The 1966 version of Lindsay Leopard football started the same as all other Leopard seasons, as they shut-out Purcell 27-0 in the first game of the year. This was followed by a close loss to perennial Class 2A champion Ada, 7-0. It is unknown to the author what happened to the Leopards following the Ada loss - a key injury? but Lindsay then lost to Crooked Oak 34-0. Following the Ruf-Nex loss, the Leopards handled arch-rival Marlow 21-6, but then lost to Anadarko 18-7 and Yukon 21-0. Lindsay then tied Sulphur, lost to Carl Albert 8-7, lost to rival Pauls Valley 18-17 and lost to Wynnewood 20-14, before ending the season with a rare two wins and eight losses. It was Coach Dave Clark's second and final season as the Leopard's head coach, and the era of Joe Tunnel was about to begin.
Coach Joe Tunnel's inaugural 1967 season started with a 42-6 thrashing of Purcell. Ada beat Lindsay 12-3, but the attitude of the Leopards had seemed to evolve back to the fifties and early sixties - an attitude of expected dominance and unwavering tenacity. It is the first Leopard season I can remember attending several games.
Lindsay then beat Crooked Oak 19-7, Marlow 25-6, Anadarko 45-8, Yukon 28-14, Sulphur 42-6 and Carl Albert 14-0. An article from The Oklahoman on October 28,1967 read:
Lindsay Clips Carl Albert, 14-0
Fourth-ranked Lindsay dumped Carl Albert, 14-0, Friday night in a district 3-A high school football game before a sparse turnout at Rose Field. The Leopards, although far from overpowering, were never in danger as they chalked up win number 7 in eight outings. Lindsay, 2-0 in conference play, has lost only to Ada, a Class AA power.
If there was a single man who made the difference in this one it was Lindsay fullback Lindell Shoemake, a hard-running 200-pounder who ground out 127 yards in 15 carries and scored the first touchdown. Lindsay tallied in each of the first two quarters and the two teams spent the second half keeping each other bottled up, the only real threats coming on fumble recoveries and pass interceptions.
The Leopards broke the scoring ice with 2:58 left in the opening quarter when Shoemake barreled over right tackle for 84 yards and the touchdown...
Halfback Bo Boydston set up the second touchdown midway through the second quarter with a 41 yard punt return, then scored it himself on a one-yard plunge. Halfback Gene Wilton kicked the conversion in each case.
I have memories of the PV game in particular: I was a fifth grader at Lindsay Elementary and had just finished the pee-wee football season. My parents took me to the game at Pauls Valley - the ninth game. One of my football heroes, Bo Boydston, played for the Leopards and had helped coach our pee-wee team in 1967. The Panthers were very good, ranked number two in the state, behind only Clinton, and our Leopards' last district opponent. Our Leopards were ranked third and The Oklahoman had the game listed as the state's top high school football game that week. The winner would go on to the Class A playoffs, and the loser would stay home. Not many thought the Leopards could upset the highly regarded Pauls Valley Panthers, but when Bo Boydston broke a long run in the first quarter to score - Leopard fans knew the tradition was back. A short article in The Oklahoman by Lynn Garnand on November 6, 1967 summarized the victory:
With Clinton still pacing Class A, Lindsay wrested second-place from Pauls Valley by handing the Panthers their first loss of the year, 20-6. Broken Bow and Spiro moved up behind the Leopards, with the Valley dropping to fifth.
Lindsay went on to beat Wynnewood 29-0, and then faced Yukon in the state Class A quarterfinals, who they dispatched 31-20. The stage was now set for Number 1 Clinton vs. Number 2 Lindsay in the state Class A semifinals... at Clinton.
I was a fifth grader at Lindsay Elementary in the Fall of 1967, and was fortunate enough to see what I considered Oklahoma's high school "Game of the Century" in person. My uncle, Odos Henson, lived in Clinton so my parents took us (Dana, Johnny and me) to the Game.
One should remember at this point that Clinton was home to the Bell brothers - Melvin, Carlos and Roy, who all went on and played at the collegiate level and even in the NFL. Halfback Roy Bell, the states leading rusher, was described as trying to tackle a "runaway locomotive" by opposing defenders. The Clinton Red Tornadoes were even ranked No. 1 in the nation by some accounts. I very rarely link readers to newspaper articles, but I think it is warranted for the Clinton Red Tornadoes.
The Game began with Clinton kicking off to Lindsay. Steve Dodd, only a junior, returned the opening kick-off 34 yards to the Clinton 48, and Lindsay promptly marched to the first touchdown - and led, 7-0. I turned to my uncle and said: "This game may be really easy for Lindsay". His reply was: "Just wait, the Red Tornadoes haven't even begun to fight." How 'right' my uncle turned out to be!
An article in The Oklahoman on December 2, 1967, following the Game read:
Lindsay Dealt 35-7 Thumping By Tornadoes
CLINTON -- Muscular Clinton shrugged off an early Lindsay touchdown and stampeded to a 35-7 victory Friday night before a crowd of 4,500 to earn its third straight trip to the state Class A finals.
Lindsay marched to a touchdown from the opening kickoff, which almost broke all the way. Steve Dodd was dragged down from behind on the Clinton 48 after a 34 yard return. The Leopards scored in 10 plays with Lindell Shoemake going the final yard.
Gene Wilton kicked the seventh point, but the Clinton crowd wasn't worried yet because their Red Tornadoes, who have averaged 39.8 points a game, had not touched the football.
Sure enough, when the Red Tornadoes got the ball they knew what to do with it. Clinton scored on three of its first four possessions, and by intermission was breezing along with a 23-7 advantage...
The battle matched the state's top two ranked Class A clubs, and Clinton clearly showed it was actually No. 1 by rolling up 375 yards compared to 147 by the No. 2 Leopards.
Roy Bell, the state's scoring leader... accumulated 167 yards in 20 carries...
Lindsay closes out its first year under Joe Tunnel with a 10-2 record. Tunnel took Rush Springs to the state Class C title last year.
In 2000, Joe Tunnel retired from coaching - and a banquet was held in his honor at the Simmons Center in Duncan, Oklahoma. Many former Lindsay players, Rush Springs players, coach colleagues, opposing coach friends, media friends and others attended the banquet in honor of Joe Tunnel. Rene Huckaba, a long-time friend of Coach Tunnel and head football coach at Yukon for thirty years, told the following story about the Clinton game in 1967: Paraphrased -
In 1967, the Veitnam War was at its height with the U.S. being extensively involved. Many young Americans were concerned about being drafted to fight overseas after turning 18. At that time, there was also a fear that Russia would get involved on the North Vietnam side, and attack the U.S.A. or at least our young men would have to fight the Russians in Vietnam.
Immediately following the loss to Clinton, Joe Tunnel entered the Lindsay locker room - where all the Leopards were sitting despondent and dejected. They were waiting for Coach Tunnel to give his "shoulda played better" speech, or "just got outplayed" speech. Instead, Joe Tunnel just made one statement to the team - Just remember, if we ever go to war with Russia.. those guys are on our side.
The 1967 Clinton Red Tornadoes was proclaimed by one national publication as the best high school football team in the country. Roy Bell, who went on to play at the University of Oklahoma and in the Canadian Football League, rushed for more than 6,000 yards in his career at Clinton and twice led the state in scoring and rushing. Thirteen players on that '67 team played college football somewhere. As a matter of fact four members of that 1967 Clinton team - Terry Shaffer, James Williams, Larry Colbert and Eugene Jefferson, teamed up with Danny Thornton and Jay Cruse from Lindsay, to play on the O.S.U. freshmen squad in 1969.
The 1967 Lindsay Leopards were very good, and probably would have won the state title - if it weren't for having to play the best high school football team in America at the time.
Next article: The 1968 Lindsay Leopards
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