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Road trips - Every high school team has them, some are more critical than others, some are longer than others.
For the more urban high schools a "away" game might mean traveling to the next neighborhood. But, for a rural program
like Winnfield and espcially a program like Winnfield where there is no other football-playing high school in the parish an
away game means at least traveling out of the parish. This page is designed to highlight the toughest, most difficult
road games, but it is also meant to highlight some of the best wins to come on the road. Opinions vary and this is a
work in process, but this is what I came up with in highlighting some of the toughest and best road trips. What makes
a road trip tough? I considered the following - distance traveled, how partisan/hostile the crowd was, what the
field conditions were like, what was at stake (was it a non-district game or for the state title), the physical environment
the field was located in (urban setting, Superdome, remote location, in other words factors other than the crowd itself),
the size of the crowd, time spent either getting to the field or time spent away from home becuase sometimes you had
to spend the night to play an away game, and finally, the quality of the opponent you were facing. With that background
I submit the following:
The Toughest Road Trips
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1971 - S. Lafourche - using the criteria to
determine the toughest road trip, this game |
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received the highest ranking in all categories except one - road
conditions. Though |
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roads surfaces in 1971 were of modern-day standards, the fact
remains that the |
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longest road trip in school history was made on two-lane highways
virtually the |
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whole way. The game attracted the second largest crowd to ever
watch a Tiger |
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team play and nearly three-fourths of the nearly twelve thousands
in attendance |
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let their support for the home-standing Tarpons known. The physical
surroundings |
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were foreign to virtually every Tiger player as few players have
ever seen that part of |
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Louisiana. The fact that a state title was on the line brought on
enough pressure. |
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Couple that with one of the toughest playing surfaces a Tiger team
has ever played on |
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standing water and mud) and the fact that the huge Tarpon team
outweighed the |
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Tiger linemen by over 50 pds. per man average and obstacles this
Tiger team had to |
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overcome should be apparent. In the end the Tarpons took a 10-0
win. |
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1981 - E. D. White & 1982 E. D. White - back to back
trips to Thibideaux in the state |
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semi-finals proved to be a grueling experience. To begin with you
have 250+ mile |
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one way trips, with most of that being taken on two-lane roads.
The stadium in both |
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games was packed with loud boisterous fans. The Tigers quickly
took those fans |
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out of the game in a 50-8 romp in the 1982 game, but that 1982
game wasn't played |
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until after a one day delay due to severe weather conditions. That
meant one more |
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night away from home. Distance, crowd size and noise, delayed
overnight stays (1982) |
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and the fact that you were one win away from a state title game
appearance made |
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for a pressure-packed away game. |
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1982 - John Curtis - every high school football
player dreams of playing in a state title |
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game. The 1982 team got that chance and they got that opportunity
in the |
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Louisiana Superdome in the second year that all state championship
games were |
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contested in that venue. Some argue that smaller high school
stadiums offer more |
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intimacy than the cavernous Superdome. Most high school players
have never been |
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inside of the Superdome, therefore first-timers have to overcome
the "awe-factor". But, |
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one thing that a Superdome-played game guarantees is ideal weather
and field |
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conditions. That played into the hands of the 1982 Winnfield team
who had relied on |
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team speed all year long and that was demonstrated in the first
quarter when the |
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Tigers erupted for three touchdowns….all from long distance. The
John Curtis crowd |
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was not much of a factor (they seldom are) and the Winnfield fans
outnumbered the |
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John Curtis fans. But, those John Curtis players did get to sleep
in their own beds |
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the night before the game, while Winnfield was 250+ miles away from
home. Nevertheless, |
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the Tiger team played in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a
Tiger team play. Add to |
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that this this game had a morning kickoff and the pressure of a
state title on the line |
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and what you have is one tough road trip. |
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HONORABLE MENTION: |
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1917 - New Orleans - in a day before modern travel this one required one
long train trip clear across the state. |
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1928 - Bolton - undefeated season on the line, the Bears go all-out in
getting fans to the game |
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1928 - Oak Grove - this long road trip was made longer when the bus
broke down on the way. Players milling on the side of the road before a
game. |
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1930, 1933, 1935 - Byrd - arguably the strongest program in the state in
the 1930s, strong crowd support, long way from home. |
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1936 - Haynesville - the Tors in the 1930s were as formidable as anyone
and travel in those days was much more grueling |
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1938 - Minden - maybe the most overmatched game in school history. The
Tiger were winless on the season, Minden won the state title |
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1945 - Jonesboro - maybe the strongest Jonesboro team in the history of
the program |
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1951 - Ruston - should easily be considered the strongest Ruston team of
the first half of the 20th century |
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1954 - Natchitoches - the Tiger had to win this one to force a three-way
tie in the district standings and that is what they did. |
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1960 - Tallulah - long bus ride, perennial power at the time, playoff
game |
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1961 - Ruston - the Tiger program had not beaten a Ruston team in two
decades |
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1966 - Ferriday - revenge was on the mind of Ferriday as they faced
Coach Bankston, one year removed from their program |
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1966 - Jena (game 2) - after Jena spoiled WSHS's chance for a district
title, the two met four days later |
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1966 - Jesuit, Sp - first round playoff game in an impressive
re-building year, horrid weather in a college-size stadium |
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1967 - Jesuit, Sp. - a return trip to State Fair Stadium against team
predicted to win it all |
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1968 - Westlake - far off southwest corner of the state, boisterous
crowd, first time a Tiger team had played in a second-round playoff game |
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1969 - Tallulah - the eventual state runner-up in Class AA and district
foe of WSHS. |
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1971 - Haughton - the challenge of being the first Tiger team to win two
playoff games, 100 miles from home |
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1971 - Natchitoches - two top ten ranked teams battling it out for the
3-AAAA title |
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1976 - Bolton - Winnfield made it to the Class AAA state finals, but
they couldn't get past the Bears in this district battle. |
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1976 - Catholic - semi-final round game, 200 miles from home, tough
defense |
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1976 - Jennings - playoff game, 174 miles away, adverse weather
conditions |
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1978 - Haynesville - it took four field goals in overtime and few teams
come away from this venue with a win. |
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1979 - Delhi - any semi-final round game is tough enough, much less when
it requires long travel to a setting that has seen better days. |
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1981 - Jonesboro - down by 29-points just before half on this frigid
night, the Tigers staged the biggest comeback in school history |
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1982 - Neville - though Winnfield went on to win the Class AA state
title, Neville was the Class AAAA runner-up that same year. |
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1982 - Springhill - the Tiger's speed was neutralized by the rain on
this field a far distance from Stokes-Walker Stadium |
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1983 - Neville - Class AA Winnfield (David) meets eventual undefeated
Class AAAA state champions (Goliath) |
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1984 - N. Natchez - the only out of state game ever played by a Tiger
team. |
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1986 - Breaux Bridge - any time you play a team along or south of I-10
you can expect to battle the fans as much as the opposing team. |
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1987 & 1989 - Jonesboro - arch-rival Jonesboro-Hodge won three straight
titles between 1987 & 1989. The lost two home games to WSHS in the
process. |
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1988 - Ouachita - two classes higher, too fast-strong-big |
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1993 - Bossier - too much travel, Wing-T and playoff pressure added up
to a first round loss. |
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1995 - McCall - easily the most disruptive, uncontrolled crowd a Tiger
team has ever played in front of. The band and pep squad didn't even
go. |
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1996 & 1997 - Evangel - the Evangel mystique was just beginning. When
you went to a game here it sort of felt like church |
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1999 - Jena - after breaking a 22-game losing streak against the Tigers
the year before the Giants smelled blood on their own field |
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2000 - Oua. Christian - as the program was in the midst of rebuilding a
quality win over a quality program was needed. OC went on to win the
Class AA crown. |
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2000 - Westlake - first time for program to be in the quarterfinal in
two decades, travel distance, boisterous crowd |
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2002 - Independence - one of top five longest treks in school history,
strong home crowd support, playoff game |
| Greatest Distance | | 1. 1971 vs. South Lafourche - 273 miles | | 2. 1917 vs. New Orleans & 1982, 2011 vs. John Curtis - 267 | | 4. 2002 vs. Independence - 242 | | 5. 1981 & 1982 vs. E. D. White - 234 miles | | | | Most Hostile/Partisan Crowd | | 1. 1995 vs.
McCall - kids in the end zone, fans on the sidelines (all while the game was in play) | | 2. 1971 vs. S. Lafourche. A crowd of close to 12K in attendance and when South
Lafourche did anything worthwhile 75% of those displayed their pleasure. | | 3. 1981 vs. E. D. White. Loud, boisterous crowd that made their presence known throughout
this close contest. | | 4. 1928 vs. Bolton. Winnfield
was undefeated and heading to a title game appearance. The Bolton principal sent out letters to alumni imploring them | |
to attend this game. They showed up in force and in this case the 12th man helped the Bears to hang the only loss on
the 1928 Tigers. | | 5. 1999 vs. Jena. - the Giants had
snapped a 20-game losing streak against the Tigers the year before and they had the Tigers in their own back yard. | | | | Most Impact by Physical Environment | | 1. 1971 vs. South Lafourche - the programs longest road trip was also played in the most remote location.
This 273 mile trip was made on two-lane | |
roads the whole way. The final 50 miles of the trip had more water in the surroundings than solid ground. The general
landscape was foreign to | |
virtually every Tiger player | | 2. 1982 & 2011 vs. John
Curtis - most high school kids who walk into the Dome are awestruck by that massive structure. Playing in a typical
high school | |
stadium that holds 4K or less is the norm, not an 80K stadium with roof on top. | | 3. 1966 & 1967 vs. Jesuit, Sp. - Both games were played in State Fair Stadium. (See #2).
The shear size of State Fair Stadium at the time | |
(it had a seating capacity of 35K at the time) made for an environment high school players aren't accustomed to. | | 5. 1996 & 1997 vs. Evangel. When you go to a game at
Evangel you get the feeling you are playing football inside of a church. | | | | Worst
field conditions | | 1. 1971 vs. South Lafourche
- when the field is so muddy your backs can't plant their foot and make a cut you know you have poor field conditions. | | 2. 1966 vs. Jesuit, Sp. - torrential rains in the second half
knocked out power for a time and left the playing surface with standing water. | | 3. 1976 vs. Jennings - the entire contest was played in a steady rain. | | 4. 1982 vs. E. D. White - this contest was delayed one day because of horrid field
conditions the day before due to heavy rains. | | 5. 1982 vs.
Springhill - a wet turf is not what the eventual state champs wanted in their first road playoff game, but the wet field proved
to be a great | |
equalizer as the Tiger's speed was neutralized, though the Tigers did escape with a 2-point win. | | | | Most
at stake | | 1. 1971 vs. South Lafourche, 1982 7
2011 vs. John Curtis - can't have much more riding on a game than a state title. | | 4. 1976 vs. Catholic, BR & 1981 & 1982 vs. E. D. White, 2011 vs.
Calvary - the only game that would have more pressure than a title game is a semi-final round game. | | | | Largest crowd | | 1. 1982 vs.
John Curtis - over 15K | | 2. 1971 vs. South Lafourche - the
stadium held 10K and it was full and the field was ringed by fans estimated to total close to another 2K | | 3. 1981 & 1982 vs. E. D. White - the turnout exceeded 5K in both of these
games | | 5. 1971 vs. Haughton - Airline Stadium was
filled to the brim in this contest and it holds just under 5K. | | | | Most
time spent away from home | | 1. 1982 vs. E. D. White - anticipating
a semi-final round game on Friday, the Tigers left Winnfield the day before. Heavy rains on | |
game day forced a one-day delay, which meant the Tiger team spent two nights away from home before this contest. | | 2. 1971 vs. South Lafourche, 1981 vs. E. D. White & 1982
vs. John Curtis - in these three contests the Tigers spent one night away from home | |
the fact that the bus broke down half way to Oak Grove, forcing the team to loiter on the side of the road while repairs were
being made. | | 5. 2000 vs. Independence - the longest
road trip a Tiger team has ever taken and not spent the night on the road. | | | | Worst
road conditions/travel conditions | | 1. 1928 vs.
Oak Grove - by modern day standards, a trip of 150 miles one way in 1928 would have been a haul. This trip was complicated
by | |
the fact that the bus carrying the players broke down on the way to the game, forcing the team to wait beside the bus while
repairs were made. | | 2. 1917 vs. New Orleans - a train
trip to New Orleans might sound like fun, but traveling on a train, with all of the stops that a train makes takes a toll. | | 3. Any road trip in the 1920s or 1930s to places as far away
as Haynesville or Shreveport was grueling enough | | 4. 1971 vs.
South Lafourche - okay, the team did ride on a Trailways bus. However, the longest road trip in the history of the program
came before | |
there was a four-lane road to travel on between Winnfield and the Houma Region. This trip required a full 6 to 7 hour
bus ride. | | 5. 1981 & 1982 vs. E. D. White - as
in 1971 the team did get to ride on a nice bus, but virtually all of this 230 mile trip was taken on a two lane road as well. | | | | Most formidable opponent | | Any opponent
worthy of being a state champion or a state runner-up is "formidable". All total, the Tiger program has faced
a collective 29 teams | | on the road who went to to compete
in a title game | | | | 1. 1983 vs. Neville - Winnfield competed in Class AA, while Neville ended up being
the undefeated 4A State Champions | | 2. 1996 &
1997 vs. Evangel - Evangel had back to back undefeated season | | 4. 1951 vs. Ruston - arguably the best Ruston team of the first half of the 20th century and the eventual undefeated
Class A state champions. | | 5. 1930 vs. Byrd & 1945 vs. Jonesboro
- both of these teams went on to win state titles in Class A and both are considered to be among | |
the all-time best teams that school has ever produced. |
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How about accentuating the positive. Rather than focusing strictly on
tough road games, how about tough road games where a Tiger team |
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battled the travel, elements, opposing team, crowd and other forces and
still pulled out a win. Here's ten of the best. |
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1925 - Ruston - the Bearcats were declared the best team in the state.
This one ended in a 0-0 tie. |
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1954 - Natchitoches - In a game in which the Tigers needed a win to
force a three-way tie in the district standing they did that with a
31-24 victory. |
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1961 - Ruston - one of the biggest wins in the history of the program
came when the Tigers snapped a 25-game winless streak. Final score, 21-6 |
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1966 - Jena (game 2) - after losing to Jena 19-13 in the season finale,
which forced a 3-way tie in the district standings, the Tigers came back
four |
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days later and defeated the Giants by a score of 33-13. |
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1971 - Haughton - the program got first second round playoff win and it
took a touchdown with under two minutes to go to take a 20-13 win. |
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1971 - Natchitoches - voted by fans as one of the all-time best wins,
this was a defense battle marked by two lightening strikes by the Tigers
in a 14-0 win. |
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1978 - Haynesville - four overtime field goals against a program long on
tradition propelled the Tigers to a 16-13 win. |
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1981 - Jonesboro - the Tigers overcame a 29-point deficit to stage the
biggest comeback in school history in this 34-29 win. |
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1982 - E. D. White - you are not supposed to win semi-final round games
by lopsided margins, much less when you have the distractions this
contest offered. |
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Tigers win this one 50-8. |
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1982 - John Curtis - this state title came against over arguably the
all-time most successful high school program in the state and it came in
that team's home town. |
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Tigers jump to a 20-0 first quarter lead and then hang on for
a 23-14 win. |
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