Arizona-ASU Game 20: Arizona dominates Tempe 67-0 in return to postwar football

For Tucson football fans, Arizona’s 1946 season began with a performance that announced the Wildcats were ready to return to major competition after the disruptions of World War II. In front of 12,000 spectators at Varsity Stadium, Arizona overwhelmed Arizona State College at Tempe, 67 to 0, scoring 10 touchdowns and allowing the Bulldogs to cross midfield only twice. The game was more than a lopsided opener. It was Arizona’s first peacetime home football show since 1941, giving local fans their first chance in years to watch the Wildcats play a full schedule under normal conditions.

The victory also offered an early preview of an Arizona team with unusual depth. The Wildcats used four complete teams, and their reserves were able to maintain control after the starters had built a commanding lead. Arizona gained 413 yards on the ground while losing only 19, compared with Tempe’s 43 rushing yards gained and 62 lost, leaving the Bulldogs with a net total of negative 19 yards. Arizona produced 20 first downs, while Tempe managed only two. Through the air, the Wildcats completed 10 of 18 passes, a 55.6 percent rate. Tempe completed four of 13 attempts.

Arizona’s first touchdown came about six minutes into the game and began a scoring parade that kept scouts for six future opponents watching from the press box. Art Pollard, a left halfback known for his elusive running, started the drive by returning Joe Batiste’s kick 20 yards to the Arizona 47-yard line. Pollard then threw 13 yards to Bill Penn, helped move the ball near the goal line, and connected with Tommy Black on a pass to the three. Pollard finished the drive himself, plunging over tackle for the score with five minutes and 40 seconds gone.

Pollard remained central to the early attack. After Arizona and Tempe exchanged punts, he sent one 61 yards downfield. Quarterback Shanty Hogan then fielded a kick from Arizona end Jim Montgomery and raced 79 yards for another touchdown, aided by strong blocking. Joe Goff, Arizona’s dependable extra point kicker, converted after missing his first try. Batiste briefly gave Tempe a moment of life by returning the ensuing kickoff 29 yards, but Arizona quickly turned to its second unit, and the Bulldogs could not build on the play.

Fred Enke helped start the next scoring sequence with an interception of Harry Broderick’s pass, intended for Tip Killingsworth, who had been a Wildcat before the war. Arizona took possession at midfield. Fullback Bill Lovin gained two yards and then powered 16 more to the Tempe 33. On the following play, Enke hit Lowell McDonald for another 16 yards, setting up a touchdown run by Peterson on a quarterback sneak after the quarter ended. Peterson soon added another score, intercepting Broderick and returning the ball 35 yards. Goff’s conversion made the score 27 to 0.

The Wildcats continued to pull away before halftime. Enke went off tackle and lateraled to Lovin, producing a 53-yard gain, and McDonald finished the drive with a 29-yard touchdown run. Arizona then recovered a Tempe fumble at the Bulldogs’ 25. Lovin broke through the line, lateraled to end Junior Crum, and Crum covered the final six yards for another touchdown. Goff converted both plays, pushing the score to 41 to 0. Arizona’s third team played much of the remainder of the half, and Jim Lochner and Cecil Crouch kept Tempe under pressure with their running. The Wildcats still ended the half deep in Tempe territory.

Arizona’s starters returned to begin the second half, and the offense quickly resumed its work. Pollard returned a punt 31 yards behind another strong blocking effort, then passed to Black to move the ball to the eight. A holding penalty pushed Arizona back to the 24, but Pollard responded with a 24-yard touchdown run around end, following Hogan’s blocking. Goff converted for a 48 to 0 lead. The next touchdown came after a separate score had been nullified by a backfield-in-motion penalty. Pollard ran to the 22, then carried the ball 15 yards for the touchdown. Goff missed the extra point.

Pollard set up the next score with a 25-yard run to the Tempe 14, then threw to Hogan for the touchdown. Goff missed again, leaving the score at 60 to 0. Arizona appeared to have another long scoring play when Enke ran 76 yards, but offensive holding erased it. After the teams exchanged possession, Enke passed 18 yards to Steve Chalmers for the final touchdown. Goff converted, and the Wildcats closed the game with the ball deep in Tempe territory.

The opening victory carried historical weight for Arizona and set the stage for the rivalry’s longer postwar story. The Wildcats had not played a peacetime game since their 1941 loss to Utah, a contest remembered for end Hank Stanton setting a national pass-catching record. Arizona’s 67 points against Tempe ranked as its second-highest total against a college opponent since 1922, when the Wildcats defeated Texas Mines, 74 to 0. The Bulldogs also entered with highly regarded players in Batiste, a former Tucson High standout, and fullback Morrison Warren, but Arizona’s defensive front gave them little opportunity to make an impact.

The Tucson crowd also included Gov. Sid Osborn and Sen. Ernest W. McFarland, while the University of Arizona band provided halftime entertainment. For the Wildcats, the next test was scheduled for the following week in Salt Lake City against Utah. The 1946 opener thus combined a celebration of football’s return, a showcase of Arizona’s depth and speed, and a sharp reminder to future opponents that the Wildcats had emerged from the wartime interruption prepared to compete.