The Best Team

   Congratulations to the Lindsay Leopards! 11-0, and still going! I don't know when the Leopards last ended a regular season 10 wins and 0 losses. It could have been in the early eighties or even 1973 (when I was in high school). I hear this 2016 version is just as good as any other Leopard team, but time will tell if they're as good as some teams from the late 1950's, early 1960's, or early 1970's. Good luck to them, and I hope to see them play over the next several weeks.
   Very rarely under Friday night lights does the "best team" lose. As a matter of fact, I can't remember a time in all my high school football commentaries that I said "the best team did not win". Almost always, the best team wins when football games are played. Sometimes, bad officiating contributes to one team's loss, but rarely does the best team lose because of bad officiating.
   I'll go ahead and say it for the game played Friday night between the Blanchard Lions and Heritage Hall Chargers - "The best team did not win." Oh, I know, the final score was Heritage Hall 27 - Blanchard 19, but... the best team did not win.
   I played or coached in over 150 games of high school football during my 18 year career, and I can remember only two games in which the best team did not win. The first one was a game in 1974 between the Lindsay Leopards and El Reno Indians which ended in a 0 to 0 tie (There was no sudden death or tie-breaker in those days). It rained the entire game, and the Leopards turned the ball over several times and simply couldn't maintain proper footing when threatening to score. The actual play on the field, however, was lopsided in favor of the Leopards. The best team did not win that night. The second time I remember in which the best team didn't win, was a game between the Duncan Demons and The Tulsa McLain Scots in the 1987 Class-5A State Championship game. This game matched the 8 wins 5 loss Demons against the 13 and 0 McLain Scots. Tulsa McLain High School entered that final game in 1987 by dismantling every team they played that yea. In addition to beating every team, they had thoroughly intimidated each team before every game that year. They did so by standing at mid-field during pre-game warm-ups and chanting, "We will rock you" over and over again to the opposing team at the other end of the field. They did this toward the end of the pre-game warm-up period, just before exiting the field for their locker room. Opposing teams were left with an ominous feeling toward the Scots, just before kick-off. As a team and coaching staff, the Duncan Demons had seen this intimidation tactic on film, so knew what to expect. The Demons had entered the playoffs with only 5 wins against 5 losses, as a 4th place team in the district (much like this year's Blanchard Lions) - but had battled all year to win games by one point usually. As a matter of fact, they faced the 10 and 0, number one ranked Carl Albert Titans in the first play-off game that year, and came away with a hard-fought 9 to 7 victory on the last play of the game. This was perhaps the most satisfying victory I've ever been associated with - and what was to follow a month later was probably the most heartbreaking loss I've ever been associated with. In that championship game in December of 1987, the Duncan Demons had turned the tables on the Tulsa McLain Scots. Instead of the Scots standing at mid-field chanting at the Demons, the Duncan Demon players had lined up at mid-field before the Scots had a chance, and began chanting "We will rock you" as the Demon marching band played the anthem. No Duncan coaches or fans knew what the players and band had planned, but it worked to perfection. The Scots had been out-flanked by the Duncan Demons. The Demons went on to out-play them by out-hitting, out-running, and having better statistics - but losing on the score-board, 7-6. The Demons drove the length of the field in the 4th quarter, only to miss a 23 yard field goal on the last play. I'll always remember that game.. always.
   The Lions' game on Friday night reminds me of that 1987 championship game. Blanchard out-hit, out-ran, and out-played Heritage Hall - the winner of 38 straight games - but still lost 27-19 because of the wrong breaks at the wrong times. It's just that simple - "the best team did not win".