This was the start of a tremendous run in Bellevue Football history. Many great players I grew up watching.

 

They were the small-school football dynamo that reached spectacular heights in the late 1970s, running out of an unconventional offense called the single-wing formation. Traditional quarterbacks were not part of this attack, just three running backs behind a determined offensive line.

 

Passing yards were practically non-existent to the 1977 Bellevue High School Tigers, who rushed their way to the Class A state championship by employing the run-oriented offense under head coach Bill Baldridge. Their punishing ground attack churned out lots of yards, utilizing a corps of outstanding running backs.

 

Gimmicks were few in Bellevue’s single-wing formation, but wins were plentiful. The 1977 Tigers were the antithesis of the present-day West Coast offenses, which place a greater emphasis on passing and spreading the field.

 

Those Bellevue Tigers also spoiled a homecoming or two for schools in larger classifications, programs that mistakenly assumed scheduling a Class A team would translate into a victorious evening on the gridiron.

 

40th anniversary

 

This season marks the 40th anniversary of Bellevue’s first state championship in football. The run-happy Tigers coasted through the playoffs in 1977, capping their 13-1 campaign with a bruising 21-0 victory against Frankfort in the title game at Richmond, Ky.

 

Bellevue’s success in 1977 extended well beyond beating Class A schools. The Tigers also posted wins over Class AAA programs Covington Catholic (27-14) and Newport (14-0), not to mention a 20-0 victory against Class AAAA Campbell County.

 

In my case, Bellevue’s triumph against Newport that season was especially distressing since the Wildcats were my favorite team (and it was homecoming, too). But the Tigers sported a tenacious defense, filled with hard-nosed players and a great coaching scheme, and they hurt the feelings of many opponents that season.

 

Adversity inspired Bellevue’s ’77 state champs; Tigers had unconventional offense, leaders | NKyTribune

Brought back some memories. I had a class with Suptkamp at EKU. Also that Frankfort Coach was one of my favorite characters that I was fortunate to get to know later on.

 

Thanks for sharing.

Nicolas county was the only team to beat them that year? Jon Sutkamp sat next to me beginning my freshman year at Newport Catholic. Transferred to Bellevue and crushed all kinds of rushing records.

Side note, him and the Swope that is mentioned in the article are both neighbors of mine at the lake house.

I remember going to many of those Tiger games. Those were some kick butt teams.

Jack Hurtt was a beast and his son Zac played on those Highlands State Champ teams 5-6 yrs ago. Mike McGurn's son also played at Highlands and graduated with Patrick Towles.

Bellevue in the late 70s/early 80s always had very solid special teams especially at the Class A level much like Beechwood did in the 1990s.