PLAYOFF RESULTS

WINNFIELD TIGER FOOTBALL PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHT’S

1919

     Winnfield won its first state championship in 1919.  In those days there wasn't a playoff system; therefore the 1919 team was declared the state champion by virtue of their record, which included an undefeated 7-0-0 mark for the season, as well as a 220-0 scoring advantage over their seven opponents.

1920s

     By 1921, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) was formed and a crude form of a playoff system was developed.  That initial playoff format consisted of a north Louisiana participant competing against a south Louisiana participant for the mythical title of "state champion". The method used to select each participant was quite simple - the team from each of those two sections of the state who finished the season with the highest won/loss percentage got the nod. In the case of ties, a selection committee of the LHSAA simply voted on who they believed to be the "most deserving". Winnfield’s 1923 and 1928 teams, both with 9-1-0 records, and both only allowing 7 points all season long, never participated in a playoff game. That is because their winning percentage was only .900.  Both of those teams scheduled the best teams around at the time, including Haynesville, Minden and Ruston.  In 1928 Homer High School, with their undefeated record, represented the northern section of the state by virtue of having a higher winning percentage than Winnfield, despite having a much lighter schedule. 

1950s

     The Tigers never came close to the playoffs during the 1930's and 1940's, with only four teams completing the season with a winning record in those decades. The LHSAA began dividing the state into districts in the middle 1940's, with the district champion getting an automatic bid to the playoffs. After that system was developed, Winnfield came closest to making the playoffs in 1954 when Winnfield, Natchitoches and Jena ended the season tied for first in the district.  That meant a tie-breaker to determine the district representative in the playoffs. The LHSAA allowed two weeks between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs to allow for tie-breaking games to be played. Winnfield was eliminated by Jena in the first of two games to settle the district champion.  Jena went on to also eliminate Natchitoches in the second of two games, all coming within a week of the end of the regular season.

     In 1957, the team went through the district schedule with a 3-0-1 record, and in the process won the schools first district title; with that title coming in the 49^th year of the program. The Tigers quickly exited the playoffs when they were defeated 27-6 by Tallulah in the opening round. Tallulah went on to win the 1957 state title.  That marked the first district title won by the school and the first appearance of a Tiger football team in the playoffs.  The Tigers followed that up two years later when the school compiled the first undefeated district record, capturing the school’s second district title in 1959.  Again the Tigers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, this time by Delhi, the eventual state runner-up.

1960s

     The decade started off with two of the strongest teams in school history up to that point.  Both the 1960 and 1961 teams captured district crowns with undefeated records in district play. That made three straight playoff appearances for the school.  Like the 1957 and 1959 teams, each of those district champions exited the playoffs after the first round.  In both of those games, the Tigers faced the same opponent, the Tallulah Trojans.  Later in those playoffs, Tallulah captured that schools 8^th and 9^th state titles.  Since there were only three rounds of the playoffs in those days, only eight teams from each class competed in the playoffs.  So, by modern day standards you were, in effect, playing in quarterfinal game when you were playing in the first round.

     Clearly one of the most disappointing playoff losses in school history came with the early exit of the 1961 team. That team was selected as the No. 1 team in the Class A sportswriter’s pre-season poll and held onto that lofty spot all season long, completely rewriting the Winnfield High School football record books in the process.  In a legendary playoff game played on Thanksgiving Day in Winnfield, the Tigers were ousted from the playoffs by a score of 12-0, despite having gaudier statistics and more penetrations than Tallulah

     Between 1962 and 1965, the Tigers missed out on the playoffs. That four-year stretch is the longest period the Tigers have gone without making the playoffs since that initial 1957 appearance. That playoff drought ended promptly after Coach Tommy Bankston took over the program in 1966.  He guided his first three teams to the playoffs. The 1966 Tigers jumped to an 8-1-0 overall mark and a 3-0-0 mark in district play heading into the final game of the regular season.  Needing only a win over the Jena Giants to wrap up the district title, the Tigers lost that decisive game, forcing a three-way tie between Winnfield, Jena and Tallulah. By this time, the LHSAA had enacted rules changes to allow both the district champion and runner-up to compete in the playoffs. The LHSAA still allowed a week after the regular season ended to allow for ties in district competition to be settled on the field. Winnfield took the first of two tie-breakers, avenging their earlier loss to Jena in the first game, but lost to Tallulah in the second. As a result, the Tigers emerged as the second place team in the district.  The effects of having to play four games in a two- week period was apparently too much as the Tigers were defeated by the Jesuit Flyers of Shreveport by a score of 39-7. The Flyers went on to lose a close 7-0 decision to Central High School in the title game.  The following year, Winnfield again played Jesuit in the first round of the playoffs and were soundly defeated by a score of 47-13.  After that win, the Flyers went on to win the Class AA state title with a 34-33 win over Lake Charles. 

    Winnfield was right back in the playoffs in 1968, making that the third straight year the Tigers had gained a playoff berth and the eighth playoff appearance by the school. The Tigers made a dramatic entry into the playoffs when they knocked off the undefeated, No. 1 ranked Winnsboro Wildcats in the final district game of the season to claim the district crown. The Tigers faced Northwood in the first round of the playoffs and the Tigers accomplished something no other Winnfield team had ever done - win a playoff game. The Tiger knocked off Northwood at Stokes-Walker Stadium by a score of 7-0 to move on to the quarterfinal round.  The Tigers were sent home the following week when the passing attack of the Westlake Rams proved to be too much for Winnfield in a 27-20 win. 

1970s

     The 1971 team secured the school’s fifth district title, ending the regular season with the program’s third undefeated regular season record. The 1971 bunch gave the townspeople something no other team had ever delivered - a true title run.  One-by-one the Tigers knocked all playoff challengers, winning three straight playoff games and landing a spot in the 1971 Class AAA state playoffs. The team used speed, quickness and finesse in a balanced offensive attack and combined that with arguably the strongest defensive unit and return unit in the history of the program. Facing a much larger South Lafourche Tarpon team on their home turf, the 1971 team made the longest trip a Tiger team has ever had to make.  The Tigers were slowed by the mud and slop of a field dampened by rains the morning of the game and the season ended with a heart breaking 10-0 loss. Nevertheless, the 1971 team became the first Tiger team to win more than one playoff game and the first team to compete in a state championship game.

     The Tigers were right back in the playoffs the next two seasons, but both the 1972 and 1973 teams exited in the first round. After a two-year absence, the program was back in the playoffs when the 1976 team gained a playoff berth as the district runner-up and then peaked at just the right time. The 1976 team rolled through the quarter-finals and semi-finals with 20+ point margins of victory to claim a spot in the Class AAA finals against an old playoff nemesis, the Jesuit Flyers. The game would be contested in Stokes-Walker Stadium, making that the first state championship game played on Winn Parish soil.  Playing before a record crowd, the two teams gave the fans a defensive battle. As is often true in such games, one play made all of the difference. Jesuit only completed 1 pass all night, but that pass was a 65-yard screen pass that went for a touchdown and the only score of the night by either team. 

     High school football programs aren't built in one season. After going nearly 50 years without a single playoff appearance, the school played in eight playoff games between 1957 and 1968, compiling a 1-7 record in the process.  Between 1971 and 1976, the school dramatically improved their playoff success going 6-4 in the four playoff appearances and competing in two state championship games.

     The 1978 team completed the schools fourth undefeated regular season, using a high-powered offensive attack and a defense that was strong up front and backed by a young but very talented linebacking crew and defensive backfield.  That offense, which had been nearly unstoppable through the first twelve games of the season, came up 1 point short in a quarter-final loss to St. Louis.  The following season, the Tigers were right back in the playoffs. The 1979 team combined with the 1978 to become the first back-to-back teams to advance past the first round of the playoffs. After moving all the way to the semi-finals, the1979 Tigers were ousted from the playoffs by one of the strongest programs in the state at the time - the John Curtis Patriots.  The Tigers hosted the semi-final game in Stokes-Walker but the Patriots prevailed in taking a 21-7 decision.

1980s

     After dropping the season opener in 1981 to the Class AAAA Neville Tigers, the Class AA Tigers reeled off 8 straight wins in the regular season in taking the schools 7^th district title.  The team had to stage the greatest comeback in school history to win that district crown, when they overcame a 29-0 deficit in defeating Jonesboro 34-29 in the final game of the regular season. The 1981 team then reeled off three straight playoff wins. The team was full of athletes, but they couldn't overcome E. D. White, who took a hard fought 15-7 win in the semifinals, one game short of the "promised land".

     Like the season before, the 1982 team dropped the season opener to Neville (the eventual AAAA runner-up) and like the season before the game was a blow-out. But, it was the 1982 team who would administer the blowouts during the remainder of the regular season, as the team rolled over 7 straight opponents, averaging over 40 pts. per game in the process. Like the season before, the team won the district title, with the three district wins giving the school a 24-1 district mark over the 1978 - 1982 time period.

     After rolling to an easy 39 point first round playoff victory, the Tigers got a scare in the second round of the playoffs when they narrowly escaped with a 14-12 win over Springhill on a damp November night.  The quarterfinal and semifinal games wouldn't be nearly as close, as the Tigers spanked Ferriday 34-12 in the quarter-finals to set up the Tigers third appearance in the semifinals in four years.  This time, the Tigers stormed their way into the 1982 title game by annihilating E. D. White in a 50-8 blowout, making that the most points and widest margin of victory ever posted by a Tiger team in a playoff game up to that time. 

     By 1982, all championship games were held in the Louisiana Superdome. Winnfield went to the 1982 title game to face the John Curtis Patriots, the two-time defending Class AA state champions. The Tigers wasted no time in showing their proficiency in running the Veer offense, scoring the first three times they had the ball in jumping to a 21-0 first quarter lead. The Patriots staged a comeback, getting as close as 21-14, but a 25-yard field goal mid-way through the fourth quarter sealed the victory and gave the Tigers the schools first state championship won on the playing field.

     In the 74^th year of the program, the school had reached the pinnacle. The win was, in many respects, the culmination of the steady momentum in the playoffs that started with the 1957 team’s capturing of the school’s first district champion.  After making 14 playoff appearances between 1959 and 1982, the school finally won a title on the field. You have to crawl before you can walk.  After gaining playoff berths twice in the 1950's and five times in the 1960's, the bar was raised. Simply getting to the playoffs wasn't enough. The program knocked on the door twice in the 1970's, getting to the state finals twice and losing both times. After going nearly 50 years without playing in a single playoff game, the school played in 16 playoff games during the 1970's alone, going 10-6 in those games.

     Between 1957 and 1982, 15 of 25 teams made the playoffs. Tradition and winning breeds an expectation of winning and that is what paved the way for the 1982 team, who grabbed the opportunity they were given in winning the 1982 AA state crown.  After winning the title in 1982, Winnfield had an overall winning record in playoff games, going 20-14 in playoff games from 1957 to 1982.     

     Before the decade was over, the Tigers would be back in the playoffs five times. But the Tigers went one game and out in each of those five games, with none of those losses coming against teams who advanced even as far as the semi-finals.  As the 1980's closed, Winnfield football had produced 20 playoff teams in the 33 year period from 1957 to 1989. The five straight playoff loses after the 1982 state championship game evened the school playoff record at 19-19.

1990s

     Before the decade was over, all but two teams would make the playoffs.  The 1991 team became the first team since the state champion 1982 team to win a playoff game when they defeated Springhill 19-0 in the first round.  The Tigers hopes of advancing in the playoffs came to a halt in the second round, however, when Ferriday handed the Tigers a 28-6 loss.  Two first round losses in 1992 and 1993 also knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs, with the 42-12 defeat to Bossier in the 1993 first round game being the second highest points the Tigers had ever given up in the playoff. 

     The 1994 team posted the schools fifth undefeated regular season record, averaging over

30 points per game with a staunch rushing attack.  Winnfield seemed primed for a playoff run when they rolled over Benton 55-28 in the first round of the playoffs.  That run came to a crashing halt the following week, when Springhill handed Winnfield its worst home playoff loss up to that time in taking a 44-6 decision in Stokes-Walker Stadium, giving the 1994 Tigers a 11-1-0 record for the year.

     The 1995 team was right back in the playoffs and fans got to see a virtual one-man show in the opening round of the playoffs. In that opening game, junior running back Anthony Thomas had a career game in scoring 8 touchdowns by rush and rushing for 486 yards in helping the Tiger take a 53-27 playoff win over North Caddo. That offensive attack was completely shut down the following week when Jennings held Thomas to under 80 yards rushing in route to a 20-0 defeat of the Tigers.

    After winning the schools third consecutive district championship in 1996, the Tigers were ousted from the playoffs in the first round by a Josh Reed-led Rayne bunch by a score of 40-27.  Reed rushed for 272 yards in posting the most rushing yards ever gained against the Tigers by an opposing back.  The following year, the Tiger faced the No. 1 rated Evangel Eagles in the first round and suffered the schools worst playoff loss ever in dropping a 62-0 decision to the Eagles. Winnfield closed out the century by taking a first round playoff win over Lake Charles Boston before being completely shutdown by the Notre Dame Pioneers in the second round of the 1999 playoffs.

2000s

     Winnfield began the new century by going 10-0-0 during the first regular season of the decade. The first round playoff game was a cake-walk, with Winnfield taking a 41-13 win over Bunkie.  But, the second round game, played in Stokes-Walker Stadium, was a thriller.  St. James, Winnfield’s opponent in that regional round, scored in the final seconds of the game to pull within 1 point of the Tigers.  However, the Tigers preserved a 20-19 win when they kept St. James out of the end zone on their extra point try.  The Tigers were soundly defeated the following week in Calcasieu parish when the Westlake Rams defeated Winnfield 41-6 on a bitterly cold night.

   After going 9-1 in the 2001 regular season and taking the school’s third consecutive district title, the Tigers opened up the playoffs with a resounding 34-6 defeat of Donaldsonville in Stokes-Walker Stadium. The following week, E. D. White came to Winnfield and fans from both sides left Stokes-Walker Stadium exhausted.  Winnfield jumped to an a seemingly insurmountable 18-0 lead in the first half, but E. D. White worked their way back into the game with second and third quarter scores.  Then midway through the fourth quarter, the Cardinals took a 35-31 lead and had Winnfield facing a fourth and long from the Winnfield 27 yard line on what appeared to be Winnfield’s final series. With less time on the clock than it takes to boil water, Winnfield quarterback John C. Jones dropped back and heaved a pass to a streaking Antwun Barnes who hauled in the pass just past the mid-field stripe and outran the E. D. White secondary to the end zone. In dramatic fashion, Winnfield jumped to a 38-35 lead with under a minute to go in the contest. The Cardinals got a good return on the ensuing kickoff, but they almost gave the game away when a first down pass hit a Winnfield defender in the hands. That near interception was dropped, giving E. D. White one more chance to work their own miracle. That is exactly what they did when they too scored on a long pass play to take a 42-38 win over Winnfield.

     Winnfield went 2-3 in district play in 2002, but thanks to the playoff format that existed at the time 32 teams made the playoffs from each classification. Winnfield’s draw in the first round was Independence High School, located in the far southeastern corner of the state. Winnfield held their own, but dropped out of the playoffs with a 29-21 loss.

     It is not too often that Winnfield gets to play a rival in the playoffs.  Coming into the 2003 season Winnfield had never faced a near-by rival in the playoffs. That all changed in the first round of the 2003 playoffs when Winnfield entertained long-time rival Jena High School from neighboring LaSalle parish.  The two had met two weeks prior with Winnfield handing Jena a 41-38 defeat.  It is said that it is difficult to defeat a team twice in the same season. Somebody forgot to tell the 2003 Tigers that because the Tigers scored more points than any previous Tiger playoff team had ever scored in taking a 56-30 win over Jena.  That earned the team a regional round home playoff game against Teurlings-Catholic High School out of Lafayette.  Winnfield’s playoff hopes came to a halt as the visitors handed Winnfield a 24-14 defeat.

     The Tigers reached the playoffs for the 6^th straight year in 2004.  With a #22 ranking in the power polls the Tigers had to travel in the first round to Iowa High School, located near Lake Charles Louisiana.  The Tigers got no production on offense as the team scored nary a point, while the defense gave up 43 points.
     After a two-year absence, the Tigers were back in the playoffs in 2007 as the 26th ranked team in the power rankings.  The Tigers traveled to Jennings to take on the 7th ranked Bulldogs.  Jennings prevailed in a 37-7 win. In 2008, #21 seed Winnfield traveled to take on the #12 seed Rayville Hornets and were soundly defeated by a 46-19 margin