By Erle Johnston

(Reprinted from the Nov. 25, 1970 issue of The Scott County Times.)

Little Robin Risher was fighting the infection of meningitis Friday night (Nov. 20) while his father’s football team was winning its second straight Little Dixie Conference championship.

His 36-hour critical period passed after midnight Saturday, and Sunday afternoon he was eating ice cream, taking some nourishment, and conversing with family. The oxygen was removed.

Although he still had pains in his swollen neck and occasionally fretted with discomfort, he was considered well on his way to complete recovery.

Head Coach Gary Risher and his wife, Nelda, rushed Robin to the Baptist Hospital Friday morning after his illness was diagnosed by doctors at Lackey Hospital.

They rode in a Scott County ambulance and were accompanied by Mrs. Betty Ryan, the hospital’s director of nurses.

Examination by a Jackson pediatrician determined that Robin, who turned two years old in June, had contracted an “influenza” type of meningitis that is serious but not contagious.

“That was one of the things that had worried me,” said Coach Risher Sunday. “I knew if he had the contagious kind there might be a quarantine at the school.”

Robin had slept abnormally long Friday and Mrs. Risher decided to stay with him Friday and not attend her classes at Mississippi College. When she could hardly rouse him Friday, and his face seemed flushed with fever, she called Coach Risher and they rushed him to the hospital.

Coach Risher, concerned about his son, knew he would not be able to direct the Forest Bearcats in their championship playoff with Monticello.

Thursday night, before Robin’s illness developed, he had a meeting with the squad. Afterwards he huddled with the seniors and told them:

“I’ve watched you since you were sophomores, and you have come a long way. All I want to say is that I’m counting on you, and the other boys, just like all of Forest is counting on you.”

Supt. L. O. Atkins arranged for a telephone to be installed on a post at the sidelines so regular reports on the game could be called to Coach Risher at the Baptist Hospital. (The game was not broadcast on radio.)

Sunday Coach Risher said he “never worried.”

“I knew Coach Dill could handle the offense strategy and Coach Clark could do the same for the defensive unit, and that’s the way it worked out.”

He said he also had the “utmost” confidence” in all the players and especially those with particular responsibilities, like quarterback Mike Massey, the signal-caller; Bob Smiley, captain of the defensive unit; Bubby Johnston, who kicked off and coordinated the “Mad Dogs,” the kickoff unit; Bobby Latham, coordinator of the kick-off and punt-return unit; Billy Thompson, who handled the same chore for the punting unit with Jackie Calhoun doing the booting.

Coach Risher paced the hospital room Friday night like he paces the sidelines as he awaited the first call from the football field.

Troy Henderson called first and during the evening he had calls from Jimmy Goodwin, Supt. Atkins, and the coaches.

Once it was so long between calls that Coach Risher couldn’t stand it any longer. He originated a call from the hospital.

“I figured Monticello must have scored and they just didn’t want me to know,” he said. “His hunch was correct. Monticello had a 10-10 tie going into the fourth quarter.

But he got the word quickly about the last period touchdowns that put Forest firmly in the lead. It was Troy Henderson, Coach Risher’s uncle, who gave him the final call that Forest had won, 22-10, and Coach Clark also grabbed the phone to say: “We made it. We’re the champs!”

At the Baptist Hospital room, Coach Risher slowly put down the phone and there were tears in his eyes. His wife – Nelda – also rather weepy – put her arms around his shoulders.

Coach Risher looked up and in a choked-up voice, said with pride:

“They are really number one, aren’t they?”