While Lindsay had lost key players such as David Shahan, Duke Webb, Damon Clagg, Jeff Bates, Stan Everett, Mike Davis, Bobby Simonton, Danny Heatly and Jeff Ardrey to graduation, they had several returning starters in Steve Burnett, Rick Lawson, Rocky Robbins, John Sharp and Randy Underwood to anchor the team. On August 24, 1974, two weeks before the season opener, The Daily Oklahoman reported:
Smaller, Swifter Lindsay Gets District Nod Again
"Lindsay may not look like the same team it has been in recent years but the Leopards are their usual selves in the pre-season poll as the coaches of District 2A-3 made Joe Tunnell's outfit a unanimous favorite to win conference honors. In the past Lindsay has been known for its huge linemen and strong backs. There is a difference this season.
Tunnell explains, 'This will be the smallest line that we have had in eight years. We have only one offensive starter (tackle Steve Burnett) back in the line so we lack experience and speed.' All is not lost, however, as followers of Lindsay footb all know. The Leopards possess what is probably the quickest backfield they've had in some time, which could make up for other weaknesses.
'Overall, we have a very young team with only nine seniors,' Tunnell added. 'As many as 10 juniors could start on offense and defense. The talent is good but it must prove itself against strong opposition.' And the opposition is there. Comanche lost only one game in 1973 (19-7 to Lindsay) and the Indians return 14 players with starting experience and Pauls Valley, the Leopards arch enemy, has almost everybody back after its worst season (3-6-1) since 1963...
Comanche should prove Lindsay's biggest hurdle in the Leopards attempt at their seventh district title in the last eight years. Coach Burl White has outstanding running backs in Mark Presgrove and Bob Sullivan..."
On Thursday, September 5, 1974, the Pauls Valley Democrat reported:
Lindsay Leopards have speed, lack size -
"We'll be fast, but we've got the littlest team that I've had since I came here seven years ago," Lindsay head football coach Joe Tunnel said of the 1974 Leopards. "I think we'll be as good or better this year," Tunnel said, comparing this year's squad to his 10-1, 1973 District 2A-3 championship team.
Tunnel returns 25 lettermen from the team that swept through the district unscathed with a 7-0 record. Tunnel lists six of those lettermen as starters last year, and one was a part-time starter. Senior Randy Underwood will start at fullback and defensive end again this year. The 5-10, 185 pounder has started in 21 straight games at defensive end for the Leopards.
Speedster Jimmy Beckham flashed for 1,019 yards on 136 carries for a 7.4 average last season. The senior 5-9, 175 pounder scored 12 times, and has done the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. "Beckham does everything well," Tunnel said. "He's an excellent inside or outside runner, he's a good blocker, he runs back kickoffs (four for 81 yards in 1973), and he can play in the defensive secondary if he's needed."
Tunnel lost All-District quarterback Danny Heatly to graduation, but he already has a fine prospect ready to go in 5-10, 165 pound Rick Dorman. The junior one-year letterman started at defensive back in 1973. "He should be a good option type quarterback," Tunnel said of Dorman. "He has good quickness, and he's tough and durable."
Also missing from the Leopard backfield this year is All-State Bobby Simonton, but Tunnel may have found a suitable replacement for the All-District Back-of-the-Year in Johnny Sharp. Sharp started at safety last season and will probably start at halfback-tailback this year in Tunnel's wing-T and slot-I formations.
Steve Burnett is a 212-pound returnee at tackle on offense and will be counted on to play defensive tackle a lot in 1974. Beside Burnett will be Lindsay's big man, 295-pound, 6-5 Rick Lawson, at defensive guard. Starting at center will be 5-9, 170-pound Bobby Bruton. Tunnel characterizes Bruton as small and quick, a hard hitter for his size.
Tunnel lists split end-safety Scott Dickerson and tackle Wesley Wilson as his top junior players along with Dorman...
So, the stage was set for the Leopards to open the 1974 season by playing the Purcell Dragons at Conger Field in Purcell on Friday, September 6. Since 1955, the first Leopard season profiled in this series, the Leopards had won 17 games verses Purcell and had only lost two. The Leopards were so dominant against the Dragons, they had 10 shutouts during the 19 game stretch and had outscored them 514-90 through 1973. As a matter of fact, the Purcell Dragons supposedly had the better team in many of those Leopard victories, but the Leopards had usually prevailed. For example, in 1972 Lindsay beat Purcell 8-6 in the opening game, but Purcell went on to run the table by winning the Class A State Championship and finishing 12-1. In 1973 Lindsay beat Purcell 25-7 in the opening game, but Purcell went on to finish 8-1-1, tying Wynnewood, but failing to make the playoffs. The Purcell Dragons had moved up to Class 2A for the 1974 season, and certainly were seeking to turn the tables on the Leopards beginning in 1974.
The number one high school game of week one, 1974, came and went. Harold Bradley, Pauls Valley Democrat Staff Writer wrote on September 8, 1974:
Lindsay Leopards slip by Dragons, 14-13 -
By Harold Bradley, Democrat Staff Writer -
The Lindsay Leopards pulled the rabbit out of the hat Friday night with 11 seconds to play, and defeated the Purcell Dragons, 14-13, at Purcell. Trailing 13-8 with 6:28 left in the game the Leopards stopped Purcell dead in their tracks at mid-field when the Dragons gambled on a fourth down play and the Leopards had new life.
Southpaw quarterback Rick Dorman gathered his crew together and put on the best offensive drive of the night for the Leopards. Dorman guided the Leopards on runs by Jimmy Beckham and John Sharp that carried the Leopards to the seven yard line.
The biggest play of the night for the Leopards was a 17 yard pass from Dorman to Beckham with time running out on the Leopards. The play put the Leopards on the Dragons seven yard line with 21 seconds left. A five-yard penalty for delay of game pushed the Leopards back to the 11 and it looked like the Leopards would be stopped at that point, but on a fourth down play, Dorman uncorked a rifle shot over the middle to Rocky Robbins, standing in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown that pulled the Leopards from defeat.
The Leopards failed to convert their extra point when another delay of game penalty was called against them.
The Dragons looked like they were going to run away with the game in the first quarter, when the Leopards had to punt the first time they had the ball. Beckham got off a 40-yard punt that pinned the Dragons on their 10-yard line.
Purcell marched 90 yards in 14 plays to score for the first time. The Dragons were helped along the way with a 10 yard penalty called against the Leopards after quarterback Kevin Wilson completed a 29 yard pass to John Summers, the Dragons split end. The penalty put the Dragons on the Leopards 10 yard line where tailback Gerald Green quickly picked up 6 yards to the four and on third down, quarterback Wilson skirted the right end untouched for the touchdown. Jerry Merrell kicked the extra point and the Dragons took a 7-0 lead with 3:17 left in the first quarter.
With only a minute and 57 seconds gone in the second quarter, the Leopards got on the scoreboard. It took the Leopards 10 plays to cover 56 yards and a touchdown. The big play in the drive was a 34 yard pass from Dorman to tight end Steve Fuller that set the Leopards up in business at the Dragons 10-yard line. Beckham got one yard to the nine as the first quarter came to an end. Sharp netted two and Dorman on a keeper got four. Sharp took a pitchout from Dorman and skirted left end from three yards out to score. The Leopards elected to go for a two point conversion and made it good with Dorman keeping up the middle for the conversion and the Leopards took an 8-7 lead.
The lead didn't last long for the Leopards as the Dragons came right back on a strong offensive drive that netted them another touchdown. The Dragons marched 64 yards in 15 plays to score with Green going over from the one with 3:17 left in the first half. The Dragons made another mistake at this point which proved to be the downfall of the Dragons. They elected to go for a two-point conversion with a pass and the Leopards batted it down in the end zone, which left the score at 13-8.
Defense was the name of the game throughout most of the third quarter with neither team with neither team able to muster a good drive. The Leopards were stopped at the Dragons 24-yard line and the Leopards stopped Purcell at mid-field when the Dragons tried to keep their drive going on a fourth down play which proved to be costly when the Leopards took charge and drove for their winning touchdown.
Green was the Dragons top rusher for the night with 120 yards in 25 carries. (Gerald Green would ultimately rush for more than 2,700 yards during the Dragons 14 game season, in which they were Class 2A State Runner-up.) The leading rusher for the Leopards was Jimmy Beckham with 46 yards in 13 carries. Beckham is one of the Leopards returning starters from last year. He was injured in Lindsay's last regular season game, and missed the play-off loss to Bristow. The night he was injured he had rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the 1973 season...
The Purcell Dragons would finish the 1974 season with 12 wins and two losses, losing only to the Leopards - and to Spiro in the State Finals. The Lindsay Leopards seemed to have the Dragons number, as they had won the last five season-openers against them.
The second game of the 1974 season saw the Leopards play the Yukon Millers, a class 3A team. Lindsay won the rather lackluster contest, 14-12, but it may have been a harbinger of things to come... as they still didn't generate much offense.
Game #3 pitted the Leopards against the Class A number one ranked Wynnewood Savages, at Wynnewood. A Lindsay News article following the game described the first regular season loss since 1972: Savages Win, 23-14
"The Wynnewood Savages are rated at the top of the heap in Class A football and proved they weren't overrated Friday as they lashed a strong Lindsay 2A team 23-14 before a large crowd of spectators. Rain came at halftime and continued the remainder of the game. Few fans left and the home team was cheered on for spectacular running plays.
Roy Smith, halfback, took a handoff from quarterback Steve Musgrove and raced 30 yards for the opening touchdown in the second period. The first quarter had been a scoreless battle between the two teams..."
Although the game was statistically close as Wynnewood had 15 first downs and 235 yards rushing, compared to the Leopards 14 first downs and 216 rushing yards - it was still a very painful and embarrassing loss for the Leopards. Wynnewood went on to finish the regular season with nine wins and only one loss... to Purcell.
Up next would be a rivalry game for the Leopards and a chance to get back on the winning track. They would face the Marlow Outlaws in the season's fourth game. Lindsay had totally dominated Marlow the season before, 55-20, so the Outlaws should have been loaded for bear... or Leopards in this case.
An article in The Lindsay News following the Marlow game told the story:
Leopards Blank Outlaws, 21-0
"The Leopards share the lead in the 2A3 district with a 21-0 win over the Marlow Outlaws Friday at Marlow. The Outlaws were highly keyed for the game.
Jimmy Beckham ground out 147 yards in infantry fashion against the Outlaws and John Sharp went for 51 more. The Leopards drove for 256 yards on the ground and 105 in the air for their impressive victory. The Outlaws marched 92 yards on the ground and 65 in the air against the Leopard defense.
Beckham drove in for the first touchdown from 10 yards out with 2:14 left in the first quarter. Wayne Todd kicked the extra point to give the Leopards a 7-0 lead which they carried into the second period. With only 2:04 left before intermission, Rick Dorman hit Rocky Robbins for a 41 yard pass play and a touchdown. Beckham carried over the extra two points to give the Leopards a 15-0 halftime lead..."
The second half was marred with penalties, as Lindsay scored only one more time in the fourth quarter for the final.
The season's fifth game pitted the Leopards against an old nemesis, the Sulphur Bulldogs. As we noted in the 1964 Legends article - Sulphur ended Lindsay's 34 game unbeaten streak during that season, 16-14. An article in the Pauls Valley Democrat summarized the Leopards/Bulldogs contest a day later:
Sulphur Surprises Lindsay
"Mr. do-it-all quarterback Clifford Agee did everything Friday night except crown the Leopards homecoming queen as he guided the Sulphur Bulldogs to a 22-12 victory over the Lindsay Leopards at Burford field in Lindsay. Agee hooked up with split end Scott Kirtley for a 12 yard touchdown pass, scored one from six yards out and then ran two keepers for the two extra conversions. The other Sulphur touchdown came on a three yard run by wingback Willard Morris...
Lindsay got a 48 yard touchdown run by halfback Jimmy Beckham and halfback Johnny Sharp got the other Leopard TD on a one-half yard dive over the top early in the fourth quarter...
Sulphur went ahead 14-0 with 6:43 left in the first half on Agee's pass to Kirtley for the TD and the run for the two-point conversion.
The Lindsay Leopards made it 14-6 just before halftime following the Bulldogs second touchdown. Taking over at their own 42, the Leopards picked up a first down at the Bulldogs 48. On the first play at that point Beckham took the pitchout from Dorman and turned the corner and raced down the sideline 48 yards for the Leopards TD. A try for a two point conversion failed and the first half was history."
(My recollections of the writers description in the previous paragraph are a little different: "Facing a fourth down and one yard to a first down at the Bulldogs 48, Joe Tunnel went to an old favorite short yardage play - 'Strong right, blast-at-four'. The play was designed to pick up only a yard or two up the middle, which is all the Leopards needed to keep the drive alive. Dorman turned to hand the ball to Beckham who reached the second level and bounced outside to cover the distance.)
Lindsay scored again in the third quarter to make the score 14-12, but failed again to make the two point conversion. With 25 seconds left in the game, Agee scored again to make the final 22-12.
"Beckham was the top ground gainer for the Leopards. He rushed for 115 yards on 22 attempts. (It was the most carries I ever had in one game.) Sharp was a distant second with 44 yards in six carries and Underwood netted 30 yards on six tries.
Hallmark paced the Bulldogs with 72 yards in nine attempts. Agee was a close second with 65 yards in 15 attempts and Morris had 51 yards when he lugged the ball 14 times."
Of the Leopards first five opponents, Willard Morris was one of four running backs who would reach All-State status in '74 or '75. The list included Gerald Green and Chris Willis ('75) of Purcell and Roy Smith of Wynnewood, and the list would grow before the end of the season.
The Lindsay Leopards would face an old foe in the next game, as the Comanche Indians were coming to town. In 1973, the Leopards had defeated the Indians in Comanche, 19-7. Comanche had finished the '73 season with nine wins and only one loss, failing to make the playoffs - as only the district champions made the playoff series. The Indians had most starters returning for the '74 season, so they were expected to make short work of the Leopards.
An article in the Pauls Valley Democrat in the Sunday edition following the Friday night game told the story: "COMANCHE CLIPS LINDSAY LEOPARDS - Comanche moved a step closer to the district 3AA title Friday night by defeating the Lindsay Leopards, 28-24, in Burford field in Lindsay. Comanche's win Friday night gave the Indians a 2-0 district record and pushed their season record to 6-0. The Leopards are now 1-1 in district play and left their season mark at 3-3...
The Leopard's much improved football team from a week ago, played their hearts out throughout the game. Lindsay pulled within three points of the Indians early in the fourth quarter, trailing 21-18 with 11:36 to play, but the ball control by the larger Comanche Indians was just too much for the Leopards...
Lindsay scored first in the ballgame after hooding the Indians following the kickoff. The Leopards went to work on the big Comanche team and proved that they could run on them when they marchned 84 yards in 14 plays to score. It took the Leopards about six minutes to do the job.
Lindsay opened the drive with two short runs by Jimmy Beckham and Randy Underwood, then quarterback Ricky Dorman threw a quick pass over the middle to his right end Steve Fuller that was good for 16 yards and a first down at the Indians 45 yard line. Two plays later, Dorman, playing one of his best games this season kept the ball and broke through the Indians line for a 22 yard gain and another first down for the Leopards.
But it took eight more plays for the Leopards to score as the Indians tightened their defensive line and the Leopards had to grind out the yards the rest of the way with Dorman scoring from three yards out. Dorman's pass was no good on the conversion try. (The missed conversion would haunt the Leopards, as they did not convert on any of their four touchdowns, and could have been the difference in the game.)
The Leopards lead was short lived as the Indians came back with a sustained drive of their own going 69 yards in 16 plays to score with their 203 pound senior fullback scoring from the one yard line. Lindsay's David Taylor broke through to block the extra point try and the score remained 6-6, with 5:08 left in the first half...
(The Indians scored once more just before halftime to move to 12-6, again missing the extra point try.)
The second half started with Comanche scoring again to make the score 18-6 with 7:13 left in the third quarter. The Indians added three more points when Cain kicked a 28 yard field goal to take a 21-6 lead.
With 4:04 left in the third quarter the Leopards made their move when Robbins took the Indians kickoff down the sidelines before he was dragged down from behind at the Indians 13 yard line. Beckham and Dorman picked up the 13 yards in three plays with Beckham scoring from three yards out to cut Comanche's lead to 21-12.
On the kickoff the Leopards jarred the ball free from Comanche at the 50 yard line and in eight plays scored again with Beckham scoring from 10 yards out to make the score 21-18.
With 11:36 left in the ballgame, Comanche took control of the game at their 33 and just ran the clock down in 22 plays to score their final touchdown with only 1:04 left in the game. Cain kicked the extra point to make the score 28-18.
Lindsay made a run for it in the closing minute when they took over on their own 34. Dorman kept the ball and raced 47 yards down to the 19. A 10 yard penalty moved the ball to the 10 yard line as Dorman got seven, and Beckham scored from three yards out to make the final score 28-24. Dorman was the top rusher for the Leopards Friday night. He carried nine times for 97 yards. Beckham was held under 100 yards when he rushed for 60 yards in 17 attempts.
Bruce Jones led the Leopards defense with 10 unassisted tackles and David Taylor was a close second with nine.
For me, the Comanche game of 1974 was the most memorable even though the Leopards lost. We never gave up, scoring with 11 seconds left in the contest. Lindsay still had three games left to play and a chance to make the playoffs - as for the first time ever the district second place team would also make the playoffs.
The Lindsay Leopards faced the Anadarko Warriors in the seventh game of the '74 season. An article in the Pauls Valley Democrat told the story on Sunday following the contest: Lindsay Leopards plaster Anadarko -
"The Lindsay Leopards defeated the Anadarko Warriors 40-0 Friday at Anadarko in a crucial 2A3 battle. The Leopards have suffered only one defeat in conference play, that coming at the hands of Comanche.
Jimmy Beckham scored the first three touchdowns at Anadarko, John Sharp went in for one, quarterback Rick Dorman passed to Bruce Jones for 47 yards and a touchdown while Stoney Robbins took a quarterback keeper 35 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds of the game..."
(Needless to say that Anadarko was not a very good football team in 1974, but it was a good 'bounce-back' game following the devastating loss to Comanche.)
The week following the Anadarko game Lindsay tied the El Reno Indians 0-0. The Pauls Valley newspaper summed up the game: Lindsay fights El Reno to scoreless draw -
"It was a first in Lindsay! In 22 years, Friday night was the first time that the Leopards had the misfortune of having to play at home in the rain and it proved a jinx. The result was a wet football, a wet field and fumbles that cost the Leopards a victory. Although Lindsay had 18 first downs to the Indians two and 196 yards rushing compared to El Reno's 70, the weather was the only winner.
It was a bruising game on the field. Near the center of the field the footing was soft and the backs constantly slipped while turning the corner on end runs. Fumbles were frequent and the wet ball was hard to handle."
Next up for the Leopards was the Pauls Valley Panthers. An article in the Panthers hometown newspaper - the Pauls Valley Democrat, described the upcoming game: County Prep Battle Royal Countdown Nears Ignition -
"The big one. The game the season has been all about. The Army-Navy game, Norman-Lawton, Midwest City-Putnam City, but most of all, the Pauls Valley-Lindsay 'asylum series'. The arch rivals will meet this Friday night at Burford Field in Lindsay and both coaches agree the season records and the like do not matter in the annual battle royal... Lindsay's Joe Tunnel calls it a 'dogfight'. Pauls Valley's Jack Hays' state finalist '72 team topped Lindsay at Leopardland 8-6, but Tunnel's '73 state playoff crew defeated the Panthers last year, 24-7...
Lindsay was ranked No. 1 in class 2A-A when they came to Pauls Valley last year. The No. 2 ranked Broken Bow went on to take the class 2A crown, after Bristow edged the Leopards 9-7, in the first round of the playoffs. The Panthers played a credible first half game against the No. 1 Leopards and trailed only 12-0, but the Leopards eventually smothered the Pauls Valley team with a 401-79 edge in rushing and a 27-9 first down superiority.
The big names in that game are gone for the most part from the Panther and Leopard rosters this year. Bobby Simonton gained a lot of yardage for Lindsay in that game, but graduation took him as well as Damon Clagg, who played an outstanding defensive game for the Leopards. Graduation got many of the district champion Leopards, but Lindsay speedster Jimmy Beckham played well in the PV-Lindsay game and he will be back to menace the Panther defensive corps again this year..."
A quick look at the PV-Lindsay series prior to the '74 game revealed that since 1961, Lindsay had won 13 of the 'asylum' games and Pauls Valley had won only two. The Leopard dominance over the Panthers certainly rivaled the Lindsay dominance over the Purcell Dragons at that time.
The '74 game came and went, and the Pauls Valley Democrat described the action in the Sunday edition: Lindsay Takes Panthers, Playoff Spot -
Lindsay turned three Panther mistakes into three touchdowns and went on to defeat the Pauls Valley Panthers, 22-7, in a District 2A-3 battle at Lindsay Friday night. The Leopards moved into a play-off spot as a runner-up with their win Friday night...
The Leopards are now 3-1 in district play, while the Panthers ended the district season 2-3. The Comanche Indians won the district 2A-3 title and will meet the winner of district 2A-4, which should be Sulphur...
The Panthers committed their first mistake of the night to start the second quarter when linebacker David Taylor intercepted a Jay Ward pass at the Leopards 35 and raced to the Panthers 10 yard line but the Leopards were guilty of holding and the ball was brought back and 15 yards stepped off against the Leopards.
It didn't take the Leopards long to get on the scoreboard after that. Jimmy Beckham was called on for two yards and fullback Randy Underwood picked up a first down with a 13 yard play and then quarterback Ricky Dorman caught the Panthers with a perfect strike to Scott Dickerson that covered 62 yards and six points with 9:25 left in the first half. The PAT was no good.
Jimmy Beckham drove over from the four yard line with 3:36 left in the half for the Leopards second touchdown. Dorman kept the ball for the extra two points to give the Leopards a 14-0 lead...
The second half began and another bad snap by the PV center resulted in a 16 yard loss and a turnover at the Panther 41 yard line. Dorman called on Beckham five straight times and he responded with an 11 yard gallup, another nine yard run and then a three yard run, he lost one on the next play then he came back for three more and then Dorman crossed the Panthers up by passing 16 yards to Bruce Jones for their third touchdown of the night. The Leopards went for another two-point conversion with Dorman pitching to Beckham for the two points, with 6:06 left in the third quarter..." Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, leaving the final 22-7.
Only one regular season game remained for the '74 Leopards. They were to play the Frederick Bombers for the tenth and last game of the year. An article in the Pauls Valley Democrat described the action: Frederick Run Over By Leopards -
"Lindsay exploded for 27 points in the second and third quarters Friday night at Frederick to wrap up another District 2A-3 victory, 40-8. Senior speedster Jimmy Beckham's four touchdowns led the Leopard route and two of the 180-pound tailback's scores came on cross-country jaunts.
Beckham got loose in the third period with Lindsay leading, 19-0, and returned a Bomber punt 55 yards for 6 points; then followed that act in the final period by scoring from 45 yards out. Lindsay jumped to an early, 6-0, first quarter lead when Beckham scored his first TD on a two-yard plunge, and his other score came on an eight yard run in the third stanza.
Fullback Randy Underwood blasted out the two second quarter TDs that iced the game for Lindsay. The bruising 200 pounder ripped into the endzone from the five and six yard lines.
The Bombers were never really in the game as Joe Tunnel's Leopards simply overpowered them with 269 yards rushing and a crushing defense led by towering 6-5 x 295-pound guard Rick 'Big Daddy' Lawson. The big senior and sophomore 185-pound defensive end Bruce Jones spearheaded the shutdown of the Bomber running game and defensive backs Rocky Robbins and Johnny Sharp each picked off a Danny Brittain aerial when Frederick tried to go to the air in the second half..."
The '74 Lindsay Leopards finished up the regular season 6-3-1, and were to play Elk City in the first round of the playoffs. The Leopards wound up the season by losing to the Elk City Elks, 33-7, and ending 6-4-1. It was certainly a very poor season by Leopard standards.
