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Regular Session, 2014 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 36
BY SENATORS JOHNS, MORRISH AND JOHN SMITH
A RESOLUTION
To commend the 1963 McNeese State College Football Team for a historic season and to
recognize team and individual achievements.
WHEREAS, McNeese State's football team achieved the school's first undefeated
season in 1963, as the team, coached by Head Coach L.C. "Les" DeVall, Defensive Coach
and Line Coach Jim Clark, Defensive Secondary and Backfield Coach Milton White, and
Offensive Line and End Coach Charlie Keuhn, were Gulf States Conference champs setting
five individual and six team school records en route to an 8-0-0 campaign; and
WHEREAS, the All-Gulf States Conference Team included First Team Selections
Defensive End Robert Young, Offensive Tackle Horace Harrington, Quarterback Tommy
Thompson; Halfback Charles Anastasio, and Fullback Darrell Lester with Young being
selected the Outstanding Lineman and Lester being named the Outstanding Back, while
Coach DeVall was Coach of the Year; the Second Team included Offensive Guard Errol
Eschete and Offensive Guard Parker Hudson; and Offensive Tackle Huey Simoneaux and
Center Gerald Conner were Third Team selections; and
WHEREAS, End Robert Young led the record assault as he caught more passes for
more yards and more touchdowns than any Cowboy before him, pulling in 26 passes for 393
yards and seven touchdowns, while tying a school single game record by catching two
scoring strikes in the Pokes' 14-7 season-ending victory over the University of Southwest
Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Punter Returner-Halfback Lloyd Guillot and Kicker-Quarterback
Richard Guillory established other individual marks as Guillot averaged 12.5 yards per punt
return to eclipse the 12.1 mark he set in 1961 and Guillory kicked 20 of 23 extra point kicks
for an .870 percentage; and
WHEREAS, the powerful 1963 Cowboys smashed three team offense records and
two defensive standards and another record was set for ten consecutive victories, including
two at the end of the 1962 campaign; and SR NO. 36 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, McNeese averaged 375.6 yards total offense and 271.9 yards rushing
per game while compiling a 27.8 point scoring average; and
WHEREAS, the Cowboys allowed the opposing team to average only 159.8 yards
total and 80.4 yards rushing per game, the latter setting a conference record; and
WHEREAS, Quarterback Tommy Thompson repeated as the club leader in total
offense and punting and also led in forward passing, netting 665 yards, gaining 402 on 33
of 63 pass completions, and also averaged 35.8 yards per punt, as Coach DeVall declared
he was the finest all-around player he has ever coached; and
WHEREAS, Tailback Charlie Anastasio, a member of the CoSIDA Academic
All-America team, paced the Poke ground attack with 594 yards in 103 carries for a 5.8
average; and
WHEREAS, Fullback Darrell Lester, named to the Williamson Mid-Bracket
All-America team, had a rushing total that was the best by a Cowboy in seven seasons as he
led the conference in scoring with 68 points while netting 490 yards in 114 carries; and
WHEREAS, Linebacker Gerald Conner was McNeese's field leader, serving as
captain and defensive signal caller, while he led the team with 35 individual tackles,
recovered one enemy fumble, and blocked one punt; and
WHEREAS, Paul Guidry played Tight End and also Linebacker and Defensive End,
and garnered All Conference honors in 1964 and 1965, had an outstanding professional
career from 1966-1974, including being a Team Captain with the Buffalo Bills, and was
inducted into the McNeese State University Hall of Fame in 1991; and
WHEREAS, the Cowboy roster also included Quarterback Dennis Trahan; Halfbacks
Tony Ber, George Berger, Billy Dore, Luther Herpin, Carol LeBlanc, and Merlin Walet;
Fullbacks Felix Simon, Russell Sonnier, and Daniel Suire; Ends Henry Brett, Terry Franks,
Earl Hicks, Ed Pomfret, and Larry Sessions; Tackles Frank Bishop, Mac Brown, Rudy
Kasarda, Rodney Knight, and Clay Tillman; Guards Ron Chaumont, Jimmy Langley, and
Bob Raxsdale; and Centers Ken Kemp and Ronnie Sanson; and
WHEREAS, the 1963 season record included wins over Louisiana Tech (27-6),
Howard College (28-0), University of Tampa (37-12), Northeast Louisiana (20-8), Louisiana
College (40-0), Northwestern State (21-13), Southeastern Louisiana (35-6), and SR NO. 36 ENROLLED
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Southwestern Louisiana (14-7); and
WHEREAS, McNeese was one of only eighteen college teams in the land to go
undefeated being ranked fourth among the nation's small colleges in the Dick Dunkel Power
Index, tenth in the Associated Press sports writer's poll and twelfth in the United Press
International coaches' poll.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend the 1963 McNeese State College Football Team for a historic season.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE