As voters in District 42 of the State House of Representatives elect their Representative on June 30, 2020, it is important to many that incumbent Cindy Roe is a true resident of the District. At least one of Cindy's opponents in the House race must be considered a "carpetbagger". A carpetbagger candidate in any election is a candidate who has not previously been a resident in the House or Senate, but is sent into the district for the sole purpose of taking the seat for either the democrat or republican party. An example of a democrat carpetbagger may have been Hillary Clinton when she ran for the New York senate seat years ago. At the time she decided to run for the seat, she was a legal resident of Arkansas, not New York. Clinton had probably already decided she would one day be a candidate for the presidency, so determined it would be an easier route to win the president of the U.S. through New York, not Arkansas. Hillary was evidently sent to New York by the democratic party in order to take the seat, so many consider her a carpetbagger.
Republicans may also be carpetbaggers, as there are plenty of examples. For instance, after the Civil War ended in 1866, several republican candidates from the North moved to southern states in order that the federal House and Senate seats would be filled with republicans. Those southern state seats were previously held by democrats.
As most voters know, Representative Cindy Roe is a true resident of House District 42 in Garvin and McClain County, and cares greatly about the well-being of her constituents. Voters should do their homework in determining the best candidate for House District 42, and I believe that Cindy Roe is just what we need. By the way, I'm registered Independent, not Democrat nor Republican.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Monday, June 22, 2020
Leopard Legends of the Fall 1973
On September 4, 1973, a few days before the opening kickoff of the 1973 season, an article by Lynn Garnand of The Oklahoman read:
At Last! Prep Football Begins Thursday
The top ten games of the week list is headed by a traditional clash at Lindsay, where the Leopards host defendind Class A state titlist Purcell. Lindsay, which failed to make the playoffs last year for the first time in six seasons, is the favorite in District 2A-3 while Purcell has lots of experience returning from its 13-1 championship team of a year ago. (From reading this article, one may tend to believe that Lindsay had no chance of beating Purcell).
"We haven't looked too sharp in our scrimmages," said Joe Tunnel, who is starting his seventh year at Lindsay. "We're big and slow and sluggish. We've scouted Purcell in both of their scrimmages and they've got some of that speed. Ours was the only game they lost last year so they'll be after us."
Purcell fell to Lindsay, 8-6, in its season opener a year ago then reeled off 13 straight victories in the Dragons' drive to the Class A throneroom...
So the stage was set for a certain Leopard thrashing, as the article indicated. I was really nervous as Friday approached, as it was the first game ever that I expected to be a starter. I did not really know who would be watching the game, but one who I was certain would be in attendance was "the blind man in the bleachers", my dad. The Oklahoman's No. 1 game of the week came and went, and an article in The Oklahoman on Sunday proclaimed:
Lindsay Marches to 25-7 Win
LINDSAY -- The Lindsay Leopards welded together a trio of jarring cross-country scoring marches and bashed defending Class A state champion Purcell, 25-7, in the two teams' 1973 football debut at Burford Field Friday night. Purcell, which lost only to Lindsay last year during a 13-1 title campaign got the jump on Lindsay as the Dragons scored the first time they touched the ball.
But Lindsay regrouped, and displaying its usual ball control tactics, slowly but surely took the momentum away from the visitors. As expected, tailback Bobby Simonton carried the load in the Leopards devastating running game. The 192-pound senior carried the ball 27 times for 135 yards and scored Lindsay's last three touchdowns. The Leopards amassed 308 rushing yards as Jimmy Beckham totaled 73, Randy Underwood 61 and Johnny Sharp 43 to back up Simonton's big total...
For Purcell, Gerald Green picked up 78 yards on the ground, but was topped by a scrappy newcomer to the Dragon backfield, Rodney Combest, a 140-pounder who barrelled his way for 82 rushing yards.
Lindsay's Simonton was busy not only on offense but he did double duty as an outstanding linebacker, teaming with tackle Stanley Everett and safety Rocky Robbins to help stifle the Purcell attack.
The Dragons took the opening kickoff and steamed 65 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 count. Green blasted over right guard from 21 yards out to score practically untouched and Jerry Merrill toed the extra point.
Lindsay came right back with a 55-yard drive of its own with Underwood going the final eight yards. The Leopards then glued together what may have been the game-deciding drive of the night. Taking over on its own 20 with 4:07 remaining in the half, Lindsay swept to the goalline in 10 plays with Simonton scoring the first of his three touchdowns. That set the tone for the second half, which Lindsay dominated. Simonton ended marches of 80 and 90 yards with touchdown runs coming from inside the 10-yard line.
Pauls Valley Daily Democrat staff writer Susan Pratt reported after the Purcell game:
Lindsay for real!
Everything they say about the Lindsay Leopards is really true. They've got the manpower and the size to grind out yardage faster than a packing plant turns out sausage -- and that makes mincemeat out of their unlucky opponents. As always, they've got the class to capitalize on whatever mistakes befall their competition.
Making their debut before the homefolks against defending Class A champ Purcell, the Leopards put on a bruising display of power that drained the Dragons 25-7...
So, it was back to business for the Lindsay Leopards as they once again thumped Purcell in the opening game of the season. In fact, it now seemed that no matter how good Purcell was... Lindsay always won. It was a fact that would be magnified in the 1974 season opening game. The win over a highly regarded Purcell club elevated the Leopards to a No. 2 ranking in Class 2A football. Purcell eventually finished the 1973 season 8-1-1, with a tie, 13-13, against Wynnewood, and its only loss to the Leopards, 25-7. Purcell did not make the playoffs that year because Wynnewood, a Class A district foe, advanced on penetrations.
In the season's second game of 1973 - Lindsay was to play the Yukon Millers, a Class 3A school. It seemed that Joe Tunnel always scheduled opposing teams that were above the Class 2A Leopards. He believed it would prepare Lindsay for Class 2A competition and District 2A-3 foes, and it usually had the desired effect. As usual, I became nervous just before game time on Friday night - so much so that my stomach often became upset. An article in The Oklahoman on Saturday following the Yukon game detailed the scoring:
LINDSAY 28, Yukon 7 at Yukon: Yukon went down to defeat for the second week in a row. The No. 2 ranked Class 2A Lindsay Leopards, led by Jimmy Beckham's three scores, reeled off 21 straight points in the second half and held the Millers scoreless at the same time. Yukon took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by Joe Dawson in the first quarter, driving 76 yards in 13 plays. Lindsay, however, took the ensuing kickoff and went 70 yards in 13 plays with quarterback Danny Heatly connecting with Beckham on an 11-yard pass, to tie the score at 7-7. After a scoreless second quarter, Lindsay's Beckham then scored two more TD's to give the Leopards their insurmountable lead. Jeff Ardrey scored the final points of the game on an 11-yard pass from Rickey Dorman. Jimmy Webb booted four extra points...
The PV Daily Democrat recounted the Lindsay/Yukon game:
Leopards stone Yukon Millers
The Lindsay Leopards gave up the first touchdown to the Yukon Millers, but they then came storming back to win by a score of 28-7. Yukon's only successful scoring drive was also their last. The Millers traveled 76 yards to make the score and made good on the kick for a seven point lead.
Lindsay did not let the score stay that way long. The Leopards took 17 plays to move 70 yards to the endzone to even the score during the second quarter.
After the half the Leopards were even hotter. Jimmy Beckham who picked up Lindsay's first score on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Danny Heatly also captured the second six points by smashing through the Yukon line for a nine-yard run.
Beckham got the call again to make the third Lindsay score. The 165-pound junior halfback plowed through for three yards to reach the endzone.
The final score came in the fourth quarter when end Jeff Ardrey pulled down an 11-yard pass from Ricky Dorman.
Two personal observations from this Yukon game: Rene Huckaba was Yukon's head football coach in 1973, and a close personal friend of Joe Tunnel. Huckaba's wife was also a Tunnel friend, and present at the 1973 Lindsay/Yukon game. Rene Huckaba, as stated in the "1967 Legends" article, was on hand to honor Tunnel at his (Joe Tunnel) "retirement from coaching" banquet at Duncan's Simmons Center in 2000. Huckaba recounted some of his memories as Tunnel's friend, such as the Clinton Red Tornadoes' story quoted earlier. He also recounted another story about Tunnel, which related to the Lindsay/Yukon game of 1973 -
As the 1973 game ended with Lindsay thoroughly dominating Yukon, the coaches for both schools met at midfield to shake hands and wish the other coaches well for the rest of the season. Since Joe and Rene were particularly good friends - Rene's wife also was on hand to congratulate Tunnel. The final score, 28-7, was anything but a thorough beat down, and Tunnel had not intentionally tried to run up the score - and Rene Huckaba knew that. Huckaba was cordial to his old friend, as they chatted about their teams for a moment. After Rene and Joe finished their handshake and saying "good luck" for the rest of the season, Huckaba's wife approached Tunnel. (Or maybe she reached Tunnel before Rene did, as it's still not clear). At any rate, Joe Tunnel was expecting his old friend, Rene's wife, to offer her hand in congratulations and wish him good luck in the future. Instead, she walked up to Joe and slapped him. She may have only chastized him for running up the score, not slapped... I'm not sure, but it sure caught Joe Tunnel off guard - that I'm sure of.
My other memory of that 1973 game is a bit more personal, but still true...
While in junior high at Lindsay, I began to take notice that all my high school "football heroes got along with all the beautiful girls", like the song says. They all had very attractive girlfriends and were even popular with girls who were not "girlfriends". The evidence was in, so my theory was confirmed - but since I had never been a "football hero", I could still not say for sure. I decided to "test" my theory for confirmation, since the Yukon game may have been the closest I would ever hope to being a "football hero". Of course I was only a "wanna be", and would soon discover that fact.
On the Sunday afternoon following the Yukon game, I was casually visiting with two friends who happened to be beautiful girls, and mentioned that Lindsay had beat Yukon, 28-7, on Friday night. I also mentioned that I had scored three touchdowns in the game. The desired effect of my "bragging" was to impress these two friends. I hoped at least one response would be something like "WOW! Tell me more?" One friend simply replied "No way...", and the other did not respond at all about my "heroism". I don't know what I was expecting, but one thing was certain - either I was not a real football hero (which was likely) or I was not even a shadow of a real football hero (which was more likely). It seems very funny now, but it was devastating in 1973.
The third game of the season pitted Lindsay against El Reno, another Class 3A team. The Leopards beat El Reno, 30-14, and then faced the Marlow Outlaws in what would be the first District 2A-3 clash. While Marlow and Lindsay usually squared off in an intense rivalry game, the 1973 game proved anything but a heated battle to the last play. PV Democrat staff writer Harold Bradley reported after the game:
Lindsay again 55-20
The Lindsay Leopards displayed a devastating ground attack Friday night and crushed the Marlow Outlaws, 55-20, in a District 2A-3 game at Lindsay. Led by senior tailback Bobby Simonton, the Leopards made it 4-0 for the season and their first district win of the year. The Leopards played almost perfect football. They had only two turnovers during the night and both of those were on fumbles early in the game.
Coach Joe Tunnell's Leopards had the ball 10 times Friday night and scored eight times out of the 10. Simonton scored four times on three short runs and one time on a 37-yard pass and run.
Junior halfback Jimmy Beckham had two touchdowns and senior Jeff Ardrey caught a 33-yard pass for another TD. Halfback Rocky Robbins had a 17-yard touchdown run. The Leopards ground game was so bruising, they did not punt the ball all night.
Quarterback Danny Heatly mixed his plays well all night, using the pass to keep the Outlaws loose. Heatly attempted six passes and completed four for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Halfback Beckham, by far the lightest player on the Leopards first unit was the top ground gainer Friday night. He picked up 142 yards on 14 carries, a stunning 10 yards per carry average...
Lindsay beat Mustang, another District 2A-3 foe, 34-21, in the season's fifth game, before clashing with the Comanche Indians in the sixth game. In setting the stage for the Lindsay/Comanche showdown - Lindsay was now 5-0, and ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, behind No. 1 Broken Bow. Comanche was also 5-0, and ranked No. 9 in Class 2A, but the game was to be played in Comanche giving the hosts a decided intangible factor. (When two teams are pretty evenly matched, the home team usually wins.)
I was nervous, as usual, prior to kickoff on Friday night, but several Leopards tried to loosen the team up by providing some levity while we dressed for battle. It had been raining sporadically before game time, so the field was slick and the Leopard ball carriers and receivers were using brown kiwi shoe polish on their hands to prevent fumbling. One or two had used the brown shoe polish to make hand-prints on their orange pants, or their buddies faces. There was much hushed laughter, as we were supposed to have our "game faces" on. S.J. Foster and H.O. Estes would not have thought it so funny. The subject did come up at halftime of the game, because we were trailing the Indians 7-6. On October 14, 1973, one day after the game, Lynn Garnand of The Daily Oklahoman recounted the battle:
COMANCHE FALLS, 19-7
Lindsay Wins on Rally
COMANCHE -- Aroused in the second half by an interception by Jeff Ardrey and the hard-running of Randy Underwood, Lindsay stormed from behind to tame Comanche, 19-7, in a battle of District 2A-3 unbeatens before a packed house at Harley Stadium Friday night. Comanche, vying for its first Class 2A district title, outplayed the visitors the first half and took a 7-6 lead to the dressing room at intermission. But the roof fell in on the Indians as Lindsay completely dominated the second half with a fired up offense and a smothering defense.
Lindsay, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, is 6-0 on the season and has a commanding 3-0 record in district play. The ninth ranked Indians are 5-1 and 2-1.
Lindsay failed to move the ball the first time it had possession in the third quarter, but Ardrey got the Leopards going with an interception four minutes into the second half at the Comanche 42. It took Lindsay eight plays to capitalize on that scoring opportunity with wingback Jimmy Beckham carrying the final two yards to make it 12-7. Underwood, who only had seven yards rushing at halftime, contributed runs of 11, 11 and two yards. After that, it was all Lindsay. Comanche had 107 yards on the ground in the first half but added only 35 more the final two quarters. The closest the Indians got to Lindsay's goal line in the second half was 39 yards away early in the fourth quarter.
While the Lindsay defense was shining, the Leopard offense began to look like its usual self. Held to 40 yards rushing the first half, Lindsay gained 121 after intermission to control the tempo of play. Lindsay iced down the victory with a 95-yard, 11 play drive in the fourth quarter that consumed almost seven minutes. Comanche forced Lindsay to punt once in the march but the kick was fumbled and Beckham gave the Leopards new life at the Indian 45.
Eight plays later, tailback Bobby Simonton tallied his second touchdown of the night with a nine-yard burst up the middle. Jim Webb put the final point on the board with the conversion kick.
Comanche scored first with a 67-yard surge midway in the first half. Fullback Steve Etheridge found gaping holes up the middle and scored the touchdown by carrying the final four yards. Steve McCord, who played an outstanding game at linebacker, kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 with 8:53 left in the second quarter.
Lindsay came right back with its first touchdown drive, which was highlighted by a 54-yard pass from quarterback Danny Heatly to Ardrey that carried to the Comanche 13. Simonton swept right end for the final eight yards and a touchdown but Webb's conversion kick was partially blocked by McCord to allow Comanche to own a one-point edge at halftime.
A personal note about three of the Comanche game participants: During the 1980's and early 1990's, I coached high school football in Duncan with Steve Etheridge, the fullback for Comanche mentioned above. Also, Burl White, the head football coach for Comanche at the time, was the athletic director in Duncan while I was coaching there. As a matter of fact, I coached Burl White's two sons - Jay Lynn, who is now a dentist, and Joe Kyle, who is now an attorney, while in Duncan. Probably the most important Comanche connection to that game, though, is the fact that I married a Comanche cheerleader, who was on the other sideline in 1973. I did "get along with one beautiful girl". It's a small world.
Lindsay then beat Harrah in another district game as the Daily Oklahoman recounted on October 21, 2013:
LINDSAY 14, HARRAH 0 at Lindsay: The Leopards' Jimmy Beckham scored two touchdowns on short runs and carried the ball 16 times for 124 yards. Lindsay's Bob Simonton had 90 yards on 22 carries. The deepest penetration by Harrah was to the Lindsay 45. Sophomore punter Ronnie Hicklin kept Harrah in good field position with five punts that averaged 48 yards.
Daily Democrat staff writer Harold Bradley reported on the Harrah game:
Lindsay wins 7th
Lindsay unleashed its vaunted running attack in the third quarter and made its usual tough defense performance Friday night to slip by a tough Harrah Panther team, 14-0, at Burford field in Lindsay. Coach Joe Tunnel's defensive brigade held the Panthers to only 92 net yards all night and the Harrah Panthers never crossed the Leopard's 45 yard line.
Meanwhile, Danny Heatly was engineering the Leopards to 237 yards on the ground with junior halfback Jimmy Beckham rushing for 124 yards on 16 carries as the Leopards top ground gainer. Defensive safety Johnny Sharp set the stage for the Leopard's first touchdown late in the third quarter when he picked off a Ronnie Hicklin pass at the Panther's 34 yard line.
From that point the Leopards scored their first touchdown. Beckham led the way with a 26-yard jaunt that put the ball on the eight. Bob Simonton got seven in two tries and Beckham scored from the one. Jimmy Webb kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
On its next possession, Lindsay scored again going from their own 40 in nine plays with Beckham scoring from the four. It was fullback Randy Underwood, Simonton and Beckham carrying the pigskin top set up the Leopards final score of the night. Webb kicked the extra point and the final score was 14-0...
The Leopards remain undefeated this season with a 7-0 mark and now lead the district 2A-3 race. They will be on the road next Friday night when they travel to Tecumseh for their fifth district game. Looking ahead for the rest of the season, the Leopards will be at Pauls Valley on November 2 and end the season at home against Noble on November 9.
The Leopards did play the Tecumseh Savages on October 26, 1973, in the eighth game of the season. The PV Democrat reported following the clash:
Tecumseh snowed by Lindsay Leopards
The Lindsay Leopards sailed to their eighth win of the season Friday night with a 35-0 shutout of Tecumseh at Tecumseh. There was not any scoring in the first quarter, but in the second quarter the Leopard attack began to extract points.
Jimmy Beckham went in from the two yard line and Jimmy Webb booted the extra point. Later in the second quarter Bob Simonton ran three yards for a score and again Webb kicked the extra point. This sent Lindsay to the locker room ahead by 14-0 at the half. In the third quarter the Leopards widened that lead with a one-yard dive by Simonton that capped a drive with six more points. Webb's kick was good.
Jimmy Beckham broke free later in the third period of play and dashed through the Tecumseh team on a 60-yard scoring play. Webb again performed flawlessly to add the extra point. The final score of the night was by Danny Heatly who pushed across from the one-yard line in the fourth quarter and Webb made his fifth successful kick of the night. Next week the Lindsay Leopards will travel to meet the Pauls Valley Panthers at Pauls Valley.
Also following the Tecumseh game the United Press International reported:
Lindsay number 1 in state 2A-A
Unbeaten Lindsay climbed atop the weekly UPI ratings of Oklahoma's Class 2A-A high school football teams today, replacing fallen Lawton MacArthur. Lawton Mac plunged to No. 6 after losing 14-12 to Elk City, which stepped up two notches to No. 5.
Three undefeated teams - Broken Bow, Spiro and Bristow - each moved up one step, filling the second, third and fourth spots, respectively. Seminole edged upward, from No. 8 to 7, and Skiatook entered the ratings for the first time, at No. 8.
Wynnewood, the only Class A team winning a spot in the rankings, stayed in ninth position and Comanche remained at No. 10.
Lindsay's advance came on a 35-0 trouncing of Tecumseh, while Broken Bow was thumping Talahina 36-0 and Spiro was downing Checotah 28-16. Bristow defeated Cushing 19-0. The top four teams this week have 8-0 records.
The Lindsay Leopards were now facing arch-rival Pauls Valley for the season's ninth game of the year. There was "bad blood" between the two teams because of previous encounters which did not always end well. The boys basketball game in 1970 which ended in a bench clearing brawl at Pauls Valley comes to mind. Friday night came and went, and Mike Berger, staff writer for the PV Democrat reported:
Leopards top PV
The Panther defense played well Friday night against the mighty Leopards scoring attack holding the Lindsay team to only two touchdowns in the first half. The Panthers, however were not able to get on the score board themselves in the first half and though they closed the gap to 18-7 at one point they could not narrow Lindsay's lead any further. The final score was boosted by two more Lindsay touchdowns in the fourth quarter to end the game 24-7 in Lindsay's favor...
Pauls Valley got first crack at moving the football and soon discovered that the Leopards weren't giving away any free yardage. Held to only three yards gain on their first possession, Tommy Felan kicked the ball away for the Panthers.
Lindsay moved well after the punt, but after they scored a penetration to the Panther 18 they fumbled the ball and an alert Keith Story pounced on it to stall the first Leopard attack. The Panthers moved a total of 27 yards in their next seven plays before they had to punt. A Leopard signaled for a fair catch and dropped the ball at the Lindsay 25, but the Leopards were able to recover the loose ball.
Starting from their own 21 the Leopards got their rushing game in gear and moved 46 yards in the next eight plays. Down to the Panther 33-yard line Halfback Jimmy Beckham broke through to go nearly all the way. Stanley Peters caught Beckham and knocked him out of bounds at the Panther one yard line, but with a first and goal from the one, the Leopards had more field possession that any team could defend against. Bobby Simonton went in for the score on the next play...
On their first possession of the second quarter the Leopards again mounted a drive from their own 25 where they had received a Felan punt. They moved methodically in 14 plays to cross the Panther goal for the score with four minutes 53 seconds left in the half. The Leopards moved consistently on the ground in this drive attempting no passes and getting no help from penalty causing Panther mistakes. Simonton again carried from the one for the score.
(Following the ensuing kickoff), the Panther drive started with an illegal procedure penalty that moved the ball back to the 15 and Felan was forced to punt from his 19 a few plays later. A Leopard hit Felan after the punt and was called for roughing the kicker, giving the Panthers a second chance from their own 34 yard line. The Panthers ran one play for a four-yard gain and one for a four-yard loss and threw an incomplete pass to wind up back on the 34 to punt again.
The Leopards started after the punt from their 33 and moved to the 45 where Lindsay made its second pass attempt of the night. Stan Peters pulled in the pass interception for the Panthers with 30 seconds left in the half. Two plays later the Panthers gave the ball back to Lindsay on a fumbled handoff that was recovered by Damon Clagg for the Leopards. With nine seconds left the Leopards moved ten yards toward the Panther goal and time ran out leaving the halftime score much lower than many expected, 12-0.
This "less than stellar" display of football was not lost on Joe Tunnel, as he made it clear at halftime that he would not tolerate any more mistakes. Also, at halftime, during Tunnel's "do better" lecture, a Leopard assistant coach handed Tunnel a clip board which indicated that Jimmy Beckham had 105 rushing yards. Coach Tunnel's only comment was "This guy right here will have 200 yards rushing tonight if we don't make any more mistakes." His comment made me feel nervous again, as if it was the beginning of the game.
The Leopards did eliminate many mistakes during the second half and I wound up with 177 yards rushing on 18 carries, but it was a team effort as the Leopards rushed for 401 total yards and 27 first downs, with no yards passing (0-4).
In the final game of the regular season Lindsay was to play Noble on Friday night, November 9, 1973. The date happened to be my birthday, and I was looking forward to a hard fought game with the Bears. All the Leopards had to do was to beat Noble to be district champs and finish the regular season 10-0, before starting the playoffs. The Daily Oklahoman reported after the game on Saturday, November 10:
Lindsay 28, Noble 0 at Lindsay: Senior tailback Bobby Simonton had 93 yards on 18 carries to finish with 1,033 yards for the year. The Leopards, who finished on top of the Class 2A-3 standings with a 7-0 mark to go with an overall 10-0 season, picked up 292 yards on the ground compared to Noble's 57. Jim Beckham, Lindsay's junior halfback, was the game's leading rusher with 115 yards on 15 carries before he left the game in the third quarter with a broken arm. He finished with 1019 yards...
The PV Democrat reported on Sunday, November 11:
Lindsay dumps Noble
Lindsay kept its football machine rolling with a resounding 28-0 triumph over Noble in a district 2A-3 contest at Burford Field in Lindsay Friday night. But in doing so, the Leopards lost the service of junior right halfback, Jimmy Beckham.
Beckham, one of the Leopards top ground gainers all season, broke his right arm in the third quarter. The Leopards completely dominated the football game after a slow start, and in the end it was the Leopards 10th win of the season.
The Leopards will now turn their attentions on the playoffs starting next Friday night. Lindsay will host Bristow in the first round of the class double A playoffs. It will be two unbeaten teams facing each other.
Two Lindsay players reached a milestone in the season's final game Friday night. Bob Simonton and Jimmy Beckham, reached and passed the 1,000 yard rushing mark. Beckham came into the ball game needing 96 yards to reach the magic number and he picked up 116 yards in 15 carries before having to leave the game with 8:47 left in the third quarter.
Simonton needing only 60 yards for the 1,000 yard mark went well over the mark when he scored his third touchdown of the game Friday night. At the end of the game Simonton went well over the mark with 1,033 yards. Beckham had 1,019 yards when he left the game...
Lynn Garnand of the Daily Oklahoman reported on Monday, November 12, that Lindsay had knocked Broken Bow out of the top spot in its weekly football poll. (The Leopards were already ranked No. 1 by the United Press International poll):
Lindsay Tops 2A in Final Ratings
After playing second fiddle to defending state champion Broken Bow all year, Lindsay took over the No. 1 ranking in Class 2A from the Savages in The Daily Oklahoman's final weekly high school football ratings of the season for all classes except 4A and 3A.
Lindsay (10-0), capping its season with a 28-0 victory over Noble, got its chance to step up to the top perch when Broken Bow's winning streak was ended at 22 in a row by Idabel, 7-0. Lindsay had been ranked second behind the Savages (9-1), who slipped to third behind the Leopards and now No. 2 Spiro (10-0), all season.
The 1973 Leopards were set to enter the playoffs as the No. 1 ranked Class 2A team and were to play the Bristow Purple Pirates in the first round. On Friday, November 16, The Daily Oklahoman reported:
Lindsay to Meet Bristow As playoffs Start Tonight
Lindsay puts its newly acquired No. 1 ranking in Class 2A on the line against unbeaten Bristow... Lindsay, after being ranked second all season, took over the top rating in its class last week after Broken Bow lost to Idabel, 7-0. The Leopards will match their 10-0 record against Bristow's identical mark and the Pirates No. 4 ranking.
Bristow, after posting its first unbeaten season in history, will be making its first playoff appearance simnce 1958. The Pirates are led by halfback Wes Hankins, who has over 4,000 yards in his high school career.
"He's a super, super back," Lindsay coach Joe Tunnell said of the Bristow flash, "but he's not all they've got. They're awfully quick, as quick as any team we've seen. They've got some good backs and they're well coached. We're going to have to control the football an d win both ends of the kicking game. They have one of the best defenses we've played against. We're ready to play but we're going to have to find some way to get a hold of Hankins."
Lindsay suffered a blow in its 28-0 victory over Noble last week as halfback Jimmy Beckham, who had gained over 1,000 yards rushing this season, broke his arm. Leopard tailback Bob Simonton will now have to shoulder most of the ball carrying chores.
As the Leopards approached the Bristow game in 1973, some Lindsay football fans may have had flashbacks to the 1964 Lindsay Leopards - who lost to Holdenville in the championship game. The 1973 Leopards were very similar to the 1964 Leopards, as both teams had a devastating rushing game. Both teams also lost a large part of that rushing game, during or before the playoffs began. An excerpt from a Daily Oklahoman article which detailed the 1964 state championship game with Holdenville read:
... Holdenville defeated Lindsay, 14-0, before a crowd of 4,000 Friday night to win the state Class A high school football championship for the first time. Lindsay, winner of state championships in four previous appearances suffered its first loss in 19 playoff games.
Holdenville used a magnificent defense to throttle Lindsay's famed running attack. The Leopards never got closer than 33 yards to pay dirt and that came on their first possession.
Lindsay halfback Ken Fleming injured a leg so badly he was hospitalized. He was hurt on Lindsay's first possession, eight plays deep into the contest...
As Leopard assistant coach Charlie Heatly noted a few years later: If the Leopards had finished the game with Ken Fleming, they would have won the fifth state championship.
As Yogi Berra, New York Yankees catcher and former manager, said many years earlier about recurring themes in sports: "It's deja vu all over again". It appears that it was deja vu all over again for the 1973 Leopards as they played the Bristow Purple Pirates in the first round of the '73 high school football playoffs.
As the game with Bristow approached that week of November, I had an arm cast on from shoulder to wrist. I had broken both bones in my fore-arm, the radius and humerous, in the same place they were broken a year earlier in the auto accident. I always thought that once a bone break healed, the bone became stronger at the point of the break. I guess not.
The Lindsay Leopards did play the Bristow Purple Pirates on Friday, November 15, 1973. On November 17, The Daily Oklahoman reported:
Bristow Spanks No. 1 Lindsay
Pirates Score 9-7 Triumph
LINDSAY--Bristow's superb defense, playing all year in the shadow of super halfback Wes Hankins, smothered Lindsay with brilliant play Friday night to give the Purple Pirates an upset, 9-7 Class 2A quarterfinal victory over the No.1 ranked Leopards before an overflow crowd of 3,000 fans.
Hankins had his moments, however, including his electrifying 37-yard run for the winners only touchdown. But the unheralded Bristow defense was the real star.
Lindsay's vaunted rushing attack, minus halfback Jimmy Beckham who broke his arm last week, gained only 76 yards and earned but four first downs in the first half while Bristow built a 9-0 lead. Then, in the crucial third quarter, the hosts made only 16 yards and no first downs. The aggressive Bristow line, led by Reggie Fields, and linebacker Steve Sly, didn't allow Lindsay a first down the entire second half until less than two minutes remained.
It was then Lindsay quarterback Danny Heatly guided his team on a 51-yard 10 play drive for Lindsay's touchdown. But Bob Simonton's one-yard plunge with 29 seconds left was too little and too late to prevent Bristow from running its record to 11-0 and gaining the semi-finals in its first trip to state. Lindsay finished 10-1...
Hankins scored the visitor's touchdown just 52 seconds after the opening kickoff, but Lindsay played superb field position football and contained the Bristow speedsters the rest of the night. Hankins still finished with 126 yards on 16 carries.
Simonton, forced into the workhorse role in Beckham's absence, gained only 39 yards on 15 carries. No other Leopard made more than 15 yards on the ground, and Heatly threw 16 times to get his 83 yards passing...
This loss to Bristow in 1973 is still seared in my memory, just as the loss to Nowata in the 1970 championship game is seared in the memories of those Leopards who played. The loss to Bristow was especially painful for me, as I was forced to watch from the sidelines. A few days after the Bristow game, a good friend told me that Coach Tunnell lamented in Drivers Education (the class he taught) that " If we had Jimmy, we would have won the game." I don't know about that, but it made the loss that much more painful...
The next article will detail the 1974 Lindsay Leopards football season...
At Last! Prep Football Begins Thursday
The top ten games of the week list is headed by a traditional clash at Lindsay, where the Leopards host defendind Class A state titlist Purcell. Lindsay, which failed to make the playoffs last year for the first time in six seasons, is the favorite in District 2A-3 while Purcell has lots of experience returning from its 13-1 championship team of a year ago. (From reading this article, one may tend to believe that Lindsay had no chance of beating Purcell).
"We haven't looked too sharp in our scrimmages," said Joe Tunnel, who is starting his seventh year at Lindsay. "We're big and slow and sluggish. We've scouted Purcell in both of their scrimmages and they've got some of that speed. Ours was the only game they lost last year so they'll be after us."
Purcell fell to Lindsay, 8-6, in its season opener a year ago then reeled off 13 straight victories in the Dragons' drive to the Class A throneroom...
So the stage was set for a certain Leopard thrashing, as the article indicated. I was really nervous as Friday approached, as it was the first game ever that I expected to be a starter. I did not really know who would be watching the game, but one who I was certain would be in attendance was "the blind man in the bleachers", my dad. The Oklahoman's No. 1 game of the week came and went, and an article in The Oklahoman on Sunday proclaimed:
Lindsay Marches to 25-7 Win
LINDSAY -- The Lindsay Leopards welded together a trio of jarring cross-country scoring marches and bashed defending Class A state champion Purcell, 25-7, in the two teams' 1973 football debut at Burford Field Friday night. Purcell, which lost only to Lindsay last year during a 13-1 title campaign got the jump on Lindsay as the Dragons scored the first time they touched the ball.
But Lindsay regrouped, and displaying its usual ball control tactics, slowly but surely took the momentum away from the visitors. As expected, tailback Bobby Simonton carried the load in the Leopards devastating running game. The 192-pound senior carried the ball 27 times for 135 yards and scored Lindsay's last three touchdowns. The Leopards amassed 308 rushing yards as Jimmy Beckham totaled 73, Randy Underwood 61 and Johnny Sharp 43 to back up Simonton's big total...
For Purcell, Gerald Green picked up 78 yards on the ground, but was topped by a scrappy newcomer to the Dragon backfield, Rodney Combest, a 140-pounder who barrelled his way for 82 rushing yards.
Lindsay's Simonton was busy not only on offense but he did double duty as an outstanding linebacker, teaming with tackle Stanley Everett and safety Rocky Robbins to help stifle the Purcell attack.
The Dragons took the opening kickoff and steamed 65 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 count. Green blasted over right guard from 21 yards out to score practically untouched and Jerry Merrill toed the extra point.
Lindsay came right back with a 55-yard drive of its own with Underwood going the final eight yards. The Leopards then glued together what may have been the game-deciding drive of the night. Taking over on its own 20 with 4:07 remaining in the half, Lindsay swept to the goalline in 10 plays with Simonton scoring the first of his three touchdowns. That set the tone for the second half, which Lindsay dominated. Simonton ended marches of 80 and 90 yards with touchdown runs coming from inside the 10-yard line.
Pauls Valley Daily Democrat staff writer Susan Pratt reported after the Purcell game:
Lindsay for real!
Everything they say about the Lindsay Leopards is really true. They've got the manpower and the size to grind out yardage faster than a packing plant turns out sausage -- and that makes mincemeat out of their unlucky opponents. As always, they've got the class to capitalize on whatever mistakes befall their competition.
Making their debut before the homefolks against defending Class A champ Purcell, the Leopards put on a bruising display of power that drained the Dragons 25-7...
So, it was back to business for the Lindsay Leopards as they once again thumped Purcell in the opening game of the season. In fact, it now seemed that no matter how good Purcell was... Lindsay always won. It was a fact that would be magnified in the 1974 season opening game. The win over a highly regarded Purcell club elevated the Leopards to a No. 2 ranking in Class 2A football. Purcell eventually finished the 1973 season 8-1-1, with a tie, 13-13, against Wynnewood, and its only loss to the Leopards, 25-7. Purcell did not make the playoffs that year because Wynnewood, a Class A district foe, advanced on penetrations.
In the season's second game of 1973 - Lindsay was to play the Yukon Millers, a Class 3A school. It seemed that Joe Tunnel always scheduled opposing teams that were above the Class 2A Leopards. He believed it would prepare Lindsay for Class 2A competition and District 2A-3 foes, and it usually had the desired effect. As usual, I became nervous just before game time on Friday night - so much so that my stomach often became upset. An article in The Oklahoman on Saturday following the Yukon game detailed the scoring:
LINDSAY 28, Yukon 7 at Yukon: Yukon went down to defeat for the second week in a row. The No. 2 ranked Class 2A Lindsay Leopards, led by Jimmy Beckham's three scores, reeled off 21 straight points in the second half and held the Millers scoreless at the same time. Yukon took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by Joe Dawson in the first quarter, driving 76 yards in 13 plays. Lindsay, however, took the ensuing kickoff and went 70 yards in 13 plays with quarterback Danny Heatly connecting with Beckham on an 11-yard pass, to tie the score at 7-7. After a scoreless second quarter, Lindsay's Beckham then scored two more TD's to give the Leopards their insurmountable lead. Jeff Ardrey scored the final points of the game on an 11-yard pass from Rickey Dorman. Jimmy Webb booted four extra points...
The PV Daily Democrat recounted the Lindsay/Yukon game:
Leopards stone Yukon Millers
The Lindsay Leopards gave up the first touchdown to the Yukon Millers, but they then came storming back to win by a score of 28-7. Yukon's only successful scoring drive was also their last. The Millers traveled 76 yards to make the score and made good on the kick for a seven point lead.
Lindsay did not let the score stay that way long. The Leopards took 17 plays to move 70 yards to the endzone to even the score during the second quarter.
After the half the Leopards were even hotter. Jimmy Beckham who picked up Lindsay's first score on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Danny Heatly also captured the second six points by smashing through the Yukon line for a nine-yard run.
Beckham got the call again to make the third Lindsay score. The 165-pound junior halfback plowed through for three yards to reach the endzone.
The final score came in the fourth quarter when end Jeff Ardrey pulled down an 11-yard pass from Ricky Dorman.
Two personal observations from this Yukon game: Rene Huckaba was Yukon's head football coach in 1973, and a close personal friend of Joe Tunnel. Huckaba's wife was also a Tunnel friend, and present at the 1973 Lindsay/Yukon game. Rene Huckaba, as stated in the "1967 Legends" article, was on hand to honor Tunnel at his (Joe Tunnel) "retirement from coaching" banquet at Duncan's Simmons Center in 2000. Huckaba recounted some of his memories as Tunnel's friend, such as the Clinton Red Tornadoes' story quoted earlier. He also recounted another story about Tunnel, which related to the Lindsay/Yukon game of 1973 -
As the 1973 game ended with Lindsay thoroughly dominating Yukon, the coaches for both schools met at midfield to shake hands and wish the other coaches well for the rest of the season. Since Joe and Rene were particularly good friends - Rene's wife also was on hand to congratulate Tunnel. The final score, 28-7, was anything but a thorough beat down, and Tunnel had not intentionally tried to run up the score - and Rene Huckaba knew that. Huckaba was cordial to his old friend, as they chatted about their teams for a moment. After Rene and Joe finished their handshake and saying "good luck" for the rest of the season, Huckaba's wife approached Tunnel. (Or maybe she reached Tunnel before Rene did, as it's still not clear). At any rate, Joe Tunnel was expecting his old friend, Rene's wife, to offer her hand in congratulations and wish him good luck in the future. Instead, she walked up to Joe and slapped him. She may have only chastized him for running up the score, not slapped... I'm not sure, but it sure caught Joe Tunnel off guard - that I'm sure of.
My other memory of that 1973 game is a bit more personal, but still true...
While in junior high at Lindsay, I began to take notice that all my high school "football heroes got along with all the beautiful girls", like the song says. They all had very attractive girlfriends and were even popular with girls who were not "girlfriends". The evidence was in, so my theory was confirmed - but since I had never been a "football hero", I could still not say for sure. I decided to "test" my theory for confirmation, since the Yukon game may have been the closest I would ever hope to being a "football hero". Of course I was only a "wanna be", and would soon discover that fact.
On the Sunday afternoon following the Yukon game, I was casually visiting with two friends who happened to be beautiful girls, and mentioned that Lindsay had beat Yukon, 28-7, on Friday night. I also mentioned that I had scored three touchdowns in the game. The desired effect of my "bragging" was to impress these two friends. I hoped at least one response would be something like "WOW! Tell me more?" One friend simply replied "No way...", and the other did not respond at all about my "heroism". I don't know what I was expecting, but one thing was certain - either I was not a real football hero (which was likely) or I was not even a shadow of a real football hero (which was more likely). It seems very funny now, but it was devastating in 1973.
The third game of the season pitted Lindsay against El Reno, another Class 3A team. The Leopards beat El Reno, 30-14, and then faced the Marlow Outlaws in what would be the first District 2A-3 clash. While Marlow and Lindsay usually squared off in an intense rivalry game, the 1973 game proved anything but a heated battle to the last play. PV Democrat staff writer Harold Bradley reported after the game:
Lindsay again 55-20
The Lindsay Leopards displayed a devastating ground attack Friday night and crushed the Marlow Outlaws, 55-20, in a District 2A-3 game at Lindsay. Led by senior tailback Bobby Simonton, the Leopards made it 4-0 for the season and their first district win of the year. The Leopards played almost perfect football. They had only two turnovers during the night and both of those were on fumbles early in the game.
Coach Joe Tunnell's Leopards had the ball 10 times Friday night and scored eight times out of the 10. Simonton scored four times on three short runs and one time on a 37-yard pass and run.
Junior halfback Jimmy Beckham had two touchdowns and senior Jeff Ardrey caught a 33-yard pass for another TD. Halfback Rocky Robbins had a 17-yard touchdown run. The Leopards ground game was so bruising, they did not punt the ball all night.
Quarterback Danny Heatly mixed his plays well all night, using the pass to keep the Outlaws loose. Heatly attempted six passes and completed four for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Halfback Beckham, by far the lightest player on the Leopards first unit was the top ground gainer Friday night. He picked up 142 yards on 14 carries, a stunning 10 yards per carry average...
Lindsay beat Mustang, another District 2A-3 foe, 34-21, in the season's fifth game, before clashing with the Comanche Indians in the sixth game. In setting the stage for the Lindsay/Comanche showdown - Lindsay was now 5-0, and ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, behind No. 1 Broken Bow. Comanche was also 5-0, and ranked No. 9 in Class 2A, but the game was to be played in Comanche giving the hosts a decided intangible factor. (When two teams are pretty evenly matched, the home team usually wins.)
I was nervous, as usual, prior to kickoff on Friday night, but several Leopards tried to loosen the team up by providing some levity while we dressed for battle. It had been raining sporadically before game time, so the field was slick and the Leopard ball carriers and receivers were using brown kiwi shoe polish on their hands to prevent fumbling. One or two had used the brown shoe polish to make hand-prints on their orange pants, or their buddies faces. There was much hushed laughter, as we were supposed to have our "game faces" on. S.J. Foster and H.O. Estes would not have thought it so funny. The subject did come up at halftime of the game, because we were trailing the Indians 7-6. On October 14, 1973, one day after the game, Lynn Garnand of The Daily Oklahoman recounted the battle:
COMANCHE FALLS, 19-7
Lindsay Wins on Rally
COMANCHE -- Aroused in the second half by an interception by Jeff Ardrey and the hard-running of Randy Underwood, Lindsay stormed from behind to tame Comanche, 19-7, in a battle of District 2A-3 unbeatens before a packed house at Harley Stadium Friday night. Comanche, vying for its first Class 2A district title, outplayed the visitors the first half and took a 7-6 lead to the dressing room at intermission. But the roof fell in on the Indians as Lindsay completely dominated the second half with a fired up offense and a smothering defense.
Lindsay, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, is 6-0 on the season and has a commanding 3-0 record in district play. The ninth ranked Indians are 5-1 and 2-1.
Lindsay failed to move the ball the first time it had possession in the third quarter, but Ardrey got the Leopards going with an interception four minutes into the second half at the Comanche 42. It took Lindsay eight plays to capitalize on that scoring opportunity with wingback Jimmy Beckham carrying the final two yards to make it 12-7. Underwood, who only had seven yards rushing at halftime, contributed runs of 11, 11 and two yards. After that, it was all Lindsay. Comanche had 107 yards on the ground in the first half but added only 35 more the final two quarters. The closest the Indians got to Lindsay's goal line in the second half was 39 yards away early in the fourth quarter.
While the Lindsay defense was shining, the Leopard offense began to look like its usual self. Held to 40 yards rushing the first half, Lindsay gained 121 after intermission to control the tempo of play. Lindsay iced down the victory with a 95-yard, 11 play drive in the fourth quarter that consumed almost seven minutes. Comanche forced Lindsay to punt once in the march but the kick was fumbled and Beckham gave the Leopards new life at the Indian 45.
Eight plays later, tailback Bobby Simonton tallied his second touchdown of the night with a nine-yard burst up the middle. Jim Webb put the final point on the board with the conversion kick.
Comanche scored first with a 67-yard surge midway in the first half. Fullback Steve Etheridge found gaping holes up the middle and scored the touchdown by carrying the final four yards. Steve McCord, who played an outstanding game at linebacker, kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 with 8:53 left in the second quarter.
Lindsay came right back with its first touchdown drive, which was highlighted by a 54-yard pass from quarterback Danny Heatly to Ardrey that carried to the Comanche 13. Simonton swept right end for the final eight yards and a touchdown but Webb's conversion kick was partially blocked by McCord to allow Comanche to own a one-point edge at halftime.
A personal note about three of the Comanche game participants: During the 1980's and early 1990's, I coached high school football in Duncan with Steve Etheridge, the fullback for Comanche mentioned above. Also, Burl White, the head football coach for Comanche at the time, was the athletic director in Duncan while I was coaching there. As a matter of fact, I coached Burl White's two sons - Jay Lynn, who is now a dentist, and Joe Kyle, who is now an attorney, while in Duncan. Probably the most important Comanche connection to that game, though, is the fact that I married a Comanche cheerleader, who was on the other sideline in 1973. I did "get along with one beautiful girl". It's a small world.
Lindsay then beat Harrah in another district game as the Daily Oklahoman recounted on October 21, 2013:
LINDSAY 14, HARRAH 0 at Lindsay: The Leopards' Jimmy Beckham scored two touchdowns on short runs and carried the ball 16 times for 124 yards. Lindsay's Bob Simonton had 90 yards on 22 carries. The deepest penetration by Harrah was to the Lindsay 45. Sophomore punter Ronnie Hicklin kept Harrah in good field position with five punts that averaged 48 yards.
Daily Democrat staff writer Harold Bradley reported on the Harrah game:
Lindsay wins 7th
Lindsay unleashed its vaunted running attack in the third quarter and made its usual tough defense performance Friday night to slip by a tough Harrah Panther team, 14-0, at Burford field in Lindsay. Coach Joe Tunnel's defensive brigade held the Panthers to only 92 net yards all night and the Harrah Panthers never crossed the Leopard's 45 yard line.
Meanwhile, Danny Heatly was engineering the Leopards to 237 yards on the ground with junior halfback Jimmy Beckham rushing for 124 yards on 16 carries as the Leopards top ground gainer. Defensive safety Johnny Sharp set the stage for the Leopard's first touchdown late in the third quarter when he picked off a Ronnie Hicklin pass at the Panther's 34 yard line.
From that point the Leopards scored their first touchdown. Beckham led the way with a 26-yard jaunt that put the ball on the eight. Bob Simonton got seven in two tries and Beckham scored from the one. Jimmy Webb kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
On its next possession, Lindsay scored again going from their own 40 in nine plays with Beckham scoring from the four. It was fullback Randy Underwood, Simonton and Beckham carrying the pigskin top set up the Leopards final score of the night. Webb kicked the extra point and the final score was 14-0...
The Leopards remain undefeated this season with a 7-0 mark and now lead the district 2A-3 race. They will be on the road next Friday night when they travel to Tecumseh for their fifth district game. Looking ahead for the rest of the season, the Leopards will be at Pauls Valley on November 2 and end the season at home against Noble on November 9.
The Leopards did play the Tecumseh Savages on October 26, 1973, in the eighth game of the season. The PV Democrat reported following the clash:
Tecumseh snowed by Lindsay Leopards
The Lindsay Leopards sailed to their eighth win of the season Friday night with a 35-0 shutout of Tecumseh at Tecumseh. There was not any scoring in the first quarter, but in the second quarter the Leopard attack began to extract points.
Jimmy Beckham went in from the two yard line and Jimmy Webb booted the extra point. Later in the second quarter Bob Simonton ran three yards for a score and again Webb kicked the extra point. This sent Lindsay to the locker room ahead by 14-0 at the half. In the third quarter the Leopards widened that lead with a one-yard dive by Simonton that capped a drive with six more points. Webb's kick was good.
Jimmy Beckham broke free later in the third period of play and dashed through the Tecumseh team on a 60-yard scoring play. Webb again performed flawlessly to add the extra point. The final score of the night was by Danny Heatly who pushed across from the one-yard line in the fourth quarter and Webb made his fifth successful kick of the night. Next week the Lindsay Leopards will travel to meet the Pauls Valley Panthers at Pauls Valley.
Also following the Tecumseh game the United Press International reported:
Lindsay number 1 in state 2A-A
Unbeaten Lindsay climbed atop the weekly UPI ratings of Oklahoma's Class 2A-A high school football teams today, replacing fallen Lawton MacArthur. Lawton Mac plunged to No. 6 after losing 14-12 to Elk City, which stepped up two notches to No. 5.
Three undefeated teams - Broken Bow, Spiro and Bristow - each moved up one step, filling the second, third and fourth spots, respectively. Seminole edged upward, from No. 8 to 7, and Skiatook entered the ratings for the first time, at No. 8.
Wynnewood, the only Class A team winning a spot in the rankings, stayed in ninth position and Comanche remained at No. 10.
Lindsay's advance came on a 35-0 trouncing of Tecumseh, while Broken Bow was thumping Talahina 36-0 and Spiro was downing Checotah 28-16. Bristow defeated Cushing 19-0. The top four teams this week have 8-0 records.
The Lindsay Leopards were now facing arch-rival Pauls Valley for the season's ninth game of the year. There was "bad blood" between the two teams because of previous encounters which did not always end well. The boys basketball game in 1970 which ended in a bench clearing brawl at Pauls Valley comes to mind. Friday night came and went, and Mike Berger, staff writer for the PV Democrat reported:
Leopards top PV
The Panther defense played well Friday night against the mighty Leopards scoring attack holding the Lindsay team to only two touchdowns in the first half. The Panthers, however were not able to get on the score board themselves in the first half and though they closed the gap to 18-7 at one point they could not narrow Lindsay's lead any further. The final score was boosted by two more Lindsay touchdowns in the fourth quarter to end the game 24-7 in Lindsay's favor...
Pauls Valley got first crack at moving the football and soon discovered that the Leopards weren't giving away any free yardage. Held to only three yards gain on their first possession, Tommy Felan kicked the ball away for the Panthers.
Lindsay moved well after the punt, but after they scored a penetration to the Panther 18 they fumbled the ball and an alert Keith Story pounced on it to stall the first Leopard attack. The Panthers moved a total of 27 yards in their next seven plays before they had to punt. A Leopard signaled for a fair catch and dropped the ball at the Lindsay 25, but the Leopards were able to recover the loose ball.
Starting from their own 21 the Leopards got their rushing game in gear and moved 46 yards in the next eight plays. Down to the Panther 33-yard line Halfback Jimmy Beckham broke through to go nearly all the way. Stanley Peters caught Beckham and knocked him out of bounds at the Panther one yard line, but with a first and goal from the one, the Leopards had more field possession that any team could defend against. Bobby Simonton went in for the score on the next play...
On their first possession of the second quarter the Leopards again mounted a drive from their own 25 where they had received a Felan punt. They moved methodically in 14 plays to cross the Panther goal for the score with four minutes 53 seconds left in the half. The Leopards moved consistently on the ground in this drive attempting no passes and getting no help from penalty causing Panther mistakes. Simonton again carried from the one for the score.
(Following the ensuing kickoff), the Panther drive started with an illegal procedure penalty that moved the ball back to the 15 and Felan was forced to punt from his 19 a few plays later. A Leopard hit Felan after the punt and was called for roughing the kicker, giving the Panthers a second chance from their own 34 yard line. The Panthers ran one play for a four-yard gain and one for a four-yard loss and threw an incomplete pass to wind up back on the 34 to punt again.
The Leopards started after the punt from their 33 and moved to the 45 where Lindsay made its second pass attempt of the night. Stan Peters pulled in the pass interception for the Panthers with 30 seconds left in the half. Two plays later the Panthers gave the ball back to Lindsay on a fumbled handoff that was recovered by Damon Clagg for the Leopards. With nine seconds left the Leopards moved ten yards toward the Panther goal and time ran out leaving the halftime score much lower than many expected, 12-0.
This "less than stellar" display of football was not lost on Joe Tunnel, as he made it clear at halftime that he would not tolerate any more mistakes. Also, at halftime, during Tunnel's "do better" lecture, a Leopard assistant coach handed Tunnel a clip board which indicated that Jimmy Beckham had 105 rushing yards. Coach Tunnel's only comment was "This guy right here will have 200 yards rushing tonight if we don't make any more mistakes." His comment made me feel nervous again, as if it was the beginning of the game.
The Leopards did eliminate many mistakes during the second half and I wound up with 177 yards rushing on 18 carries, but it was a team effort as the Leopards rushed for 401 total yards and 27 first downs, with no yards passing (0-4).
In the final game of the regular season Lindsay was to play Noble on Friday night, November 9, 1973. The date happened to be my birthday, and I was looking forward to a hard fought game with the Bears. All the Leopards had to do was to beat Noble to be district champs and finish the regular season 10-0, before starting the playoffs. The Daily Oklahoman reported after the game on Saturday, November 10:
Lindsay 28, Noble 0 at Lindsay: Senior tailback Bobby Simonton had 93 yards on 18 carries to finish with 1,033 yards for the year. The Leopards, who finished on top of the Class 2A-3 standings with a 7-0 mark to go with an overall 10-0 season, picked up 292 yards on the ground compared to Noble's 57. Jim Beckham, Lindsay's junior halfback, was the game's leading rusher with 115 yards on 15 carries before he left the game in the third quarter with a broken arm. He finished with 1019 yards...
The PV Democrat reported on Sunday, November 11:
Lindsay dumps Noble
Lindsay kept its football machine rolling with a resounding 28-0 triumph over Noble in a district 2A-3 contest at Burford Field in Lindsay Friday night. But in doing so, the Leopards lost the service of junior right halfback, Jimmy Beckham.
Beckham, one of the Leopards top ground gainers all season, broke his right arm in the third quarter. The Leopards completely dominated the football game after a slow start, and in the end it was the Leopards 10th win of the season.
The Leopards will now turn their attentions on the playoffs starting next Friday night. Lindsay will host Bristow in the first round of the class double A playoffs. It will be two unbeaten teams facing each other.
Two Lindsay players reached a milestone in the season's final game Friday night. Bob Simonton and Jimmy Beckham, reached and passed the 1,000 yard rushing mark. Beckham came into the ball game needing 96 yards to reach the magic number and he picked up 116 yards in 15 carries before having to leave the game with 8:47 left in the third quarter.
Simonton needing only 60 yards for the 1,000 yard mark went well over the mark when he scored his third touchdown of the game Friday night. At the end of the game Simonton went well over the mark with 1,033 yards. Beckham had 1,019 yards when he left the game...
Lynn Garnand of the Daily Oklahoman reported on Monday, November 12, that Lindsay had knocked Broken Bow out of the top spot in its weekly football poll. (The Leopards were already ranked No. 1 by the United Press International poll):
Lindsay Tops 2A in Final Ratings
After playing second fiddle to defending state champion Broken Bow all year, Lindsay took over the No. 1 ranking in Class 2A from the Savages in The Daily Oklahoman's final weekly high school football ratings of the season for all classes except 4A and 3A.
Lindsay (10-0), capping its season with a 28-0 victory over Noble, got its chance to step up to the top perch when Broken Bow's winning streak was ended at 22 in a row by Idabel, 7-0. Lindsay had been ranked second behind the Savages (9-1), who slipped to third behind the Leopards and now No. 2 Spiro (10-0), all season.
The 1973 Leopards were set to enter the playoffs as the No. 1 ranked Class 2A team and were to play the Bristow Purple Pirates in the first round. On Friday, November 16, The Daily Oklahoman reported:
Lindsay to Meet Bristow As playoffs Start Tonight
Lindsay puts its newly acquired No. 1 ranking in Class 2A on the line against unbeaten Bristow... Lindsay, after being ranked second all season, took over the top rating in its class last week after Broken Bow lost to Idabel, 7-0. The Leopards will match their 10-0 record against Bristow's identical mark and the Pirates No. 4 ranking.
Bristow, after posting its first unbeaten season in history, will be making its first playoff appearance simnce 1958. The Pirates are led by halfback Wes Hankins, who has over 4,000 yards in his high school career.
"He's a super, super back," Lindsay coach Joe Tunnell said of the Bristow flash, "but he's not all they've got. They're awfully quick, as quick as any team we've seen. They've got some good backs and they're well coached. We're going to have to control the football an d win both ends of the kicking game. They have one of the best defenses we've played against. We're ready to play but we're going to have to find some way to get a hold of Hankins."
Lindsay suffered a blow in its 28-0 victory over Noble last week as halfback Jimmy Beckham, who had gained over 1,000 yards rushing this season, broke his arm. Leopard tailback Bob Simonton will now have to shoulder most of the ball carrying chores.
As the Leopards approached the Bristow game in 1973, some Lindsay football fans may have had flashbacks to the 1964 Lindsay Leopards - who lost to Holdenville in the championship game. The 1973 Leopards were very similar to the 1964 Leopards, as both teams had a devastating rushing game. Both teams also lost a large part of that rushing game, during or before the playoffs began. An excerpt from a Daily Oklahoman article which detailed the 1964 state championship game with Holdenville read:
... Holdenville defeated Lindsay, 14-0, before a crowd of 4,000 Friday night to win the state Class A high school football championship for the first time. Lindsay, winner of state championships in four previous appearances suffered its first loss in 19 playoff games.
Holdenville used a magnificent defense to throttle Lindsay's famed running attack. The Leopards never got closer than 33 yards to pay dirt and that came on their first possession.
Lindsay halfback Ken Fleming injured a leg so badly he was hospitalized. He was hurt on Lindsay's first possession, eight plays deep into the contest...
As Leopard assistant coach Charlie Heatly noted a few years later: If the Leopards had finished the game with Ken Fleming, they would have won the fifth state championship.
As Yogi Berra, New York Yankees catcher and former manager, said many years earlier about recurring themes in sports: "It's deja vu all over again". It appears that it was deja vu all over again for the 1973 Leopards as they played the Bristow Purple Pirates in the first round of the '73 high school football playoffs.
As the game with Bristow approached that week of November, I had an arm cast on from shoulder to wrist. I had broken both bones in my fore-arm, the radius and humerous, in the same place they were broken a year earlier in the auto accident. I always thought that once a bone break healed, the bone became stronger at the point of the break. I guess not.
The Lindsay Leopards did play the Bristow Purple Pirates on Friday, November 15, 1973. On November 17, The Daily Oklahoman reported:
Bristow Spanks No. 1 Lindsay
Pirates Score 9-7 Triumph
LINDSAY--Bristow's superb defense, playing all year in the shadow of super halfback Wes Hankins, smothered Lindsay with brilliant play Friday night to give the Purple Pirates an upset, 9-7 Class 2A quarterfinal victory over the No.1 ranked Leopards before an overflow crowd of 3,000 fans.
Hankins had his moments, however, including his electrifying 37-yard run for the winners only touchdown. But the unheralded Bristow defense was the real star.
Lindsay's vaunted rushing attack, minus halfback Jimmy Beckham who broke his arm last week, gained only 76 yards and earned but four first downs in the first half while Bristow built a 9-0 lead. Then, in the crucial third quarter, the hosts made only 16 yards and no first downs. The aggressive Bristow line, led by Reggie Fields, and linebacker Steve Sly, didn't allow Lindsay a first down the entire second half until less than two minutes remained.
It was then Lindsay quarterback Danny Heatly guided his team on a 51-yard 10 play drive for Lindsay's touchdown. But Bob Simonton's one-yard plunge with 29 seconds left was too little and too late to prevent Bristow from running its record to 11-0 and gaining the semi-finals in its first trip to state. Lindsay finished 10-1...
Hankins scored the visitor's touchdown just 52 seconds after the opening kickoff, but Lindsay played superb field position football and contained the Bristow speedsters the rest of the night. Hankins still finished with 126 yards on 16 carries.
Simonton, forced into the workhorse role in Beckham's absence, gained only 39 yards on 15 carries. No other Leopard made more than 15 yards on the ground, and Heatly threw 16 times to get his 83 yards passing...
This loss to Bristow in 1973 is still seared in my memory, just as the loss to Nowata in the 1970 championship game is seared in the memories of those Leopards who played. The loss to Bristow was especially painful for me, as I was forced to watch from the sidelines. A few days after the Bristow game, a good friend told me that Coach Tunnell lamented in Drivers Education (the class he taught) that " If we had Jimmy, we would have won the game." I don't know about that, but it made the loss that much more painful...
The next article will detail the 1974 Lindsay Leopards football season...
Friday, June 12, 2020
State Senate District 43 Election
I'm independent as I decide who to vote for in the upcoming state senate District 43 election. I am a "conservative" by nature, as I believe in our traditional public institutions, such as our traditional public schools. I do not believe that liberal or progressive education for our youth is "traditional" in any sense of the word. I always support the candidate for any office, regardless of their affiliation (Republican or Democrat), who is conservative and traditional. Many candidates say they support our public schools, but are endorsed and supported by liberal institutions such as the State Chamber of Commerce. One such candidate has been endorsed by the liberal State Chamber in Senate District 43.
As for me, I'm supporting and voting for Senator Paul Scott in the upcoming Senate District 43 election because he is "conservative", "traditional" and has always supported our traditional local public schools. Please consider these facts as you decide for yourself who to vote for in the 2020 state elections.
As for me, I'm supporting and voting for Senator Paul Scott in the upcoming Senate District 43 election because he is "conservative", "traditional" and has always supported our traditional local public schools. Please consider these facts as you decide for yourself who to vote for in the 2020 state elections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)