KEY GAME:  As far as "Big Games" in Winnfield football history go, they don't get much bigger than the 1971 Winnfield - Natchitoches game. Fans voted the game one of the top five in school history 29 years later when the first fan poll was conducted.     

     The reasons for the big build-up to the 1971 game are many. For starters, both teams came into the game with a month’s worth of expectations, what with both teams making it into the preseason Top Ten poll in the Class AAA polls and both teams being picked to fight it out for District 3-AAA honors. Both teams had lived up to that billing during the first four games, with the only loss between the two teams being Natchitoches' defeat to ASH by a score of 21-6. It certainly appeared that the winner of the game would go through district competition with an undefeated record, so neither team could depend on help from any other team in the district. Though you can't afford to think that way with four district games remaining to be played, both teams went into the game thinking it was for the district title.     

     The Tiger football program had been involved in big games throughout its football history. Three of the biggest were the 1955 win over Neville, the 1961 defeat of Ruston and the 1968 upset of the No.1 ranked Winnsboro Wildcats. One thing all of those big wins had in common was that they were all played on Winn Parish soil. Winnfield wouldn’t have that advantage when they faced Natchitoches in 1971.      Natchitoches had a team with many of the same strengths that Winnfield had. They were led by junior quarterback Stuart Wright, who had passed 1,172 yards in his sophomore season. But, he was only one of the weapons the Chiefs had in their offensive backfield. The team had a pair of good backs in Al Gossett, son of Northwestern State University head football coach Glenn Gossett, and speedster James Oliphant. That backfield ran through holes opened by one of the best guard/tackle tandems in the district in guard Joe Morgan and tackle Jimmy Marcotte. On the defensive side of the ball, Marcotte shifted to tackle and was joined by linebacker Lance Rabalais. Both were destined for All District honors so it appeared this would be the toughest defensive line the Tigers would face and thus not be a team Winnfield could run right at. As it were, one of the biggest plays in the history of the program would come in this game and that play would be a trap run straight up the middle of the Natchitoches defense. All in all, though, the two teams looked evenly matched as the first chills of autumn first began to appear.    

     The first half was devoted to the two teams feeling each other out. Both coaches called for a conservative game plan to start the game, with both staying with their ground games virtually the whole first half.  As the game clock neared the end of the second quarter it appeared every bit like the two teams would head into the locker room at half time with the scoreboard reading just like it did when the game began.     

     In close games, it is often one play that makes the difference. Often that play is the result of some turnover, but these two teams were guarding against that. The one thing that Winnfield had begun to stake its reputation on was its attention to every phase of the game, including special teams and goal line play. That attention to detail would pay off for Winnfield.    

     With just under two minutes to go in the first half, Winnfield's defense stopped Natchitoches one yard short of a first down at their own 35-yard line. Natchitoches head coach, Jim Bruning elected to punt to the Tigers, knowing full well that the Tigers had returned two punts for touchdowns. But, he had punted to Winnfield twice earlier in the first half and had stopped both of those returns. Still, he knew that Winnfield was a dangerous return team and he had been telling his team that all week long. Championship teams still get it done even when the other team is expecting it.    

     The account of the next thirty seconds was best described in an article that appeared in the Alexandria Towntalk the next day. The article said, "Facing a fourth-and-one at his own 35-yard line, Natchitoches’ quarterback-punter Stuart Wright got off a beautiful 47-yard punt that was fielded by John Wayne Williams on the Winnfield 18.    

     Williams headed to his right, handing the ball off to Alan Carter swinging back to the left. The Tigs have been doing it all year. The play didn't surprise the Chiefs, but it didn't matter. The Bengals return unit opened up the entire left sideline (right in front of the Natchitoches bench) and Carter was off on an 82-yard punt return.    

     When he got to about the Chiefs 20, only Wright had a chance to stop him. Carter had teammate Randy Parker out front trying to take care of him. Parker turned Wright inside, Carter feinted the same way, then cut back to the sideline and raced untouched into the end zone, raising the football in the air with one hand as he crossed the goal line. There were 29 seconds showing in the first half.”                           

     Jerry Keen added the PAT to make the score 7-0. When the two teams headed into the locker room second later, Winnfield carried one thing into the locker room that Natchitoches didn't - a large dose of momentum.    

     Natchitoches didn't look the least bit deflated the first time they got their hands on the football in the second half. The Chiefs took possession of the football at their own 24-yard line and put together a time-consuming 15-play drive that took them to a first and goal at the Winnfield 5-yard line. Three stabs at the line managed to move the ball 4 yards, setting up a fourth and goal at the Winnfield 1-yard line. On fourth down, Bruning sent Al Gossett into the strength of the Chief line, the left tackle position. Gossett was met by James Hutchins (E), Bill Stewart (CB) and Lionel Johnson (LB) for no gain in a play every bit as important as Carter's earlier punt return.    

     As usual, goal line stands at the 1-yard line give the opposing offense the worst field position possible. So, while Winnfield had averted a touchdown, they still weren't out of the woods. Natchitoches' drive had taken up most of the third quarter, so, when Winnfield got the ball there were less than three minutes to go in the quarter.    

     Natchitoches had too good a defense to allow Winnfield to simply pound the ball at them and again the strength of the Natchitoches defense was found right up front. Coach Payne knew that a turnover that close to the goal line on the heels of the Tigers goal line stand would be disheartening so he didn't try anything fancy.  The Tigers moved away from the goal line somewhat, but the Tigers failed to pick up the necessary yards for a first down in three plays as they only moved out to the 8 yard line. On the other hand, Coach Payne would later say that defensive coordinator Jerry Bamburgh always encouraged Payne to “do whatever was necessary” to execute the Tiger offense in such situations. But, this time three running plays only resulted in giving Winnfield's quarterback-punter, Steve Adams  a tad more breathing room when he dropped back to punt.  Nevertheless, he was still standing in the Winnfield end zone. Coach Bruning called for a block, but the only thing Natchitoches' Marcotte and Payne hit after they got past the initial containment was punter Steve Adams, resulting in a roughing the punter call and a new set of downs for the Tigers at the Winnfield 18-yard line.     

     On first down, Jerry Keen carried for a seven-yard gain and appeared to fumble on the play, which Natchitoches recovered, but the officials ruled that Keen was down when the ball popped loose. With that ruling, the Tiger faithful gave a collective sigh of relief, but that relief would be nothing like the feeling that the Tiger camp felt at the end of the next play. The second down play would be another one of those “Plays of the Century” type of plays. Facing a second and three from the Natchitoches 22-yard line, Coach Robert Charles Payne called for the "20 Trap.”  On that play, Adams took the snap, faked a move to his left to draw the Natchitoches linebackers in that direction.  He then turned back and handed the ball to his halfback, who at that time was John Wayne Williams. The play was designed for the halfback to run the ball straight into the middle of the offensive line. Being a trap play, it was designed to have the right guard and center to double team the nose guard while the left guard pulled and took on the linemen left untouched by the right guard. If done effectively, the play cleared out the middle of the offensive line. Tiger center Eddie Jenkins and right guard Tucker Watts not only executed the double team to perfection when they drove the middle guard 5 yards off the line of scrimmage, but they ended up driving him into the weak side linebacker, taking both out on the play. Left guard Paul Larson pulled and met the Chief down lineman at the point of attack. Larson drove him out of the play as well. That gave Williams a wide-open hole at the line of scrimmage, which he bolted through.     

     Almost immediately it appeared that Williams would have enough running room for the three yards and a first down.  However, after getting just past the line of scrimmage, Williams was about to be met by the strong side linebacker, Lance Rabalais, when Tiger right tackle Randy Strickland, brushed Rabalais just as he was breaking down to hit Williams. The cut to the right that Williams made just after he crossed the line of scrimmage would have been enough to leave any would-be tackler grabbing air anyway. That move was one of William’s biggest tools. Had he run straight ahead, he would have been met head-on by the Chief linebacker and would have had close to enough first down yardage. Instead, upon seeing the on-coming linebacker, Williams' planted his left foot and sprung to his right and suddenly found daylight. That's when Williams used his other biggest tool - his after-burners. Williams quick cut to the right sprung him into the Natchitoches secondary, where only two men had any chance of catching him: the Natchitoches strong side halfback and the free safety. The Chief left end had taken himself out of the play when he simply made too big of a loop on his rush. By the time he realized where the ball was, he was staring at the back side of No. 22. That cleared out the whole right side of the Natchitoches line.     Tiger Pro back Jimmy Price slowed the Natchitoches halfback just enough with a roll block. When a defender was standing nearly stationary and Williams was at or near full steam, that defender could forget about making a play on Williams. So, when Williams blew by the Natchitoches halfback just past the right hash mark, all he had in front of him was clear sailing to the goal line, 65 yards away. Williams continued to angle to his right as the lone remaining Natchitoches defender, safetyman Oliphant, attempted to close the gap. Oliphant was a track man, so he had a chance – at least on paper he had a chance. When the play began on the Winnfield 22-yard line, the safetyman was lined up 10 yards down the field. When Williams crossed the Tiger 40, the safety had maintained his position and was attempting to close the gap by angling across the field. He had waited too long to move toward Williams, so his fate was sealed. By the time Williams crossed midfield, the Natchitoches safety man had moved in behind him and it became a foot race from that point on, but Williams had never been caught from behind and this time would be no different. Oliphant made one desperation attempt at the 15-yard line, diving for William’s heals, but Williams was a good 4 yards ahead of him at the time so that too did no good. When Williams cross the goal line the night air breathed fresher, the stars shown a little brighter and all seemed well in the world.     

     The two-touchdown margin suddenly seemed like two hundred points. The Tigers knew they had defeated Natchitoches at that point, but, there was still a quarter of football to be played.    

     At the start of the fourth quarter, Tiger corner man Bill Stewart intercepted a Stuart Wright pass and handed the ball back to the Tiger offense at the Chief 24-yard line. Williams, Adams and Keen combined to move the ball to a first and goal at the Natchitoches 3-yard line, where Winnfield's finesse game met Natchitoches' power defense. Four stabs at the line failed to produce a touchdown, leaving the Tigers the victim of a goal line stand this time.     

     After that, neither team seriously threatened to score again, giving Winnfield a thrilling 14-0 win to allow the Tigers to take the lead in the District 3-AAA race and gain a large measure of statewide respect.    

     Both teams came into the game with highly publicized passing attacks and just as impressive outside games. Yet, neither team would use their passing game much. What little success either team had came at the most unexpected place - right up the middle, with William's 78-yard burst up the middle being the biggest run of the game. Natchitoches' Gossett was the leading ground gainer of the night, getting 101 yards on 23 carries, with most of those yards coming on traps to the right side of the Natchitoches line. Williams led all Winnfield ball carries with 80 yards on six carries. Keen added 69 yards from the halfback position, but it took him 24 rugged carries to get even that much. All total, Winnfield gained 190 yards rushing to out-distance Natchitoches in that category by 48 yards. The Tigers only attempted 4 passes all game long. Adams connected on two of those, with Wagoner getting both of those receptions for a total of 20 yards. Stuart Wright was the most frustrated passer of the game, throwing 8 passes, connecting on one of those to one of his receivers and finding Alan Carter and Bill Stewart on two other passes. For the game, Natchitoches added 5 passing yards to their 142 yards rushing for 147 total yards. Each of the two teams lost one fumble and penalty yards were almost equal, with Winnfield picking up 79 yards in penalties and Natchitoches getting 82 yards.

KEY GAME: There were few surprises in the bi-district round of the AAA playoffs as seven of the eight district champions won their first round games, with the only exception being Hahnville’s win over Abbeville. Winnfield's opponent in the quarterfinals would be the Haughton Buccaneers. Coach Dosher was quoted in the Enterprise as saying that Haughton "would be the biggest hurdle to date, no doubt about it.”  That wasn't just "coach talk.”  Haughton gave the Tigers some serious match-up problems. For starters, the Buccaneers matched Winnfield where the Tigers had capitalized all season long - with speed. In fact, Haughton had more team speed than Winnfield did, with three backs that had run the 100-yard dash in under 10 seconds. Tiger defensive coordinator Jerry Bamburg told an Enterprise reporter “Haughton’s backfield speed is better than that of the University of Oklahoma", the No. 2 team in the country at the time. He wasn't exaggerating. The best of them all was 205 pd. fullback Arry Moody. He was the reigning AAA state champion in the 220-yard dash. His frame and speed made him an especially difficult load to bring down. Moody had also been timed at 9.8 in the 100-yard dash. But, Haughton also had the reigning state champion in the 100-yard dash in halfback John Brewer.  Additionally, tailback Lonnie Lars gave the Bucs a third back faster than any player on the Tiger team. But, of that bunch, Moody was clearly the most dangerous football player. He had scored 128 pts. for the season and was the leading scorer in Class AAA. On top of that, Moody was the team's leading tackler at the weak side linebacker position.     

     But the Bucs weren't just a good running team, though that is what they relied on the most. Senior quarterback Gene Couvillion could hit the quick out to Lonnie Lars when teams overplayed the run or he could burn you with the deep pass. On the line, Haughton outweighed Winnfield close to 30 pounds a man. So, Haughton's had everything the Tigers had in terms of speed, plus they had more, in that the Bucs came at you with bulk across the line to wear down opposing linemen.    

     Like Jennings, Haughton had a number of players who went both ways. So, the Tiger coaching staff preached the necessity of playing four quarters of football, telling the team that if they would hang tough for three quarters, the Tigers would win the game in the fourth quarter because the Tigers would be fresher.     

     The biggest mystery about the Bucs was how they weren't 11-0-0 on the season. Playing in the tough District 1-AAA, Haughton defeated both Bossier and Jesuit, who as late as the sixth week of the season were 7th and 8th in the Class AA polls. Their only loss in district play came to district runner-up Northwood, who defeated Haughton 28-21. The only other setback in the Haughton schedule was a tie with Bethune High School, a Class AAAA school out of Shreveport.    

     The game would be played the day after Thanksgiving and though it was a home game for Haughton, the Buccaneer coaching staffed voluntarily moved the game to roomier Airline Stadium in Bossier City. The Tiger team was given a send-off pep rally at the Winn Parish Court House at 1:30 on game day and a busload of Winnfield fans and just as many in private cars followed.    

     Winnfield came into the game at less than 100%. Several key starters had been saddled with flu-like symptoms all week long, with the sickest of them being Alan Carter.    

     Defensive coordinator Jerry Bamburg came into the game with intentions of stopping the Buccaneer outside game, even if that meant that he would give up the middle somewhat to do so. To accomplish that, he spread his defenders out more than they had been spread all year. Plus, he figured with linebackers Lionel Johnson and Randy Strickland, teams weren’t going to simply blow the Tiger out up the middle. But, the one thing he knew was that he had to stop was the Haughton outside game, made all the more dangerous by the Buccaneer speedsters.     

     The Tiger defense stopped Haughton in three plays on their opening possession and the Tiger offense responded almost as if to show that they were a unit to be dealt with themselves. After the Tiger offense made it to the Haughton 48-yard line on their first possession, the first magic of the night occurred when Adams hit John C. Jones on a slant pattern at the Buccaneer 30-yard line. From there, Jones did all the rest of the work himself, eluding two would-be tacklers in route to a 48-yard touchdown reception. Just like that it was 6-0 Winnfield with 9:33 showing on the first quarter clock. The PAT was missed when Keen's kick was blocked by Larry Strogen.    

     Defensive coordinator Jerry Bamburg’s scheme designed to shut down the Haughton outside game worked throughout the remainder of the first quarter and most of the second quarter. Tiger outside linebackers Randy Parker and Bill Stewart continually hauled down Moody and Brewer just as they attempted to make that final cut to get outside. In fact, the Tigers were so intent on stopping the outside run that it was a quarterback sneak that actually set up the Bucs first touchdown of the night. Midway through the second quarter, Haughton was in possession of the ball at midfield when quarterback Gene Couvillion called his own number and almost scored, but the Tigers finally drug him down at the Tiger 8-yard line. Two plays later, Moody finished off the drive on a 1-yard plunge. Haughton kicker Rock Hensley tacked on the extra point, to give Haughton a 7-6 lead midway through the second quarter. That marked the first time the Tigers had trailed in a football game all season long.     

     The two teams traded punches the rest of the first half, and though Winnfield gave up some big yardage up the middle they accomplished their mission of shutting down the Haughton outside game. Haughton almost got back on the scoreboard before the half after a partially blocked Lasyone punt rolled out of bounds at the Winnfield 18-yard line. But, the Tigers held Haughton for short gains on first and second down and threw Moody for a loss on third down. The Bucs went for a 30-yard field goal on fourth down, but the kick sailed wide left.    

     Haughton ground out 95 yards on the ground in the first half. They had good athletes and they were fired up and that’s why they were winning. But, Winnfield had good athletes too. When both teams have good athletes, athletes cancel each other out. That’s when it’s up to the coaching staff to come up with something. Jerry Bamburg went in at halftime and made the adjustments that he thought would take care of Haughton both up the middle and on the outside. First, he called for the defense to return to the normal spread that they had used all season long. Bamburg reasoned that he could stop the outside game with his defensive ends and cornerbacks. The second move he made was to insert linebacker Lynn Lasyone into a defensive tackle slot to add size and quickness to the Tiger defensive front. By returning to the 4-4 alignment, he moved his linebackers in closer to the middle of the field to shut down the middle. No one had run up the middle against that alignment, so Bamburg felt like he had made the adjustment that would shut down Haughton in the second half.      

     Bamburg's move paid big dividends on Haughton’s first series of the second half when Lasyone, playing from his new defensive tackle position, made a jarring tackle on Moody at midfield, forcing a fumble that defensive back John Wayne Williams scooped up and returned to the Haughton 39-yard line. The Tigers then capitalized by moving to the Haughton 2-yard line in eight plays, all on the ground. From there, Parker regained the lead for the Tigers when he willed the ball over the goal line on a straight dive. Adams’ attempted run for the two point conversion was stopped inches short of the goal line, leaving the score 12-7, with a quarter and a half to go in the game.     

     The game had been a cleanly played game up to that point, but a late third quarter fumble by the Tigers proved to be very costly. Haughton recovered the fumble, which was the Tigers lone turnover of the night, at the Tiger 32-yard line. Haughton responded by mounting a 9-play scoring drive, with Moody getting his second touchdown of the night with an 8-yard run. That moved Haughton back into a 13-12 lead after which Winnfield blocked the extra point.     

     The two teams exchanged punts at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Tigers won the battle of field position when Winnfield dangerous return man John Wayne Williams hauled in the punt near midfield and cut and slashed his way to the Haughton 29-yard line. The offense came into the game with half a quarter to go and the whole season riding on whether or not they could get the job done. That offense was unaccustomed to playing catch up ball, much less fourth quarter catch up ball.    

     Winnfield’s season hinged on the Tigers ability to move 29 short yards, but those 29 yards are the longest 29 yards on the field. Keen had already kicked a 15-yard field goal during the season and a field goal would do it for the Tigers. All the Tiger offense was that they had to score some way, somehow. The game was beginning to take on a desperate quality.    

     The hopes of everyone connected with the Tiger program were immediately lifted when Jerry Keen broke for an 11-yard run on first down to move the ball to the 19-yard line. Williams then picked up 3 yards on the next play to set up a second and seven from the 16. Keen then nearly got it all on the next play when he bolted to the 4-yard line. There wasn't a single person sitting in Airline Stadium when Keen broke clear and a huge sigh came over both crowds when Keen was brought down at the 4 - one a sigh of relief and the other a sigh of frustrated anticipation.    

     With a first and goal from the four, Winnfield took three stabs at the line and barely made any progress, setting up a fourth and goal from the one. Coaches Payne and Dosher spurned the field goal attempt that if successful would have made the score 15-13. Instead Coach Payne went for the touchdown on fourth down, but the Bucs held. The Haughton sidelines erupted and the Tiger fans fell limp as the Tiger offense trotted off the field. There were just over four minutes to go in the game.    

     The real prospects of the season coming to an end crossed the minds of more than one Tiger football player during the ensuing minutes. Plus, the knowledge of knowing that the Tigers had moved to a first and goal from the 4 and not scored only made that prospect even more maddening. If the Tiger defense could hold Haughton, the Tigers could still get the ball back one more time.     

     Haughton's goal line stand meant they had to take over at their own 1-yard line. From there, the Tiger defense played their most important series of the year. Three downs netted the Bucs only three yards as the Tiger defense swarmed Haughton on three successive plays. That gave Haughton no choice but to punt the ball back to Winnfield.     

     Punting with no room to spare, Haughton got off a good punt, which Alan Carter fielded at the Buc 40-yard line. He was quickly hemmed in and he ran out of bounds at that point of the field. However, there were penalty flags lying on the Airline Stadium turf as Winnfield had drawn a penalty for being off sides on the play. With his coaches frantically telling him to decline the penalty, Haughton captain Arry Moody inexplicably accepted the penalty, forcing Haughton to punt again.    

     That gave the Tigers a chance for another punt return, which was as good as any play in the Tiger arsenal. Alan Carter again fielded the punt near the same spot he had fielded the previous punt, only this time he had a chance to hand off to John Wayne Williams. As the Tiger wall formed down the Winnfield sidelines, Williams streaked toward the same sidelines, but he was able to do something Alan Carter had not been able to do on the previous punt return - turn the corner and get behind the wall. After Williams made it behind the wall set up by his blockers he worked his way down to the Haughton 18-yard line. As a result, the Tiger offense would take over 22 yards further down the field than they would have had Haughton not re-kicked the punt. Instead of being 40 yards away from the end zone, the Tigers were only 18 yards away.    

     When the Tiger offense took over, there was just 1:24 showing on the clock. It was heart-pounding time. On first down, both John Wayne Williams and John C. Jones split wide left. At the snap, Williams ran a flag route, carrying the halfback with him. Jones ran a down and out and was wide open in the area Williams had cleared. Adams spotted Jones and hit him with a pass just before he ran out of bounds at the Haughton 8-yard line. That gave the Tigers a first down eight paces away from the end zone.     

     Adams was dropped for a 6-yard loss on the next play, setting up a second and goal from the 14. Adams called time and went over to confer with Coach Payne to hear his plan for cracking the Haughton defense. When Adams came back to the huddle, he brought with him the play Coach Payne wanted. There was but a little over 60 seconds remaining on the clock. Payne called for a pass to his fullback coming out of the backfield. On the play, Tiger pro back Alan Carter was inserted into the Tiger offense for the first time all night. Since Carter was drained from a weeklong bout with the flu, he had been held to defensive duty only up to that point. As it were, Carter would be used as a decoy. At the snap, Carter who had been split wide to the right side, ran a down and in pattern and cleared out the right side for Parker running out of the backfield. That left Tiger fullback Randy Parker all alone at the Haughton 8-yard line. Adams dropped straight back, set up and spotted the wide-open Parker. Adams then drilled the ball to Parker, who caught the pass, turned and was met by two defenders at the 2-yard line. Parker carried those two defenders and the hopes of thousands into the end zone with him to give the Tigers a touchdown. Parker was mobbed in the end zone by his fellow teammates, while pandemonium broke out in the Tiger stands and sidelines.      There have been single plays in Tiger football history that have been longer and plays that have been more spectacular. In the Natchitoches game six weeks earlier, Carter's punt return and Williams' run were equally as thrilling. However, there had never been a play as decisive as the Adams to Parker touchdown toss. “The Catch” enabled the Tigers to take an 18-13 lead in a playoff game and potentially propel the Tigers to a semifinal playoff game - the furthest any Tiger team had advanced in the playoffs. Coming as it did, in the final minute of the quarterfinal game, “The Catch” enabled the team to continue their playoff run.     

     Later in the  week Parker continued to receive praise from his teammates. Parker was not one to gloat over himself, and in a state of false humility, he shrugged off the catch exclaiming, "Yeah, but what if I had dropped the ball."      

     After Parker's touchdown, Williams caught a pass from Adams for two points to make the score 20-13. There was still 00:54 seconds showing on the clock, so Haughton still had time for their own miracle. Though a Haughton score seemed like a cruel injustice to the drained Tiger fans, the Bucs didn't die easy. A pass completion and a 15-yard penalty against the Tigers got Haughton into Tiger territory. From there, Haughton tried three straight passes, getting down to the Winnfield 30 before the Tiger defenders knocked down a final pass at the Tiger 3-yard line.     

     Tiger fans stormed the field and many of those filed into the dressing room with the team. Champions find a way to win games and there was no better example of that than the Haughton game. Bamburg's halftime adjustments paid off, as the Tiger defense limited the Bucs to just 44 yards rushing in the second half and only 17 yards passing. That gave Haughton a total of 139 yards rushing and 39 yards passing for the game. Arry Moody was held to only 63 yards on 20 carries. But, not every defensive accomplishment can be measured in numbers. Had the Tiger defense allowed Haughton to run out the clock when they got the ball with just over three minutes to go in the game, the Tigers would have never even had a chance to stage their great comeback. And, had the Tigers allowed Haughton speed merchants to run wild, the offense could not have won a scoring battle. On a broader scale, the final four minutes of the game were a summary of the whole season. The Tiger defense held Haughton at a time when Haughton could have won the game by simply hanging onto possession of the football. Then, the Tiger kick return team gave the offense excellent field position, effectively shortening the field to only 18 yards from pay dirt. Then, the Tiger offense found a way to get the ball into the end zone, with the touchdown coming on a pass to a receiver out of the backfield.    

     The offense simply played its most courageous game of the year. The Tiger offense matched speed with speed, and out-gained Haughton by 17 yards rushing, getting 159 yards on the ground. The Tigers added 81 yards through the air, with Adams only throwing 7 passes, but connecting on 4 of those. His fourth completion of the night was the biggest pass completion any Tiger fan had ever witnessed as it resulted in the Randy Parker touchdown. Some teams would have crumbled after failing to score late in an important game after driving to a first and goal at the 4-yard line, but the Tigers used precision passes, good catches by John Wayne Williams and Randy Parker and good pass blocking by the Tiger offensive line to get the win.

KEY GAME:     The first quarter was easy to sum up because neither team did much. South Lafourche lost 21 yards on their first possession when Tiger linebacker Randy Strickland dropped Tarpon quarterback Dwayne Galijour for a 24-yard loss on a third down conversion attempt.  The Tarpons second possession also failed to pick up a first down and their third possession was stopped when John C. Jones intercepted a Tarpon pass at the Winnfield 31 yard line. That play was largely due to a strong blitz put on by Strickland.     Winnfield also had the ball three times in the first quarter. Their first drive picked up one first down, but that all.  The other two possession were stopped by Tiger turnovers, with the first being a fumble and the second coming on an interception.     

     Each team had the ball three possessions in the first quarter. Though neither team came close to scoring, the Tiger offense had looked the best though. In three possessions, Winnfield had gained 56 yards and two first downs. In comparison, South Lafourche ended the first quarter with a minus 15 yards of total offense and no first downs.     

     It was during the second quarter that the field was starting to get churned up. The Tigers attempted to run wide on the Tarpons three straight times, but failed to pick up much of anything on those three downs. On one play, John Wayne Williams took a pitch from Adams like he had done so many times during the season, sprinted to the outside and planted his foot to turn up field. There was no Tarpon defender within 10 yards of Williams but when he planted his foot he completely lost his footing and fell down untouched. That scene would be repeated over and over as the field conditions deteriorated.    

    Over the course of the next six minutes the Tiger teams continued to throttle the Tarpon offense, allowing only one first down and forcing the third Tarpon punt of the night in their first four possessions.      The game turned real sloppy at the midpoint of the second quarter.  Both offenses finally got going with each moving into the opposing side of the field only to have those drives halted by fumbles. While both teams had very strong defensive units, the high number of turnovers in this game had to be attributed to the wet field conditions.  As the game neared the end of the first half Winnfield had lost the ball twice on fumbles and once on an interception. South Lafourche had coughed up once on a fumble and once on and interception.     

     South Lafourche would have the last possession of the first half in a drive that began at their own 44 yard line. With 56 yards to cover and under two minutes to go in the half there was no time for the Tarpon ball control offense, so they opened up their offense for the first time and they had immediate success. A completed pass and a draw play got the ball inside the Tiger 30 with the clock running. Then the Tarpons nearly scored when another completed pass went all the way down to the Tiger 2-yard line. With twenty seconds showing on the clock the Tarpons took one shot at the Tiger end zone, but were unsuccessful. So, with 00:07 remaining in the half, South Lafourche head coach Ralph Pere’ sent in his field goal kicker, Danny Foret, to attempt a 23-yard field goal which he made to give South Lafourche a 3-0 lead as the two teams broke for the half. The Tigers trailed for the third straight playoff game.     

     During the first half, Winnfield had the ball five possessions. Winnfield punted the ball three times in the first half and turned the ball over three times. Two of those turnovers came after the Tigers had made their only penetrations into South Lafourche territory. The Tigers were having less and less success running the football in the deteriorating field conditions as they only gained 20 rushing yards in the second quarter.  The Tigers would have to find some way to adjust.    

     Yet another fumble that was lost by Winnfield on the second half kickoff almost proved to be disastrous as the Tarpons recovered the ball at the Tiger 29 yard line.  However, the Tarpons returned the favor on the next play.  After that the two teams exchanged punts throughout the first half of the third quarter.    

     The biggest play of the night came on the Tarpons fifth punt return of the game. Tarpon return man Gerald Savoie caught the ball at the South Lafourche 28-yard line and broke through the initial containment. He then bolted up the middle and got to the Winnfield 31-yard line before he was downed; making that a return of 41 yards. There was a little over five minutes showing on the third quarter clock. That would easily be the best starting point of any Tarpon series up to that point.    

     The Tarpons took three stabs at the line and netted only 4 yards to set up a fourth and six from the Tiger 27-yard line. On fourth down, Tarpon quarterback Dwayne Galijour completed a 10-yard pass to Ivy Lasseigne to move the ball to a first down at the Winnfield 17 yd. line. Three running plays gave the Tarpons just enough yards for another first down, making it first and goal from the seven. Then, on first down, shifty running back Gerald Savoie ran the ball into the end zone to give the Tarpons a 9-0 lead with 00:44 remaining in the third quarter. Foret upped the lead to an even 10 points with his extra point kick. That was the widest deficit the Tigers had encountered all year.     

    Winnfield came into the game with a plan of passing the ball as much as possible. On a dry field, the Tigers would have likely thrown the ball more than 30 times. The field conditions had cut that total in half. But, facing a 10-point deficit, the Tigers had no choice but to open it up. Plus, for two weeks in a row the Tigers had come from behind in the fourth quarter and on both occasions that comeback was orchestrated by the Tiger passing game.     

     Often times the Tiger offense the best when they had to the most. That appeared to be happening yet again on the Tigers first possession after the Tarpon touchdown. Key plays that included a 12 yard run by Keen on a draw play and a 19 yard pass completion from Adams to Carter moved the ball to the Tarpon 44 yard line. Then a pass inference call against the Tarpons moved the Tigers to a first down at the Tarpon 34.  The Tigers were on the move. After short gains on the next two plays Coach Payne went for it all on third down when he had Adams throw to John C. Jones in the end zone. As the ball neared Jones the pass appeared to be on target, but the ball sailed just off of his fingertips. On fourth down, Carter attempted a halfback pass but that pass also fell incomplete. The Tigers gained 43 yards on the drive, the longest by either team on the night; but, with 8:37 remaining in the contest the Tigers still trailed by ten points. A touchdown on that drive would have potentially made the score 10-7 with plenty of time for the Tigers to find some way to get back onto the scoreboard.     

     South Lafourche took over and did exactly what they needed to do - run time off of the clock. Two first downs, coupled with a penalty against the Tigers moved the Tarpons to the Winnfield 25-yard line. The Tiger defense held on three straight running plays and then dropped Galijour for a 16-yard loss on fourth down to give the ball back over to the Tigers at the Winnfield 41-yard line.     

     Winnfield took over with 3:30 remaining in the game. Simply put, the Tigers had to score on this series, and for that matter, they had to score quickly.  Again the Tiger offense moved the ball, first when  Adams completed a 23-yard pass to John Wayne Williams, and then when the Tarpons were again flagged for pass interference to move the ball to the Tarpon 23. There was 2:11 showing on the clock. Adams tossed the ball to Wagoner, but the ball bounced off of Wagoner’s hand and was intercepted at the South Lafourche 7-yard line by Jack Dantin. It was at that point that the outcome of the game seemed certain and tears started to flow.    

     Winnfield quickly got the ball back on a fumble recovery, but the Tigers just as quickly turned the ball back over to South Lafourche on a bad exchange between quarterback and center - the first time that had happened all season long. The Tarpons came in and ran two running plays for no gain and Galijour was dropped for a 9-yard loss on third down. Several years later, Coach Joe Dosher relinquished his position as head coach. When asked by an Enterprise reporter about his fondest memory as a head coach he said, "Probably the most significant and memorable time in my career came in the 1971 season during the final six seconds of the state championship game against South Lafourche. We were behind 10-0 with time running out and they had the ball. Every one of our players were fighting and scrapping to get the ball. To me, that is the mark of true champions - never giving up until the final whistle blows."     

     With 00:27 showing on the clock South Lafourche punted and the ball bounced off a Winnfield football player, which South Lafourche recovered. The Tarpons came in and ran out the clock, handing Winnfield its first loss of the year.                 

     The scene that followed was a case of two extremes. The Tarpon faithful stormed the field, mobbed the players and attempted to tear down the goal post, but no Winnfield player would see much of that. At the final horn, the players and coaches ran to the dressing room, where the only sounds heard were a locker room full of sobbing football players.     

     Very little was said in the dressing room except for occasional congratulatory remarks made by those supporters who were allowed in the dressing room. Friends and family members greeted the players when they finally exited the dressing room, but it was one of those times when words offered little relief.      When the Tigers filled the bus for the long ride home, the stadium lights shown on the deserted field. All the celebrations had been carried to private homes and surrounding bars. Those players on the right side of the bus stared at the field as the bus pulled out and soon everyone was asleep on the bus. When the bus pulled to a stop in Winnfield, the sun was just coming up. The players collected their belongings and headed home. There would be no riding through the streets of Winnfield in celebration of a state title like the players had planned. And, for the majority of the senior football players there would be no more competitive football.    

     The biggest explanation for the loss was no offense. And, the biggest explanation for no offense was the fact that the Tigers primary advantage (team speed) was negated by the wet and muddy field. The Tigers were held to only six first downs, 29 yards rushing and 61 yards passing for only 90 yards in total offense. Turnovers also plagued the Tigers who gave up the ball once on an interception and three times on fumbles. However, South Lafourche turned the ball over even more, giving up four fumbles and two interceptions. Though the Tarpons offensive numbers weren’t that spectacular (135 yards rushing and 28 yards passing), they capitalized on one drive and one good punt return to get both of their scores.    

     After a loss it is easy to speculate. The biggest question mark will always be, ‘How would the Tigers have fared on a dry surface.’ It may very well be that the much bigger Tarpon defense would have stopped the Tiger offense under any game condition. The Tiger defense certainly played well enough for the team to win. The most frustrating aspect of the loss is that the Tigers didn’t get to use their only advantage – that being their team speed on offense. On the other hand, in sports, like in life, you often have to deliver at the moment you are called to and you only have one chance to do so. Though the Tigers had to contend with the elements as much as they did the opposition in the title game, such was the case of pre-Superdome Classic state championship games. The championship game and the 1971 season ended on ifs and buts and might-have-beens.     

     The 1971 loss to South Lafourche was voted the most disappointing loss in school history by the fan poll taken 29 years later. That’s because the team had taken the townsfolk on a thirteen-week trip through exciting punts returns, last minute touchdowns and plays of every kind, as well as more wins than any other team had posted in a single season, only to have that end on a bitter note.  The loss was like a death to those closest to the program, requiring every bit the same grieving process that a person must go through when facing the death of a person. In a season with so much good, it would be a mistake to focus on the worst part.