LIVE OAK, Fla. — The most special of all.

That’s how John Palmer and Mike Pittman described Suwannee’s 1988 state championship. The most special of the four consecutive state titles for one big reason.

“It was at home,” Pittman said. 

“You had people camping out the night before. We had the stadium filled before Hardee fans got there.”

Palmer had grown accustomed to playing in front of huge crowds during his junior season, but the ’88 state title game at Langford Stadium was a different type of experience.  

“We had never seen a crowd like that before,” Palmer said. “We couldn’t hear anything when we took the field. It was an atmosphere you don’t forget.”

According to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) website, paid attendance at the game was 6,407.

The FHSAA moved state championships to neutral sites in 1989. The title game against Hardee was the only time the Bulldogs ever played for a championship at their home stadium. 

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How Suwannee reached the state championship game was also pretty special. 

“They said it”

They said it

Thoughts from the state championship game as reported in the Suwannee Democrat in 1988 

“He’s been the money man all year. We’re going to go to the money man.” — Pittman on looking to Frier

“It felt good last year as a junior. But if feels great as a senior.” — Crouch on winning his second state title 

“It was hurting. But I don’t think anyone was feeling any pain tonight.” — Crouch on playing with an injured ankle in the state championship

“Last season, I played one way. But this year I played both ways. So it was more important to me. It was a great feeling.” — Mobley on winning two straight state championships

With more than half of the team returning from the previous season, SHS went 12-1 — its best record during its four-year title run — and won eight games by two touchdowns or more.

The Bulldogs were deadly through the air. Starting at quarterback, Palmer threw for 2,688 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Most of his passes ended up in the hands of Matt Frier, who racked up 1,716 yards receiving on 99 catches, 20 of which went for touchdowns.  

Frier finished his career with 41 touchdowns and 3,690 receiving yards.

Tight end Jay Harvard was another important piece offensively with 26 receptions totaling close to 400 yards. 

Suwannee had depth on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs’ defense allowed just 13.5 points per game during the season. 

Gantt Crouch, Chad Mobley, Barry Roberson, and Matt McMillan were standout two-way players. 

Roberson and Jessie Chaires combined for 18 sacks, and the backfield of Terry Williams and sophomore Marcus Nelson gave Suwannee a strong running game to go along with its dangerous passing attack.

For Palmer, in his first season as the starting QB, it was also a matter of keeping alive the tradition of excellent quarterback play at Suwannee.

“I got to see some great quarterbacks ahead of me. I learned a lot from Frankie Stankunas and Jay Jernigan,” Palmer said. “I had to keep it going.

“We also had some great defenses. I remember Chad Mobley came in and started at linebacker as a freshman. He was 14 and holding his own against 18-year-olds.” 

Mobley was an experienced junior by 1988 after starting the previous two seasons.  

Amongst their 12 wins, the Bulldogs knocked off rival Columbia, taking back the Oaken Bucket with a 44-22 win in the regular-season finale. Sophomore Ralph Lott returned two punts for touchdowns in that game, which turned out to be Suwannee’s only victory against CHS during the four-year state championship streak. 

Suwannee’s only blemish of the season came at the hands of Leon — an 18-15 loss in Week 6. 

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SHS had a familiar opponent in the first round of the playoffs in Walton County. A year earlier, Pittman and the head coach at Walton County had an interesting exchange before a playoff game when the WCHS coach didn’t want to exchange film, a custom between teams.     

The two had another intriguing conversation before the 1988 playoff game when the Walton coach approached Pittman.  

“He comes up to me before the game and says, ‘We’re a little bit down this year. I’m going to see what kind of Christian you are,’” Pittman said. 

“So I tell him, ‘I got married nine years ago. And the last time I went to  church was nine years ago.’”   

Suwannee beat Walton 61-0.

“After the game he tells me, ‘you ain’t no Christian.’ I told him he needed to learn how to exchange film,” Pittman said. 

After defeating WCHS, the Bulldogs came back from a 14-0 deficit to beat Santa Fe 35-21, earning a spot in the state championship for the second straight season. 

It was an appropriate start to the playoffs after crushing the competition for most of the regular season.  

Scoreboard

Sept. 9	Suwannee	51	Hamilton County	14
Sept. 16	Suwannee	22	Quincy	0
Sept. 23	Suwannee	35	Ocala Forest	7
Sept. 30	Suwannee	20	Madison County	12
Oct. 14	Suwannee	31	Rickards	20
Oct. 21	Leon	18	Suwannee	15
Oct. 28	Suwannee	14	Wakulla	6
Nov. 4	Suwannee	39	Bolles	26
Nov. 11	Suwannee	43	Taylor County	16
Nov. 18	Suwannee	44	Columbia	22
Nov. 25	Suwannee	61	Walton County	0
Dec. 2	Suwannee	35	Santa Fe	21
Dec. 9	Suwannee	44	Hardee	15

With almost everything going right, Pittman didn’t need as many angry hat tosses during the 1988 season, which gave Bulldogs fan Cliff “Bull” Bass a break compared to other years.   

Pittman said Bull was the team’s biggest fan. Always on the sidelines at home and away games, Bull was quick to retrieve Pittman’s crumpled cap from the ground each time it was thrown, and hand it back to the head coach.  

Bull became a fixture on the sidelines and was an important member of the Suwannee Quarterback Club until passing away in 2009 at the age of 42. 

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Suwannee put on a show for the home crowd during the state championship game in a 44-15 win against Hardee.  

A show that reached its peak at the end of the first half.   

Leading 17-9, SHS scored two touchdowns in the final 4:06 of the half to go ahead 31-9.

On the first touchdown, Harvard got the drive started with a running catch over the middle of the field that turned into a huge play after a 15-yard facemask penalty. Three plays later, Williams ran untouched into the end zone for a 13-yard score with 2:40 left in the half. It was his third touchdown of the game.    

After the Bulldogs’ defense quickly stopped HHS, Palmer and the Bulldogs got the ball back on their own 40-yard line with 29 seconds left.  

There was no running out the clock until halftime. 

Palmer hit Frier on consecutive pass plays — a 49-yard bomb and a 11-yard route in the back of the end zone — to lead Suwannee to a last-second touchdown. That touchdown was the turning point in the game and a look into Suwannee’s exciting offense.

The Bulldogs had great field position the entire half against Hardee and capitalized with quick-hitting touchdowns. SHS needed just 16 total plays to score on four touchdown drives. 

Williams eclipsed the 1,000 yard-rushing mark for the season during his impressive first half.   

The 1988 state title game proved to be a dominant performance by a dominant team.   

Two more state championships would follow, but for Pittman, winning the 1988 state championship at home was the most special of all.   

The 1988 State Champion Bulldogs

No.	Name	No.	Name	No.	Name	No.	Name
1	Andy Williams	8	Steven O’Steen	15	Travis Baker	40	Marcus Nelson
44	Terry Williams	59	Chad Hale	64	Barry Roberson	77	Gantt Crouch
2	Troy Wadford	10	Travis Macintosh	18	John Bell	41	Syron Depass
51	Tony Branch	60	Jimmy Webb	65	Sammy Starling	80	Brad Howard
3	Jay Harvard	12	Matt Frier	23	Anthony Owens	81	Eric Smith
52	Matt McMillan	61	Darrell Harrell	68	Curtis Bass	85	Satish Singh
5	John Palmer	13	Gene Goff	30	Dwain Mobley		Jackson Lord
55	Chad Mobley	62	Connell Crockton	70	David Morris		Erwin Stansel
6	Terrence Humphrey	14	Eddie Johnson	38	Jamie Gaylord
56	Bobby Hart	63	Ty Robinson	72	Marcus Jones

With former SHS football coach Mike Pittman recently being chosen for the FHSAA Hall of Fame, and the 30th anniversary of Suwannee’s first state title approaching, the Suwannee Democrat will be taking a look back at the four state championship teams — continuing this week with the 1988 Bulldogs, who won the second state championship.