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Regular Session, 2014
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 36
BY SENATORS JOHNS, MORRISH AND JOHN SMITH
COMMENDATIONS. Commends the 1963 McNeese State College Football Team for its
historic season.
A RESOLUTION1
To commend the 1963 McNeese State College Football Team for a historic season and to2
recognize team and individual achievements.3
WHEREAS, McNeese State's football team achieved the school's first undefeated4
season in 1963, as the team, coached by Head Coach L.C. "Les" DeVall, Defensive Coach5
and Line Coach Jim Clark, Defensive Secondary and Backfield Coach Milton White, and6
Offensive Line and End Coach Charlie Keuhn, were Gulf States Conference champs setting7
five individual and six team school records en route to an 8-0-0 campaign; and 8
WHEREAS, the All-Gulf States Conference Team included First Team Selections9
Defensive End Robert Young, Offensive Tackle Horace Harrington, Quarterback Tommy10
Thompson; Halfback Charles Anastasio, and Fullback Darrell Lester with Young being11
selected the Outstanding Lineman and Lester being named the Outstanding Back, while12
Coach DeVall was Coach of the Year; the Second Team included Offensive Guard Errol13
Eschete and Offensive Guard Parker Hudson; and Offensive Tackle Huey Simoneaux and14
Center Gerald Conner were Third Team selections; and 15
WHEREAS, End Robert Young led the record assault as he caught more passes for16
more yards and more touchdowns than any Cowboy before him, pulling in 26 passes for 39317
yards and seven touchdowns, while tying a school single game record by catching two18 SR NO. 36
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scoring strikes in the Pokes' 14-7 season-ending victory over the University of Southwest1
Louisiana; and 2
WHEREAS, Punter Returner-Halfback Lloyd Guillot and Kicker-Quarterback3
Richard Guillory established other individual marks as Guillot averaged 12.5 yards per punt4
return to eclipse the 12.1 mark he set in 1961 and Guillory kicked 20 of 23 extra point kicks5
for an .870 percentage; and6
WHEREAS, the powerful 1963 Cowboys smashed three team offense records and7
two defensive standards and another record was set for ten consecutive victories, including8
two at the end of the 1962 campaign; and9
WHEREAS, McNeese averaged 375.6 yards total offense and 271.9 yards rushing10
per game while compiling a 27.8 point scoring average; and 11
WHEREAS, the Cowboys allowed the opposing team to average only 159.8 yards12
total and 80.4 yards rushing per game, the latter setting a conference record; and 13
WHEREAS, Quarterback Tommy Thompson repeated as the club leader in total14
offense and punting and also led in forward passing, netting 665 yards, gaining 402 on 3315
of 63 pass completions, and also averaged 35.8 yards per punt, as Coach DeVall declared16
he was the finest all-around player he has ever coached; and17
WHEREAS, Tailback Charlie Anastasio, a member of the CoSIDA Academic18
All-America team, paced the Poke ground attack with 594 yards in 103 carries for a 5.819
average; and 20
WHEREAS, Fullback Darrell Lester, named to the Williamson Mid-Bracket21
All-America team, rushing total was the best by a Cowboy in seven seasons as he led the22
conference in scoring with 68 points while netting 490 yards in 114 carries; and23
WHEREAS, Linebacker Gerald Conner was McNeese's field leader, serving as24
captain and defensive signal caller, while he led the team with 35 individual tackles,25
recovered one enemy fumble, and blocked one punt; and26
WHEREAS, Paul Guidry played Tight End and also Linebacker and Defensive End,27
and garnered All Conference honors in 1964 and 1965, had an outstanding professional28
career from 1966-1974, including being a Team Captain with the Buffalo Bills, and was29
inducted into the McNeese State University Hall of Fame in 1991; and 30 SR NO. 36
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WHEREAS, the Cowboy roster also included Quarterback Dennis Trahan; Halfbacks1
Tony Ber, George Berger, Billy Dore, Luther Herpin, Carol LeBlanc, and Merlin Walet;2
Fullbacks Felix Simon, Russell Sonnier, and Daniel Suire; Ends Henry Brett, Terry Franks,3
Earl Hicks, Ed Pomfret, and Larry Sessions; Tackles Frank Bishop, Mac Brown, Rudy4
Kasarda, Rodney Knight, and Clay Tillman; Guards Ron Chaumont, Jimmy Langley, and5
Bob Raxsdale; and Centers Ken Kemp and Ronnie Sanson; and 6
WHEREAS, the 1963 season record included wins over Louisiana Tech (27-6),7
Howard College (28-0), University of Tampa (37-12), Northeast Louisiana (20-8), Louisiana8
College (40-0), Northwestern State (21-13), Southeastern Louisiana (35-6), and9
Southwestern Louisiana (14-7); and10
WHEREAS, McNeese was one of only eighteen college teams in the land to go11
undefeated being ranked fourth among the nation's small colleges in the Dick Dunkel Power12
Index, tenth in the Associated Press sports writer's poll and twelfth in the United Press13
International coaches' poll.14
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana15
does hereby commend the 1963 McNeese State College Football Team for a historic season.16
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
Johns SR No. 36
Commends the 1963 McNeese State College Football Team for a historic season and
recognizes team and individual achievements.