Longview vs Wichita Falls - at Cotton Bowl - December 25th, 1937 - via Dallas Morning News
Lobos win grid Championship in spectacular rally
Longview's Lobos swept to their first Texas Interscholastic League football championship here in the Cotton Bowl Saturday afternoon as they overcame a 12-point lead to defeat the Wichita Falls Coyotes, 19 to 12, before 18,000 fans. It was the fourth time in fourteen games the Lobos had come from behind to leave the playoff field on the topside of the score. The victory left Longview with a perfect record for the season, and gave East Texas one of its greater grid machine in the history of the State.
Led by Dandy Dick Miller, one of the finest backs seen in high school circles since the days of Bobby Wilson at Corsicana, the Lobos suddenly exploded to completely smother the Coyotes at every phase of the game. It wasn't until the final period that Longview turned on an attack that completely demoralized the Wichita Falls team, but from the second period on there hardly was any doubt as to with team would leave the field with the State Championship.
Bib Harold Fleming, Wichita Fall's fine fullback, played a great game, but it was Dandy Dick who grabbed the spotlight. Two brilliant runs by Miller, one of 55 yards and another for 52, put the Lobos in the lead and from then on it was more or less a question of how many scores Longview could make before the final gun.
Miller, the dandy one, ran the Wichita Falls ends ragged, and aided chiefly by Chal Daniels, a great guard, he ripped the heretofore strong Coyotes line to shreds. When Miller made his first long run, midway in the second, the interference leading the way must have looked to the Wichita Falls girders something like the Charge of the Light Brigade's did to the Russians on the Heights of Balaclava. It was Cantrell, Hardy Miller, and Frank LeBus who cleared the way for the mighty mite as he caught Fleming's punt on the Longview 45-yard line, reversed his field and streak down the side lines for the first Lobo marker.
After that great Longview exhibition of blocking and running the Wichita Falls gridded seemed to walt, and from there on the East Texans played them off their feet.
The Lobos made fourteen first downs to the Coyotes five. They gained 163 yards rushing while Wichita Falls chalked up only 71, and their aerial attacked netted only 121 yards while the Coyotes gained only 32 via the sky route.
From the spectator's viewpoint the tilt was as thrilling to watch as any played here this year. Entering the contest as the underdogs, the Coyotes wasted little time in chalking up their first tally of the game. After several exchanges of kicks in which the fine punting of Fleming put the ball deep in Lobo territory, Miller, attempting to kick out from the 19-yard line fumbled a bad pass from center and recovered the ball for an 11-yard loss. On the next play O'Dell Damerall, spectacular Coyote center, broke through and blocked Dick's attempted punt. Ed Brand, left tackle, recovered for the Coyotes behind the Longview goal line for the touchdown. On the try for the extra point, Sullivan, Longview left tackle, blocked Lobban's attempted placement to give the Wichita Falls eleven a 6-point lead.
Another exchange of kicks, following the kickoff, again found the Lobos deep in their own territory, after Fleming had kicked out of bounds on the 14. H. Miller, after taking the ball from LeBus on a reverse play through the center of the line, fumbled and Brand recovered for Wichita Falls on Longview's 15-yard marker. Fleming's pass to Prichard was incomplete, but on the next play Monaghan lateral to Damerall on a trick play and the big center shot a pass to Ben Collins, right end, over the goal line for another Wichita Falls score. Wallis' placement for the extra point was wide.
At the start of the second quarter, the Lobos opened a drive from their 48-yard line that led to the Coyote 12 where the ball went over. Fleming lost a yard on an attempted right end run and on the next play kicked out of bounds on his own 27, but Longview was offside and the ball was brought back and the Lobos given a 5-yard penalty. Foster then drove into left guard for a yard and Fleming made his first mistake of the ball game. He dropped back to punt but instead of kicking out of bounds as he had been doing, he got off a nice, long boot which dropped into Dandy Dick's hands on the Longview 45 and the speedy back sprinted for the goal line and the first East Texas score. Cantrell's placement for the extra point was good.
Again late in the first half, Longview drove deep into Wichita Falls' territory, but the ball final went over to the Coyotes on their 11-yard line to end the threat and a short time later the half ended with the Lobos trailing, 12 to 7.
Little damage was done by either team in the third quarter, the only real thrill of the period coming on the kickoff went Wallis, Wichita Falls left half, returned the ball forty-six yards to the Longview 42-yard line. For the remainder of the period Fleming and H. Miller staged a fine punting duel which kept both elevens from getting within striking distance.
They opened the last quarter in much of the same manner and kept the ball in midfield until Dandy Dick went on another tear. After the ball went to the Wichita Falls on downs on the 24, and three running plays failed to gain any sizable yardage, Fleming booted out of bounds on the Longview 43. Ray Cantrell failed to gain through the line, but on the next play LeBus faded back, shot a pass good for about five yards, to Dandy dick who gathered it in on the Wichita Falls 48-yard line and galloped fifty-two yards for the tally, which placed the Lobos in the lead. Cantrell's placement was wide.
Wichita Falls came back to open up with everything in the books, but the smaller Longview players, seeing a State title rapidly coming their way tightened up and played heads-up ball to allow the Coyotes very little advantage.
A pass from Fleming to Jack Maddox was good first 12 yards, then Fleming lost a yard at right end and on the same play the Coyotes drew a 35-yard penalty for clipping. Fleming again tried to pass to Maddox but H. Miller broke it up, and after two more plays Fleming booted out of bounds on the Wichita Falls 49.
At this point, Dandy Dick and company evidently decided to put the game on ice. Dick picked up four yards at right end and added 3 more at left tackle. On the next play, he ran rig the end for a first down on the Wichita Falls 38. LeBus collected 6 yards at right guard, and Dick cut back through left tackle for another first down at the Coyote 26. Three running plays, two by Dick and one by LeBus, put the ball on the 22, from where Cantrell went crashing through left guard for a first down on the 9, and added 3 more through the same hole on the next play. Dick Miller ran to the 4-yard line, from where Wichita Falls was penalized to its 1-yard line for unnecessary roughness. Dandy Dick lost a yard at center, but on the next play Cantrell crashed through for the score. D. Miller's placement was short.
Scoring
1st - Wichita Falls (0-6) - Ed Brand (Blocked punt return)
1st - Wichita Falls (0-12) - Ben Collins (15 yard pass from O'Dell Damerall)
2nd - Longview (7-12) - Dick Miller (55 yard punt return)
4th - Longview (13-12) - Dick Miller (53 yard pass from Frank Lebus)
4th - Longview (19-12) - Cantrell (2 yard run)
Statistics
First Downs: Wichita Falls-5 Longview-14
Rushing Yards: Wichita Falls-71 Longview-163
Passing Yards: Wichita Falls-32 Longview-121
Passes: Wichita Falls-2-17-2 Longview-5-13-2
Punts: Wichita Falls-?-33.0 Longview-?-35.0
Fumbles Lost: Wichita Falls-1 Longview-0
Penalties: Wichita Falls-? Longview-?
