1950-1959

Thomas Straughan (1951-1952, B; 1957-1963, Assistant Coach)     Starter at

running back for two seasons.  Scored 30 points as a junior and was the team’s

leading scorer his senior season with 66 points.  That is the second most single-

season points scored by any player from the pre-1960 era.  During his junior

campaign he rushed for five touchdowns, with the longest being an 82-yarder

against Jena.  He career game came against Jena in 1952 when he rushed for three

touchdowns, with one covering 46 yards and another going 31 yards.  During his

senior season he rushed for seven other touchdowns and scored on a 30-yard

interception return. All total Straughan scored fourteen total touchdowns, which is

third most of any player from the pre-1960 era. Earned Honorable Mention All

State pick in 1951. Was the second leading vote-getter at running back by fans

voting on the 2000 All Century Poll for the Old Timers Squad. Returned as

an assistant coach from 1957 to 1963. Was the first head coach when Winnfield

Junior High School was established.  Served in that capacity two years, with his

first ninth grade team going 10-0-0 and his second and final team going 5-2-0.

Conrad Swilley (1950-1952, Kicker, Back & Quarterback)     Alternated at

back and quarterback his sophomore season, but moved to running back his junior

season.  Was the starting quarterback his senior season before his season ended

with an injury.  As a sophomore he rushed for one touchdown, ran an interception

back 35 yards for a touchdown and booted  7 of 11 PAT tries. The following

season he added one more rushing touchdown to his total and converted 3 of 4 in

extra point kicks. During his senior season he rushed for two more touchdowns,

including a career-high 60-yarder vs. Farmerville. Swilley also had a 60 yard

interception return for a touchdown in 1952 and converted 10 of 13 extra point

tries.  His career kicking total was 20 of 28. Up to that point in the Tiger program

only Swilley’s brother Durwood had converted more career extra point kicks with

22. Swilley was the second-leading vote-getter as a kicker by both the Expert

Panel and the fans voting on the 2000 All Century Poll for the Old Timers Squad.

He trailed his brother Durwood in the Expert Panel poll results and C. C. Carter in

the fan poll.  He was ranked in the Top Ten at running back by the fans voting in

the same poll.

Hershel Machen (1953-1954, Quarterback)     Quarterback on the 1954

squad. Rushed for two touchdowns, and his 96 yard punt return against

Farmerville in 1954 is the longest punt return for a touchdown in the history of the

program. Machen was ranked third at the quarterback position by the Expert Panel

voting on the 2000 All-Century Poll. He became the second head football coach at

the Winnfield Junior High School in 1966, taking over for Thomas Straughan (1951-

1952). In the remaining years of the 1960s his 9th grade teams went, 7-1-0 (1966), 7-

2-1 (1967), 6-0-1 (1968) and 8-1-0 (1969), for a combined record of 28-4-1 in the

1960s. Machen left the Jr. High program after the 1973 season to accept the position

of Principal at Winnfield Senior High School.  During his tenure, he compiled an

amazing 62-8-2 record (.875) at the Jr. High level.

Stanley Bass (1953-1955, Center & E)     Starter at center his sophomore and

junior seasons and then moved to end his senior season. Earned honorable mention

All State honors at center in 1954 and at end in 1955. Was a third team All District

performer his junior year at center and a second team All District selection his

senior year at end. Was the second-leading vote getter at that center slot by the fans

voting on the All-Century poll and the top ranked end by the fans in that poll. The

Expert Panel of the All Century poll made him the second ranked end.  His vote total

by the fans for the end position tied A. T. Drewitt (1925 1927) for highest total

regardless of position.

Johnny Newman (1954-1955, T)     Two-year starter at tackle.  Earned

Honorable Mention All State honors as a junior.  Was a third team All District

performer his junior year and a second team All District selection his senior year.

Newman the fourth-highest vote getter at tackle by the Expert Panel voting on the

2000 All-Century Poll for the Old Timers Squad and was the second-leading

vote getter at tackle by the fans voting on the same poll.

Mickey Frazier (1955-1956, B)   Starter in the Tiger backfield for two seasons. In the opening game of the 1955 season the Tiger pulled off arguably the biggest upset in the history of the program when Winnfield defeated Neville by a score of 13-12. Neville went on to win that schools first state title later that season. Frazier played a pivotal role in that win. The Tigers scored on an 80-yard pass from Dale Reeves to Brooks Broussard on the final play of the game to secure that win; however, that run only tied the score at 12-all. Junior running back Mickey Frazier got the call on the crucial extra point try and he responded by bowling into the end zone to secure the Tiger win. Earlier in the game Frazier had scored the Tigers other touchdown, that coming on a 15-yard run.  Frazier would score six more touchdowns in 1955 and end the season with 43 points. His other six-pointers came by way of a 52-yard fumble return (vs. Ruston) and five rushing touchdowns.  He became the third player in the history of the program to record four rushing touchdowns in a single game when he turned that feat against Farmerville in 1955.  One of those four touchdowns went for 60 yards and another was a 30-yarder. In 1956 Frazier added four more rushing touchdowns, one more pass reception for a score and one more PAT run to his career total. That gave him eleven rushing touchdowns and thirteen total touchdowns. His career total for touchdowns was 13.  That total is tied for fourth place among players from the pre-1960 era. Only Hovey Harrell (16 between1930-1933) and Dan Carr (14 between 1948-1950) rushed for more touchdowns in a career in the pre-1960 era.  Frazier was an Honorable Mention All District pick in 1956. 

Hank Ford (1956, T & G)     Tackle on the 1956 squad who earned honorable

mention All State honors. Earned first team All District honors at guard in 1956,

making him one of only ten players from the decade to earn first team All District

honors.  Ford was the leading vote-getter at tackle by fans voting on the 2000 All

Century Poll for the Old Timers Squad and placed in the Top Ten by the Expert

Panel list of tackles from the pre-1960 era.

Brooks Broussard (1955-1956, QB & B)     Quarterback on the 1955 squad

who was moved to running back his senior season.  Broussard is the first Tiger

quarterback to be selected as a first team All District performer at that position.

Earned honorable mention All District honors the next year at back. Received

honorable mention votes on the All State squad both his junior and senior season.  

In the first game of his junior season the Tiger pulled off a 13-12 upset of Neville in

one of the program’s biggest upsets of all time.  Broussard was under center on the

final play of the game with the Tigers trailing by six.  After taking the snap he

pitched the ball to back Dale Reeves who ran to his right, stopped and turned and

tossed the ball back to Broussard rolling out of the backfield to his left.  After

catching the pass Broussard ran 80 for a touchdown as time ran out. That tied the

score and the Tigers also converted on the extra point to take the win.  Without

question that is one of the most decisive pass receptions in the history of the

program.  Later that season Broussard scored two more rushing touchdowns, but

it was against Natchitoches in 1955 that he made history when he returned an

interception 100 yards for a touchdown.  That remains tied for the longest

touchdown run (of any kind), and is the longest interception return in school

history, though that mark has been tied twice, first in 1965 by Mike Kelley and

then in 1984 by Andrew Riggs. In 1956 Broussard rushed for six touchdowns,

with his longest touchdown run being an 81-yarder against Natchitoches. 

Hoss Newman (1956-1965, Head Coach)     Took over a program that had losing seasons six of the seven seasons prior to his coming and a program that had never played in a playoff game.  Newman went 5-5-0 his first season (1956), but he took his second team to the program’s first district title and first playoff game in 1957. After a one year drop-off in 1958 his 1959, 1960 and 1961 teams won consecutive district titles, going 13-0-0 in district play during that time. His 1960 team broke a 19-year losing streak to Ruston with a 13-13 tie and the 1961 went one step further by defeating Ruston 21-6 in 1961 to break a twenty-five year streak of non-wins (losses and ties). Both his 1960 and 1961 teams were ranked No. 1 in the LSWA poll and his 1961 team posted an undefeated regular season. When Newman left the program after the 1965 season he held the record for most wins (53), longest tenure (10 years) and most games coached (108) in the Tiger football program. He sent four teams to the playoffs and his overall record at Winnfield was 53-50-5.  Other than Alwin Stokes (1919-1923, 1934-1935) he is the only coach between 1909 and 1965 who served the program more than one year and left with a winning record.

Darrell Mayes (1956-1957, G & T)    Considered one of the best lineman in the

history of the program and particularly of the pre-1960 era. Was one of only two

players to earn first team All State honors during the 1950s when he achieved that

honor at a guard position his junior season. He was a two-year starter in the line,

earning first team All District honors at guard his junior year and first team All

District honors at tackle his senior year. Mayes is the third-highest vote getter at

guard by the Expert Panel on the 2000 All Century Poll for the Old Timers Squad.

Was also the third-highest vote getter at guard by the fans voting on the same poll.

Tommy Wyatt (1958-1959, E)     During the 1959 season he, along with

quarterback Mike Tinnerello, ushered in the most prolific passing attack the

program had ever seen. Wyatt caught nine touchdown passes in 1959 to break the

single season record of five which had been set in 1936 by David Harper. That

single-season total also established a career mark for touchdown catches; a record

that lasted until 1973. His single season mark stood until 1982. He was the first

receiver to gain 400 yards in a single season in 1959 when he finished the year with

458 yards.  Wyatt caught touchdown passes in seven of eleven regular season

games in 1959, including five games in a row at one point. That consecutive string

of touchdown catches has only been matched by one player, that coming in 1989

when John Michael Spangler also caught touchdown passes in five consecutive

games. Wyatt was the leading scorer of the 1959 team, ending the year with 56

points. That is the third-highest single season total of the pre-1960 era. He is one

of only seven players from that era to surpass the 50-point mark for a season.

Wyatt was a first team All District and All State player in 1959. He was top vote

getter at end by the fans and received the second most votes at that same position

by the Expert Panel.  That vote was for the Modern-Day era of Tiger football.

1960-1969

Wayne McFarland (1957-1961, T)    Four-year starter at tackle and the first multi-year first team All District selection.  McFarland earned All District honors in 1959, 1960 and 1961 and was an honorable mention All State selection in 1959.  He was a two-way player in both the offensive and defensive lines. McFarland was the third-leading vote-getter at tackle the Expert Panel voting on the 2000 All Century Poll for the Modern Squad; though he received the most first place votes from among that group.  He was the leading vote-getter at tackle by fans voting in that poll and in fact the only player at any position who received either more first place votes or overall votes by the fans was running back Anthony Thomas.

Don Jones (1957-1961, G)    Jones is the second member of the 1959 to 1961 line listed in this Who’s Who list.  He too was well decorated, earning first team All State honors in 1961 (the only player that season to be named to a first team slot and the only lineman from this group to earn first team honors).  Jones was a first team All District selection in 1960 and 1961.  Like his teammate McFarland, he was the third-leading vote getter at guard by the Expert Panel voting on the 2000 All Century Poll for the Modern Squad and was the leading vote getter at guard by fans voting in that.  Jones was a two player in both the offensive and defensive lines. He is the son of J. D. Jones (1933-1935), who is listed in this list and in fact they comprise the only father-son combination in this list.

Carroll Long (1958-1961, C, LB & PK)    Long is the third and final member of the 1959 to 1961 offensive line cited in this list. He was a first team All District selection at center in 1961. Long was the place kicker for the 1960 and 1961 squads, where he converted 46 of 66 extra point tries.  Established a new single season record for PAT kicks by converting 29 ties in 1961.  Ended his career with the most PAT kicks.  Long also kicked the first field goal in the history of the program.  That came during the 1961 season and was a 32 yarder against Jena. The fans voting on the 2000 All Century Poll made him their top choice at center, while the Expert Panel tabbed him their second choice. Long was a linebacker on the defensive side of the ball.

Mike Tinnerello (1959-1961, QB, Punter, DB)  Versatile player who started at quarterback three years, played at a fullback position some during his senior season, played a defensive back position on that side of the ball and was the team punter for three seasons. Tinnerello was the first Tiger QB to throw for double-digit touchdown passes in a single season; that coming in 1959 when he tossed 13 touchdown passes. That shattered the previous single-season record of five. He is the first Tiger QB to throw for double-digit touchdown passes in a single season; that coming in 1959 when he tossed 13 touchdown passes.  Prior to that, the single-season record was 5 touchdown passes. He was the first Tiger QB to throw for 150 yards in a game, that coming in 1961 when he threw for an even 150 against Mansfield. He threw at least one touchdown pass in every one of the eleven regular season games and is the only Tiger quarterback to have ever done that.  His string of touchdown passes was snapped in the playoff game of 1959, but his streak of 11 straight games with at least one touchdown pass is the longest in the program. Tinnerello rushed for 16 touchdowns, with his two longest being 75-yarder against Jena in 1961 and a 60 yarder against Ville Platte that same year.  Tinnerello is one of only six Tiger quarterbacks who have touchdown runs of 50 or more yards and he joins Greg Powell (2) and Thomas King (6) as the only Tiger quarterbacks with multiple touchdown runs covering fifty or more yards. In 1961 Tinnerello also returned two interceptions for touchdowns, with those covering 45 and 37 yards. He was the second-leading vote getter at quarterback by fans voting in that poll.  He was a first-team All District selection at quarterback his sophomore and junior seasons and a second team selection his senior season.  He was an honorable mention All State at quarterback in 1959.  

Mike Kelly (1965, DE)   Tied the school record for longest touchdown run with a 100 yard interception return against Mansfield in 1965.

Tommy Bankston (1966-1969, Head Coach)   Took over program as head coach in 1966 and had immediate success. After two straight losing seasons prior to his coming, his first team posted a 9-4-0 record and secured a playoff spot as the district runner.  The seven win improvement between 1965 and 1966 is the biggest turnaround from one season the next in the history of the program. His second and third teams were back in the title hunt, with his 1968 team knocking off district foe and No. 1 ranked Winnsboro to secure the district title.  Coach Bankston’s 1968 team became the first Winnfield Tiger football team to win a playoff game When they defeated Northwood of Shreveport 7-0 in Stokes Walker Stadium.  Coach Bankston preached pride, work, conditioning and fundamentals. His overall won/loss record at Winnfield was 29-14-3 (.656) and his district record was 13 6-1 (.675).  In 1970 he became principal at Winnfield Senior High School and from there moved to Superintendent of Schools in Winn Parish.  All four of his team’s produced winning records.  The only Tiger coaches who stayed in the program more than three years and did not have a losing season are Joe Dosher (1970-1974),

Doug Moreau (1979-1984) and Bankston.

Jerry Hightower (1965-1966, RB & DB)    Two-year starter at running back and defensive back. Beginning in 1962 players were selected to Offensive and Defensive All District squads.  In 1966, Hightower, along with teammate Mike Spangler, became the first players named to a first team spot on both sides of the ball. Hightower was named as both an offensive and defensive back. He was the leading scorer on the 1966 team, tallying 54 points.  Those came by way of nine touchdowns, with four of those being by rush and five coming from receptions. He was the rushing and reception leader of the 1966 team, rushing for 483 yards on 83 carries (5.8 ypc) and adding 398 reception yards to his total yardage figure.

Mike Spangler (1965-1966, E & DE)     Spangler was one of only four players to be named to a first team All State spot during the 1960s. That came during his junior season when he earned that honor at defensive end. He also earned first team All District honors at both offensive and defensive end in 1966, joining teammate Jerry Hightower as the first players to earn first team honors on both offense and defense. Spangler blocked four punts in his career, with the most critical being a block of a punt against long-time rival Tallulah in 1966. Winnfield came into the Tallulah came never having defeated the Trojans in six tries. Then again, not many people had beaten Tallulah in the 1950s or 1960s.  In the comeback season of 1966, Tallulah loomed large on the Tiger schedule as they were picked to win the District title.  Winnfield served notice that the program was back with an early season 6-0 win over Tallulah.  The lone touchdown came when Spangler not only blocked a Trojan punt, but he also sprung up from the ground, grabbed the football off the turf and ran five yards into the end zone for the score. During the rest of the 1966 season he scored by way of a 55 yard interception return and two pass reception.  During his senior season Spangler blocked a punt in a playoff game against Jesuit, Sp. which led to a Tiger touchdown and he caught one touchdown pass. Spangler ranked first in the fan vote at defensive end and third by the Expert Panel.

the most first place votes from fans voting in that poll. 

Charles Poisso (1966-1967, C & LB)    Fierce competitor on both sides of the ball, Poisso is considered one of the best players in the history of the program at two positions, those being center and linebacker. The Expert Panel named Poisso the starting center on the 2000 All Century Poll for the Modern Squad as he garnered five first place votes from the eight panelists. The fans made him their second choice at center in that poll.  He received the third most votes at linebacker by the Expert Panel and fans voting in the All-Century poll, falling behind legends Lionel Johnson and Ricky Chatman (arguably two of the best football players in the history of the program) at that spot. Poisso is credited with 174 tackles in 1967, which includes both solo and assisted tackles.  Poisso scored two touchdowns in 1967 from his linebacker position, the first coming on a 27-yard interception return against Jena and the second coming in the playoff game against Jesuit, Sp. When he returned a blocked punt 36 yards for a score.  He was an honorable mention All District choice at center his junior year, but he was named to the first team at both center and linebacker his senior season.

Steve Stroud (1965-1967, PK, OT & DT)     Two year starter at both the offensive and

defensive lines at tackle, but is better known for his place kicking proficiency. In his career he converted on 37 of 50 attempts, but his most prolific season was his senior season when he made 21 of 23 extra point attempts. One of those attempts was blocked and the only other miss came in the final game of the season against Jesuit, Sp. That .913 kicking percentage is the second highest single-season percentage in the history of the program. In 1967 game against Jena Stroud converted 7 of 7 extra point tries. That broke the school record of 5 PAT kicks set by John Harrington in 1955. He also made three field goals in 1967, which were the second through fourth field goals ever made in the program. He is the first player to boot more than one field goal in a season and that feat wasn’t duplicated until 1978 when Tommy Latham kicked four field goals.  Stroud’s three field goal performance is tied for second most field goals in a single season. Stroud was the first choice by one of the members of the Expert Panel voting on the kicker

position for the 2000 All Century Poll and received the fifth-most votes from fans.

Ricky Jordan (1965-1966, Quarterback) Had a break out season in 1966 when he attempted 195 passes and completed 92 of those for 1,286 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those totals shattered the previous single season school record set by Mike Tinnerello in 1959 when he became the first Tiger quarterback to throw for more than 500 yards in a season by throwing for 629.  Therefore, Jordan threw for over double the previous school record and Jordan is the first Tiger QB to throw for over 1,000 yards in a single season.  His 1966 marks still ranks 5th highest all-time. Jordan's career game came against Jena in 1966 in a rematch forced by a tie in the district standings.  In the regular season finale the Tigers needed a win over Jena to secure the district crown but fell to the Giants by a score of 19-13.  In that contest Jordan completed 8 of 10 passes for an 80% completion rate.  That set a single game completion percentage record that has only been surpassed once. In the tie-breaker game, which game four days later, the Tigers prevailed in a 33-13 mauling of Jena.  In that contest Jordan completed 13 of 22 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns.  That marked the first time a Tiger quarterback had thrown for over 200 yards in a single game and broke Jordan's own single game record of 199 yards set earlier in the season against Tioga.  Jordan's single game yardage total has only been surpassed three times since then.  Jordan connected on 12 touchdown passes in 1966 which was one shy of Mike Tinnerello's record 13 TD tosses in 1959.  Up to 1966 no other Tiger quarterback threw for more then five touchdowns in a single season. That total remains among the ten highest single season totals  Jordan also tied a thirty-year old school record by throwing for three touchdowns against Jena.  Jordan threw for 1,606 career yards, which is currently 6th highest all time. His fifteen (15) career touchdown passes remains in the Top Ten all-time.  Jordan ended his career with 113 pass completions, becoming the first Tiger QB to cross the 100-completion mark in a career.

Gary Green (1965-1967, Quarterback)    Green was the second Tiger quarterback to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a single season, that coming in 1967 when he threw for 1,063 yards.   Green ended his career with 1,671 passing yards, which at the time was a new career high. He ended his career with 126 completions. In his senior season he attempted 156 passes and completed 78 of those for an even 50% completion rate. All of those numbers were all-time highs at the time. His single-season completion total has only been topped six times and his completion percentage has only been topped three times. Green was voted first team All District at quarterback his senior season.

Randy Poisso (1966-1968; DB, RB & KR; Assistant Coach, 1976-1984 & 1991-1995)

Poisso is the program's first 1,000-yard rusher. That occurred in 1968 when he gained 1,088 yards on 188 carries in that 12-game season.  That is a 5.78 yard per carry average and a 90.6 yard per game average.  For that effort Poisso was voted to the Class AA All State team and was named Class AA Back of the Year.  He was also a first team All District selection at running back that year.  Poisso was a two-year starter at running back and a three-year starter at defensive back.  He also returned kickoffs.  Poisso had seven career rushing touchdowns, but his most decisive touchdown came when he returned the second half kickoff of the 1968 Winnsboro game.  Winnfield was engaged in a battle for the district title in that game and were facing the undefeated, No. 1 ranked team in Class AA in Winnsboro.  Poisso's touchdown gave Winnfield a two-score margin (14-0) at the time and essentially enabled the team to play the second half knowing one play would not tie the game. Winnfield went on to win that game by a 21-7 margin.  Poisso's best single-game rushing night came against another tough district foe, that being Tallulah in 1968.  That night Poisso rushed for 145 yards on 17 carries.

Robbie Richards (1967-1969, QB, RB, DB, Punter)     Richards was the first special team player to earn All State honors as a Tiger.  That came in 1969 when he was voted to the Class AA All State team as a punter. He also earned All District honors as a punter that year. Though Richards had to contend with injuries his senior season.  He was a three-year letterman, playing in both the offensive and defensive backfield. Richards was the leading vote-getter at punter in the All Century poll by both the Expert Panel and the fans at large. On the offensive side of the ball he was used primarily as a quarterback early in his career, though he was moved to a running back his senior season. Richards had a 65 yard fumble return for a touchdown as a sophomore, and he scored three touchdowns as a junior, with the longest being a 60-yard run from scrimmage against Natchitoches Central.  During his senior season Richards rushed for three touchdowns, including a 55-yarder against Winnsboro, and he caught two touchdown passes.  His best night as a quarterback came in the 1969 game against eventual Class AA runner-up Tallulah when Richards completed 11 of 21 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown. That was the third highest single game total at the time.  Two weeks later he switched to the receiving end of the ball and gained 174 yards on four catches to establish a new single-game receiving record. Two of those receptions went for touchdowns covering 78 and 60 yards in length. He is the first, and one of only two players to catch touchdown passing that covered 50 or more yards in the same game.  The other player to accomplish that was Freddie King in 2000 against Jena. In fact, Richards is only of only five players to have two touchdown passes of 50 yards or more in the same season. 

Terry Skains (1968-1969, RB, DB)     Durable fullback and defensive back for two

seasons. He is the first Tiger back to gain 200 or more yards in a game, that coming in the

1969 Caldwell contest when Skains gained 201 yards on 17 carries. Skains scored one

rushing touchdown as a junior and nine as a senior to end his career with 10 rushing

touchdowns. At the time that ranked Skains in the top ten for career rushing touchdowns. 

He was the scoring leader for the 1969 Team with 54 points. His longest scoring run was a 54-yarder against Winnsboro in 1969.

1970-1979

Joe Dosher (1966-1969 & 1977-1982 Assistant Coach, 1970-1974 Head Coach)    Overall

career won/loss record of 42-14-0.  Guided the 1971 team to the school’s first state

championship game played on the field.  Is the first coach to win multiple playoff games as the

1971 team went 3-1 in the playoffs.  His 1971 team went 10-0-0 during the regular season to

become only the third team in school history to complete a regular season with an unblemished

record. His career record in district games is 29-7-0, which is the most district wins by any head

coach at Winnfield. All five of this teams had winning records. The only coaches in the history

of the program to have five or more winning seasons are Dosher and Alwin Stokes (1917-1923,

1934-1935)) with five, and Doug Moreau (1979-1984) and Joey Pender (1998-2005) with six.

Dosher sent three of his five teams to the playoffs, where he had a 3-3 record.  Came in third in

The Expert Panel Poll and fourth in the fan poll in the 2000 All Century Poll.  All five of

Dosher’s team’s had winning records. The only Tiger coaches who stayed in the program more

than three years and did not have a losing season are Tommy Bankston (1966-1969), Doug

Moreau (1979-1984) and Dosher.

James Hutchins (1970-1971, DE & OG)     Played on both sides of the ball but is widely

considered one of the best defensive ends in the history of the program.  That became clear when the All Century Poll was conducted in 2000.  He received the most votes at defensive end from the Expert Panel and was the top choice by four of the seven panelist. His vote total from the Expert Panel was tied for third-highest for any player on the defensive side of the ball.  He received the second-highest votes at defensive end from fans voting in the same poll, but received the same number of first place votes as did point leader Mike Spangler (1966-1967). Along with Alan Carter (1970-1971), Hutchins was the first two-time first team All District performer at a defensive position.  Hutchins was a first team All State pick at defensive end his senior season.

Greg Wagoner (1969-1971, TE)     Three-year letterman and two year starter at tight end. Had

single touchdown catches his sophomore and junior seasons and then caught three touchdown passes his senior season, including a game-winning 11-yarder against Hahnville in a semi-final round playoff game. Against Jonesboro-Hodge in 1971 Wagoner caught 9 passes which set a single-game reception record.  That is the second most single-game catches of the twentieth century.  He was the reception leader of the 1971 team, a team that still holds the school record for pass completions in a season.  The 1971 team had 113 pass completions and Wagoner caught 38 of those.  That set a single season reception mark that lasted for fifteen years. Wagoner gained 450 yards on those 38 catches, which was eight yards shy of the single-season yardage record set by Tommy Wyatt in 1959.  Wagoner was a first team All District and All State performer in 1971.  He was the top pick at the tight end position by both the Expert Panel and fans voting in the All Century poll.  His six first place votes by the eight member Expert Panel is topped only the seven first place votes received by linebacker Lionel Johnson (1970-1972) and running back Anthony Thomas (1993-1996). 

Randy Strickland (1969-1971, DE, OT, C & LB)     First started his sophomore season as a

defensive end.  Started two games at center his junior year and then moved to offensive tackle, where he played the rest of the career on offense.  Played defensive tackle his junior season and linebacker his senior season.  Earned second team All District honors as a defensive tackle in 1970 and honorable mention honors at linebacker in 1971.  Was a first team All District pick at offensive tackle in 1971.  Was the leading vote-getter at offensive tackle by the Expert Panel and third-leading vote-getter by the fans voting in the All Century poll of 2000. 

Jerry Keen (1969-1971, RB & PK)     Three-year lettermen who first appeared as a sophomore

when he saw limited action but did score two rushing touchdowns, caught one touchdown pass and booted an extra point.  During his junior year he scored a team-leading 62 points, which at the time was the most points ever scored by a junior player and the fourth-most single season points ever scored by any player.  Keen got those points with eight rushing touchdowns and he booted 13 of 15 extra point tries.  Keen’s .867 kicking percentage as a junior was the second-highest single season average of all time. He also ran for one two-point conversion in 1970. Keen was the team’s leading rusher in 1970 with 857 yards.  In 1971 Keen was the first Tiger player to score 100 points in a single season……but not by much.  Heading into the tenth and final game of the regular season Keen had scored 98 pts. and teammate John Wayne Williams had scored 90.  Both were threats to score from anywhere on the field, but particularly Williams who not only alternated with Keen at halfback, but he also saw action as a split end and as a return man.  So, he would theoretically have more opportunities to score. On the other hand, Keen was the team’s place kicker so he would cross the 100-pt. mark by simply kicking two extra points. None of those scenarios played out because Keen in fact crossed the century mark first and it came on a two-point conversion run early in the first quarter.  For the night Keen would score 14 total points, with those coming on one touchdown run, a two point conversion run, three extra point kicks and a field goal. He was the third player to kick a field goal in the program (see Carroll Long, 1961 & Steve Stroud, 1966).  Williams ended the 1971 regular season as the team’s scoring leader, however, as he scored four touchdowns against Jena to end the night and regular season with 114 pts., two more than Keen. But, Keen was technically the first player to cross the 100 pt. mark. Keen ended the 1971 season with 127 points, which was three less than teammate John Wayne Williams but almost double the single season record holder (see Frank Brewer, 69 pts. in 1928). Keen’s mark is currently ranked tenth on the all-time scoring list. Earlier in the season Keen set single-game scoring marks, first when he scored 28 pts. against Leesville in the second game of the season and then when he scored 30 points against Menard in the seventh game of the year.  He is the first player to score more than 25 points in a single game. Along with Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) and Cornelius Patterson (1997-1999), Keen is the only player to score 30 or more points in a single game   He is the first Tiger running back credited with 30 carries in a  game, that coming his junior season against Pineville. Keen became the first player to score 200 career points by finishing his senior season with 207 total points scored. That is the fourth highest total of any player who played in the twentieth century and the seventh highest of all-time. In the 1971 season Keen scored 13 rushing touchdowns, which was a new single-season record.  He also added one touchdown by reception to end the year with 14 total touchdowns, which would have been a single-season record except teammate John Wayne Williams had 21 total touchdowns in 1971. Keen booted 36 of 47 extra point attempts in 1971 to set a season record there for PAT kicks made. For his career Keen converted 50 of 63 extra point tries for a .794 conversion rate. Keen became the program’s second 1,000-yard rusher in 1971 when he ended the season with 1,008 yards.  He rushed for 1,845 yards his junior and senior seasons combined, which by itself set a new career rushing record.  His rushing total for his sophomore season is not known. Keen was a second team All District pick at running back his junior year and a first team selection his senior season. In the All Century Poll conducted in 2000 Keen is the third ranked place kicker as voted on by the fans.  He is the fourth ranked running back as ranked by both the Expert Panel and fans, which considering the quality of running backs in the program that is quite a statement.

Alan Carter (1969-1971; QB, DB, SE & KR)     Broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore

quarterback and threw six touchdown passes.  That is the third most touchdown passes ever

thrown by a sophomore, trailing only Mike Tinnerello (13 in 1959) and John C. Jones (7 in

2000). Carter threw three more touchdown passes in 1970, but was divided his time between the

quarterback and split end positions during the second half of his junior season.  In 1971 Carter

caught five more touchdown passes to give him a career total of nine touchdown passes thrown

and six touchdown passes caught. Only one player in the history of the program has combined to

throw and catch more touchdown passes, that being John C. Jones who threw 22 touchdown

passes as a quarterback and caught two touchdown passes. During his senior season Carter also

returned two punts for touchdowns.  In fact, he is the first player to return two punts for a

touchdown in the same season.  That came about in 1971 when he returned punts in consecutive

games against Jonesboro and Natchitoches.  In the key Natchitoches game of the 1971 it was

Carter’s 82-yard punt return just before halftime that broke that scoreless tie up.  Though

teammate John Wayne Williams ended the 1971 season with five punt returns for a touchdown,

four of those came after Carter got his two touchdowns.  There has only been seven players in

the history of the program have multiple punt returns for touchdowns in the same season. 

Besides Carter and Williams the others include Jeffery Dale (1979), Bennie Mitchell (1982),

Andrew Riggs (1984), Viron Smith (1996) and Freddie King (2000).  Of those, only Carter and

Riggs have ever returned punts for touchdowns in consecutive games. Despite all of the success

that Carter had on the offensive side of the ball and with punt returns, his skill on the defensive

side of the ball made him unquestionably one of the best defensive players in the history of the

program.  He was named first team All District defensive back his junior and senior seasons. 

That made him and teammate James Hutchins the first players in the program to earn back to

back  first team All District honors at a defensive position.  Carter was also named to the 1971

Class AAA All-State team and All-Prep (all classes) team at defensive back. In the All-Century

poll balloting at the offensive end position Carter received votes from two members of the

Expert Panel and he was the second-leading vote-getter from the fans.  At the defensive back

position he was the leading vote-getter by the fans and second leading vote getter by the Expert

Panel. His vote total from the fans at the defensive back position was the fourth highest of any

position, trailing only Anthony Thomas (RB), Woody Grigg (DL) and Ricky Chatman (LB).  His

vote total from the Expert panel voting on the defensive back position was tied for third highest

regardless of position, trailing only Anthony Thomas (RB) and teammate Lionel Johnson (LB).

John Wayne Williams (1970-1971, RB, DB & KR)     A two-year letterman, in 1970 he

returned one punt for a touchdown and caught one touchdown-scoring pass.  That was only a prelude to his senior season when he put together one of the most varied scoring outputs in the history of the program. Williams alternated with Jerry Keen at halfback and lined up at the split end position on occasion.  In 1971 he ran for five touchdowns, with his two longest covering 64 and 75 yard.  Williams also caught eight touchdown passes in 1971, which at the time was the second-highest single season total in the history of the program and still ranks in the Top Five. He tied a school record for touchdown receptions in a single game against Jena in 1971 when he snared three. Only four other players have caught three TD passes in a single game. His most remarkable scoring accomplishment of the 1971 season is what he did on kick returns. Prior to 1971 no player had ever returned more than one punt for a touchdown in a single season.  Williams returned five punts for touchdowns in 1971. There have only been seven players in the history of the program have multiple punt returns for touchdowns in the same season.  Of that group, only Williams, Jeffery Dale (3 in 1979) and Bennie Mitchell (3 in 1982) have returned more than two punts for touchdowns in the same season.  Williams had six career punt returns for touchdowns, which is one more than second place Bennie Mitchell (1980-1982) and double that of third place Jeffery Dale. Williams also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in 1971, to give him seven kick returns for touchdowns that season. Williams is the first Tiger player to

return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season. That feat has only been matched twice, first by Garlon Powell in 1982 and then by Freddie King, who returned three kickoffs for scores in 1998.  Only seven players have multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns in a career, with Freddie King (1997-2000) leading the group with four, followed by Garlon Powell with three (1981-1983) and a group of five players with two each, including Jackie Givens (1945-1946), Charles Oliver (1972-1973),  Williams, Andrew Riggs (1982-1984) and Viron Smith (1994-1996). All total, Williams returned six punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns for a total of eight kick returns for scores.  The only players with three or more career kick returns for touchdowns are Bennie Mitchell (1980-1982) and Freddie King (1997-2000) with five, Garlon Powell (1981-1983) and Andrew Riggs (1982-1984) with four and Charles Oliver (1972-1973), Jeffery Dale (1978-1980) and Viron Smith (1994-1996) all with three. Williams had seven of his career kick returns in one season.  The only players listed above that have as many as three kick returns of any kind (punt or kickoff) in one season are Dale (3 punts in 1979), Mitchell (3 punts in 1982), Powell (2 kickoffs and 1 punt in 1982), Riggs (2 punts and 1 kickoff in 1984), Smith (2 punts and 1 kickoff in 1996) and King (3 kickoffs in 1998).  Williams returned a kick (punt or kickoff) for a touchdown in seven of the ten regular season games of 1971.  Williams is the only player in the history of the program to score touchdowns by three or more means in the same game, and he did that twice.  Against Leesville in 1971 Williams rushed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a score.  Later that season against Pineville(homecoming night)  he scored touchdowns by way of an 8 yd. run, a 21-yard reception and a 66 yard punt return.  Williams ended the 1971 season with 130 total points scored.  That broke the then single season scoring record of 69 points (see Frank Brewer, 1928) by 61 points. Williams’ single season total has only been topped by four players, including Perry Myles (144 in 1982), Garlon Powell (166 in 1982), Anthony Thomas (192 in 1994, 243 in 1995 and 180 in 1996) and Zan Johnson (132 in 2001).  Williams’s career total of 142 points is currently ranked in the Top Twenty.  After the 1971 season Williams received first team All District and All State honors at an offensive back

position.  He was also an honorable mention All District pick at defensive back in 1971.

Williams received two votes at running back from members of the Expert Panel voting in the All Century poll of 2000 and ranked in the Top Ten among fans voting in the same poll for running back.  He and Freddie King (1997-2000) were the consensus picks at kick-returner by the Expert Panel, as they were the only two players to receive votes in that category. The fans had six different players to receive votes at the kick returner spot, with Williams receiving the second most votes behind Freddie King. Williams had four more first place votes than King in the fan balloting.      

Lionel Johnson (1970-1972, LB & OT)     Johnson is the program’s career leader for tackles

with over 350 career tackles to his credit.  Though his exact total is not known, what is known is that he was credited with 154 tackles during the ten-game regular season of  1971, his junior year, and 143 tackles during the 11-game 1972 season, his senior season. That gave him a total of 297 tackles for those two seasons.  The season his total is not known is his sophomore season where he started every game at linebacker.  He also played in four playoff games during the 1971 season and that tackle total is not known.  So, he would have only had to record 53 tackles in the 10 games of this sophomore season and the four playoffs games of this junior season to reach the 350 tackle mark or an average of just over 3 tackles per game. The only other player known to record 300 or more tackles in their career is Ricky Chatman (1976-1979), who is credited with 345 career tackles.  So, Johnson would have only had to have made 49 more tackles in those 14 games where his total is unknown to surpass Chatman’s career tackle total. Johnson is also the only player to record two safeties in a career. At the end of  his junior season he earned first team All District, All State and All Prep (all classes) at linebacker.  He was also Class AAA Defensive MVP in 1971.  He followed that in 1972 by being named to the All State team a second consecutive year, making him the first repeat All-State performer of the Modern era (see, Truett Durham – 1919/1920 and Grady Newton – 1923/1924). In the history of the program there have only been eight players to earn first team All State honors in multiple years.  Johnson was the top pick by the Expert Panel at linebacker in the All Century poll conducted in 2000.  In fact, he was the second-leading vote-getter regardless of position by the Expert Panel, trailing only running back Anthony Thomas (1994-1996).  He and Thomas received the most first place votes, as both received the top nod by seven of the eight panelist.  On the fan side of the All Century poll Johnson came in second behind Ricky Chatman (1976-1979), with Chatman receiving only one more first place vote from the fans than Johnson. Nevertheless, Johnson ranked in the Top Eight for total fans votes regardless of position

James Johnson (1971-1972, DL)    Johnson is one of only two underclassmen to earn a starting spot on the record-holding 1971 defensive unit.  Johnson played defensive tackle, positioned on

the strong side.  During his senior season he earned first team All District and All State honors as a defensive lineman and was named the Class AAA MVP Defensive players.  He received the most votes by a defensive lineman by the Expert Panel and second most votes by the fans in the All Century poll. 

Steve Adams (1970-1972, QB, Punter & DB)     Adams began his career as a defensive back, where he earned honorable mention All District honors as a sophomore.  Moved to a starting role at quarterback midway through his sophomore season and remained the Tiger starting quarterback throughout the remainder of his career.  As a starter, he guided the offense to a 27-5-0 record. That is the most wins by any starting quarterback in the history of the program. Adams holds the school record for touchdown passes in a single season (23) and is the career leader for passing yards (3,010).  He is the first and only quarterback to throw for over 3,000 career yards and was the first Tiger quarterback to throw for over 2,000 career yards. He was the first Tiger quarterback to throw for more than 1,500 yards in a single season, that coming in 1971 when he threw for 1,607 yards. Adams is the single-season leader for pass completions with 113 in 1971. Virtually all of Adam’s passes in 1971 were true to the mark has he only had 8 interceptions in that 14-game schedule.  That is the fewest interactions thrown by a Tiger quarter that played in 10 or more games.  Plus, Adams attempted a then school record 233 passes, so only 1 out of every 29 pass attempts was intercepted.  That ratio is also a school record. He was the first Tiger QB to throw four touchdown passes in a game, that coming in the 1972 contest against Oakdale. There have only been three games when a Tiger quarterback threw four or more touchdown passes, including the 1972 game against Oakdale, the 1974 game against Tioga (quarterback Lyn Bankston threw a school-record six touchdown passes) and the 1988 game against  Fair Park (quarterback Matt Machen threw four touchdown passes).  In his career Adams rushed for eleven touchdowns, with his longest being a 47-yarder against Webster in 1971. His 11-touchdown career rushing touchdown total ranks fourth among quarterbacks, trailing only Thomas King (16 between 1982 and 1983), Greg Powell (15 between 1979 and 1981) and Mike Tinnerello (13 between 1959 and 1961). Adams was a first team All District pick at quarterback in 1971 and a second team selection in 1972.  He was the second-leading vote-getter at quarterback by the Expert Panel voting on the All Century poll in 2000 and received the third-most votes at quarterback from fans voting in the same poll.

Hal Hickey (1971-1973, OT & OG)     One of only four underclassmen to earn a starting spot

on the either the offensive or defensive side of the ball of the 1971 state finalist team when he was pressed into action at the left tackle spot when an injury opened up a position there.  Was the only sophomore to start for the 1971 team. Moved to guard his junior and senior seasons where he was the leader of the offensive line.  Was a second team All District pick as a junior and earned first team All District and All State honors as a senior.  Was the leading vote-getter at offensive guard by the Expert Panel voting in the All Century Poll and was the second leading vote-getter at that position by the fans.

Charles Oliver (1971-1973, DB & KR)     Primarily recognized as one of the program’s premier

defensive backs where he earned first team All District and All State honors in 1973. Ranked No.

5 among defensive backs receiving votes from the Expert Panel voting on the All Century poll;

including one first place vote. Ranked in the Top Ten among fans voting in that same poll.

Also used as a kick return man where he returned three kicks for touchdowns.  Had two returns

for scores in 1972 including a 63-yard punt return and an 85-yard kickoff return.  In 1973 Oliver

had an 85 yard kickoff return.  He is one of only seven players in the  history of the program to

have two kickoff returns for a touchdown. He is one of only eleven players to return three or

more kicks of any kind (punt or kickoff) for a touchdown in their career.  During his sophomore

season in 1971 he was on the receiving end of a touchdown pass thrown when the sophomore

offensive unit added the final touchdown in a 66-0 mauling of Menard.

Roosevelt Robinson (1973, FB & DL)     Bruising fullback and defensive lineman who

basically played only one season.  Earned first team All District and All State that season as a

defensive lineman. In the All Century poll Robinson ranked 4^th among the Expert Panelist and

fifth among the fans voting on the defensive lineman position.

Mike Kimble (1973-1975, E)   The first and only player to cross the 200-yard mark for

reception yards in a single game.  That came in 1974 against Oakdale when Kimble gained 205

yards in 6 catches.  In that contest he had touchdown receptions that covered 60 and 34 yards.

Kimble had five touchdowns catches in 1974 and four more in 1975.  Besides his 60-yard

touchdown reception in 1974, he had two other long distance scores, those being an 86-yarder

and a 74-yarder in 1975. That makes him one of only three players in the history of the program

to have three scoring receptions of 60 yards or more (see Glen Anderson, 1972-1973 and John

Michael Spangler, 1989).  The 86-yard reception broke a then two-year old school record for

longest touchdown reception. However, up to and including Kimble’s catch there had only been

three touchdowns by reception that had covered 80 or more yards, with the first being made

by Brooks Broussard in 1955 and the second coming in 1973 by Glen Anderson. Kimble’s

record stood for 31 years until it was broken in 2005 by Caleb Cummings. During his senior

season Kimble had 22 receptions for 422 yards. His reception total was third highest of all time

up to that point in the history of the program (see Tommy Wyatt, 1959 and Greg Wagoner,

1971). Kimble was a second team All District pick as a junior and first team selection as a senior.

Nathan Johnson (1974-1976, RB, KR & DB)  If you were to form an All-Winnfield team you

would have to include Nathan Johnson in the offensive backfield.  So says the Expert Panel and

the fans at large voting in the All-Century poll conducted in 2000.  Johnson fell just behind

Anthony Thomas (1994-1996) as the second leading vote-getter by both the fans and Expert

Panelist at the running back position. Though Thomas was clearly viewed as the best running

back in the history of the program by voters, Johnson had an equally firm hold on second place

and the third place finisher by both the fans and the Expert Panelist was a distant third.  Johnson

was a three-year starter at running back and he also contributed to the program by returning kicks

and playing defensive back.  First and foremost he was a runner, though.  His rushing total from

all of his sophomore season is not known, though it is known that  he gained 409 yards in five of

those ten games.  Since the team as a whole rushed for close to 1,700 yards it would be a safe

assumption that Johnson rushed for close to 800 yards that year, if not more.  During his junior

year he rushed for 984 yards and he set a new school record his senior season by rushing for

1,432 yards.  That broke Randy Poisso’s (1968) single season total of 1,088 and made Johnson

the program’s third 1,000-yard rushing (see also Jerry Keen in 1971).  All total, then, his known

rushing yards are 2,825 for his senior, junior and half of his sophomore season.  That figure

alone would have moved him ahead of the career rushing mark of just over 2,000 yards set by

Jerry Keen between 1969 and 1971.  However, it is likely that Johnson was the school’s first

career 3,000-yard rusher, as he only had to rush for 175 in the unaccounted for first five games of

his sophomore season. Johnson had six 100-yard rushing games his junior season and added

eight more to that total his senior season to give him fourteen career 100-yard rushing games.

Johnson’s highest single game total came against Pineville in 1975 when he carried the ball a

school record 35 times and gained 184 yards. His 199 carries in 1975 broke Randy Poisso’s

(1968) single season record of 188. Johnson scored 21 career touchdowns by rush, which was

two behind the school record set by Jerry Keen (1969-1971) and is the 14^th highest in the

program. Twelve of those came in 1976, which was one behind the then school record also set by

Keen. Johnson was the scoring leader of the state finalist 1976 team with 82 points and he ended

his career with an even 150 points. At the time that was the second highest career total ever

amassed and the highest accumulated by a non-kicker. For the twentieth century that total is in

the Top Ten overall and is the 7^th highest during that period for players who had no points from

kicks. Other than his rushing touchdowns, Johnson also scored by way of three pass receptions,

three two-point conversion runs and one 65-yard punt return. At the time his 25 total touchdowns

tied Jerry Keen on the all-time list and is currently the 12^th highest.  Post-season honors included

back-to-back first team All District honors at running back in 1975 and 1976 and an All State

selection at running back in 1976.

Lyn Bankston (1974-1976, QB, DB & PK)     Tough competitor who had a three-year playing

career for the Tigers. Is most known as a quarterback but he also handled the placekicking duties

throughout his career and was placed in the defensive backfield in critical situations. As a kicker

Bankston booted 58 career PAT tries.  That set a new record at the time and is currently 4^th on

the all-time list.  He was a sure kicker, setting a new record for proficiency as a sophomore when

he converted on 16 of 17 tries for a kicking percentage of .941.  That broke Steve Stroud’s seven

year old record of .913. No other kicker has ever had a kicking percentage in the .900-range for a

single season.  For his career Bankston converted 58 of 68 tries for a .853 kicking percentage. 

That too is a school record. As a three-year starter at quarterback, Bankston was in on 22        team

wins.  That ranks him in the top five for wins by a quarterback in the program.  He is the

program’s career leader for TD passes with 37 and he holds school record for most touchdown

passes in a game with 6 vs. Tioga in 1974.  Only two other quarterbacks (see Steve Adams, 1972

and Matt Machen, 1988) have as many as four touchdown passes in a single game. His

touchdown passes per season included 12 as a sophomore, which was one shy of the sophomore

record set by Mike Tinnerello in 1959; 7 as a junior and 18 as a senior. Bankston’s senior total

was the second-highest single-season total at the time, trailing only Steve Adam’s 23 set in 1971. 

Bankston and John C. Jones (2000-2002) are the only Tiger quarterback to throw for at least 7

touchdown passes in three different seasons. Bankston is the only Tiger quarterback to throw

double-digit touchdown passes in two seasons. His single season passing yardage totals include

879 yards in 1974, 820 yards in 1975 and 1,162  yard in 1976.  He is the only player to throw for

800 or more yards in three different seasons.  At the time he was the third Tiger quarterback to

throw for 1,000-yards in a single season.  His career total of 2,861 ranked second to Steve

Adams at the time and is currently the third highest, trailing Adams and Matt Machen (1987-

1989).  Other than his six touchdown performance against Tioga in 1974 where he threw for 207

yards, his other career game came the same season against Oakdale when he threw for 212 yards. 

He, Steve Adams and Matt Machen are the only Tiger quarterbacks with two 200-yard games.

Bankston was an honorable mention All District pick at quarterback in 1974 and 1975 and a

second team selection in 1976.  Bankston was the fourth-ranked quarterback by both the Expert

Panel and the fans voting in the All-Century poll conducted in 2000. He is the son of Coach

Tommy Bankston (1966-1969).

Dennis Brown (1975-1976, DB & KR)     Two year starter, as a junior Brown had one rushing

touchdown and he returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against Peabody.  In the 1976

season Brown rushed for one touchdown, had a two-TD reception game against Pineville and he

returned a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown against Menard. It was in the defensive backfield

where Brown was most proficient.  He was a first team All District performer at defensive back

in 1976 and was one of two players from the 1976 state finalist team to earn first team All State

honors (the other being Nathan Johnson). Both the fans and Expert Panel voting on the All

Century poll conducted in 2000 say Brown as one of the best defensive backs in the history of

the program, as the Expert Panel gave him the sixth-most votes and the fans placed Brown in the

Top Ten among defensive backs.

Larry Dauterive (1976-1978, Head Coach)     Outspoken, confident, brash – all of those words

have been used to describe Larry Dauterive.  While those descriptions might be true, you would

have to include one other word also – winner.  His playbook was legendary and some said he

never met an offensive formation he didn’t like.  One thing you could expect when you met a

Dauterive offense was variety.  In his first season at Winnfield he took his team to the school’s

second state title game.  That came after the Tigers entered the playoffs as a district runner-up

and then peaked in the playoffs. The Tigers lost that state final game by a 7-0 margin, making

that the first shutout loss of Dauterive’s career.  Overall, his 1976 team posted an 11-3-0 record.

After a 5-5-0 season in 1977, Dauterive marched his 1978 team through the regular season

without a blemish; making that team the school’s fourth squad to go through a regular season

undefeated.  Then, after two playoff wins the 1978 team’s playoff hopes came to an end

in a crushing quarter-final round loss played at Stokes-Walker Stadium.  That 1978 team posted

a 12-1-0 record.  Dauterive left after the 1978 season, having posted a 28-9-0 record.  At the

time, his .757 winning percentage ranked highest among any Tiger coach that had a tenure of

two or more years.  He is currently ranked second behind his successor Doug Moreau (1979-

1984) who finished his career at Winnfield with an .806 winning percentage.  In the All Century

Poll conducted in 2000 Dauterive received the second most votes from the fans and fourth most

votes from the Expert Panel.

Terry Joe Ramsey (1977-1978, QB, E, KR, Punter)   Split time between QB and E his junior

season and then moved to an offensive end and defensive back his senior season. Was the team

punter for two years.  Ramsey was the first and is the only player to cross the 1,000 mark for

single season reception yards.  That occurred in 1978 when he caught 37 passes (one shy of the

school record) for 1,042 yards. That is an amazing 28.16 yard per catch average and his yardage

total broke the school record by 540 yards.  Ramsey turned 8 of those 37 catches into

touchdowns, with four of those covering 40 yards or more.  He also had a 62 yard punt return for

a touchdown in 1978. During his junior season he rushed for two touchdowns, caught one

touchdown pass and three five touchdown passes.  He was awarded a first team All District nod

at quarterback that season.  In 1978 he earned first team All District honors at both offensive end

and punter.  He was also a first team All State pick at end in 1978.  Ramsey was the third

highest vote-getter at offensive end by both the Expert Panel and fans voting in the All

Century poll of 2000.  He received one first place vote from a member of the Expert Panel and

received the third most first place votes from the fans. The fans also made Ramsey their second

choice at punter and put him in the Top Ten at Quarterback.

Woody Grigg (1977-1978, DL, OT & TE)     One of the most well-thought of football players

in the history of the program, as evidenced by the overwhelming point total he received in the All Century Poll. Grigg was the leading vote-getter at not only a defensive line position but any defensive position.  In fact, only running back Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) received more overall votes than Grigg in the entire poll.  The Expert Panel voting in the same poll had Grigg as their second choice at defensive lineman behind James Johnson (1971-1972), but only Johnson and five other defensive players earned more votes from the Expert Panel than Grigg did. Grigg was a two-time first team All District pick at defensive lineman and was a first team All State selection in 1978 at defensive tackle.  He played offensive tackle in 1978, but was moved to tight end in 1978, where he used his 6’ 5” frame primarily for blocking, but he also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brent Hubbard (1977-1978). 

Tim Jordan (1978-1979, OG & DL)     Had a banner senior season where he was a first team

All District and All State pick at offensive guard. Received a vote from a member of the Expert Panel voting on the offensive guard position for the  All Century poll of 2000 and was the sixth-ranked offensive guard in the fan vote in that same poll.

Ricky Chatman (1976-1979, LB, RB)     When discussion centers around the all-time best

football players in the history of  the program the name Ricky Chatman almost always come up quickly in that discussion (or it should).  Chatman is easily one of the top linebackers in the history of the program. Chatman was a four-year letterman for Winnfield, a feat virtually unheard of in modern times.  He was that good. His tackle total as a freshman is not known, but what is known is that from his sophomore year to his senior year he is credited with 345 tackles. He led the team in tackles each of those years, with his seasonal totals being 121, 111 and 113 respectively. His prowess at the linebacker was well-known for those three years as he was a first team All District pick in 1977, 1978 and 1979.  He was the district defensive MVP in 1978 and 1979. Chatman is one of only nine Tiger players (and one of only three defensive players) to earn first team All District honors at the same position three years running. He was a two-time All State pick at linebacker, earning the Class AA MVP Defensive Player award in 1979.  If that were all that Chatman ever did in the program his reputation would be intact.  However, Chatman is also a running back with impressive numbers. Chatman combined both raw power with enough speed to get him to the clear to be a threat that had to be accounted for. By the time he has finished his career at Winnfield he was nearly the all-time leading rusher in the program with 2,539 yards. That put him 22 yards shy of career leader Nathan Johnson. All of that and Chatman basically only had a season and a half career at running back. Since the team’s he played on were so dependent on him as a linebacker he was used sparingly at running back his junior year.  He carried the ball 33 times for 156 yards his sophomore seasons.  It wasn’t until the seventh game of his junior season (vs. Homer) that he had his first 100-yard rushing game; but that game was a beauty.  Though he only carried the ball 5 times in that contest (he typically had fewer than 8 carries a game up until then) he gained 134 yards. That is a 26.8 yard per carry average, which set a new yards-per-carry average record that has only been topped a half dozen times since then.  From that point on Chatman’s rushing career took off. Chatman reeled off 7 straight 100-yard games the remainder of the 1978 season and he posted four more 100-yard games in 1979.  He rushed for 1,173 yards in 1978 and 1,210 yards in 1979 to become the program’s first two-time 1,000-yard rusher. He was not a workhorse by any means.  He only had 116 carries in 1978 and 106 carries in 1979. That is why his 9.8 yard per carry average of 1978 and 11.42 yard per carry average in 1979 are two of the three highest totals in school history, with the 1979 being the single season record and the 1978 average being the third highest.  Chatman shared high-scoring honors with Brent Hubbard in 1978 with 84 points. That total contributed to a team total of 560 points, which not only set a new school record but was the first time a Tiger team had scored more than 500 points in a season.  That is the second highest total ever amassed as the 1982 recorded 594 points. Chatman scored 96 points in 1979 to become the first player in the history of the program to have two seasons in which he scored 70 or more points. For his career Chatman scored 198 points, which at the time was 9 points shy of Jerry Keen’s (1969-1971) school record. Today that today ranks 10^th in the program.  A total of 31 of Chatman’s 33 career touchdowns came by rush.  Chatman rushed for 14 touchdowns in 1978 which was one better than Jerry Keen’s single season record (1971) for rushing touchdowns.  Chatman topped that total in 1979 with 16 rushing touchdowns.  All total he ended his career with 31 rushing touchdown which was 8 better than Keen’s school record. Chatman currently ranks 7^th on the career rushing touchdown list. A total of 9 of his career 31 rushing touchdowns covered 50 or more yards.  The only player in the history of the program with more 50-yard rushing touchdowns is Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) who had 20. Chatman scored 33 total touchdowns, which at the time was 8 better than Keen’s school record.  Chatman currently ranks 8^th on that list.  In the All Century poll the fans ranked Chatman 8^th in the running back category, there is no question of his value at linebacker as perceived by both the fans and Expert Panelist voting in the All Century poll.  The Expert Panel ranked Chatman behind Lionel Johnson (1970-1972) as the program’s best linebacker, giving Johnson 7 first place votes to Chatman’s one.  Nevertheless, only Johnson and Jeffery Dale (1978-1980) from the defensive side of the ball received more votes from the Expert Plan. Besides his single first place vote he received five second place votes and one third place vote from the Expert Panel.  The fan vote reversed that given by the Expert Panel by giving Chatman the highest vote total at linebacker, with Johnson coming in second.  Chatman received one more first place vote than Johnson in the fan tally, but he received 21 second place votes to Johnson’s 11. Chatman was a fan favorite as only two players on either side of the ball received more total votes than Chatman, with those players being Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) at running back and Woody Grigg (1977-1978) at defensive line. 

Tommy Campbell (1977-1979, OT, C, DL & PK)     Three year letterman who contributed to

the program in a multitude of ways.  As a sophomore he started at tackle on offense and in the defensive line.  Teamed with Woody Grigg and Donnie Purser in 1977 and 1978 to form arguably the strongest defensive line in the history of the program. He was a first team All District and honorable mention All State defensive lineman in 1979. Campbell joined James Johnson (1971-972) and Woody Grigg (1977-1978) as the top three defensive lineman tabbed by the Expert Panel of the All Century poll conducted in 2000.  Those three split the first place votes with Johnson receiving 4 and Grigg and Campbell each receiving 2.  The fans ranked him in the Top Ten of the defensive lineman in the same poll. Campbell moved to center on offense as a junior and remained at that offensive position the remainder of his career. Campbell was a second team All District center in 1978. As a place kicker Campbell converted 33 of 37 (.892) extra point kicks.  That was two-shy of the then school record which Campbell would have easily broken had he not shared place kicking duties with freshman kicker Tommy Latham (1978-1981) who kicked 24 of 29 extra point attempts in 1978. Campbell’s career game as a kicker came against Arcadia in 1978 where he converted 8 of 8 extra point attempts. That broke an 11-year old school record of 7 made extra points by Steve Stroud.  Campbell’s record has been matched three other times but has not been broken. 

Craig Cummings (1978-1979, DE & DL)     Defensive end on the 1978 team and switched to

the interior of the defensive line in 1979 where he earned first team All District honors at nose guard and was an All State defensive lineman.  Cummings received the sixth highest vote total at defensive line by fans voting in the All Century poll of 2000.  

Jeffery Dale (1977-1980, DB, KR & RB)   One of the top all-around football players in the

history of the program. Dale was one of those rare four-year letterman. His career totals on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball are at or near of top of many statistical categories. Dale was first and foremost a defensive specialist. That is to say that he would be an obvious choice on anybodies All-Winnfield defensive squad.  That was made clear when the All Century poll was conducted in 2000.  He received the third highest vote total by the Expert Panel of any player at any position when he received the top votes at defensive back. Only running back Anthony Thomas and linebacker Lionel Johnson received a higher vote total than did Dale. He received 4 of 8 first place votes from the Expert Panel at the defensive back position. From the fan viewpoint, Dale was clearly one of the top defensive players as he received the fourth highest vote total of any defensive player. Other players who scored higher are linebacker Ricky Chatman (1976-1979), lineman Woody Grigg (1977-1978) and fellow defensive back Alan Carter (1969-1971).  Dale was a two-time All  District and All State pick at defensive back.  He set a single season interception record in 1979 when he snatched 11 passes from the opposition.  That same season he made 105 tackles from his free safety position, which trailed team-leader Ricky Chatman by only 8 tackles. The 1979 defensive unit is one of the strongest units in the history of the program as they only allowed 363 rushing yards during the regular season, a school record.  They also set a single game record when they held Coushatta to minus 80 yards rushing.  Dale was also kick-returner who had three punt returns for touchdowns.  He, John Wayne Williams (1970-1971) and Bennie Mitchell (1980-1982) are the only players in school history to return more than two punts for touchdowns in their career or in a single season. Dale got all of his punt returns in 1979. You get some sense of Dale’s talent by looking at his rushing numbers.  Though he carried the ball relatively sparingly he capitalized on the opportunities he was given.  In 1978 he carried the ball 97 times and gained 608 yards, a 6.3 yard per carry average. He upped that to an 8.0 yard per carry average the next season when he carried the ball 83 times (14 times less than 1978) but gained 668 yards (60 yards more).  He came tantalizingly close to the 1,000-yard rushing mark his senior season when he gained 980 yards on 109 carries.  That is an 8.99 yard per carry average.  His career game on offense came against Richwood in 1980 when he only carried the ball 7 times but gained 162 yards for a per carry average of 23.14 yards. At the time that was the second-highest single-game per carry average (5 or more carries) in the history of the program. Almost half of those carries produced touchdowns as he scored on runs of 56, 43 and 23 yards. The week before he tied a school record by rushing for four touchdowns against Ringgold. That had only happened four other times in the history of the program (see, Gabe Durham (1928), Teal Calhoun (1929), Mickey Frazier (1955) and Jerry Keen (1971).  For his career, Dale rushed for 2,256 yards on 289 carries for a 7.81 yard per carry average. At the time that was the third highest career rushing total, trailing Nathan Johnson 91974-1976) and Ricky Chatman (1977-1979).  Currently that is the 7^th highest total. Dale finished with 31 rushing touchdowns, which tied career leader Ricky Chatman at the time. His total still ranks in the Top Ten of all time. He scored a total of 36 career touchdowns which broke Chatman’s school record by three at the time. That total is also still ranked in the Top Ten. Dale set a modern day freshman scoring record in 1977 when he scored three touchdowns (two by rush and one by a 50-yard pass reception). Through the 1977 season the only other freshman credited with more than two touchdowns in single season are Hovey Harrell in 1930 with 9 and Dale with 3.  Since 1977 the only freshmen to score more than two touchdowns are Freddie King with 3 in 1997 and Anthony Thomas with 8 in 1993. Dale became the second player to score more than 70 points in two seasons when he scored 72 points in 1979 and 74 points in 1980.  He was the leading scorer of the 1980 team. By scoring 220 career points he became the second player in the history of the program to score 200 points and he broke Jerry Keen's (1969-1971) record of 207 points.  He remains one of only nine players to score 200 points and is ranked 7^th on that list.

1980-1989

Doug Moreau (1979-1984, Head Coach)     Moreau is the only coach in the history of the program to lead a Tiger team to a state title win on the playing field.  That occurred in 1982 when the Tigers defeated John Curtis 23-14 for the Class AA title.  True, Coach Alwin Stokes and his 1919 squad won a title, but that was a declared title, not one decided in a game. When Moreau arrived in 1979 he had immediate success. He took his first team to the semi-finals and his first four teams went a combined 43-7-0 overall and 13-1-0 in district play.  Three of those teams won the district crown, with the only exception being the 1980 team who was district runner-up.  His three playoff teams in that span reached two semi-final round games and one state title game. Moreau finished his career at Winnfield with an overall record of 58-14-0 and a district record of 20-2-0.  He won four district titles in his six-year tenure and sent five of his six teams to the playoffs. Moreau won more district titles than any other Tiger head coach. His playoff record at Winnfield was 11-4-0. Moreau’s overall winning percentage of .804 is the highest of any Tiger coach who had a tenure of two or more years.  He ranks second on the overall win list and first on the playoff win list.  His regular season winning percentage of .825 (47-10-0) is the highest of any Tiger coach and he and Larry Dauterive (.714 between 1976 & 1978) are the only coaches in the program with a winning percentage in the playoffs.  Moreau’s playoff winning percentage was .833. His eleven win total in the playoff is double that of second place Larry Dauterive and Joey Pender (1998-2005) who both had five. All six of Moreau’s teams had winning records.  That is the most winning seasons produced by any Tiger head coach.

Chip Little (1979-1980, OT & DL)     Two year starter in both the offensive and defensive lines. Was a two-time first team All District selection at offensive tackle and also earned first team All District honors as a defensive lineman in 1980.  Little is the only lineman in the history of the program to earn first team honors on both sides of the ball in the same season.  The only other player to earn first team honors as both an offensive and defensive lineman in separate seasons is Roger Williams (1983-1984). Was the sixth ranked defensive lineman and fourth-ranked offensive tackle by the Expert Panel voting on the All Century poll of 2000. The fans made Little their fifth choice at offensive tackle.

Tommy Latham (1978-1981, PK, OG & DL)     Latham is the most prolific kicker in the history of the program. He currently holds the school record for extra point kicks made in a game (8) – tied) and a career (112).  When he booted 36 extra points in 1981 that broke Jerry Keen’s (1969-1971) single season record by one.  Latham’s single season record was broken the next season by Garlon Powell who booted 39. Latham first came on the scene as a freshman when he shared kicking duties with Tommy Campbell.  In that 1978 season Latham booted 24 of 29 PAT kicks. He also became the single game, single season and career field goal leader in one game, that coming in the Haynesville game of 1978 when he kicked four field goals, with three of those being in overtime and the final one giving the Tigers a 16-13 win. He booted six other field goals to end his career with ten field goals. That not only makes him the career leader but is more than double that of any other kicker. Latham holds the school record for longest field goal (47 yds.) and in fact has kicked the school’s three longest field goals (47, 46 and 45 yards). Latham kicked 27 of 34 attempted PATs in 1979, 38 of 49 attempted in 1980 and 23 of 27 attempted in 1981.  Latham also played offensive guard and in the defensive line his final two seasons. Latham was a three-time first team All District selection as kicker. That makes him one of only nine players to earn first team All District honors three times at one position.  Latham also earned first team All District honors at nose guard his senior season. Latham scored 150 career points, which included 112 extra points, ten field goals, one safety, one two-point conversion run and a 9 yard touchdown run. At the time that was the third highest total ever amassed, trailing only Jerry Keen (1969-1971) and Ricky Chatman (1976-1979).  Latham remains one of only a dozen players to score 150 or more career points. He was the consensus place-kicker by both the Expert Panel and fans voting in the All Century poll.  He received six first place votes by the eight-member Expert Panel. The only players to get as many or more first place votes from the Expert Panel are Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) and Lionel Johnson (1970-1972) who both received 7 first place votes; Thomas at running back and Johnson at linebacker. 

Ken Maloy (1980-1981, C & DL)     Two-year starter at center and in the defensive line as a junior.  Earned second-team All District honors as a junior and first team All District and All State honors at that position as a senior.  Maloy is one of only three Tiger centers to earn first team All State honors (see Harold Wood, 1920 and Ryan Porter, 1998) The Expert Panel ranked him sixth among centers and the fans voted him seventh.

Perry Myles (1980-1982, RB & DB)     Three-year starter at running back. Started in the defensive backfield as a sophomore and junior but used primarily on offense his senior season.  Myles was the most prolific rusher in the history of the program up to his time and the exact extent of his accomplishments are not known. That is because the complete rushing totals from both his sophomore and junior seasons are not known. The only single game rushing total known from Myles’ sophomore season is the Many game where he rushed for four touchdowns and ended the night with 132 yards. That feat tied a single game rushing touchdown record, as Myles joined five other players that had rushed for four touchdowns in a single game.  Myles was the first sophomore to accomplish that feat and in fact at the time he was the only underclassmen to rush for four touchdowns in a single game. He rushed for three other touchdowns during his sophomore season, with those touchdown runs alone totaling 31 yards.  Therefore, all that is known about his rushing total from his sophomore season are those 163 yards, though he was running the football throughout the season. During his junior season his rushing total is known for only five of the team’s thirteen games. Myles had over 100 yards rushing in four of those five games and his total for those five games was 579 yards. He recorded twelve rushing touchdowns his junior season and his rushing total for touchdowns scored in games where his rushing total is not known adds 55 more yards to his total.  Therefore, what is known about his junior season is 634 rushing yards, though he was the leading rusher on a team that gained 2,846 yards rushing.  Myles undoubtedly rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1981, but that is not known for sure.  His full statistics from his senior season on the state championship 1982 team are known.  During that season Myles became the program’s first 1,500-yard rusher by ending the year with 1,557 rushing yards.  When you add the “known” rushing totals from his sophomore and junior seasons to his senior season total that gives Myles 2,354 rushing yards.  In short, his complete game rushing totals are only known for 20 of the 37 games he carried the ball in. Even his known total was second all-time at the time, trailing only Nathan Johnson (1974-1976), who had 2,825 career rushing yards, though he too had unaccounted for games that totaled five in number. So, Johnson was likely the school’s first 3,000-yard career rusher, but Myles undoubtedly rushed for over 3,000 yards in his career as well. Myles ranks eight on the career rushing list when comparing his known total to other rushers.  He most likely ranks fifth on the all-time list because he would have only needed to have rushed for 800 yards in those 16 games in which his rushing total is not known to move into fifth place.  He would have had to have average 50 yards rushing per game to do that.  Since his single game rushing average for the 20 games where is rushing total is known is 113 yards per game and since he never rushed below 66 yards in the 20 games where is total is known, it is reasonable to assume he gained at least 800 or more likely well over 1,000 more rushing yards that his total shows.  He would have had to have gained an additional 1,500 more rushing yards to move into the fourth spot on the all-time career rushing list.  After rushing for 7 touchdowns as a sophomore and 12 as a junior Myles shattered the single-season rushing touchdown total set by Ricky Chatman in 1979 (16) by rushing for 23 touchdowns in 1982. That gave Myles 42 career rushing touchdowns which was 11 more than second place Ricky Chatman at the time.  In fact, Myles’ single season total of 1982 was tied with Jerry Keen’s (1969-1971) career total. Myles had two games where he rushed for four touchdowns.  He is the first player to do that twice and is the only player other than Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) to accomplish that feat more than once.  Myles was the scoring leader of the semi-finalist 1981 team with 74 points.  He and teammate Garlon Powell combined to score 310 points the next season, as Powell ended the 1982 season with 166 points and Myles added 144 point.  The single season scoring record up to that time was the 130 points scored by John Wayne Williams in 1971. Therefore, both Powell and Myles broke that record. Those two totals by Powell and Myles are still the highest single season scoring total by any player other than Anthony Thomas, who had three seasons in which he scored over 180 points. Myles finished his career with 244 points, which broke Jerry Keen’s (1969-1971) career mark of 207 points. Myles is one of only nine players to score 200 or more points in their career and he currently ranks fifth on that list. Myles had 16 known games in which he rushed for 100 yards or more in his career, with 10 of those games coming in the 1982 season alone. That was a career and single season mark at the time. His post-season honors included back-to-back first team All District honors at running back between 1981 and 1982.  The Expert Panel ranked Myles in a tie with Jeffery Dale at ninth on the all-time running back list.  He was ranked tenth by the fans, just behind John Wayne Williams (1970-1971).

Marcel Mills (1980-1981, FB, DE & LB)     Mills is the only player from the

1982 state champion team that was named to a first team All State squad.  That

came at the linebacker position where he was credited with 164 tackles during the

1982 season. That ranks as the second highest single season total of all time,

trailing only Lionel Johnson’s 1971 total.  His 1982 tackle-per-game average was

11.7.  Mills actually began his career as a defensive end during this sophomore

season.  He played his last two seasons at linebacker and was named by the

Expert Panel of the All Century poll as the program’s fourth-best linebacker behind

Lionel Johnson (1970-1971), Ricky Chatman (1976-1979) and Charles Poisso

(1966-1967).  Mills’ career ended slightly earlier than he would have liked as he

broke his arm in the third quarter of the 1982 state title game against John Curtis.

He also played three seasons at the fullback position, where he recorded fifteen

career rushing touchdowns. That total placed him in a tie for 7^th on the all-time list

at the time and still ranks in the top twenty.  Mills was a first team All District

defensive end as a sophomore and a two-time first team All District linebacker. He

earned second team All District honors at back his junior season.  Mills is the only

sophomore to ever earn All District status at a defensive end position and one of

only nine sophomores to earn All District honors at any defensive position.  The

only three-time first team All District performers at a defensive position are Mills,

Ricky Chatman (1977-1979), Oshay Booker (1996-1998), DeCarlus Pittman

(1994-1996) and Freddie King (1997-2000)

Bennie Mitchell (1980-1982, WR, KR & DB)     Along with Eric Caldwell (11

in 1986) and Freddie King (10 in 1998), Mitchell is the only player to catch

double-digit TD passes in a single season.  He had 10 in 1982. His 15 career TD

receptions are second highest in the history of the program, trailing only Freddie

King’s total.  Catching multiple (2 or more) touchdown passes in a single game is a

rarity in the program.  That feat has only happened a total of 28 times.  Only

seven players have done that in more than one game.  Prior to 1982 four players

had two games in the same season in which they had caught two touchdown

passes.  In 1982 Mitchell had three games in which he caught multiple touchdown

passes to become the first player to do that three times.  Since then that has only

happened twice, first in 1986 when Eric Caldwell had four games in which he

caught multiple touchdown passes and then in 1998 when  Freddie King had          

four games with multiple TD catches.  The leaders for career multiple touchdown

catch\games are King with 6, Caldwell with 4 and Mitchell with 3. All total he had

10 touchdown receptions in 1982, which broke Tommy Wyatt’s single season

record of 9 that had stood since the 1959 season.  Mitchell’s total has only been

topped once, that coming in 1986 when Eric Caldwell had 11 touchdown

reception.  Mitchell finished his career with 15 touchdown reception with was two

more than Wayne Woods (1965 -1967) career total of 13.  Only Freddie King

(1997-2000), with 20, has more career touchdown receptions. In 1982 4 of his 10

touchdowns by reception came in the playoffs against those talent-rich playoff

opponents.  Only five players have ever caught more than one touchdown pass in a

playoff series in one season with four of those have two touchdown catches in the

playoffs, compared to Mitchell’s four touchdown catches.  He also had

a touchdown catch in 1981 to give him three career touchdown catches in the

playoffs.  No other player has more than two.  Mitchell and Mickey Zimmerman

(vs. Haughton 1976) are the only players to have multiple touchdown catches in

the same playoff game and Mitchell did that twice; first against Rayville in the

opening round and then against E. D. White in the semi-final round. Mitchell was

an opportunist when it came to his pass receptions because he is no where

near the single-season or career leaders in receptions.  For example, in the 1982

season he only had 23 receptions total, but since 10 of those went for touchdowns

he almost scored once out of every two times he touched the ball.  His reception

totals from 1980 and 1981 are not known. One measure of a gifted football player

is whether that player excelled at more than one position.  Include Bennie Mitchell

among those players who was among the greatest of all-time at two functions. 

Besides being a career leader at wide receiver Mitchell was one of the most

successful return men in the history of the program.  Mitchell had five career punt

returns for a touchdown.  He trails career leader John Wayne Williams (1970-

1971) by one and is two better than third place Jeffery Dale (1977-1980).  Only

four other players have as many at two punt returns for scores.  Mitchell scored

those punt return this way: one each his sophomore and junior seasons and three

his senior season.  He is the only player in the history of the program to have punt

return touchdown in three different seasons.  His three touchdown total is the

second most of any single season, trailing only John Wayne Williams five. Only

Mitchell and Dale have three punt returns for touchdowns in the same season and

only four other players have as many as two punt returns for scores in the same

season. The only players with three or more career kick returns (punt or kickoff)

for touchdowns include John Wayne Williams (1970-1971) with eight; Bennie

Mitchell (1980-1982) and Freddie King (1997-2000) with five, Garlon Powell

(1981-1983) and Andrew Riggs (1982-1984) with four and Charles Oliver

(1972-1973), Jeffery Dale (1978 -1980) and Viron Smith (1994-1996) all with

three. Another measure of a football threat is a player who can break the long one. 

A total of nine (almost half) of Mitchell’s career twenty touchdowns covered 50

yards or more.  At the time that trailed John Wayne Williams by one and tied 

Ricky Chatman’s total of 50-yard touchdowns.  Currently, Mitchell’s total is tied

for fifth highest in the history of the program.  Mitchell scored 15 total touchdowns

in 1982, including his 10 by reception, three by return and two by rush.  At the

time that was the third highest single-season total ever amassed.  Currently that

ranks as the fourteenth-best single-season total.  He ended his career with 23 total

touchdowns, which is the same career total as John Wayne Williams (1970-1971)

and Nathan Johnson (1974-1976), all of which are currently in fourteenth place. 

Mitchell finished his career with 126 points scored, making him one of only 31

players to score 100 or more career points.  He scored 90 of those points in 1982,

which was third behind teammates Perry Myles and Garlon Powell for the team 

lead. At the time, Mitchell’s total was higher than all but five players that had ever

played for Winnfield.  His single-season total of 1982 still ranks in the top twenty. 

The only post-season honors that came Mitchell’s way came during his senior

season when he earned first team All District honors at wide receiver.  However,

the Expert Panel of the All-Century poll certainly recognized Mitchell’s value to the

program as that group gave Mitchell the most votes at the end position.  In fact,

only Anthony Thomas (1993-1996), Nathan Johnson (1974-1976) and Greg

Wagoner (1969-1971) earned more total points on the offensive side of the poll as

voted on by the Expert Panel.  The fans ranked Mitchell number five as a return

man and number seven as their wide receiver.

Jess Grigg (1981-1982, DL & OT)       Alternated at offensive tackle his junior

season but was a two year starter in the defensive line where he was a two-time

first team All District pick. Grigg is a fan favorite as he ranked third by the fans in

balloting for the all-time defensive lineman pick.  That put him behind his brother

Woody (1977-1978) and James Johnson (1971-1972).  The Expert Panel thought

highly of Jess Grigg as well, placing him fifth among defensive linemen.

Thomas King (1981-1983, DB & QB)     First broke into the lineup in the

defensive backfield as a sophomore where he earned first team All District honors.

He was the first sophomore to be named All District at defensive back and is one

of only six sophomores to earn that honor to date.  However, he took over as the

starting  quarterback in 1982 and helped the program secure 22 wins between

1982 and 1983 as a prototypical Veer quarterback. King was a first team All

District quarterback in 1982 and 1983.  His rushing statistics and passing statistics

are equally impressive, though not in ways that most people look at statistics.  In

1982 King had two 1,000 yard rushers with him in the backfield and two backs

who broke the single season scoring record (see Garlon Powell and Perry Myles). 

So, if all you knew was that King rushed for 368 yards and rushed for ten

touchdowns in 1982 you might conclude that he had a decent, though not

impressive season.  The fact is that three of King’s touchdowns covered 70 or

more yards, including a 76 run for a touchdown against John Curtis in the state title

game, a 71 yard scoring run in the semi-final round game against E. D. White and a

71 jaunt against rival Jonesboro-Hodge.  Tiger quarterbacks have scored on runs

of 70 or more yards only six times.  King, therefore, has half of the 70+ scoring

runs by Tiger quarterback and holds the record for the longest touchdown run by

a Tiger quarterback with his 76-yarder against John Curtis.  He rushed for one

touchdown as a sophomore, but that one went 67 yards and he rushed for five

touchdowns as a senior, with one of those covering 60 yards.  So, all total King

had five rushing touchdowns that covered 60 or more yards. There have only been

ten scoring runs by a Tiger quarterback that covered 60 more yards.  King has half

of those.  To take that one step further, only twenty Tiger players have two

or more touchdown runs from scrimmage that covered 60 or more yards.  King

and Mike Tinnerello (2) are the only quarterbacks from among that group.  There

are only four players in the history of the program with five or more touchdown

runs from scrimmage that covered 60 or more yards, including Anthony Thomas

(17 between 1993 and 1996), Cornelius Patterson (8 between 1997 and 1999),

Antonio Robinson (7 between 2003 and 2004) and King with his five.  As a

passer King threw for 1,169 yards in 1982 to become the sixth Tiger quarterback

to throw for 1,000 yards in a single season.  He remains one of only nine Tiger

quarterbacks to accomplish that feat. King added 770 passing yards in 1983 to

end his career with 1,969 yards, which was third highest at the time. His career

102 completions ranks him eighth on the all-time list. King threw 10 touchdown

passes in 1982 to become the seventh Tiger quarterback to reach the double-digit

mark for TD passes in a season.  He currently ranks in the top ten on that

list.  He added 6 more touchdown passes in 1983 to finish his career with 16

touchdown tosses, which is tied with Ricky Jordan (1965-1966) for eighth place

on the all-time list.  King was the clear choice by the Expert Panel as the program’s

all-time quarterback as he not only received the most votes from that group but five

of the eight members made him their first choice. Two others made him their

second choice and the third made him their third pick.  The fans voting in the All

Century poll had the same opinion of King as they too made him their top pick at

quarterback.  

Garlon Powell (1981-1983, RB, PK & DB)     Powell was a scoring machine.

Give him credit for touchdowns by way of: rush, reception, punt return and kickoff

return; as well as by interception and fumble return.  He also was a kicker who

booted extra points and has a field goal to his credit.  That is eight means of

scoring, which was the most ways up to his time, as John Wayne Williams (1970-

1971), the previous leader, had scored in six different ways.  The only other

players to match Powell’s total are Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) and Freddie

King (1997-2000).  All total Powell scored 337 career points. He was the first

player to score as many as 250 career points and he remains the second highest

scorer in school history behind Anthony Thomas (1993-1996).  Powell scored 54

points his sophomore season, which established a new sophomore scoring record

at the time and has only been topped by Anthony Thomas. The next season he

shattered the single season scoring mark of 130 pts. set by John Wayne Williams

(1971) when he scored 166 points. That is currently the fourth highest single

season total but only Anthony Thomas, who had three seasons where he scored

more has ever scored more points in a single season than Powell.  During Powell’s

senior season he scored 135 points. Powell, Anthony Thomas and Jeffery Dale

(1977-1980) are the only players in the history of the program to score 50 or more

points in three different seasons. Against Coushatta in 1983 Powell scored

32 points.  That broke Jerry Keen’s 12 year old record for single-game points

scored.  The only players in the history of the program to score 30 or more points

in a game are Powell, Keen, Anthony Nash (1993) and Anthony Thomas (1993-

1996).  All total Powell had 42 rushing touchdowns, which tied Perry Myles

(1980-1982) at the time for the career lead and is currently the third most.  Myles

and  Powell’s record was 11 more than the school record prior to their

participation in the program. In 1982 Powell rushed for 19 touchdowns, which

trailed teammate Perry Myles’ total that year by four. At the time those were the

two highest totals.  In fact, only four players had ever rushed for more touchdowns

in a career, including Nathan Johnson (20), Jerry Keen (23), Jeffery Dale (31) and

Ricky Chatman (31).  Powell rushed for four touchdowns in a single game twice

which tied a school record for rushing touchdowns in a game.  One of those games

was the Jena game of 1982; a game in which Powell also returned an interception

for a touchdown.  That made Powell the first player to score 5 total touchdowns in

a single game.  That has been matched or topped by only two other players,

including Anthony Nash in 1993 and Anthony Thomas six times between 1995 and

1996.  Powell ended his career with 49 total touchdowns which included 42

rushing touchdowns, 3 by kickoff return and 1 each by reception, interception

return, fumble return and punt return.  That career total broke Jeffery Dale’s school

record of 36 and is currently the third most in the program. His three career kickoff

returns for scores set a new record that has only been topped by one when

Freddie King (1997-2000) ran four kickoff returns back. Powell’s 95 yard kickoff

return against Rayville is tied for the longest kickoff return in school history. Almost

overshadowed in Powell’s career was his proficiency as a place kicker.  He set a

single season record that still stands today when he booted 39 extra point in 1982. 

While he had many opportunities to attempt extra points on the school’s all-time

scoring team (595 pts.) he did convert on 39 of 45 attempts for an .867

percentage.  That is the fourth best of all time. His career 64 PAT leads all other

kickers except career leader Tommy Latham.  There have only been four games in

which a Tiger kicker has successfully booted 8 extra points.  Powell was the kicker

in two of those games (vs. Ringgold & Coushatta, 1983).  He only booted one

field goal in his career but that field goal may have been the most crucial field

goal in school history. In the 1982 title game the Tigers were holding a slim 20-14

second half lead and momentum appeared to be shifting to John Curtis.  Powell

came in and booted a 25 yard field goal in the third quarter to account for the

Tigers final 23-14 margin in that win.  That boot took pressure off of the Tiger

defense the rest of  that game.  It was Powell’s only field goal of his career. 

Powell’s rushing totals are quite impressive.  His best rushing season was his junior

year when he rushed for 1,314 yards.  He joined teammate Perry Myles (1,554)

as the first Tiger tandem to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.  That has only been

matched two other times.  Powell had 1,190 rushing yards as a senior.  He is one

of only seven Tiger backs to have more than one 1,000-yard rushing seasons.  His

complete rushing totals from his sophomore season are not known.  What is

known is that he rushed for 208 yards on his 8 touchdowns alone.  Therefore, it

is known that Powell had at least 2,712 career rushing yards, though he obviously

had several hundred more rushing yards his sophomore season.  His career total is

thus likely over 3,000 yards which would put him in the same company as only six

other career 3,000-yard backs.  Compared to the other 3,000 yard backs Powell

easily had the fewest carries.  In almost half of his games he had under double-digit

carries and it was almost unheard of for him to carry the ball more than 15 times. 

The highest known single game carry total of Powell’s career came in 1983

when he toted the ball 20 times against North Natchez.  He gained 171 yards that

night.  What was common was for him to gain that kind of yardage with half as

many carries.  Powell holds the school record for highest single game per carry

average (4 carries minimum), with that coming against Jena in 1982 when he gained

156 yards on 4 carries for a 39.00 yard per carry average.  There are several

other examples like that, including: vs. Coushatta (1983), 182 yards on 6 carries

for a 30.33 average; vs. Many (1983), 188 yards on 8 carries for a 23.50 average

and vs. Many (1982) 117 yards on 5 carries for a 23. 40 average.  One of the

most remarkable individual performances came in a two-game stretch during the

1982 season.  Against Jena and Ringgold in 1982 Powell carried the ball a

combined 10 times.  In those 10 carries Powell gained 278 yards and scored

touchdowns on 6 of those runs. The shortest of those runs was an 18-yarder

and all the rest were 30 yards or longer.  It is not known how many times Powell

carried the ball in 1982.  What is known is that in seven games (half of the season)

he carried the ball 70 times for 791 yards, an 11.3 yard per carry average. 

Included in those 7 games were three playoff games which were theoretically the

Tigers toughest opponents of the year.  In the remaining 7 games he gained 523

yards and it is unlikely he carried the ball more than 50 times. Assuming, then, that

Powell carried the ball an even 120 times that would have made his per carry

average right at 11 yards per carry. Other individual game impressive rushing totals

include the state championship game of 1982 when he was the teams leading

rusher with 137 yards on 12 carries.  In 1983 he teamed with backfield mate

Andrew Riggs (1982-1984) to gain 413 rushing yards against Ringgold. That

marked the first time two Tiger backs had gained 150 yards each in the

same game.  The team as a whole gained 555 rushing yards, which is still the

single-game team record. If all of that weren’t impressive enough, Powell also tied

a school record with a 95 yard kickoff return against Rayville in the first round of

the 1982 playoffs and his 99 yard run from scrimmage against Many in 1983 is the

longest run from scrimmage in the history of the program. All total Powell had

fourteen touchdown runs that covered 50 or more yards including 9 by rush, 3 by

kickoff return, 1 by punt return and 1 by interception return.  The only player

with more 50+ yard touchdown runs is Anthony Thomas. Powell is one of only

nine Tiger players (and one of only six offensive players) to earn first team All

District honors at the same position three years running. That came when was

named a first team All District running back in 1981, 1982 and 1983.   The only

other running backs to accomplish that feat are Anthony Thomas and Cornelius

Patterson (1977-1979).  Powell placed third at running back in balloting

by the Expert Panel in the All Century poll and eighth by the fans. The fans also

voted Powell the sixth best place kicker in the history of the program.

Gary Irvin (1982-1983, DE)      Irvin manned a defensive end position for two

years, earning first team All District and All State in 1983. First started at defensive

end on the state champion 1982 team. Irvin received the second most votes from

the Expert Panel and third most votes from the fans voting on the defensive end

spot in the All Century poll.  

Andrew Riggs (1982-1984, DB, KR & RB)      One of the more underrated

players in the history of the program.  All he did was set school records and put

himself in several top ten career categories for rushing and kick returns.  In 1984

he tied the school record for the longest touchdown with a 100 yard interception

return against Caldwell. He is the first player to rush for 250 yards in a game, that

coming in 1983 when he rushed for 257 yards against Ringgold. That was just

under half of the team 555 yards rushing which is still a school record. He also

scored four touchdowns in the 1983 Ringgold game which tied the school record

for rushing touchdowns in a game.  Riggs didn’t carry the ball much so his single

season totals aren’t that impressive.  His best rushing season was his junior year

when he rushed for just over 900 yards.  However, he took advantage of the

opportunities given him.  He has the second-highest single game rushing average,

that coming in a 1984 game against Coushatta when he only carried the ball 4 times

but he gained 147 yards for a 36.75 yard per carry average.  In 1983 he scored

14 rushing touchdowns, which at the time was the 5^th best on record and is

currently still in the top twenty.  He had a 90 yard touchdown run from scrimmage

in 1983 and a 97 yard touchdown run from scrimmage in 1984.  There have only

been ten 90+ yard touchdown runs from scrimmage and Riggs is the only player to

do that more than once.  His two 90-yarders currently rank 3^rd and 5^th on the all-

time list.  Riggs had 9 rushing touchdowns in 1984, as well as two touchdowns by

reception, two by punt return and one each by kickoff return, fumble recovery and

interception return.  Riggs is one of only six players to have multiple punt returns for

touchdowns in the same season. He ended his career with 23 rushing touchdowns,

with tied Jerry Keen in 5^th place at the time and is still in the top ten.  His 32 total

touchdowns was also in the top five then and in the top ten now.  Riggs was the

leading scorer of the 1984 team, posting 98 points that season.  That total ranks in

the top twenty of all time.  His 188 career points was the fifth best up through

the 1984 season and is currently the 11^th best.  Riggs earned second team All

District honors at running back in 1983 and was a first team pick in 1984.  

Al Simmons (1984-1985, OG & DL)    Two year starter in the offensive line and

a regular in the defensive line his senior season.  Earned first team All District and

All State at offensive guard position in 1984 and was a second team All District

pick in 1985.  The Expert Panel of the All Century poll ranked Simmons their

second choice at offensive guard, while the fans ranked Simmons fourth.      

Eric Caldwell (1984-1986, RB, KR & E;  2000-2005, Assistant Coach )    

One of only six players to earn first team All State honors at offensive end. 

Caldwell is the school record-holder for single-season TD receptions with 11 in

1986. That season he caught 46 passes for 858 yards; an 18.65 per yard average

per catch.  That set a record for pass receptions in a season at the time and is

currently second.  His yardage total in 1986 is the third most all-time. Caldwell also

holds the school record for multiple-touchdown reception games in one season

with four in 1986.  That is also his career total, which is third best all-time. As a

sophomore Caldwell rushed for two touchdowns and his 11 touchdowns by

reception gives his 13 career touchdowns. He ranks fourth by the Expert Panel in

the All Century poll and ranks in the top ten by the fans. 

Chip Clark (1987, P & PK)  Sophomore kicker who transferred to Winnfield as

a sophomore when his father took a job coaching the freshman team.  He finished

the year with the highest single-season punting average in school history at 46.1

yards per kick.  He earned second team All District honors, but first team All State

honors as a punter.  Clark also booted 14 of 17 PAT tries, connected on a 36

yard field goal and even ran a reverse from his wide out position 62 yards for a

touchdown. Clark moved away from Winnfield after his sophomore season. 

Jeff Howard (1985-1986, DB & QB)   School recorder holder for single-game passing yards.  That came in a 237 yard performance against Oakdale in 1986. Also had another 200-yard passing game in 1986, that coming against Breaux Bridge. Howard joined Steve Adams (1971-192) and Lyn Bankston (1974-1976) as the only quarterbacks with multiple 200-yard passing games.  He is the leader in single-game completions with 18 vs. Breaux Bridge in 1986 and he hold the record for most pass attempts in a game with 45 in that same game against Breaux Bridge.. Had 13 touchdown passes in 1986 which is tied for fourth most in a season. Had one other TD toss the season before to give him 14 career touchdowns which is still in the Top Ten. Howard has 113 pass completions in his career which is ranked in the top ten and his 106 completions in 1986 is ranked third most of all time.

Carey Broudy (1986-1988, E & DB)     School record three interceptions

against Winnsboro in 1987.       Broudy received the third most votes at defensive

backs by both the Expert Panel and the fans at large voting on the All Century Poll

of 2000.He was a two-time All District pick in 1987 and 1988 and the MVP

defensive player in the district as a junior. Broudy was a first team All State

selection in 1988.

Matt Machen (1987-1989, EB)     Along with Steve Adams (1971), Machen is the only other QB to throw for 20 or more TD passes in single season when he had an even 20 in 1989. Machen had 30 career touchdown tosses, which is third most all-time. He is the single-season leader for passing yards with 1,852 yds. (in 1989) and the career leader for pass completions with 199.  Machen passed for 2,925 career yards, which is second most all-time. He also holds the single-season record for highest passing completion percentage by completing 54.27% of his passes (108 of 199) in 1989. That 1989 completion total is second highest of all time.  His career completion total of 199 leads the program and he is one of only three quarterbacks to attempt more then 400 passes, as Machen attempted 404. There have only been five games in the history of Tiger football when a quarterback completed 15 or more passes. Machen has three of those. Machen was a first team All District selection in 1989 and was named co-MVP offensive player in the district that year.

John Michael Spangler (1989, WR & PK)  Single season leader for pass receptions, with 49 in 1989. One of only three players in the history of the program with three touchdown receptions that covered 60 ore more yards. He was a first team All District pick in 1989.

1990-1999

Ryan Poisso (1991-1993, OT & OG)    Was a three-time first team All District pick, with his first two selections being at the OT position and the third being at OG.  Was selected as a second-team player on the All Century team by both the Expert Panel and fans voting in the All Century poll.

Anthony Nash (1992-1993, RB & KR)    All State return specialist in 1993.

The fans voted Nash No. 4 in the All Century poll for kick returners. Nash was a

two-time first team All district running back and also earned first team honors as a

kick returner in 1993.  As a running back he gained 1,300 yards his senior season,

which was fourth-best on record at the time and remains in the top fifteen.

R. C. Williams (1992-1994, RB)  One of only four players to be part of a dual

1,000-yard rushing tandem.  In 1994 he and Anthony Thomas both crossed the

1,000 yard rushing mark, with Williams’ total being 1,263.  At the time, that was

the 7^th highest single season total and still ranks in the top fifteen. Williams finished

his career with 1,820 rushing yards which is also a top fifteen performance. His

career game came against ASH in 1994 when he rushed for 190 yards and scored

two touchdowns.  Williams had three games in 1994 in which he rushed for

three touchdowns. Williams is only one of five players to rush for 20 touchdowns in

a single season, that coming in 1994.  For his career he rushed for 23 touchdowns,

which is tied for 9^th- most for the 20^th century. Williams was an All District running

back in 1994, joining teammate Anthony Thomas in that mythical backfield.

David Garr (1993-1995, OT)    Received the second highest votes at tackle by

the Expert Panel and highest votes by the fans. Garr was a two-time first team All

District selection at offensive tackle and earned

Anthony Thomas (1993-1996, RB, PK)   He is the only Tiger back to ever rush

for 2,000 yards in a season, and he did that three time. For that matter, he is first

and one of only two backs (see Cornelius Patterson, 1997) to ever rush for 1,000

or more yards in three seasons.  Thomas rushed for 2,405 yards his sophomore

season. He followed that up with 2,225 rushing yards his junior year and set a

single season rushing record his senior season with 2,497 yards. His career

total of 7,594 yards is almost double that of second place Cornelius Patterson

(1997-1999).  Thomas is the only player to gain more than 4,000 career yards

rushing. He set a single-game rushing record of 486 yards vs. North Caddo in

1995. There have only been 11 occasions when a back rushed for 250 or more

yards in a single game.  Thomas was the ball carrier on 9 of those occasions.  He is

the only player to rush for more than 300 yards in a game.  All total he had one

400+ yard rushing game, three games in which his total was in the 300-399 range,

sixteen games when his total was in the 200 to 299 range and eleven other games

when his rushing total was in the 100 to 199 range.  All total then he rushed for

100 or more yards in 36 games. He holds school record for most total touchdowns

in a game (8), single season (40) and career (106). His career total set a state

record at the time as well. Thomas also holds the school record for most rushing

touchdowns in a game (8), single season (36) and career (92).  Thomas is the only

player that has rushed for 25 or more touchdowns in a single season and he did

that three times; including 25 in 1994, 36 in 1995 and 27 in 1996. His career total

for rushing touchdowns is 40 more than second place Zan Johnson (1999-2001).

Thomas also holds the school record for most points scored in a game (48 vs.

North Caddo in 1995), season (243 in 1995) and career (682).  His single season

scoring totals for his sophomore, junior and senior seasons rank 1, 2 & 3 on the

all-time list as he scored 192 points as a sophomore, 243 points as a junior (when

he was also the state’s leading scorer) and 180 points as a senior. Thomas is the

only player to score more than 175 points in a season. Those points came by the

following means: rush (93), reception (11), other TDs (2), PAT kicks (18), field

goals (2 - 27 and 30 yards) and 2 pt. conversions (11). He was a three-time All-

District and All State selection from 1994 to 1996. Not only did he receive the

highest votes by both the Expert Panel and Fans voting on the running back

position, but he received the most votes regardless of position by both the fans and

Expert Panel.

Brian Garrett (1993-1994, OG)   First team All District and All State pick in 1994.  Was the third-ranked offensive guard as voted by the fans in the All-Century poll and the fourth-ranked guard by the Expert Panel.

DeCarlus Pittman (1994-1995, DB & LB)   Pittman is one of only five players to be named to a first team All District position on the defensive side of the ball three times. The others include Marcel Mills (1980-1982), Ricky Chatman (1977-1979), Oshay Booker (1996-1998) and Freddie King (1997-2000).  Pittman earned those honors as a defensive back in 1994 and 1995 and as a linebacker in 1996.

Viron Smith (1994-1996, RB, DB & KR)  Holds the school record for the longest fumble return for a TD, with that being a 99-yarder against Jena in 1995. Smith was an All State defensive back in 1996 and he was a first team All District running back in 1995 and first team All District defensive back in 1996.  In his career he had six touchdown runs that covered fifty or more yards, including the aforementioned fumble return, one interception return, one rush, two kickoff returns and one other fumble return. Smith scored seventeen total touchdowns in his career with those broken down as follows: rush (9), fumble return (3), kickoff return (2), punt return (2) and interception return (1). Only three players in the history of the program have returned two or more punts and two or more kickoffs for a touchdown. Those include Smith, with two of each, Freddie King, with 4 kickoff returns and 2 punt returns and John Wayne Williams, with 6 punt returns and 2 kickoff returns. Only Williams (8 total kick returns for touchdowns), Freddie King (6) and Bennie Mitchell (5 punt returns) have more kick returns for touchdowns.

Wayne Griffen (1995-1995, OG)    All State pick in 1996 and a two-time All District selection in 1995 and 1996.

Justin Durbin (1996-1997, TE)    Was the second-leading vote-getter at TE by

both the Expert Panel and the fans at large voting in the All Century poll. Was a

two-time All District pick at tight end and earned first team All State honors as a senior.

Oshay Booker (1996-1998, LB & RB)  Booker is one of  only five first team

All District performers at a defensive position.  The others are Marcel Mills (1980-

1982), Ricky Chatman (1977-1979), DeCarlus Pittman (1994-1996) and Freddie

King (1997-2000).  In 1997 Booker scored five touchdowns, including four by

rush against Grant. Only Anthony Thomas (5 times) and Zan Johnson (1 time) have

had games in which more rushing touchdowns were scored.  Booker joined a

group of 11 other players to score four touchdowns in a game.

Ryan Porter (1997-1998, C)   All State pick in 1998 and a two-time All District

performer in 1997 and 1998. Ranked 4^th and 5^th by the Expert Panel and fans at

large respectively voting in the All Century poll.

Cornelius Patterson (1997-1999, RB)    Joined Anthony Thomas as the only

two backs to rush for 1,000 or more years in three seasons. Patterson’s single

season totals include: 1,400 in 1997 (second most by a sophomore behind

Anthony Thomas in 1994), 1,025 in 1998 and 1,485 in 1999. That 1999 total is

the 5^th highest total of the twentieth century and 9^th highest overall.  Only four

players have rushed for more yards in a single season, including Anthony Thomas

(3 times), Zan Johnson and Antonio Robinson (2 times each) and Perry Myles.

Patterson’s career rushing total is 3,910 yards, which is second all-time at the

school behind Anthony Thomas. Patterson is one of only four players in the history

of the program with five or more touchdown runs from scrimmage that covered 60

or more yards, including Anthony Thomas (17 between 1993 and 1996),

Cornelius Patterson (8 between 1997 and 1999), Antonio Robinson (7 between

2003 and 2004) and King with his five. Patterson had two 200-yard games and

sixteen 100-yard rushing games, which gives him the third most career 100+ yard

rushing games. His career game came against Jonesboro-Hodge in 1999 when he

gained 228 yards. In that contest he had a 94-yard touchdown run from

scrimmage, which is tied for sixth longest TD run from scrimmage in school history.

Patterson rushed for 40 touchdowns, which is sixth most in the history of the

program. He was a three-time first team All District selection at running back.

Freddie King (1997-2000, KR, DB, WR)     Holds the school record for career

TD receptions with 20. Along  with Eric Caldwell (11 in 1986) and Bennie

Mitchell (10 in 1982), he is the only player to catch double-digit TD passes in a

single season when he had 10 in 1998.  Holder of school record for most kickoff

returns for a touchdown in a season (3) and in a career (4).  Scored in virtually

every way possible, including: reception (20, rush (9), interception return (3),

kickoff return (3), fumble return (3), punt return (2), 2 pt. conversion by reception

(2) and 2 pt. conversion by run (1).  He is the career leader for pass receptions

with 124 and single game leader for pass reception with 11 vs. Bunkie in 1998. 

King is the career leader for reception yards with 2,254. King was a three-time All

District performer at defensive back.  The only three-time first team All District

performers at a defensive position are Marcel Mills (1980-1982), Ricky Chatman

(1977-1979), Oshay Booker (1996-1998), DeCarlus Pittman (1994-1996)

and Freddie King (1997-2000). He was a first team All State return specialist in

1998 and an   All State offensive end in 2000.  Placed in the top four in an

unprecedented three categories on the All Century poll.  Both the Expert Panel and

fans voted King 4^th among defensive backs.  King tied for 2^nd among receivers by

the Expert Panel and was ranked 4^th in that category by the fans.  Both the Expert

Panel and Fans voted King the top kick returner.  King is the only player in the

history of the program to earn first team All District honors at three different

position in the same season.  That came in 1998, his sophomore season, when he

earned those honors as a receiver, a defensive back and a kick returner.  He

earned first team All District honors at defensive back as a freshman to become the

only freshman to ever be named to an All District team while playing for Winnfield. 

King was also named first team wide receiver his senior season. All total, then,

King was named to six first team All District positions.

2000-2005

Joey Pender (Head Coach – 1998-2004)    Coach Pender served the program for seven seasons. That is the second longest tenure of any Tiger head coach, with Hoss Newman serving 10 years (1956 to 1965) and Alwin Stokes also serving seven consecutive years between 1917 and 1923.  Therefore, Stokes actually served two more years than Pender, but in terms of consecutive years, Pender and Stokes are tied for second longest period.  Joey Pender’s overall record while at the helm of the Tiger program was 59-32-0.  That gave him the most wins by any Tiger head coach, surpassing the previous record of 58 wins compiled by Doug Moreau (1979-1984). Pender coached in 91 games, which is the second most number of overall games coached by a Tiger mentor, trailing only the 108 games coached by Hoss Newman. Pender won more regular season (54), non-district (33) and home games (33) than any head coach.  He was tied for second most district wins (21) and away wins (26). Three of his seven team posted ten or more wins, which tied Pender with Doug Moreau for most 10-win teams.  He sent six of his seven teams to the playoffs, which is more playoff teams than any other coach has ever had.  Coach Pender had a 5-6 record in playoff games at Winnfield, which is tied with Larry Dauterive (1976-1978) for second-most playoff wins.  The eleven playoff games he coached in trails only Doug Moreau (15) for most playoff games a head coach has guided a Tiger team in. Pender won three district title (1999, 2000 and 2001), which trails both Doug Moreau (1979 – 1984) and Hoss Newman (1956- 1965) by one for second-most district titles. 

Zan Johnson (1999 – 2001, RB)   Johnson ranks fourth on the career rushing list with 3,060 rushing yards.  His most prolific season was his junior season when he rushed for 1,889 yards.  That is the most single-season rushing yards by a player other than Anthony Thomas (1993-1996). Johnson followed that up with 1,491 yards his senior season.  He and Anthony Thomas are the only two player to rush for 50 or more career touchdowns (he had 52 career rushing TDs.). Johnson had 20 rushing touchdowns as a junior and 21 as a senior. Those totals rank him fifth and sixth on the single-season rushing touchdown list, keeping in mind that Anthony Thomas holds the first three places.  Johnson and Thomas are the only two players to rush for 5 TDs in a single game, with Johnson getting 5 rushing TDs against Caldwell in 1999. He had five career 200-yard rushing games, which is second only to Anthony Thomas’ school record of 20.  His 19 career 100-yard rushing games is third highest in the history of the program. He scored 312 career points, which is third highest in the program. He scored 120 points as a junior and 132 points as a senior.  Johnson joins Antonio Robinson (2002 – 2004) and Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) as the only players to score 100 or more points in two separate seasons. Johnson was a two-time first team All District and All State selection at running back (2000 and 2001).  Johnson is the son of Nathan Johnson (1974-1976).

Andrew Smith (1999 – 2001, DB)     Smith was a first team All District pick at defensive back in 2000 and 2001 and a first team All State defensive back in 2001. He had a 90 yard interception return for a touchdown his senior year, which is one of only eight interception returns that have covered 90 or more yards.

Jemayel Phillips (2000 – 2001 – OL)  Phillips was a first team All District and All State pick at guard in 2001.

David Brown (2001 – 2002, WR)   Is the only player in the history of the program with two touchdown reception that covered 80 or more yards. He has the fourth and sixth longest TD receptions for scores in school history. Both of those came in the 2002 season where he caught a total of seven touchdown passes. That is tied for 7^th highest single season total. Brown also caught five touchdown passes in 2001 to give him twelve career TD receptions.  That is tied for fourth-highest of all-time.

Antonio Robinson (2002 – 2004, RB & KR) Ranks third on the career rushing list with 3,702 total rushing yards. Had nearly identical rushing statistics his junior and senior seasons when he rushed for 1,630 and 1,663 yards respectively.  Those totals rank fifth and sixth on the single-season rushing list. Robinson’s total his senior year is the second highest total by a senior, trailing only Anthony Thomas’ total. He and Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) are the only two backs in the history of the program to rush for more than 1,500 yards in two different seasons.

Robinson had 20 games in which he rushed for 100 or more yards, which trails only the 33 game total of Anthony Thomas for most 100-yard games at the school.  He had 42 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for third highest in the program and his 46 total touchdowns is ranked fourth all-time. Robinson’s 279 career points scored is ranked fourth highest in the history of the program. He scored 126 points as a junior and 128 points as a senior.  Robinson joins Zan Johnson (1999 – 2001) and Anthony Thomas (1993-1996) as the only players to score 100 or more points in two separate seasons. Robinson was a two-time first team All District selection at running back in 2003 and 2004 and was an honorable mention pick on the All State squad both of those years.

Kevin Ashley (2002 – 2004, OT)  Ashley was a three-time first team All District pick at offensive tackle.  He joins only seven other players in the history of the program to be a three-time first team All District pick.

Matthew Yerby (2004 – 2005, QB & LB)  Threw the longest TD pass in the history of the program, which came in the 2005 game against Marksville.  He hooked up with Caleb Cummings on an 88 yard touchdown pass which broke the 30-year old record for longest touchdown pass by two yards. Cummings and Yerby also hooked up on a 75 yard touchdown pass against Bossier that same year, which was also a Top Twenty performance in terms of distance.

Caleb Cummings (2004 – 2005, WR)  See Matthew Yerby above.