1971 NAIA National Champions

1971 NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

                                             LIVINGSTON                25
                                    WEST LIBERTY              2
                                    November 26, 1971
                                    Steubenville, Ohio

     The Tigers took a stingy defense on the road in their first ever playoff appearance, limiting West Liberty to one first down and 29 total yards, both school records. Livingston trailed 2-0 at the half after a West Liberty safety, but Clemit Spruiell threw a pair of touchdown passes and Larry Lightfoot scored twice as LU rolled to a 25-2 win in the second half, advancing to the 1971 NAIA National Championship Game.

                                                        LU                          WL
First Downs                                        14                       1
Yards Rushing                                    161                       9
Yards Passing                                    148                      20
Total Offense                                    309                      29
Passes                                           12-21-0               4-20-3
Punts                                              6-36.3                9-34.9
Fumbles Lost                                       3                        0
Yards Penalized                                 125                       0

LIVINGSTON       0       0      12      13       25
WEST LIBERTY    2       0       0        0         2

SCORING SUMMARY
WL - Safety, punt snap goes out of the end zone
LU - Tommy Cartwright, pass from Clemit Spruiell (M. Green PAT-failed)
LU - Leo Wright, 36-yard pass from Spruiell (Run no good)
LU - Larry Lightfoot, 7-yard run (Pass failed)
LU - Lightfoot, 6-yard run (Green kick)

LU LEADERS
Rush - Lightfoot, 18-81 yards
Pass - Spruiell, 10-17-0, 136 yards
Receiving - Cartwright, 6-53 yards
Defense - Hutcherson, 4-0

Tigers Celebrate after defeating Arkansas Tech 14-12 in Title Game.

                                             LIVINGSTON                14
                                    ARKANSAS TECH          12
                                    December 11, 1971
                                    Birmingham, Alabama

     The Tigers earned the university's first and only national title with a 14-12 win over Arkansas Tech in the 1971 NAIA National Championship Game at Legion Field. Livingston came from behind twice against Tech as Clemit Spruiell racked up 138 yards of total offense and Nels Strickland tallied a whopping 22 tackles. The Tiger defense held the Wonder Boys in dramatic fashion on fourth-and-four at the Livingston 16-yard-line with 2:13 remaining to seal the victory.

                                                        LU                          ATU
First Downs                                        14                       15
Yards Rushing                                     96                      217
Yards Passing                                     89                       91
Total Offense                                    185                      308
Passes                                            4-13-0               4-13-4
Punts                                              6-36.0               4-30.0
Fumbles Lost                                       2                        1
Yards Penalized                                  20                       46

LIVINGSTON          0       7        7        0         14
ARKANSAS TECH    7       3        0        2         12

SCORING SUMMARY
ATU - Benny Shepherd, 67-yard pass from Phil Fisher (C. Williams kick)
LU - Clemit Spruiell, 1-yard run (Mike Green kick)
ATU - Williams, 38-yad field goal
LU - Larry Lightfoot, 2-yard run (Green kick)
ATU - Safety, LU punter Bob Clark ran out of the end zone on punt attempt.

LU LEADERS
Rush - Spruiell, 17-49 yards
Pass - Spruiell, 4-13-0, 89 yards
Receiving - Lightfoot, 3-78 yards
Defense - Strickland, 15-7