 in 1978, falling to Missouri in the Liberty Bowl.Cupit finished his senior season with 56 tackles, one tackle for loss, one fumble recovery and one pass break-up.Cupit said it was extra special any time LSU played Ole Miss or Alabama."I have told the story of hitting Johnny Davis in the mouth at the goal line many times," Cupit said, referring to the former Alabama star back who went on to play in the NFL.Cupit works as a Registered Nurse for Fresenius Medical Care.He also coached son Casey's football and baseball teams, being named coach of the 10-year-old All-Star team that advanced to district."I had to back off a lot coaching young kids," Cupit said. "I had to tone it down. But it's ver |
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