Tiger Report article that appeared in the October 17, 2007 edition of the Winn Parish Enterprise. 

    This week the Tigers begin district play and will close out the regular season with three district games.  The first district opponent is North DeSoto High School.  This will be the first meeting between Winnfield Senior High School and North DeSoto High School.  The other high schools that the Tiger football program has faced from DeSoto parish are Mansfield (16-10-3), Logansport (who the Tigers were 2-0-0 against in the 1940s) and DeSoto High School (who the Tigers split games with in the 1977 and 1978 seasons).

      Among other  goals,  when the Tigers face North DeSoto they will be attempting to break a 9-game district losing streak  that stretches back to the 2005 season.  The last district win came in a 20-7 decision over Jena in 2005. The only other district losing streaks of similar lengths are the school-record 13-game district losing streak between 1962 and 1965 and a 9-game losing streak from 1951 to 1953.

     The 2007 team’s overall record is currently 4-3-0, which is already a three-win improvement over last season.  The remaining three regular season games will allow the 2007 team a chance to join an exclusive club.  The biggest turn-around from one season to the next in the history of the program in terms of increased number of wins is seven (7) more wins.  That has happened three times, including the following:  1965 (2-8-1) to 1966 (9-4-0), 1970 (6-4-0) to 1971 (13-1-0) and 1977 (5-5-0) to 1978 (12-1-0).  Of those, the turn-around from the 1965 to 1966 represents the biggest turnaround from a losing record to a winning record and represent the largest increase in regular season wins from one season to the next.  There have been three other times when the program improved by six wins from one season to the next.  Those include: 1938 (0-10-1) to 1939 (6-5-0), 1947 (3-6-1) to 1948 (9-2-0) and 1975 (5-5-0) to 1976 (11-3-0). Therefore, a sweep of the remaining district games will represent a 6-win turnaround from last season, the fourth highest turnaround in school history.

     The 2007 team has already doubled the regular season rushing total of last year.  The 2006 team rushed for 760 yards, compared to the 2007 team who currently has 1,611 rushing yards.  Likewise, the 2007 team has already surpassed the total yardage figure of 1,486 that the 2006 team gained.  The 2007 team has 1,780 yards of total offense.  The 2007 team is on track to become the 28^th Tiger team to rush for over 2,000 yards in the regular season and should the 2007 team reach the 2,500 yard rushing mark for the season that would place them in the Top Ten among all Tiger teams for most regular season rushing yards.  Through seven games the team has rushed for 1,611 yards.   On the flip side, the fewest passing yards thrown by a Tiger team in the modern era is the 277 yards thrown by the 1996 team and the 378 passing yards thrown by the 1979 team.  To date, the 2007 team has thrown for 169 yards.  The team has also fumbled the ball 28 times and lost 17 of those.  The team school record for most fumbles is 45, set by the 1985 squad and the record for most fumbles lost is 25 set by the 1965 team.

     The most wins by a Tiger head coach in their first year in the program are the 11 wins by Larry Dauterive in the 1976 season and Doug Moreau in the 1979 season.  That is followed by the 9 wins posted by Zollie Bennett (1928) and Tommy Bankston (1966) in their first year and the 7 wins posted by Pat Mitchell in 1986. Head Coach Andy Pyles needs two more wins to join the following coaches who all won six games in their first year:  Ben Cameron (1939 – his second tenure with the program), L. D. Baggett (1946), Joe Dosher (1970) and Jim McKeivier (1993).

      Senior running back Chris Williams has the opportunity to join the exclusive 1,000-yard rusher club.  To date, sixteen Tiger running backs have combined to post twenty-five 1,000-yard rushing seasons.  Williams currently has rushed for 812 yards and thus needs 199 rushing yards in the final three games to join that group.  The program’s first 1,000-yard rusher didn’t appear until the 60^th season of the program, that coming in 1968 when Randy Poisso gained 1,088 yards.  Over the next ten years (1969 to 1978) three more players joined that group, including Jerry Keen (1971), Nathan Johnson (1976) and Ricky Chatman (1978).  Since the 1979 season twelve more backs rushed for 1,000 or more yards.  In fact, the only seasons since the 1990 season the program did not produce a 1,000 yard rusher are the 1992, 2002 and 2006 seasons.   See the winnfieldtigerfootball.com website for the complete list of 1,000-yard rushers, plus other information about Winnfield Tiger football.

Report for Mansfield game (October 5, 2007) 

  This week the Tigers travel to Mansfield to take on the Mansfield High School Wolverines.  This is another series that is long and rich in tradition and few people know that.  The two schools have met at least once in each decade since the 1920s – a period covering nine straight decades.  The only such streak that is longer is the Winnfield -Jonesboro-Hodge series where those two have met for ten consecutive decades. 

      Winnfield has an overall 16-9-3 lead in the Mansfield series and holds an advantage on the Tigers’ home turf (10-4-2), on the Wolverines home field (6-5-1) or in district games (7-4-0).   That being said, Winnfield has lost four consecutive games to Mansfield, with those games being played in 1980, 1992, 1997 and 1998. That is tied for the longest active losing streak that Winnfield has against any school they have played since 1980, with the Tigers also losing the four games played against Neville between 1981 and 1984.

     Winnfield dominated the Mansfield series in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, winning eight of the ten games played during that period, while losing one other and tying one.  Easily the golden era of the Winnfield-Mansfield series came in the 1950s and early 1960s.  You could make a case that the most prolific collection of high school quarterbacks that the Winnfield Tiger football program has faced from one school came from Evangel when the Tigers faced Philip Deas and Brock Berlin in the middle 1990s.  However, During the 1950s and early 1960s Winnfield faced three All State quarterbacks from Mansfield High School.  Mansfield in the 1950s and early 1960s offered you one thing they did better than any other team in the state – a passing game.  That came at a time when schools rarely threw the ball more than five times in a game.  The first All State quarterback from Mansfield the Tigers faced was M. C. Reynolds.  He led the Wolverines to a 35-14 win over the Tigers in the 1951 game.   Then, in back to back seasons, Winnfield faced All State quarterbacks in Donald Beebe (1961) and Sammy Clifton (1962).

     Winnfield and Mansfield played in the same district from 1957 to 1962. The Tigers won all of those games against Mansfield but the 1958 game.  When the program won its first district title in 1957 the Tiger team defeated Mansfield 28-7.  From 1959 through the 1961 season the Tiger program did not lose a district game to anybody, including Mansfield. In doing so the program  won its second through fourth district titles.  That didn’t come easily against Mansfield as the 1959 team pulled out a 7-point win over Mansfield and the 1960 team defeated the Wolverines by 15 points.  The 1961 team scored a school record 400 points and recorded the school’s second unblemished record in an 11-0-0 dream season.  The 1961 team’s closest game of the year came against Mansfield in a 20-13 win.   After that 1961 win by Winnfield over Mansfield the Tigers held a 12-4-1 lead in the series.   Over the next four years (1962 to 1965) the two teams split a pair of games and tied two others to give Winnfield a 13-5-3 series record at the end of the 1965 season.  In the 1965 game Winnfield defensive end Mike Kelly returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against Mansfield.  That is tied for the longest touchdown in school history, along with interception returns of the same length by Brooks Broussard (vs. Natchitoches, 1955) and Andrew Riggs (vs. Caldwell, 1984).

    The series resumed in 1977 when the two teams became district foes again and remained in the same district through the 1980 season.   Winnfield won three of those four district games, but it was the 22-14 loss to Mansfield in 1980 that proved to be one of the biggest district losses in the programs history.  That was the only district loss the 1980 Winnfield team sustained, but in a time when only the district champions and district runner-ups advanced to the playoffs that loss in essence kept the Tigers out of the playoffs, though the 1980 team only lost one other game all season. The tie-breaker used in those days was comparable scores against district foes and though Winnfield defeated district opponent (and eventual district champion) Jonesboro-Hodge (who had defeated Mansfield), both Jonesboro and Mansfield advanced to the playoffs because of higher margins of victory when comparable scores were considered. 

     The current four game losing streak to Mansfield includes the only playoff game the two have ever played against each other.  That came in 1992 when the Wolverines took a 27-6 win.  The last two games came in 1997 and 1998 when both were back in the same district.  The 1998 loss came by a 42-35 margin.  In the history of the Tiger football program the only games a Tiger team has scored more points and lost came in the 2001 playoff game against E. D. White (42-38) and the 2003 shootout against Carroll, when the Tigers dropped a 42-41 decision.

Report for Bolton Game (September 28, 2007)

    When fans of the Winnfield Tiger football program think of other programs they would like to see Winnfield defeat they usually think of the traditional rivals – Jena or Jonesboro-Hodge, for example.  Or fans might think of schools that have won single key games (South Lafourche, Jesuit, Shreveport or E. D. White). Fans may also take a historical approach and think of schools that have been dominate against the Winnfield program over time, including Ruston High School with their 31-9-6 record or Byrd High School with their 10-0-0 record against Winnfield.  Few people think of Bolton High School as being a program that has been a nemesis to the Tiger football program, but there is a long and storied history between the Winnfield and Bolton football teams and I think of Bolton as “The Spoiler” when it comes to Winnfield football.  Here’s why.

     Bolton High School holds the distinction as being the very first opponent that Winnfield High School ever played in football.  That game was the season-opener of the 1909 inaugural season.  Winnfield won that game 5-0 and played Bolton again later in that season and defeated them 12-0 in that game.  There were few high schools playing football in those days so it was not unusual for teams to play twice in one season.  The two faced each other a total of eleven times between 1909 and 1920.  During that period the two evenly split those games, with each winning five, losing five and tying one.  I do not have complete records for several of the football seasons prior to the 1924 season so it is possible and even likely that Winnfield and Bolton played even more times in that period.  (Note: if any reader has any scores prior to the 1923 season other than the 1919 season please contact me at edmojenks@aol.com.).  I do have complete records from 1924 to present.  There would be no mistaking the domination of Bolton over Winnfield from 1924 to 1976.  During that period the two played 18 games and Bolton won all of them.  That 18-game losing streak is the second longest losing streak to a single opponent in the program’s history, second only to the 19-game losing streak to Ruston between 1941 and 1959.  It was during that 1924 to 1976 period that Bolton proved to be “The Spoiler” and three games highlight that.  The first of those came at the end of the 1926 season when Bolton came away with a 71-0 whipping of Winnfield.  That is the most points ever allowed by a Tiger team and the widest margin of defeat.  No other opponent has ever scored more than 56 points.  What made that score so unusual was that the 1926 team shutout three opponents and held all but two opponents to two touchdowns or less– with the exceptions being 26 pts. to Haynesville and the 71 total to Bolton. Plus, the teams of the 1920s were known for defense.  Other than Bolton, only three other opponents throughout the whole decade scored as many as 20 points and the collective teams of the 1920s pitched at least 40 shutouts. 

      However, it would be two years later, during the 1928 season, when Bolton would deal the Winnfield Tiger football program one of the most decisive and disappointing losses in the history of the program.  In those days the team from north Louisiana and south Louisiana with the highest winning percentage would play for the state title.  Of course the absolute highest winning percentage is achieved when a team finishes the season with an unblemished record and the only blemish on the 1928 team’s record was a 7-6 loss to Bolton.  The Tigers not only won every other game, but they destroyed every other opponent, scoring a school record 385 points and shutting out 7 of 10 opponents.  The loss to Bolton gave Winnfield a .900 winning percentage, topped only by Homer, who finished the year with a 1.000 winning percentage against weaker competition.  So, Winnfield would have likely played for a state title in 1928 had they defeated Bolton. That loss in 1928 was the beginning of losses to Bolton in eight consecutive years, which is the second longest streak of losses to one opponent in consecutive years.  The longest such losing streak is the afore-mentioned 19-game losing streak to Ruston from 1941 to 1959.

     At the tail-end of the 18-game losing streak was the 1976 contest between Winnfield and Bolton.  That is the season that the Tigers ended up advancing to the Class AAA state finals at Stokes-Walker Stadium.  However, Winnfield would not enter the playoffs as the district champions of District 3-AAA because they had one district loss and that one loss came to (you know who) Bolton.   During the 18-game losing streak from 1924 to 1976 the program’s record in each decade was: 1920s (0-5-0), 1930s (0-6-0), 1940s (0-3-0) and 1970s (0-4-0).  The two teams did not meet in the 1950s or 1960s. 

     Between 1985 and 1998 the two schools played ten times.  During that period the two alternated wins, with each winning five games.  All total, then, the two have met 39 times, and Winnfield holds an 11-27-1 record against Bolton.  That .295 winning percentage is the 6^th lowest against any team the program has faced 10 or more times.  Other winning percentages that are lower include: Ruston (46 games - .261), Bastrop (11 games - .227), Haynesville (11 games - .182), Neville (17 games – .176) and Byrd (10 games - .000).  Winnfield and Bolton were in the same district from 1973 to 1976 and Bolton won all four of those.  Then, the two were again in the same district from 1985 to 1990 and the two split those games, giving Winnfield a 3-7 district record against Bolton.

     Since the series first began in 1909 and has now spanned the 99 years from 1909 to 2007 that makes this series the series with the widest span of time from the first meeting to the most recent.  In comparison, the second longest span is the Jonesboro-Hodge series which began in 1919 and extends to the 2007 season, a span of 88 years.   Since this will be the 40^th meeting of the two schools, that ties Bolton with Tioga High School in fifth place for most games the Tigers have played against any opponent.  While the 11 wins Winnfield has over Bolton represent the 13^th most wins the Tigers have over any opponent, the 27 losses are the third most losses the Tigers have to any opponent, topped only by the 31 losses to Ruston and the 39 losses to Jonesboro-Hodge.

      Winnfield has been much more successful against every other school from Rapides parish and in fact does not have a losing record against any of the other six schools they have faced from Rapides.  Those records include: ASH (8-8-0), Glenmora (1-0-0), Menard (10-6-0), Peabody (9-4-0), Pineville (25-12-1) and Tioga (28-11-1) for an overall record of 92-68-3 (.574) when you include the 11-27-1 record against Bolton.  If you take away the record against Bolton that moves the Tigers’ record against other Rapides parish schools to 81-41-2 (.661). 

Tiger Report for Sterlington Game – Sept. 14, 2007

              Comedian George Carlin used to say that his job was to point out the obvious, like the words “jumbo” and “shrimp” not being words that should go together.  The purpose of the Tiger Report is the opposite.  The purpose of the Tiger Report is to point out facts and statistics that would go unnoticed unless they were pointed out.  That includes statistics of both the positive and negative variety.  Such is the case with several statistics from the opening two weeks of the season. Against Jonesboro-Hodge, Winnfield rushed for 445 yards as a team.  That is the 10^th highest single-game rushing total on record. In the Jonesboro-Hodge contest Eli Thompson gained 133 yards on only 5 carries. That is a 26.6 per carry average and is the second-highest single-game rushing average on record by a Tiger back who carried the ball five or more times. The leader of that category is Garlon Powell who rushed for a 30.33 per carry average in a game against Coushatta in 1983 (182 yards on six carries). Chris Williams had four rushing touchdowns against Jonesboro-Hodge, making him only the 12^th Tiger player to rush for four or more touchdowns in a game. The first two players to do that were Gabe Durham (1928) and Teal Calhoun (1929).  That didn’t happen again for 26 years until Mickey Frazier got four rushing touchdowns against Farmerville in 1955. Anthony Thomas had 10 games where he rushed for four or more touchdowns and holds the school record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game with 8 against North Caddo in 1995. The most recent Tiger back to rush for four  touchdowns in a game was Travion Johnson, who got those against Jonesboro-Hodge in 2004.

              In last week’s 54-0 shutout loss to Benton in Stokes-Walker Stadium the program sustained its widest margin of defeat ever in Stokes-Walker, or any home venue for that matter.  The previous widest margin of defeat in a home loss was the 49-point loss to Bossier in 2006 (49-0).  The most points any Tiger team has ever allowed at home are the 56 points allowed to Marksville in 1997. The 54 points allowed to Benton matches the same total allowed to Evangel in 1995 and that total represents the second-most points ever given up at home. Prior to moving to Stokes-Walker in 1964 there were only three games from 1909 to 1963 in which a Tiger team gave up 40 or more points at home.  Those include a 46-0 loss to Jonesboro in 1938 and in back-to-back weeks of the 1951 season the Tigers were defeated 40-19 (by Jena) and 42-0 (by Bastrop). Since moving to Stokes-Walker in 1964 there have been fourteen games in which a Tiger team gave up 40 or more points, but only one of those occurred the first 30 years the stadium was open, that coming during the 1969 season when Wossman defeated Winnfield 42-26.  Since 1994 there have been 13 games when a Tiger team has given up 40 or more points and six games this decade.

              This week the Tigers travel north of Monroe to face Sterlington High School.  This will be the first matchup between those two schools.  It is more common to face a program for the first time in a playoff game. There are six programs the Tigers met the inaugural time this decade and five of those were playoff opponents.  Those include: St. James (2000), Donaldsonville (2001), Independence (2002), Teurlings Catholic (2003) and Iowa (2004).  The only foe that the Tigers have faced during the regular season this decade and the meeting was the first for the two schools was Carroll High School.  That came about when Carroll and Winnfield were placed in the same district in 2001. 

              Sterlington competes in Class AA.  The Tiger football program has played thirteen games this decade against schools from Class AA or lower and holds a 10-3 record against those schools.  Most of those wins have come against Class AA Jonesboro-Hodge, who the Tigers hold a 7-1 record against since the 2000 season.  The other three wins against Class AA or lower schools this decade have come against Ouachita Christian (2000), Many (2002) and Oak Grove (2003).  The losses that have come against Class AA or lower schools include Many (2001), Oak Grove (2003) and Jonesboro-Hodge (2005).

              The Winnfield Tiger football program has an overall 19-33 record (or .365 winning percentage) against all schools they have faced from Ouachita parish.  The only two schools the program has a winning record against are Ouachita Christian (2-0-0) and West Ouachita (6-4-0).  The Tigers have losing records against Carroll (1-3-0), Richwood (3-4-0), Neville (4-15-0), West Monroe (1-3-0) and Wossman (1-3-0) and have split the two games they have played against Ouachita.