Never give up, on any given day, upset, comeback .... every football program has stories of unlikely wins. Fans from every football team can point to a game in which the team they support seemed to defy all expectations by pulling out a win by overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. Two of my favorite wins from the annals of Winnfield Tiger football fit the category of upset or comeback. I will share the story of one of the biggest upsets in the 100-year history of Winnfield Tiger football in this article and then chronicle the biggest comeback any Tiger team has ever made in a follow up article.
In 1955 Winnfield opened the season at home against Neville. The Tigers from Neville had already opened the season with wins over West Monroe and Bastrop. I will say from the outset that my respect for the Neville football program is one of the reasons this story has merit for me. In a sense, the run of Neville as a Louisiana football powerhouse began in 1955. At the end of the 1955 season, Neville played in their first championship game, where they defeated Reserve 27-14. That would be the first of eight state titles Neville would win in the twentieth century. So powerful were the Neville Tigers between 1955 and 1995, that their eight championship teams posted a combined won-loss record of 98-4-1. Two of those losses came in 1955 and one of those was to Winnfield. Maybe Winnfield had no business defeating Neville in 1955 .... but they did.
The 1955 contest between Winnfield and Neville was played on Winnfield's home turf. Neither school had much history to draw on at the time but Neville Head Coach Bill Ruple was building a powerhouse program and his 1955 team was build around QB Elton Upshaw, end Tom Causey and guard Pat Anderson, all who would earn All-State honors at the end of the 1955 season. Winnfield had posted an 8-4 record the season before, but that had been the only winning season of the whole decade. In contrast to Neville, graduation took a heavy toll on Winnfield after the 1954 season.
Though Winnfield Tiger football had been played since the 1909 season, winning seasons and championship teams hadn't been seen in Winnfield since the 1920s and the first district title the school won wouldn't come for another two years. Winnfield Tiger football had posted only seven winning seasons since the 1929 season, meaning that during the previous twenty-five year period leading up to the 1955 season Winnfield had fielded eighteen teams that ended the year with losing or .500 records. The Winnfield townspeople have always supported high school football - win or lose; however, with so many years of mediocrity, Winnfield fans could be excused for "hoping for, but not really expecting much" on the high school gridiron coming into the 1955 season.
It was the opening game of the season for Winnfield, so nobody really knew anything about the 1955 Winnfield team. One thing was certain - Winnfield was clearly the underdog in this contest. Much to the surprise of everyone in attendance, Winnfield took its first series right down the field and scored to take a 6-0 lead and with it gained a ton of confidence.
Just as impressive - and as uplifting - was the next series that saw Neville move to a first and goal at the Winnfield 5 yard-line, only to be repelled in four attempts. With the opening touchdown and goal line stand, momentum had clearly taken up residence on the Winnfield bench.
Neville did score once in the first half but the opening two quarters were a defensive struggle as the two teams exchanged punts four times. The only time either team made it past the others 30 yard line during the first half came during each team's scoring drive.
Winnfield stared Neville squarely in the eyes for two quarters and matched them blow for blow. While no serious fan of football would have given Winnfield a chance against Neville prior to the game, no reasonable person would have completely counted the Tigers out as the two teams headed in for halftime.
Neville got a huge break early in the third quarter when Winnfield fumbled the ball five yards away from their goal line. Two plays later Neville pushed over their second touchdown to forge a 12-6 lead.
Winnfield made one serious scoring threat in the third quarter when they had the ball in a first and goal situation at the Neville 8 yard line. However, Neville repelled that scoring threat with a goal line stand at the one. That had to be demoralizing to the Winnfield crew.
With just over three minutes to go in the game, Neville had the lead and the ball at the Winnfield 31 yard line. All Neville had to do was pick up a couple of first downs and run out the clock to gain their third win of the season. Of course, a score of any kind would virtually seal a victory for Neville. However, the Winnfield defense stiffened. Facing a fourth and long from midfield and with just under a minute to play in the game, Neville elected to punt to Winnfield, hoping to pin the Tigers deep in their own end of the field and play defense. Coach Ruple had every reason to believe his defense could hold Winnfield one more time.
The Tigers got a return to the Neville 20 yard-line. With the scoreboard reading "Home - 6 Visitors - 12" Winnfield had the ball but they had less than 30 seconds to move 80 yards. In essence, the Tigers had time for two plays and Winnfield squandered their first opportunity when they fumbled on first down but recovered for no gain, leaving time for only one more play. Winnfield head coach Bill Davis called for a flea flicker. After Tiger quarterback Brooks Broussard took the snap from center, he pitched the ball to fullback Dale Reeves, who ran several steps, stopped and threw the ball back to Broussard, who gathered in the ball in the flat at the Winnfield 20 yard-line.
After making the catch, "Crazy Legs" Broussard took off down the sidelines, weaved his way past a couple of lone defenders and ran 80 yards for one of the most improbable and decisive touchdowns in Winnfield football history. The final horn had sounded during Broussard's game-tying run, but Winnfield still had the opportunity to break the 12-12 deadlock when they were given their chance at the PAT with no time on the clock. Winnfield would not be attempting a PAT by kick.
Even though running or throwing for a PAT in 1955 only got you 1 point, many teams still did not rely on the PAT kick like they do today. Such was the case for Winnfield at the end of the 1955 game against Neville. In a game where each team had posted goal line stands, covering 3 yards was certainly no sure thing. With the ball placed on the 3 yard-line, and the crowd in a frenzy, Winnfield's Mickey Frazier got the call and with the help of blocking up front, Frazier plowed through the Neville defensive line to cross the goal line and give the Tigers a thrilling 13-12 win.
Neville went on to win that school's first state title while Winnfield would win only three more games in 1955, as Winnfield finished the season at 4-6. The win by Winnfield goes to show how there can and is more to football than overall season results. A 4-6 season is nothing to cheer about for many, but in 1955 the win over Neville was a life-time memory. Winnfield's boys had plenty of opportunities to get down on themselves, having fumbled the ball away to Neville at their own 5 yard-line, resulting in Neville's go-ahead touchdown and being turned away from what seemed to be certain game-tying touchdown late in the third quarter.
In the end, the Winnfield team never gave up, not even with the ball 80 yards away with only one play possible and not even when 3 yards for a PAT seemed like 30 yards. I have never liked the cliché - "One team wanted more than the other." One thing I do know .... on the final two plays of the Winnfield vs. Neville game of 1955 Winnfield certainly "wanted it" .... and in the end, sometimes you get what you want if you try hard enough.
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