Palo Duro HS Class of 70: Sports

Bi-District - Abilene Cooper Game

Cooper Advances with 17-0 Triumph

Abilene Cooper's Gary Choate gave the cougars the spark they needed when he stole the football from Palo Duro’s Ralph Scott midway through the third period. Abilene Cooper, the states number one Class AAAA unit, went on to a 17-0 Bi-District victory over the mistake plague Don's before a crowd of over 15,000 in Dick Stadium.

The cougars held PD to just 100 yards rushing in the game and took full advantage of three fumble recoveries and one pass interception. The winners picked up 196 yards on the ground and added 63 through the air as Richard Mildred connected on 7 of 14 pass attempts.

By winning, Abilene Cooper moves on to the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs and will meet El Paso Coronado next Friday night at 7:30 PM in the border city. Palo Duro ended its most successful season in history with a 9-1 mark.

After a scoreless first quarter which saw Cooper dominate by running 20 plays to PD’s 11, the cougars went ahead 3-0 with 4:04 left in the half on John Villareal's 31 yard field goal. Cooper kept the Dons in pretty much of a hole throughout.

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Ruth's '69 Sport's Scrapbook

PD Athletic Achievements

Palo Duro competes in UIL 5A Division 1, football, basketball, wrestling, soccer, swimming, track

State Titles:

Boys Basketball: 1956 (3A)
Girls Wrestling: 2001 and 2003

Boys Basketball

Austin Johnson, former PD basketball star (2001–2005), is Amarillo ISD’s all-time leading scorer with 2,602 career points.

He recorded two 44-point games and achieved a quadruple-double: 24 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals

Johnson led the Dons to the Class 4A state tournament, earned three District MVPs, and was a two-time All-State selection.

He later played for the University of Oklahoma, starting 105 games and helping the Sooners reach the Elite Eight in 2009 alongside Blake Griffin

Track & Field Highlights

100m record: Nathan Stotts ran 10.62 seconds in 2016

200m record: Montrel Meander clocked 21.55 seconds in 2012

400m record: Clay Waggoner ran 48.35 seconds in 2006

PD Athletic Achievements

Distance standout Hassan Abdi ran the 1600m in 4:21.75 in 2013

Dick Bivins Stadium

High School Football Hub: It serves as the home field for all four Amarillo Independent School District (AISD) high schools—Amarillo High, Caprock High, Tascosa High, and Palo Duro High. It's a central venue for regular season and playoff games
Historic FieldTurf Installation: In 1998, Dick Bivins Stadium became the first stadium in the world to install FieldTurf, a next-generation artificial turf that mimics natural grass using sand and rubber infill. This was a groundbreaking move in sports field technology at the time
Track and Field Destination: The stadium is also a major site for track and field events, hosting one of the premier meets in Texas.
Soccer Venue: All four AISD varsity soccer teams use the stadium, making it a year-round athletic facility beyond just football
Below-Ground Playing Field: The field is set below ground level, with 41 rows of bleachers offering a unique viewing experience for up to 15,000 spectators
Modern Upgrades: A major renovation in 2004–2005 included infrastructure improvements and the addition of a video scoreboard

Final Race

Senior year; Amarillo City Meet; last race of my high school career. All these things and more crossed my mind as I toed the mark for the 880 yard run for the last time. Since I had made the decision not to pursue track at the collegiate level, this was my final opportunity to prove to myself and to my peers that I really could race.

I took several deep breaths and cleared my mind as I waited for the starters gun . . .

My sixth grade year I discovered that I could run, and started my true track career the following year as a 440 yard dash runner at Gruver Junior High School. Athletically talented, but academically challenged I had limited opportunities to shine, so I strove to do well in the 440 and mile relay team, when I wasn't on academic suspension.

My eighth grade year I ran the distance races at Travis Junior High School. It was during this time that I met my nemisis, Alan B from Amarillo High. Alan and I were pretty well matched, but he almost always seemed to edge me out at the finish. I was also during this time that I renewed friendships with a couple of Forest Hill Elementary friends, Larry M and Royce C.

My sophomore year at PDHS, track was still the first thing on my mind, and in high school we focused on it year around. Larry M, Royce C, and I were together again along with another, Gary H. We were, in my humble estimation, a magic crew. Pretty evenly matched, we worked hard, each trying to outrace the others. We were all strong half milers.

Then, about two thirds through the first semester of my sophomore year, the unthinkable. Chicken Pox! Nothing like a childhood disease to take it out of a runner, mentally as well as physically. Even though I was part of a successful two mile relay team, individual success always managed to elude me the rest of my high school career.

Now back to my Senior year; Amarillo City Meet. . .at the sound of the gun I took off, applying my years of training, strategy and experience to this last race. Out hard and strong to be in a good position for my cut to the pole at 110 yards, then settling into a good pace for the next 800 yards in order to be positioned for the final kick to the finish.

Now as I recall, out ahead, Gary H and Larry M were in first and second place. We had the opportunity to make it a sweep for PDHS! If I could only beat old nemesis Alan B, from Amarillo High. He was sitting on my right shoulder. We were neck and neck.

The fight was even right down to the finish. Elation at the final lunge! I had finally beaten my dreaded opponent and my personal demons!

But drats! Wouldn’t you know, the time judge spotting the third place finisher was the Amarillo High coach! Sure, it was a very close race, but he gave the benefit of the doubt to Alan. He had beaten me again.

Thus ended my high school career on a dramatic, but anticlimactic note. It was a dozen years before I did any serious racing again, a 10k road race in Heilbronn, Germany, but that's a different story for another day . . . Still pounding pavement

Still pounding pavement after all the years
Vaughn D at the Bethany Freedom Run, Bethany, Oklahoma, 7/4/2009