WHEN THE WILDCATS ROARED
Seven Golden Eras of Lovington Football
What makes a football program great? Is it the number of state championships? The number of victories? Undefeated seasons? Or is it something harder to measure, something that can’t be found in a record book? Perhaps greatness is best measured by what one generation leaves behind for the next.
A great football team can capture the imagination of a community for one unforgettable season. But a great football program does something more. It sustains excellence. It develops a winning culture that survives graduation, coaching changes, injuries, disappointments, and the inevitable challenges that come with each new season. The players change, the coaches change, and sometimes even the game itself changes. But the expectation of winning remains.
Over the years, Lovington Wildcat football has enjoyed some extraordinary stretches of success. I’ve spent considerable time researching the history of the program, looking for periods when the Wildcats didn’t simply have a great season but put together several outstanding seasons in succession. What I discovered were seven remarkable eras, each with its own personality, heroes, heartbreaks, and championships.
Some of these teams I watched from the stands. Others I read about or heard about. A few belong to an earlier generation whose accomplishments helped establish the foundation of Wildcat football. I won’t attempt to rank these seven eras. Different classifications, schedules, playoff formats, and circumstances make comparisons difficult. Instead, let’s take a trip through Wildcat history and remember some of the years when the Blue and White were at their very best.
THE FIRST GOLDEN ERA: 1957–1960
30 Wins, 12 Losses — Three State Championships
The Lovington Wildcats were no strangers to championship football when Coach Wilson Knapp began his remarkable run in 1957. The Wildcats had already captured back-to-back state championships in 1951 and 1952, establishing a winning tradition that would continue for generations. But what happened between 1957 and 1960 was extraordinary. Under Knapp’s leadership, Lovington captured three state championships in just four seasons, firmly establishing the Wildcats among New Mexico’s premier football programs.
In 1957, the Wildcats finished 8-3 and captured a state championship with a convincing 20-6 victory over Raton. The following season, Lovington repeated as state champions, finishing 7-4 and defeating St. Michael’s 23-6 in the championship game.
The 1959 Wildcats finished 6-3 but failed to reach the playoffs. However, the following season would provide another championship celebration.
In 1960, Coach Knapp’s Wildcats went 9-2 and defeated Aztec 26-7 to claim their third state championship in four seasons.
That 1960 team also produced one of the most remarkable offensive performances in Lovington history, a 72-6 demolition of Clayton. Players such as Jerry Brown, John Carrel, and Buck Lowery helped produce an offensive explosion that may have established several school records.
Think about that accomplishment: three state championships in four seasons. For a program still establishing its identity, those years helped create something that would last far beyond the players and coaches who made it happen.
The foundation had been laid. Wildcat football was becoming a championship tradition.
THE SECOND GOLDEN ERA: 1968–1972
43 Wins, 15 Losses, 2 Ties — Three State Championships
If the late 1950s established the tradition, the late 1960s and early 1970s reinforced it.
The 1968 state championship game at Aztec remains one of the most memorable games in Wildcat history, not simply because of the victory but because of the conditions under which it was played.
A blizzard greeted the Wildcats in Aztec. Snow covered the field, visibility was difficult, and Lovington trailed 12-0 at halftime. But championship teams have a way of finding solutions when circumstances seem hopeless.
The Wildcats battled back with two second-half touchdowns. Following the second touchdown, Lovington called timeout so the snow could be cleared from the spot where the extra point would be attempted. The kick by Dee Witherspoon, was good, and the Wildcats escaped the winter wonderland with a remarkable 13-12 victory and another state championship.
Coach Harold Teal’s Wildcats repeated as champions in 1969. One of the most memorable victories that season came against the Hobbs Eagles. Dee Witherspoon kicked four field goals, accounting for all of Lovington’s points in a 12-10 victory. Four field goals in one game is remarkable enough. Doing it against Hobbs made it legendary.
When Coach Teal departed, Coach Dale Buck inherited a championship program and kept the winning tradition alive.
The 1970 Wildcats captured a third consecutive state championship, defeating St. Michael’s 29-7. Three straight championships under two different head coaches demonstrated that Wildcat football had become something larger than any one individual.
The 1971 Wildcats finished 7-3 but missed the playoffs. In 1972, Lovington returned to the championship game, hosting St. Michael’s on Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately, the Wildcats suffered a 28-6 defeat, the first home playoff loss in school history.
Over those five seasons, Lovington compiled a 43-15-2 record, won three state championships, and played for a fourth.
Three straight championships. Two head coaches. One remarkable era.
THE THIRD GOLDEN ERA: 1986–1990
55 Wins, 6 Losses, 1 Tie — Five Seasons of Extraordinary Football led by Jerry Brown.
Ask longtime Wildcat fans to identify the greatest five-year stretch in Lovington football history, and many will immediately point to 1986–1990.
The numbers are almost unbelievable: 55 victories, six defeats, and one tie.
The 1986 Wildcats accomplished something no previous Lovington team had done, completing a perfect 13-0 season and winning the state championship.
Interestingly, one of the most significant victories came during district play rather than the playoffs. Lovington traveled to the Bulldog Bowl and defeated Artesia 7-6. In a rivalry where every yard matters, that one-point victory became a defining moment of the season.
The following year produced perhaps the most unusual state championship game in New Mexico football history.
Artesia had defeated Lovington 27-6 during district play in 1987. When the two teams met again for the state championship, the Bulldogs were heavily favored.
But the Wildcats had other ideas.
In a defensive struggle that has become part of Lovington football folklore, the two teams battled to a 0-0 tie. Under the rules of that era, the championship was shared.
To this day, many Wildcat fans consider that scoreless tie one of the greatest upsets in school history.
The 1988 team finished 8-2 but missed the playoffs after two district losses. One of those defeats came against eventual state champions Portales, 22-21, in a game remembered for a controversial extra-point play. I still believe Kelly Yancey scored on that play. Some memories don’t fade, especially when you’ve spent a lifetime coaching football!
In 1989, the Wildcats rebounded with a 12-1 record, their only loss coming against Goddard in a heartbreaking 6-0 double-overtime game at the Wool Bowl.
The 1990 Wildcats brought another state championship to Lovington, powered by an offense that scored in double figures in all but one game and a defense that was nothing short of remarkable. In 13 games, the Wildcat defense allowed an opponent to reach double figures only once. That’s right—12 of 13 opponents were either shut out or held to a single-digit score! It was a championship built on offensive consistency and defensive domination, completing a five-year stretch of football excellence that remains one of the most impressive in school history.
Fifty-five victories in five seasons. Only six losses. That’s not simply winning football. That’s domination.
End of part 1