Decade of Dominance

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

While the early 1980s elevated the Ruston-Neville rivalry to exceptional heights with championships on the line, the Bearcats began to flex their muscles in the latter half of the decade.

The scales began to tip in Ruston’s favor as the 1980s carried on, with the Bearcats winning another title in 1988 and making two semifinal appearances in 1987 and 1989, defeating Neville in both seasons.

The Tigers had a chance to get back on the big stage in 1988 but lost 34-31 to Archbishop Shaw in double overtime. Shaw advanced to meet Ruston in the Prep Classic but didn’t have another barnburner in them to take the Cats down, with the Bearcats winning 28-14.

But there was a real possibility Ruston wouldn’t have even made the playoffs that year had it not been for a district technicality.

The Bearcats finished the 1988 regular season 8-2 overall, with losses to Neville and Ouachita, not enough back then to secure a playoff spot. But thanks to a wild card spot in the playoffs, and Bastrop upsetting Ouachita in the final game of the regular season, Ruston made the postseason.

And the luck continued from there.

“We were not a very talented football team that year,” Clark said. “We got lucky. But we got on a roll.”

Ruston’s postseason journey began at La-Grange, but looked to have the makings of a quick exit after starting running back Randall Smith broke his ankle. But with luck and the idea of nothing to lose on their side, Clark and Bearcats rallied behind the injury for a 20-0 win.

After wins over Parkway and St. Amant, Ruston faced Brother Martin in the semifinals.

“It was 0- 0 to end regulation,” Clark said. “In overtime, we go down and score and kick the extra point to go up 7-0. Well, Brother Martin would score too. But they missed the extra point and that’s how we moved on.”

How did the PAT go unsuccessful for Brother Martin?

“The week before, they beat West Jefferson in the quarterfinals and some of their students tried to take down the goal post. The goal post was leaning,” Clark said. “When the kicker missed, he would have made it if the goal post was where it was supposed to be.”

With luck like that, Ruston felt confident going against Shaw in the championship game, led by future Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

Good fortune remained on Ruston’s side in the title bout as Michael Parker played in the game after missing the previous year and a half due to surgery for bone cancer. Williams credits Childress for making the moment happen and for giving the team hope, despite nearly missing the playoffs.

“He understood young people and always wanted to do right by them,” Williams said. “ If we were eating, the players ate first. He made sure they had the best equipment. He wanted them to travel well. He was always thinking about them and how to make their time comfortable.”

Ruston closed out the 1980s with a heartbreaking, 59-56 loss to Brother Martin in the semifinals, but was able to break the hearts of rival Neville along the way with a 34-20 win in the quarterfinals.

Ruston made the most state title game appearances (4) of anyone in the decade.

Legends remembered

Childress carried himself in a similar fashion, according to Clark.

Despite winning titles with ease year after year, Clark never saw his head coach deviate from the building blocks of football.

“Let’s be honest, the game isn’t that hard. It’s simple,” Clark said. “Coach Childress actually told me after he retired, he was always careful to not ‘over-coach’ us. He knew we were talented, but he didn’t want us to think more than play. I can say that about both coaches. Both were so well prepared for anything.”

Leading with that kind of style demanded respect from players and coaches, setting the programs up for the success they garnered. And it was never about the system or new formations. It was always about the team and trusting individual parts to make the machines work.

“There are coaches that win on blackboards and in film rooms,” Clark said. “That’s great. But the game is played with speed and intensity where you don’t have time to think about something because someone is running past you. And I give a lot of credit to the assistant coaches. Coach Childress was more of an administrator. He let his coaches coach. He When you ask someone to encapsulate Childress and Brown and the stamp they put on the 1980s, sentiment ranges in specific stories but the overall message remains the same.

In short, the two turned boys into men with structure, stability, and honesty that holds strong to this day.

“Both coaches were highly successful and went about success in different ways. But what they both did was mold men,” Kingrea said. “That’s what’s missing in high school athletics now is too many are worried about what plays they run and how well they coach rather than what kind of people they’re putting in society. Back then, both cared about how we carried ourselves and worked.”

Kingrea saw Brown as a firm coach, a leader who rarely took chances. He’d rather trust his system and his team to execute the plan often.

“There’s a joke around here that he still has timeouts left he never used,” Kingrea said with a laugh. “He was a straightforward coach. He was a black and white type of guy. There was not a line of gray area.”

trusted them to teach us and develop a game plan that helped us win.”

Lantrip appreciated Childress’ trust in him as he left nearly the entire offensive game plan up to him year after year.

“All I ever did was come up with the game plan and bring it to coach Childress and he’d asked me if I liked it, and I’d say yes. And one thing he’d always ask me, every single week of every single season was, ‘Do you have any touchdown plays?’ And I said, ‘Well, if we block it right, they should all be.’ And he’d just go, ‘That’s what I like to hear,’” Lantrip said.

As the 1980s rolled on, coaching turnover wasn’t an issue for the Bearcats – both a byproduct of the culture Childress created and a reason Lantrip believes the program sustained its success.

“I think what really helped us is we all stayed together,” Lantrip said. “ We didn’t have staff turnover back then. Our coaches were the same year after year and we knew how to work with each other and what the kids needed. I think that was the key was how all of us stayed intact on the staff and we didn’t have to worry about finding a new coordinator every two years or so.”