MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / June 5, 1999

LUTCHER – There were not many times that Leroy Labat, Reserve High School’s “Black Stallion” got upstaged during his playing days. But ithappened during the 1946 Reserve-Lutcher game.

In that game, a 174-pound halfback by the name of Jay Richard gained 150 yards and led the Bulldogs to a 26-6 victory before 5,000 fans. During thecourse of the game, Richard was running down the sidelines when he got nailed by Labat. Richard did a 180 and hit the ground. Both players lateradmitted that was the hardest either one had ever been hit in football.

The victory capped an undefeated season for Lutcher and advanced the Bulldogs to the Cypress Bowl in Ponchatoula. There the Bulldogs facedCovington in the only bowl game in which two undefeated teams met in Louisiana and Mississippi that year with Covington coming away with the win.

Richard noted that the big game that season was the Bulldogs’ 7-6 victory over Morgan City in the season opener. Norman Buckner had returned tocoach Lutcher after the war in 1945 and the Bulldogs ended a five-game schedule that season with a 13-all tie against Reserve.

Lutcher went on after that Morgan City game to go undefeated, beating Destre-han and Hahnville on successive days. Richard was named theOutstanding Player in the South Central League after the season and was also an all-state selection.

Richard said the success of that team was based on the togetherness the players showed.

“We played together,” Richard said. “It was one big happy family. Welooked out for one another. There was no jealousies, no animosity.”Football was different in those days. Players often played the entire game,playing on both sides of the ball. Richard played halfback on offense andsafety on defense and also handled the kicking duties.

Uniforms were also different with no facemasks and fewer pads for protection. And unlike today, most teams only had two coaches to runthings. Players were lighter with the heaviest player on the Lutcher squadweighing in at between 210-215 pounds.

“You had to be in shape,” Richard said. “You had to be in physical conditionto play ball. It was a rough game. When you hit somebody, you felt it.”Richard played four sports at Lutcher – football, basketball, track and baseball. Buckner was the coach for all four sports and Richard said theplayers had great respect for him.

“What a man,” Richard said of Buckner. “He was a terrific coach. He was adisciplinarian. The hardest day at work was nothing like the hardest day atpractice. But we were dedicated to play football for coach Buckner. Hemade it fun. We all respected the man. Coach Buckner taught us the rightthings. He was one of the best coaches there has ever been in this area.”Buckner said it was also a pleasure to be able to coach players like Richard.

“He was a 100 percenter,” Buckner said. “God gave him a lot of naturalability. He was an all-around good kid. A great student and popular oncampus. A good high school citizen. Dedicated, very hard worker. The firstone on the field. Always asking for information on how to get better. Thekind of boy you would like to have all the time.”Buckner and Richard were part of the intense rivalry Reserve and Lutcher had in those days. Richard called it the little Tulane-LSU game. The teamsalways played on a Sunday and the schools would parade in each other’s home towns the morning of the game.

“It was the game of the year,” Richard said. “When we played in Reserve,the entire town emptied out.”Richard graduated from Lutcher and went to McNeese State, then a junior college. In his second year there, he led the team in total yards, averagingseven yards a carry running the ball. Richard also handled the kickingduties and averaged 47 yards a punt.

After the season, Richard was named a Little All-American, the award given to the top junior college players in the country. Richard alsoreceived the Billy Cline Award as the McNeese State MVP.

During that season, McNeese State traveled to Missouri to play Westwater Military Academy. In that game, Richard rushed for 147 yards, catching theeye of legendary Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson. Wilkinson talked toRichard after the game and wanted him to visit Oklahoma. But Richardwanted to stay closer to home and decided to transfer to LSU midway through his sophomore year.

Richard played two years at LSU but said Tigers coach Gaynell Tinsley felt he did not have the speed needed to play halfback. Richard was a memberof the 1949 team that defeated three eventual conference champions before falling to Oklahoma, 35-0, in the Sugar Bowl.

Richard graduated in 1951 and went into the Air Force where he also played football. He got out of the service in 1954 and went to Shell wherehe worked for 35 years. Richard had two daughters and two sons, both ofwhom played for Lutcher under coaches Lou St. Amant and Frank Monica.His grandson, Rusty, played football for Riverside.

Richard, an avid deer hunter now, said one of the things he is most proud of is how he has kept in shape over the years, a tribute to coach Buckner’s work ethic when he played.

“If I had any success, it’s because of him,” Richard said of Buckner. “Hehad some tough practices but everybody was in shape. When you got yourhealth, you have everything. That’s the main thing.”

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