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The Winds of Change
Check out the trailer for the documentary, Pick Up Your Bed And Walk. It tells the story of the Wilson Fike High School football teams that won state championships in 1967, 1968, and 1969.
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THE WINDS OF CHANGE

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

A spirit swept through the tobacco community of Wilson, NC in the fall of 1967. As scripture says, “The wind blows as it wishes. And you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going.”

This spirit ignited among a group of high school boys known as the Cyclones. And the spirit blew through their community. But success didn’t come until Ralph Cherry, the preacher’s quiet kid, spoke up. “We’re not sick. Why don’t we pick up our mats and walk.”

And so, the spirit swept through a struggling football team, unifying a community amidst societal changes that divided other communities.


PICK UP YOUR BED AND WALK

PICK UP YOUR BED AND WALK

The Wilson Fike High School football teams won state championships in 1967, 1968, and 1969. Some 50+ years later, the players and coaches look back on what they accomplished in those years and their greatest pride doesn’t involve football.

In the midst of conflicts about integration, women’s rights, and the war in Vietnam, they found a way to unite a community.

Pick Up Your Bed And Walk, is a documentary currently in production, tells this story. It is being produced by Show N Tell Ministries with Emmy Award winning videographer Brad Simmons.


SEASONS AT A GLANCE

SEASONS AT A GLANCE

Fike Senior High School and Cyclones Head Coach Henry Trevathan captured three consecutive North Carolina AAAA state championships covering the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons. During that span, they won 35 games and lost only 3.

1967: The Cyclones lost their opener against Reynolds but then reeled off 12 in a row, including four shutouts, to take the 4A state title with an overall record of 12-1.

1968: The Cyclones once again lost their opener to Reynolds, this time getting shutout. But the team dropped only one more contest to finish the season 11-2 and cap a second consecutive 4A championship.

1969: The Cyclones rolled over most of their opponents, outscoring the opposition by an average of 23 points per game en route to a perfect 12-0 season and a third consecutive 4A championship.

You can check out the team rosters, game results and complete box scores for each season and game in our Seasons Archive.


How It Began...
How It Began...

One day we were in the hall way between the gymnasium and the football coach's office and a pity party is going on. What are we going to do? This is four years in a row that we are a losing team. This is six years in a row where Wilson, North Carolina, and Fike High School have never had a winning season.

JOHN 5:8...
JOHN 5:8...

Little Ralph Cherry speaks up. Ralph played cornerback. He was our cornerback on the short side of our four-four defense. Ralph's father was a minister of the gospel. Said, "you know what? We're not sick. Let's pick up our beds and walk."

Pick Up Your Bed And Walk...
Pick Up Your Bed And Walk...

Well, we all knew that was a biblical statement. Close, maybe. Exactly. Or close to what the Bible and what the biblical statement said. It caught on. The players in the hallway would met each other and say, "Pick up your bed and walk."

A New Spirit in Wilson...
A New Spirit in Wilson...

The teachers called on the teachers started repeating to the students and each other "Pick up your bed and walk." We even heard that in uptown Wilson on Nash Street. that there were business people who met each other on the streets of Wilson and said, "Pick up your bed and walk."

The Winning Begins...
The Winning Begins...

We won the next twelve games in a row and won the state title as the smallest 4-A school in NC. I've often wondered who was the greatest amongst others. Was it Lynn Daniel, our first QB? Was it Carlester Crumpler, a great running back? Was it Dan Killebrew and Sarvis Bass, our great Pulling guards? It might have been little Ralph Cherry.

1966 Season

 

After a season-opening 41-0 loss to Winston-Salem Reynolds in 1966, Coach Henry Trevathan met with quarterback Lynn Daniell.  “We had a man-to-man talk that really opened my eyes. He said, ‘We’re going to work on you building your confidence back up….. We’re going to look at things every day that you’ve done well, and we’re going to get it built back up.’

“… really made a big difference in my life, just him taking that time and gradually building that confidence back up. … That’s why I say Coach Trevathan  was quite a people builder, and the fact that he’s done that up till this date and staying in touch with us.” — Lynn Daniell, Class of ’68

Head Coach Henry Trevathan Sr and Quarterback #12 Lynn Daniell

“Little Ralph Cherry speaks up. He was our cornerback on the short side of our four-four defense. Ralph’s father was a minister of the gospel. He said, ‘You know what? We’re not sick. Let’s pick up our beds and walk.” It caught on. The players in the hallway would met each other and say, ‘Pick up your bed and walk.” The teachers started repeating to the students and each other, ‘Pick up your bed and walk.’ We even heard that in uptown Wilson on Nash Street, business people met each other on the streets of Wilson and said, ‘Pick up your bed and walk.”

“We won the next twelve games in a row and won the state championship. I’ve often wondered who was the greatest. Was it Lynn Daniell, our first quarterback? Was it Carlester Crumpler, a great running back? Was it, Dan Killebrew and Sarvis Bass, our great pulling guards. It might have been little Ralph Cherry.” — Henry Trevathan Sr., Cyclones Head Coach