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| ISBN-13: | 9781504918893 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 07/13/2015 |
| Pages: | 700 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.69(d) |
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The Southland Conference
Small College Football, Big Dreams
By George Becnel
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2015 George BecnelAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5049-1888-6
CHAPTER 1
BIRTH OF A CONFERENCE
For four schools that were competing as small college independents and another that was a member of the Lone Star Conference, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics league, it was time for a change.
So, at the Baker Hotel in Dallas on March 15,1963, representatives from four Texas schools – Abilene Christian, Arlington State, Lamar Tech and Trinity University – along with Arkansas State, met for form a new league and create a bit of history.
Among those meeting on that fateful day were the presidents of the five schools, Carl R. Reng of Arkansas State, F.L. McDonald of Lamar Tech, J.R. Wolf of Arlington State, Don Morris of Abilene Christian and James W. Laurie of Trinity.
The group bandied together to form a new conference, with the hopes of beginning competition in sports such as football, basketball and track no later than the 1965 season.
"The conference is designed to encourage high academic standards and athletic excellence. Scheduling is to begin with all due speed. It is expected the conference will be in full swing with regard to the required major sports in 1965," Reng said in a press release the day of the announcement.
"We are well satisfied with the new conference and anticipate a long and rewarding relationship with its member schools," offered Jess Carnes, Trinity's athletic board of control chairman.
The officials announced the league would operate within the framework of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
"The new conference is the best news we've had in a long time. It should stimulate greater interest in varsity sports, not only on campus, but among sportsmen throughout this area who like to see good collegiate football with a championship at stake," said W.C. "Dub" McElhannon, Trinity's football coach.
A.B. Morris, athletic director at Abilene Christian, echoed the sentiments of Reng and McElhannon.
"We in the athletic department are happy to be in the conference and especially associated with these particular schools. All of our coaches feel that it will be beneficial to our department in many ways, such as recruiting. They also feel that the privilege of playing for a championship will give the athletes more incentive," said Morris.
For Abilene Christian and the three other schools besides Lamar Tech that competed as independents, the new league helped to alleviate scheduling problems. The Wildcats had been competing as an independent after the Gulf Coast Conference disbanned following the 1957-58 season.
"I know of past experience that it will be a great help in scheduling as this is quite a problem for independents schools. Being in a good, strong conference, as this one is expected to be, will add prestige to our entire program," Morris said.
Like Abilene Christian, Arkansas State had operated as an independent after leaving the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference in 1951.
By April 5, 1963, the league had an official name – The Southland Conference.
On the day the new conference got its name, J.W. Roberts of Abilene Christian was voted the Southland's first president. Jack Boon of Arlington State was named vice-president and Carnes secretary treasurer.
The timetable for the start of conference competition was moved up, with the Southland announcing it would determine a basketball champion at the conclusion of the 1963-64 season. Champions in track, golf, tennis and baseball would be determined in the spring of 1964.
Football, the league announced, would not begin to compete for a conference title until 1964. While putting together a conference football schedule would not be difficult for independent schools, Lamar Tech faced a different situation. As a departing member of the Lone Star Conference, Lamar's football schedule was set for two years, so the Southland decided to start league play in 1964.
The move to the Southland Conference meant a major commitment by the schools in the new league. The football scholarship limit in the SLC was set at 50. For a school like Lamar, for example, the institution operated with 55 scholarships for all sports.
"We here at Arlington are real pleased with the set-up. We've wanted to get into a conference for some time. This is the answer," said Claude "Chena" Gilstrap, Arlington State football coach.
Conference officials also stated their desire to achieve major status.
"It was stated in our messages to the school presidents that we would work toward major college status. We're meeting all requirements toward that aim," said Roberts.
CHAPTER 2IN THE BEGINNING
The first-ever Southland Conference football game featured Lamar Tech hosting Abilene Christian in Beaumont on Sept. 26, 1964 in brand new Cardinal Stadium. It was the second game of the season for the Cardinals, who opened the 1964 campaign with a 21-0 win over East Central of Oklahoma. Abilene Christian, meanwhile, entered the game with two games under its belt. The Wildcats opened with a pair of wins, topping Howard Payne and East Texas State.
The initial points in Southland Conference history came on a 33-yard field goal by Abilene Christian's Roger Youngblood. It would prove to be the only points yielded by a stingy Cardinals defense over the course of their first two games as Lamar went on to post a 14-3 victory over the Wildcats.
Through the first two games, no opponent had driven the length of the field against Lamar as Youngblood's field goal was set up by a Cardinals fumble.
The Cardinals came up with all the points they would need when Dan Yezak raced 5 yards for a touchdown to cap a 72-yard, 17-play drive in the second period for a 7-3 lead.
Lamar looked to put the game away late in the third quarter. A 44-yard run by Yezak advanced the Cardinals deep into Abilene Christian territory, but the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs just short of the goal line.
It proved to be just a momentary delay for the Cardinals. On Abilene Christian's first play following the stop, Jacky Roland fumbled and Lamar defensive tackle Harvey Stuessel recovered in the end zone for the 14-3 final.
Lamar's low-scoring formula continued a week later at Southland Conference foe Trinity.
The Cardinals' streak of not yielding a touchdown ended at eight quarters when Trinity drove 66 yards with the opening kickoff. Quarterback Danny Witwiski scored from a yard out to cap the drive, but like in the Abilene Christian game, Lamar's defense would not allow another score.
Trinity's 7-0 lead held up until the opening drive of the second half. The Cardinals, ranked No. 2 among small college teams, marched 69 yards, tying the game on a 19-yard pass from quarterback Phillip Primm to Frazier Dealy.
The game was still tied when Lamar got the ball back with four minutes left in the game. Needing only a field goal for a win, the Cardinals instead came up with a touchdown on Hal LaFitte's 7-yard scoring run with 56 seconds left in the contest to culminate a 79-yard drive to give Lamar a 14-7 victory.
"Back in those days, the scores were a lot lower than they are today," said Primm. "You didn't have the high-powered offenses. You didn't have the clock that stopped on first downs and you got a lot less plays off."
By being the only Southland team to play – and win - two games, Lamar quickly gained control of the conference race while improving to 3-0 overall. Trinity remained winless at 0-4 after dropping its league opener.
Arkansas State and Arlington College became the final two teams to make their Southland Conference debuts when the Indians visited the Rebels on Oct. 10, 1964. Arkansas State went into the game unbeaten at 3-0 with wins over Tennessee State, North Alabama and Stephen F. Austin. Arlington State, meanwhile, was 1-2 and coming off a 14-0 loss to Southern Methodist of the Southwest Conference.
The only score of the first half between Arkansas State and Arlington State came on a 1-yard run by Kenneth Bowman. The Rebels fullback went on to rush for 123 yards in the game.
Arkansas State marched 78 yards with the second-half kickoff. The big play in the drive was a 34-yard pass from Gary Everett to Tommy Clark. Tommy Reese's 7-yard touchdown run tied the game.
Neither team could produce any more points, resulting in a 7-7 tie. Both teams missed opportunities for more points. The Rebels had four drives end inside the Arkansas State 20-yard line, including two missed field goals by Al Smith. Arkansas State's Dick Famiglietti returned a fumble to the Rebels' 27 but Dan Summers missed an 18-yard field goal attempt.
Bennie Ellender's Indians earned their first Southland Conference victory a week later with a 35-13 domination of Trinity.
Playing at home for the first time since the season opener, Arkansas State turned two blocked punts by Truman Moore into touchdowns on its way to the victory. Moore's first block was recovered by Bob McCuiston in the end zone for a touchdown. Moore's other block eventually led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Everett to Bill Pagano.
Shelby Lee added two touchdown passes for Arkansas State.
All of Trinity's points came in the fourth quarter on 27-yard touchdown pass by Glenn Obie and a 1-yard run by Bob Eason.
Arkansas State moved to 2-0-1 in the Southland and 5-0-1 overall with a 21-7 win at Abilene Christian.
Instead of blocked punts, Arkansas State turned a pair of fumbles into touchdowns on its way to remaining unbeaten in Southland play with a 21-7 victory at Abilene Christian. Playing a league game for the third week in a row, the Indians used a 17-yard pass from Everett to Pagano following a Wildcats fumble for the only score of the first half. Everett's 6-yard touchdown toss to Reese in the third quarter was set up by an Abilene Christian fumble at the Wildcats' 24.
The Wildcats cut the margin to 14-7 on a 21-yard run by fullback Joe Paty. Abilene Christian recovered the ensuing kickoff but the Wildcats failed to take advantage when Youngblood missed a 25-yard field goal. Arkansas State put the game on ice on an 8-yard run by Billy Joe Bailey with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Halloween in 1964 featured the first time more than one Southland Conference game was played on the same day.
Playing its first Southland game in four weeks, Lamar Tech hosted Arlington State. Following the Cardinals' win over Trinity to move to 2-0 in the SLC, Lamar suffered two non-conference losses for a 3-2 overall record going into the Arlington State encounter. The Rebels entered the contest 2-3-1. After a tie game with Arkansas State in its lone Southland game of the year, Arlington State split two non-conference games.
After giving up a total of 46 points in its two losses, Lamar's defense clamped down once again in Southland Conference play.
A 29-yard Mike Allman field goal broke a scoreless tie to give Lamar a 3-0 lead in the second quarter. Arlington State countered with a 1-yard run by Bowman to give the Rebels a 7-3 edge at halftime.
Following a familiar pattern, the Cardinal defense allowed no more than one score to a Southland opponent, blanking Arlington in the second half. Meanwhile, Lamar put away its third conference win on touchdowns set up by a pair of interceptions. Jake David's interception set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Darrel Johnson and Steve Bailey raced 25 yards after a Burt Allman theft to give the Cardinals a 17-7 triumph.
"It was a good defensive team the time I was there," Primm said of the Cardinals. "It sure made my job a lot easier."
In the other Halloween affair, Trinity defeated visiting Abilene Christian 26-7. The home win in San Antonio was not only the Tigers' first-ever Southland victory, but also their first of the 1964 campaign as Trinity went into the Abilene game 0-7. The Wildcats fell to 4-4 overall after a 4-1 start and dropped to 0-3 in Southland play.
The Wildcats must have thought the footballs were more like hexed pumpkins in the Southland Conference encounter.
Abilene was forced to punt in the first quarter. Jackie Hall returned the kick to the Wildcats' 37. Trinity need 12 plays but eventually scored on a 1-yard sneak by Obie for a 7-0 lead for the Tigers.
A 6-yard punt by the Wildcats early in the third quarter set up Trinity's second score. Taking over at the Abilene Christian 48, the Tigers increased their advantage to 14-0 when Obie hooked up with Obert Logan on a 20-yard touchdown toss.
Another punting miscue set up yet another Tigers touchdown. Abilene Christian punter Mike Love was forced to chase down an errant center snap and was brought down at his own 9-yard line. Logan scored from a yard out two plays later to make it 20-0.
Love scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter as Abilene Christian avoided the shutout in the 26-7 loss.
Something had to give in Abilene Christian's home game with Arlington State. Both teams entered the contest without a win in Southland Conference play. Abilene Christian was 0-3 in the SLC and riding a three-game losing streak. Arlington State managed a tie against Arkansas State to open league play and was 2-4-1heading into the game against the Wildcats.
A 28-yard Youngblood field goal and a 16-yard pass from Ronny Winston to Tommy Walker gave the Wildcats a 10-0 edge.
The Rebels got back in the game when Tony Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown. Arlington State kicked off to Dennis Hagaman. Known as "The Menace," Hagaman headed to the sideline before handing the ball off to Bubba Brown. Brown raced 83 yards for a touchdown to put the Wildcats back on top by 10 points.
Abilene Christian scored 20 points in the fourth quarter on touchdown runs by Love and Winston, along with a 43-yard interception return by Jerry Anderson. Pete Estrade closed out the scoring on a 1-yard run for the Rebels to make the final 37-14 as Abilene earned its first SLC victory.
The Southland Conference closed out its inaugural season with a pair of games on Nov. 11, 1964. In a game with no title implications, Trinity defeated Arlington State 23-7. The win allowed Trinity to close out the season with three-consecutive victories to finish the year 3-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Arlington State finished as the league's only team without a win, ending 0-3-1 in the SLC and 3-6-1 overall.
Ever since Lamar Tech defeated Arlington State 17-7 in Week 8 to move to 3-0 in the Southland, the stage was set for a showdown against Arkansas State. Lamar went into the game against the Indians 5-2 overall. After a 21-7 win over Abilene Christian left Arkansas State 2-0-1in the SLC and 5-0-1 overall, the Indians added two non-conference wins to move to 7-0-1 heading into their encounter with Lamar.
Arkansas State and Lamar fought through a scoreless tie in the first half. The Indians missed the best scoring opportunity of the opening half when Summers missed a 37-yard field goal attempt.
The Indians marched 64 yards with the second-half kickoff. Reese was the workhorse of the drive. He had runs of 5 and 10 yards, along with an 11-yard reception. A 16-yard pass from Everett to Pagano advanced the ball to the 7-yard line. Reese added a 2-yard run before Ken Mashburn was knocked out of bounds inside the 1-yard line on a reception. Harold Wallin ran up the middle for the score and Summers kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Lamar gained possession deep in its own territory early in the fourth quarter following an Everett punt that was downed at the Cardinals' 6-yard line. A face-mask penalty helped keep the drive alive and an 18-yard pass from Primm to Gary Casey advanced the ball to the Arkansas State 42. After a 2-yard run by LaFitte, Primm again handed the ball to LaFitte on a draw. The tailback went up the middle, bounced to the outside and outraced Indian defenders for a 40-yard touchdown.
"Harold was a small running back compared to the other two we had when I was there," Primm said. "He was a tough, quick runner and could cut on a dime. For his size, he was about as tough as anybody running the ball."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Southland Conference by George Becnel. Copyright © 2015 George Becnel. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword, xi,Preface and Acknowledgments, xiii,
Birth of a Conference, 1,
In the beginning, 4,
Newcomer Louisiana Tech dominates SLC, 46,
Trinity departs, McNeese joins SLC, 59,
Louisiana Tech, Division II national champs, 70,
Division I status for Southland, 90,
The Independence Bowl and the SLC, 98,
Coaching upheaval, 124,
Nowhere to go, 142,
Southland designated as Division I-AA league, 150,
Louisiana Tech comes up a bit short, 169,
Arkansas State's last SLC hurrah, 193,
Major membership changes and a national championship, 204,
Three times the fun, 222,
SFA reaches national championship game, 236,
Nicholls debuts with big SLC upset, 260,
Vic the Demon versus Chief Brave Spirit, 277,
McNeese wins first-ever home playoff game, 295,
Missing out on all-Southland I-AA title game, 323,
The Southland Football League, 370,
McNeese reaches Division I-AA finals, 386,
Demons reach I-AA semifinals for first time, 405,
Dealing with September 11, 458,
Cowboys return to Chattanooga, 472,
Name changes, 488,
Coaching upheaval II, 499,
Mother Nature and the SLC, 512,
McNeese's midseason coaching switch, 530,
Division I-AA to the FCS, 543,
No playoffs for Central Arkansas, 559,
SFA's Moses wins Walter Payton Award, 594,
Texas State exits, Lamar returns, 611,
Bearkats return to Frisco, 631,
50th year: Three SLC teams make playoffs, 648,
Legacy, 664,