Freddy Haynes first caught my attention in Minden's season-opening 25-7 football victory over Ruston in 1963. The headline over my story was "Tide Will Be Contender For State Title." In a 52-year sports writing career, that's the only time I've mentioned the possibility of a state championship after a season opener. But that headline told it like it was going to be.

Haynes had three touchdowns that night, scoring the first one on a 51-yard punt return. He also scored on a 16-yard keeper up the middle and a 29-yard bootleg, and threw a 29-yard pass to Carl Shaw for the other touchdown.

Minden had a couple of close calls in the 1963 championship season. One was a 19-13 squeaker past Bossier High, which was 6-4-1 in Bill Maxwell's last season as the Bearkats' coach. The other was a 20-14 victory over Woodlawn, which made the state playoffs as runnerup to Bastrop in District 1-3A when Byrd forfeited seven games because one of its players was ruled ineligible.

Woodlawn apparently tied Minden with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Prather to Ken Liberto in the last 30 seconds, but that score was erased by an ineligible receiver penalty.

Haynes scored twice that night, getting one touchdown on a 74-yard punt return. Stan Belton had 149 yards rushing, including a 56-yard touchdown run.

In the 1963 playoffs, the Tide beat Jonesboro-Hodge 13-2, DeRidder 27-0 and LaRose-Cutoff 28-21 in the championship game.

My fondest memory of that night is the players throwing the Tide coaches into the Minden High swimming pool, and then jumping into the pool themselves, without removing their pads.

Minden High won its first 13 games in 2006, the first time the Tide had been perfect in regular-season play since Sammy Seamster's senior season in 1986. The 1986 team, with four All-Staters (including Seamster) made a quick exit in the playoffs.

The 2006 Tide was the No. 1 seed according to power ratings, and was ranked No. 7 by sports writers. But its dream season ended with a 60-6 semifinal loss to Bastrop.

Minden High played in the first game that decided a state football championship in Louisiana, losing to Warren Easton 7-0 in 1921. Before that, state champions had been "declared." The 1921 Minden team outscored nine opponents 292-0 before the playoff game at New Orleans, played at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon after the Minden team boarded a Pullman train at 6 p.m. Friday and traveled throughout the night to New Orleans. At that time, Warren Easton was the largest school in the South.

Nearly 88 years later, that is still Minden's only loss in six state championship games. The Crimson Tide won state titles in 1938, 1954, 1956, 1963 and 1980.

Haynes was selected on the All-State team in 1963, but not at quarterback. That spot went to Bobby Duhon of Abbeville. Haynes made it at running back. Other Minden All-Staters were end Mike Brewer, who was later on the receiving end of Terry Bradshaw passes at Louisiana Tech, and center Dennis McClure, who was selected "Outstanding Lineman" and later played college football at the University of Arkansas.

Running back Raymond Tate and linebacker Anthony Douglas were All-Staters on the 1980 Minden team, which beat Washington-Lake Charles 12-6 in the championship game at Minden. That was the year before the Louisiana High School Athletic Assn. moved all championship games to the Superdome.

The 1963 state playoffs started with a national tragedy, as President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on the day the playoffs got under way.

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