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| LONGVIEW - The 1957 football season came to an abrupt and unexpected end for the Longview Lobos when their game scheduled against the Lufkin Panthers Saturday night at Lufkin was cancelled because of the conditions of the playing field.
Parts of Panther Stadium were under as much as two feet of water, it was reported. Coach Catfish Smith of Longview announce the cancellation after a conference of school officials following a telephone call from Bill Sheffield, Lufkin coach, Friday morning advising Smith of the condition of the Lufkin field. The Lufkin stadium is located in a low area adjacent to the old high school and the field's drainage system was unable to carry off the accumulation of water from week-long rains at Lufkin. Lufkin school officials said they would play the game if Longview insisted but warned that it might be dangerous. Longview school officials mutually agreed to the cancellation. "The safety of our boys as well as the safety of the Lufkin players is more important to us than the winning of a mere football game," Smith said in announcing the cancellation. The Longview coach added that he did not think it would be fair to the players to ask them to participate in a game involving undue hazards and the risk of possible serious injury. The game will not be entered on the season record of either team and thus both the Panthers and Lobos played only nine contests this year. Longview and Lufkin finished in a tie for third place in the District 8-AAAA standings and the Lobos wound up the campaign with a season record of four victories, two defeats and three ties. In conference play, the Panthers defeated Marshall, 20-13, while losing to the champion Texarkana Tigers, 32-0, and the Tyler Lions, 40-12, for a 1-2 record. |