1936 Tallulah High School Football Season

The following reformatted newspaper clippings were collected by the late Coach M. A. Phillips. The clippings were scanned by Janet Byram Newsom and converted to a computer-sensible format (OCR) by Dick Sevier.

 

 

 

BOTH TEAMS IN POOR SHAPE FOR ANNUAL BATTLE

Injuries To Hamper Lions And Trojans; Close Tilt Is Predicted

 

The football teams of Tallulah and Ouachita Parish High schools will clash here tonight at 8 o'clock on the Northeast Center of L. S. U. gridiron.

 

Both clubs are recovering from strenuous battles last week and, while a hard and close fought game is ex­pected, neither team will be at its full strength, according to reports.

 

Coach "Lefty" Haynes stated last night that all but two members of his squad would be available for service tonight but that eight others, from both the regular and second teams, had not fully recovered from injuries suffered in the past two weeks but would be able to stand up under a share of the battle.

 

The Trojans are also in a weakened condition, Coach M. A. Phillips reported, having emerged from their 14 to 7 victory over the heavier Newellton eleven last week with players suffering from wholesale bruises and sore muscles.

 

Workouts for both teams have been light this week, minus the usual hard scrimmage sessions, as the ailing members of each team were getting over their hard knocks of the past week, but there are no serious injuries or ailments to hinder any of the performers.

 

Ouachita has had its closest battles in the past two years from Coach Phillips' Trojans and for that reason they are expecting anything to happen tonight. Two years ago the Lions won from Tallulah 6 to 0, and last season nosed out the Trojans only 7 to 6.

 

Floyd Van, veteran Ouachita end, will be out of the starting lineup tonight but, despite an ankle injury, he is expected to play in the game. Mitchell Funderburk is slated to start in his place. Maurice LeBlanc will also be out of the backfield for the second straight weekend.

 

Injuries to Verhagen, a guard, and Louis Nettles and J. C. Byram, backs, are the chief worry of Coach Phillips, but he stated last night that all three would be allowed to start the game, as the Trojans are especially weak on reserves despite the fact that they have a stellar regular eleven.

 

Capshaw will start at tackle for Tallulah instead of Lentz, who has a broken nose, Coach Phillips said, but Lentz has secured a special headgear and plans to see some service.

 

The 70-piece Tallulah High school band will accompany the Trojans to Monroe and will share the parade t time between halves with the Oua­chita band. The Trojan band planned to be uniformed for the Monroe appearance, but it was announced last night that ordered uniforms had not arrived.

 

Officials for the game will be Dr. W. L. Bendel (Tulane), referee: Henry umpire; and James Malone (L.S.U.), head linesman.

           

The probable starting lineups:

           

Tallulah         Pos   Ouachita

Watts             LE        Funderburk

Capshaw       LT        Goss

Verhagen      LG       Edgar

Towne           C          Younse

G. Byram      RG       J. Peters
Gaines           RT       Averette

Taylor            RE       Seivers

J. C. Byram  QB      Stron

Nettles           HB       Mitchell

Haydel           HB       Fleming

Roy                 FB       Patterson

 

 

Ouachita Rallies To Win From Tallulah Team, 14-7

Lions Score In Last Quarter To Break Deadlock And Beat Trojans

By Paul Martin

 

Battling through nearly four quar­ters with the score tied up, the Oua­chita High School Lions shoved over a touchdown in the waning minutes of the final period to beat the Trojans of Tallulah High School, 14 to 7, at Brown field here last night.

 

The battle was hard fought from start to finish with the Lions holding a distinct edge, despite the fact that stubborn Trojan defensives held the score down.

 

Tallulah made one first down while Ouachita was piling up 16, and the usual Trojan passing attack, Louis Nettles to Haydel, was held completely in check by the alert Ouachita backs to such an extent that the visitors gained only six yards in the air.

 

A blocked punt sent the battling Trojans out in front in the first period when Lentz, a tackle, gathered in the blocked kick and raced across the Lion goal for the first touchdown of the game.

 

The Ouachita forces got down to business after the Trojans had slipped over the first score and took charge of the game, with the invaders re­peatedly standing off scoring threats by the locals.

 

A 36-yard run by Paul Patterson about the middle of the second quar­ter for a touchdown tied the ball game up and then the battle started in earnest, with the Lions hammering away in Trojan territory and the visi­tors' defense standing off thrust after thrust and waiting for the breaks that rarely came.

 

Near the end of the fourth period a series of line bucks carried the ball to Tallulah's one-yard line and Clayton Brown hit the line to chalk up the winning touchdown.

 

The game opened with both teams battling on about even terms with the Lions finally being forced to punt out from their own 20-yard line. Pat­terson dropped back to kick, but Lentz, regular Trojan tackle, who was absent from the starting lineup because of a nose injury, had entered the game with a special headgear, and crashed through the lineup to block the punt, gather it in and race across the goal line to score. J. C. Byram, quarterback, kicked the extra point.

 

The first Lion offensive started on their own 20 yard line and they marched completely down the field, chalking up five successive first downs with Patterson, Mitchell and Fleming alternating with the ball. Marching steadily down the field, with no spec­tacular plays, only short but neces­sary gains, the Lions placed the ball on the visitors' 36. Patterson then took the ball around right end, outran the Tallulah secondary defense, and scored. A line buck added the ex­tra point to tie the score.

 

The third quarter went scoreless, but Ouachita came back desperately in the fourth period to keep the ball well into Trojan territory, only to have fumbles halt the drives.

 

The final period started with the ball in possession of the locals on the invaders' 21, but they netted only one yard in four tries at the line and the ball went over to Tallulah. Nettles, on the first Trojan play, fumbled and Ouachita recovered on Tallulah's 24. Patterson went out of bounds around right end for six yards, but Brown fumbled and Verhagen recovered for Tallulah on the Trojans' 20. A pass, Nettles to Haydel, gained six, but Byram was held for no gain at left tackle, and Nettles kicked out to Patterson on the Lions' 46. Hinton made one at left end, and Patterson went through left tackle for 15 and a first down; Patterson slipped through right tackle for 11 more and another first; Hinton got eight at left tackle, and Patterson went the same way for another first on the visitors' 13. Pat­terson was held for no gain, but Mitchell hit right tackle to place the ball on the one yard stripe. Brown went over left tackle to score. Van's kick from placement added the extra point.

 

Patterson stood out in the Lion backfield and his line smashes went a long way to keep the Trojans in danger always. Goss and Averette, tackles, also played stellar ball for the locals. Nettles bore the brunt of the visitors' backfield chores, with Lentz and Verhagen, a tackle and guard, looking best in the line.

 

The lineups:

Tallulah         Pos.    Ouachita

Taylor            LE        Funderburk

Capshaw       LT        Goss

Verhagen      LG       Edgar

Towne           C          Younse

G. Byram      RG       Peters

Gaines           RT       Averette

Watts             RE       Seivers

J. C. Byram   QB      Stron

Haydel           HB       Mitchell

Nettles           HB       Fleming

Roy                 FB       Patterson


Score by quarters:

Tallulah         7 0 0 0— 7

Ouachita       0 7 0 7—14
Scoring touchdowns: Tallulah—Lentz; Ouachita—Patterson, Brown. Extra points, Byram for Tallulah, Hinton and Van for Ouachita.

First downs: Tallulah, one; Oua­chita, 16.

Passes: Tallulah, one complete, six incomplete, three intercepted; Oua­chita, three complete, eight incom­plete.

Penalties: Tallulah, five yards; Ouachita, twenty yards.

Substitutes: Tallulah, Lentz; Ouachita—Hinton, Brown, Van, Vaughan, Gerson.

Officials: Bendel (Tulane), referee; Spillar (N. E. C. of L. S. U.), umpire; and Malone (L. S. U.), head linesman.

 

Blocked Punt Responsible For Trojans Only Score To Beat Lake Providence

BY ODO CAGNOLATTI

 

Bucking a stiff, stubborn defense, surprised by all, the Trojans were unable to penetrate the strong Lake Providence goal but one time, this coming early in the first quarter by a block of a punt by Capshaw.

 

The spark of the Trojans did not seem to click as was expected. The running plays were hard to get underway. The ball being slippery on account of heavy dew, the pass­ing combination of Nettles to Haydell were gummed up at all times.. The Trojans and Panthers played one of the fastest games of the year on Providence's new field. The game was played fast because of the line plays that were run, pass­ing being impossible or inaccurate because of a slippery ball.

 

The fight­ing Trojans drew more penalties Friday than they have drawn all season. This was one of the main causes the Panthers were handi­capped with so many first downs. The Trojans have not been defeat­ed by Lake Providence since the two schools began scheduling games, which began in 1930. The Panthers played the Trojans to a 6-6 tie in 1931.

 

Taking advantage of an early break in the first two minutes of play, came the Trojans lone score. Capshaw kicked to Bagby on the 30 yard stripe and he returned to the 35. Searles lost two yards at end. Hughes failed to gain at cen­ter. Searles faded back to kick when Capshaw broke through and blocked his punt. Gaines Byram picked up the block punt and raced to the Lake Providence's one yard line before being stopped. Nettles, on the next play, goes over for the score. Byram's kick from placement was low.

 

The Trojans came out of the game in pretty bad shape. Nettles, star halfback, will probably be out for several weeks due to a fractured shoulder. Taylor hurt a sore knee, but is expected to see service tonight. Haydell received a bruised leg, but he also will be ready for the Farmerville Farmers. Lentz, who having suffered a broken nose from the Newellton game and also a hurt back in the Ouachita game, will probably be out until the Delhi game.

 

The boys hope to redeem themselves against Farmerville, "boost the Trojans" and help them win their first game in their Little A contest.

 

Adding beauty and color to the game, was the 80-piece Tallulah High School band. Parading and playing in their new uniforms was a beautiful sight. They have been doing a swell job to help the team and as long as the band is there—there's hardly a chance to lose.

The line-ups:

Tallulah         Lake Providence

Watts             LE        Wiley

Capshaw       LT        King

G. Byram      LG       Stampley

Towne           C          Channey

Vehagen (c) RG       Shockly

Gaines           RT       Watley

Taylor            RE       Howard

T. Byram       QB      Searles

Haydell          RH       Bagby

Nettles           LIT       D. Davis

Roy                 FB       Hughes

Substitutes: Tallulah, Gandy for Taylor; Brown for Gaines; Sevier for Watts; Rabb for Roy.

Score by Quarters:

Tallulah         6 0 0 0 — 6

Providence   0 0 0 0 — 0

Officials: Walden, Referee; Robertson, Umpire; Harrison Head linesman.

 

TALLULAH TROJANS BEAT DELHI ELEVEN, 12 TO 7

 

TALLULAH, La. Nov. 5.—(Special) —The Tallulah High school Trojans turned back the Delhi Bears, 12 to 7, here tonight in one of the hardest fought games on the local gridiron this year.

 

The Trojans scored first in the sec­ond quarter when Louis Nettles took the ball over from the five-yard line, but the Bruins took a one point lead in the same period when Bryan shot a ten yard pass to Moore for a Delhi touchdown and Sims made the extra point through the line.

 

At the kickoff opening the half, the locals took the ball deep in their own territory and swept the length of the field on straight football to Delhi's 10. Edgerton passed to Haydell for the winning touchdown. Archie Verhagen was Tallulah's outstanding performer, especially on the defense, as he repeatedly stopped thrusts by the Bears.

 

Trojans Defeat Winnsboro By Score of 21 to 6

(By ODO CAGNOLATTI)

 

The Tallulah Trojans added another victory to their list Friday night when they downed the Winns­boro Wildcats 21-6 before a crowd of half frozen but cheerful football fans on Legion Field here.

 

The locals were worried the first quarter when Smith of the visitors went through their line for large gains. This did not last long, the Trojans stiffened and held the Wildcats scoreless throughout the last three periods of the contest.

 

The invaders chose to receive from the locals in the first quarter. Morton received and returned to the, 30 and on the first play of the game Smith, Winnsboro's flashy back, raced 40 yards through the entire Trojan squad to his own 30 yard line where Nettles forced him out of bounds. Smith crashes 9 yards off center on the next play and Morton makes it a first down on the Trojans own 18. Smith again makes a first down on the 6 yard stripe. The next play hit pay dirt with Smith carrying the oval across for the score. The try for convert­ment was bad. The touchdown came within less than three minutes of play.

 

The touchdown of the visitors made the Trojans angry, they came back fighting. Watts received on the 30 and advanced to the 40. Freeman goes 3 yards off tackle and Cagnolatti on a reverse makes it a first down on Winnsboro's 48 yard stripe. Freeman fails to gain on the next play and Byram on a reverse makes 2 yards. Cagnolatti goes 5 yards off tackle and Nettles advances to the 30 for another first down. Freeman gains 5 yards and Nettles picks up 2 at the same spot. Freeman advances to the 20 on the next play for another first down. Freeman gains 2 yards through a small hole in the center of the line. Cagnolatti nets 5 more on a reverse and Nettles crashes hard for a first down on the 9 yard stripe. Nettles again handles the ball and drives hard to the 1 yard line before four men hit him hard. Nettles on the next play scores. Scurria's kick from placement was good. Tallulah, 7; Winnsboro, 6.

 

Neither team could hit the pay dirt in the second quarter. The first half ended with both teams having seven first downs. The game was clean and fast.

 

Th e Trojans with their whole strength were in the game in the third period with blood in their eyes. The visitors kicked to Cag­nolatti on the 5 and he returned 10 yards to the 15. Nettles gained 3 yards and on a reverse Haydell goes to the 35. Cagnolatti gains 4 yards off tackle and Nettles plowed through the line again for a first down on the mid-stripe. Haydell makes another first down off tackle to carry the ball in Winnsboro's territory, the pigskin resting on the 40 yard line. A pass Cagnolatti to Grimes was good for 20 yards, the ball lying on the 20 yard marker of the Wildcats. Haydell gains 3 yards off tackle and Nettles breaks through the line and races 2 yards more before he is brought down hard by Smith. Nettles makes his second score of the game on a smashing line play. Grimes kicks the extra point. Tallulah , 14; Winnsboro, 6.

 

Tallulah threatens once more in the same quarter but loses the ball on the 9 yard stripe and Smith kicks out of danger.

 

The locals again scores in the fourth period on an exchange of punts with Tallulah having the ball on their own 40. Roy gains 3 yards at center, Grimes goes 3 more on a reverse, on the next play Captain Mac Cagnolatti finds a hole and shows some of his fancy side stepping and running, goes 35 yards for the last score. Grimes again kicks the point from placement. Tallulah, 21; Winnsboro, 6.

 

The stars of the game for the Trojans were outstanding, all play­ing heads-up ball. While Smith for the visitors thrilled the crowd. Tallulah made 16 first downs to 12 for Winnsboro.

The Lineups:

Tallulah                     Winnsboro

Watts             LE        Williams       

Lentz              LT        Chesney

Verhagen      LG       Farmer

Townes         C          Lang

Scurria           RG       Foxx

Gaines           RT       Cruse

Taylor            RE       Rogers I

Cagnolatti     QB      Smith

Freeman       LH       Suetleck

Byram            RH       Elkins

Nettles           FB       Morton
Score by Quarters:

Tallulah         7 0 7 7— 21

Winnsboro   6 0 0 0           6

Substitutes: Tallulah—Haydell, Capshaw, Grimes, Holt, Roy, G. Byram, Gandy.

Officials: Barber, Cassidy, Colvin, Boutwell.

 

Trojans Play Game Tonight With Mangham

(By M. A. PHILLIPS)

 

The Tallulah Trojans will play their next to last game of the sea son here tonight with the strong Mangham Dragons. The team will enter this game with but few injuries and all boys are expected to play part of the time. Mac Cagnolatti has been unable to take part in practice due to an ankle injury in the last game. This sprain has not been making the right response to treatment. It may mean that Mac may see but very little ser­vice in the game. Louis Nettles will probably be out of the starting line-up because of an injury re­ceived in the last game. The mus­cles in his neck were pulled as he made a tackle and it has been stiff all week. If these two boys do not start the game Roy and Freeman, the two midget backs will start in their places. Both have been show­ing a lot of improvement and can take the mail.

 

The local boys say they are out for revenge for the defeat they re­ceived from Mangham last year. It was probably the worst defeat they had taken in five years. Mangham has many of the members of last year's team back and will make the going tough. In Booth, they have a mighty good back. He returned a punt 65 yards against Ouachita for their only score. They were tied by Winnsboro 0 to 0 but outgained them and outplayed them in every department of the game. Their team will be about the same size as the team put on the field by Ouachita.

 

The game with Mangham will start at 7:30 instead of 8. Since the days are getting shorter and it is getting dark so early, many peo­ple have asked that we start the game earlier.

 

The junior team suffered defeat at the hands of the Y. M. C. A. team from Vicksburg Wednesday afternoon by the score of 7 to 6. The small crowd that witnessed the game was well pleased with the way the small boys played. Coach Phillips kept some of the larger boys out of the game because the visit­ing boys complained that they were too large for them. Smaller boys had to be taught the plays and did not have time to learn them for this game. This was their last game but in all probability they will start their season earlier next year and play games all during the season.

 

MANGHAM UPSETS TALLULAH, 7 TO 0

Dragons Continue Undefeated By Blasting Trojans From Title Race

 

TALLULAH, La., Nov. 20.-(Special) —The Mangham High school Dragons put their foot right into the middle of the Class A conference race in north Louisiana here yesterday afternoon when they blasted the more fa­vored Tallulah High school Trojans out of the picture, 7 to 0.

 

The Dragons scored in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass into the end zone, Winfred Jones to George Lynn. Moon, fullback, went off tackle for the extra point. It was Mangham's passing attack that kept the locals in trouble, the Dragons com­pleting 10 out of 13 tosses.

 

Mangham got to Tallulah s 20-yard stripe in every period while the Tro­jans never got closer to a score than the invaders' 30-yard line. Alexan­der, tackle; Jones, guard and fullback, and Griffing, quarterback, were outstanding for the visitors.

 

Mangham, undefeated in Class A, will meet the Bastrop High school Rams in Mangham on Thanksgiving day. Despite the fact that the Dragons were tied by both Rayville and Winns­boro, the Mangham team made more first downs in these games and will base their claim to a play-off chance on that record.

 

T. A. Judd, principal of Mangham high school, is prepared to put forth the claims of his school next Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock when the dis­trict Class A committee meets in its annual conference at Ruston.

 

Game Tonight To Be Trojans First Class 'A'

 

The Tallulah Trojans will meet the Farmers from Farmerville in their first Class "A" game on Le­gion Field tonight (Friday). The Trojans will be missing some of the mainstays of the team due to injuries. Many of the boys who saw service in the second team game with Rayville Tuesday will take part in the game with Farmerville. The experience gained in this game will help them in all regular sche­duled games. Nothing is known about the strength of the Farmerville team and the locals will have to play a better brand of ball than they have been playing the last two weeks if they expect to come out on top. The team was dead on its feet against Lake Providence and was lucky to come out on top. The coaches have been working on of­fense this week to try to speed up the plays and get more yards per play.

 

The injury list is the highest now it has ever been, and from indica­tions some of the boys will not be able to play. Louis Nettles is definitely out, having received a frac­tured arm in the Lake Providence game. His punting and passing will be surely missed. He has develop­ed into the most consistent punter the school has had, and that is say­ing a lot. His place will be taken by Edgerton or Rabb. Both of these boys played in the Rayville game Tuesday, but this did not hurt them. However, Rabb got his ankle twisted and it will slow him up a lot. Lucian Roy will be in his old place as fullback and looks like he will have to play most of the game. Haydell turned his ankle against Lake Providence and it has not responded to treatment as it should and he may not be able to get into the game. J. C. Byram will be shifted to his place. Jack Jones has been out with a fractured leg but will take over the blocking back position for this game. In the line, injuries will cause others to be missing. Lentz, out of the game last week will be again this week. He has been in bed and not able to take part in any workouts this week. Capshaw went home with fever Wednesday and may not be able to play. This will leave one tackle position open and will have first year.

 

The other tackle will be taken care of by Gaines. Watts got a back injury last week and has not been able to get in any hard work. His place will be taken care of by Andrew Sevier. The other positions will be handled by Towne, Verhagen, G. Byram and Taylor.

 

As this is the first conference game of the year, the team will be out to win and try to get in the running for the Class "A" champ­ionship. To get in this all games must be won, tie games do not count. In case of a tie, first downs will determine the winner and if these are tied, 20 yard penetrations will count.

 

Other Class "A" schools on the schedule are Winns­boro, conqueror of Farmerville, Mangham, tied by Lake Providence, and Rayville, beaten by Delhi. All of these games will be played at home.

 

Trojans Complete Season With Win

(By ODO CAGNOLATTI)

 

The blue and gold Trojans end­ed their 1936 schedule by downing the Rayville Hornets 25 to 0. Some of the boys played their last game on Legion Field last Wednesday night and turned in a beautiful per­formance. Those hanging up their togs for the Trojans are Captain Mac Cagnolatti, Co-Captain Sam Scurria, Claude Grimes, Bo Gandy and James Freeman. These boys have played swell ball all season and will be missed by Coach Phillips and the fans.

 

The Trojans did not click very well in the first part of the contest but before the game ended they were in full stride and playing ball the fans love to see.

 

The Trojans first score came in about six minutes of the second quarter when the locals held the Hornets for downs on their own 15 yard line where Meadows punted poorly to the 30 yard stripe. Cag­nolatti ripped off 9 yards off tackle. Nettles made it a first down on the 20. Grimes on a reverse advances 7 yards. Cagnolatti gains 2 yards and Nettles tears the visitors’ line up advancing to the 4 yard line. Cagnolatti on the next play heaves Grimes an old touchdown pass for the score. The kick from placement by Scurria was good for the extra point. Tallulah, 7; Rayville, 0.

 

The kickoff at the half was when the spectators received their first thrill of the game. Rayville kicked to Cagnolatti on the 10 yard line where he laterals to Haydell who races down the field to the invaders 25 yard stripe where he is brought down. The Trojans, however, could not push over the score after they

had moved to the 12 yard line.

 

The locals second score came the third quarter. Passes Hayden to Gandy advanced the ball to the 18 yard line, but Rayville intercepts Haydell's pass on the next play. After three line plays failed to gain Rayville is forced to punt to Nettles on the 45 yard line who runs beau­tifully to the 10 yard line before he is downed. Cagnolatti on the next play runs around his right end for the score. The kick from placement was wild. Tallulah, 13; Rayville, 0.

 

The Trojans third marker came two minutes after the second. Tal­lulah kicked off to Rayville on the 10 yard line where Green returned to the 22 when he is tackled hard and fumbles. The locals recover on the 20. Nettles goes 10 yards through the center of the line. Net­tles again picked up 9 yards in the same hole advancing to the 1 yard line. Nettles scored on the next play. The kick from placement was again wide. Tallulah, 19; Rayville, 0.

 

The fighting blue and gold's last score came with only three minutes left to play. With the ball on their own 5 yard line Nettles gained 5 yards at center. Cagnolatti on a fake punt advances to the 15 yard line. Grimes on the next play runs wild to the visitors' 45 before the safety man brought him down. A lateral pass Nettles to Cagnolatti and a forward to Grimes advances to the 25 Cagnolatti races 20 yards to the 5 yard stripe. With only seconds to play Cagnolatti fades back and heaves Hayden a pass in the end zone for the score. The kick from placement was again bad. Tallulah, 25; Rayville, 0.

 

This was the last game the Tro­jans had scheduled for the year. They have had a very successful season and we wish them plenty of luck for the hard schedule before them next year.

 

The Lineups:

Grimes           LE        Schooler

Lentz              LT        Nicklos

Gandy            LG       Corkran

Scurria           C          C. O'Neal

Verhagen      RG       Staiem

Capshaw       RT       T. O'Neal

Taylor            RE       R. Green

Cagnolatti     QB      Wathley

Haydell          LH       Silk

Freeman       RH       Meadows

J. Byram        FB       P. Green

Substitutes: Tallulah G. Byram, Nettles, Gaines, Townes, Roy, Lancaster, Watts, Kyzar, Jones and Holt.

Score by Quarters:

Tallulah         0 7 6 12— 25

Rayville          0 0 0   0— 0
Officials: -Boutwell, Cassity and Barber.