Decade of Dominance

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on the decade that defined the Ruston-Neville rivalry.

It’s often said that history is written by the victors.

Those who dominate and come out on top get the final word in true battlefields or athletic arenas — their legacies forever enveloped in the hearts and minds of those who lived, are living, and will live to remember the tales of glory.

If you believe in that way of categorizing moments in time, consider Jimmy “ Chick” Childress of Ruston and Charlie Brown of Neville co-authors of one of the greatest decades of Louisiana high school football — built with a combined five Class 4A state championships and nine district titles between the schools from 1980-89.

The Bearcats’ trophy case became clogged in the 1980s with three state championships ( 1982, 1986, 1988) to go with six district titles (1981, 82, 84, 85, 86, 89). When Ruston wasn’t winning, Neville had its fair share of success with two state championships ( 1983, 1984) and four district titles (1980, 81, 83, 88).

“Growing up, it was common with parents and fans that when you played Neville, whoever won that game, you’d then make reservations for the Superdome. That’s how good both of us were,” former RHS football player Wes Clark said. “ You just knew it would come down to one of us.”

Once working for the same cause as assistant coaches under Bill Ruple at Neville, the two legendary coaches became district rivals at their respective north Louisiana powerhouse programs, setting the stage for a decade of gridiron battles that defined the 1980s of Louisiana prep athletics. And the numbers tell the story.

From 1980 to 1989, 20 teams played in the Prep Classic at the Superdome in New Orleans. Ruston and Neville accounted for seven of those team appearances. In that same timeframe, 40 teams reached the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs. Ruston and Neville combined to account for 14 of those appearances.

And it was far from a cupcake schedule for both teams as the overall strength of District 3-4A showed out in the 1980s as well.

From 1980 to 1989, at least two teams from District 3-4A reached the semifinals for half of the decade (1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989).

Dominance like that came at a price for the Tigers and Bearcats, often bought with bruised and bloody clashes that ripped through grass fields along I-20. But it was a price any man who played in that era would gladly pay again.

“When we played, you could cut the field in half,” former Neville quarterback Rocky Kingrea said. “ You didn’t need the whole field. It was north and south. It was a collision. You had to buckle up because it was going to be rough. We knew what each other wanted to run and how to play each other so it was a test of wills. We’d throw the ball maybe 10 times. It was all up front.”

Rivalry origins

Finding the starting point of what feels like an eternal battle can be difficult. This district conflict doesn’t have its own Lexington and Concord.

But if you were to trace the beginning to one moment, it would be on Bill Ruple’s staff at Neville in the 1960’s. After Childress and Brown spent years working under Ruple, helping the Tigers win four state titles, Brown was named Ruple’s successor in 1963 to continue the legacy.

Childress remained on staff until after the 1972 season, making his way around north Louisiana for coaching stops at Carroll, Cedar Creek, and ULM before returning to his alma mater Ruston High in 1979.

But contrary to what some think, Childress and Brown’s relationship was friendly, even as the decade of onfield clashes would commence.

“Both of the staffs were very close,” Clark said. “There’s a misconception in the rivalry that the coaches hated each other. That’s not the case. Coaches would go fishing with each other in the offseason and everyone knew each other’s families. It was a friendly competition. Both sides wanted to beat each other but it was always in good spirit.”

Kingrea has his own spin on what tracing the rivalry’s beginning feels like to him and others who lived it firsthand.

“It’s almost like an argument between family members. You never really know how it started but it just keeps going,” Kingrea said. “A good place to look is that they both started together and then went different ways.”

Mid 1980s battles

After both teams lost their respective semifinal matchups in 1981 – Ruston falling to Covington and Neville to John Ehret – the programs took off and never looked back starting in 1982 and throughout the middle period of the decade.

Childress began Ruston’s run with a state championship in 1982 – the school’s first since 1951 – in a tight, 8-0 win over Neville in what many still consider to be the most physical Prep Classic ever played.

Neville was held to just 124 yards of offense in its loss, while Ruston’s defense and special teams made enough big plays to take home the crown. Early in the first quarter, Richie Sims blocked a Neville punt to allow Jeff Camp to recover in the end-zone for the only touchdown of the game. Later in the first half, Ruston defensive linemen Michael Brooks and Lee Porter combined for a sack on Neville tailback Anthony Gipson in the end-zone for a safety to make it 8-0. Even as the Tigers tried to mount a comeback, Tyrone Jones had a pair of interceptions to seal the win.

At the time of the game, the rivalry’s first big installment set Prep Classic records for the fewest combined points (8), first downs (14), and total yards (213).

Greg “Big Coach” Williams, who coached the defense for the Bearcats throughout the 1980s under Childress, still remembers the win like it was yesterday, even a note that Childress told his staff after the game.

“ I remember coach Childress telling us after that he had a college scout come up to him and said, ‘I’ve never seen intensity like that for four quarters,’” Williams said. “Our defense was so strong it was hard for anyone to beat us. And it was always big with Neville. It was always a big week for the teams and the communities. We felt like whoever won that game had a pretty good shot of winning it all. That’s how it was.”

Ruston’s defense, fittingly labeled the “Crunch Bunch” shut out several opponents in the Bearcats’ undefeated season, with opponents averaging less than 100 yards per game. Ruston outscored its opponents 381-62 for the 1982 season, including 87-22 in the playoffs.

Ken Lantrip, who ran the offense for Ruston under Childress, said with a defense loaded with future college and NFL talent his job was managing possessions and not letting opponents have a chance to tire out the Bearcats.

“Once we got to 1981 and 1982, we were starting to figure it out what we wanted to be, and we changed the offense. We ran a conventional wing instead of the Tformation, which is what Neville ran also,” Lantrip said. “Offensively, we just didn’t want to beat ourselves. We wanted to keep the football out of the opponent’s hands and play ball control. We played position rather than possession. We knew if we could get someone deep on their end and they had to run 15 or so plays and they went and scored, they really went and earned it. But we didn’t want to beat ourselves and give someone an easier chance to score when we weren’t holding the ball.”

Neville got its revenge in 1983 and 1984 with back-to-back titles, including a 26-20 win over the Bearcats to finish the run.

The Tigers took a page out of Ruston’s book by dominating opponents as well, outscoring teams 126-28 for the entire run in 1983, including a 40-14 thrashing of Terrebonne in the state championship. Ruston was unable to have its own back-to-back title seasons after losing 28-21 to Captain Shreve in the second round.

Neville’s 1984 run ended with a successful rematch with the Bearcats in the Prep Classic, taking the sixpoint win. The Tigers, who outscored previous playoff opponents 158-20 on their way to the Dome, had their closest fight against the Bearcats who were hoping to keep their rivals from making history.

Both teams allowed someone else to win for a change, both falling short of making it to the Superdome in 1985 But Ruston came back with a vengeance in 1986 for a thrilling 31-26 overtime win over Slidell in the Prep Classic, finishing the year once again with an undefeated record.

The Bearcats showed off their dominance on the way to their title, outscoring opponents 454-112 for the season. Neville didn’t care how Ruston played other teams and got up for the rivalry game, giving the Bearcats a fight in a 14-7 regular season meeting that went Ruston’s way.

“Coaches did it the right way back then,” Williams said. “We let the talent play out and we would make adjustments if we needed to but we didn’t want to get in the way of the kids. We knew they would be ready to play. Coach Childress would say, ‘If you can’t get up to play Neville, you can’t get up for a game at all.’”