August 9, 2018
DSHS HALL OF FAME
A new class will be inducted into the Denham Springs HS Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, September 6. The banquet will take place at Forrest Grove Plantation. The Denham Springs Hall of Fame is now located at Big Mike’s, Aspen Square, in Denham Springs
For more information, please see press release below.
JACKETS ON THE AIR
Catch DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL in 2018 on FAMILY RADIO 91.9 FM AND ON THE NET AT JON FINE PRODUCTIONS. COM. This is our 23rd year announcing Denham Springs Football. Josh Ward will call play-by-play with Andy Duckworth on color commentary for Coach Bill Conides’ team.
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Lionel Franklin/KBRS will be producing Brusly HS Football radio broadcasts in 2018 on KBRS, 106.9 FM.…
Lionel Franklin will be calling play-by-play, with Jason Manola on color commentary for Coach Hoff Schooler’s team.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
Can you remember the last time Saints fans were this excited about the upcoming season? I can. It was 2014, and things didn’t go so well. There are many parallels between that team entering the season and this year’s 2018 Saints.
In 2013, the Saints were 11-5. They won their first road playoff game against the Eagles and then lost at Seattle. What was the Saints record last year? The Saints were 11-5 winning their first round playoff game, before losing on the road to Minnesota.
In 2014, the Saints traded up to get Brandin Cooks. After that, the draft was filled with a number of players that were considered “reaches.” It turned out to be possibly the worst draft in Saints history. This year, the Saints made a huge splash trading up for Marcus Davenport. Rick Leonard was a surprise to many in the 4th round. Tre’Quan Smith looks like a solid pick, but every other player is in a dogfight to make the team.
The impression in 2014 and in 2018 is that the schedule starts out soft and that the end of October combined with November will decide the fate of the season. In addition, both years begin with a division opener followed by the Browns.
The roster on offense is pretty similar as well. Of course, Brees is the same. In 2014, the combination of Ingram and Thomas was fairly similar to Ingram and Kamara this year. Interestingly, Ben Watson was one of the tight ends in 2014 and is expected to be the starter in 2018. One big difference, though, is Jimmy Graham was the starter in 2014.
The receivers in 2014 were Colston, Cooks, Stills, and Meachum. This year, the top four receivers are expected to be Thomas, Ginn, Smith, and Meredith. This year’s group should be better than the 2014 group.
From left to right, the offensive line in 2014 was Armstead, Grubbs, Goodwin, Evans, and Strief. While that was a solid group, they were aging at that point. This year’s group is younger a little more powerful in the run game.
If I stopped right now, there would be real concern we are headed down the same road. Fortunately, the parallels end there. The Saints began 2014 with two road games, while this year, the first two games are at home.
Defensively, we were all fooled in 2014. We thought Byrd and Vaccaro would be the second best safety combination in the NFL. We thought Akiem Hicks, Cam Jordan, and Junior Galette were going to have a breakout years. Further, we thought Patrick Robinson would develop with Keenan Lewis to form a pretty strong corner combo. I was completely shocked the Saints had no leadership on defense without Malcolm Jenkins.
Frankly, the Saints are much more talented and hungry on defense in 2018. Cam Jordan has turned into one of the best defensive players in the league, and a good leader. Lattimore is better than Lewis. Patrick Robinson is back, but more experienced and in a better role as the nickel back. Rankins, Onyemata, Davison, and Okafor are significantly better than Hicks, Bunkley, and others that played on the defensive line.
Jairus Byrd’s inability to overcome injury and perform as he did in Buffalo set the defense back in 2014. Saints fans are still reeling from Marcus Williams missed tackle to end the season. But if the rumors are true, and Williams takes a huge leap forward in his second season, then 2018 will be a great year.
Injuries and close losses can always derail a season. The schedule is very challenging. The Saints play in the best division. Pittsburgh is considered a Super Bowl favorite, while the Rams, Eagles, and Vikings are considered the class of the NFC. Even though 3 of those 4 games are at home, the Saints could easily go 2-2 or worse in those games.
The waiting is over. The preseason is here.
HEY REF
Yes, Virginia it won’t be long until we hear “Are you ready for some football”. Before the 2018 season gets started I’d like to offer up another “Best Of”. The sports’ section of every newspaper continues to report the unbelievable salaries being paid NFL players. The following column was originally written back in 2015 and not much has changed when the subject is salaries. Each year we hear about a certain few players are now the highest paid in the history of professional football.
I just wonder how long it’ll bebefore we see salaries freeze and common sense return to the league. You know that old saying “what goes up must come down”? Of course you so which will it be sooner or later. Right now the NFL is in the middle of a huge controversy because its players want to kneel during the National Anthem and they seem powerless to stop it. Presently both sides are huddled in the main offices in New York City trying to come to an agreement on just what the players will accept as punishment.
Yes, Virginia the criminals are running the jail. The owners are trying to show a united front in how they believe the players should be dealt with while the players are telling the owners just what they can do. Last year the owners claimed to have lost money because of the controversy but have no answers on how to stop the disrespect shown our flag and country. That so called “loss of revenue” mustn’t have been very much since the only way to get things settled is to withhold funds, money, paychecks, etc.
These modern day owners have come up with an ingenious way in keeping the cash flowing; parity. As long as a team is in the hunting for a playoff spot everybody will still buy tickets and come to the games. So in short their business practices mean everybody makes money. To them there are no more “unimportant” games. So please read on to what “Hey Ref” was telling you a few years back. And with that said I’m not going to toot my own horn and rather allow you to read my words of wisdom.
“There’s a sucker born every minute” and “You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all the people all the time”. To me these two phrases describe the current and most recent history of the National Football League better known simply as the NFL. Let’s go to those ever all important numbers now that just a few games are left to be played in the 2015 season.
I’m in shock with the poor records and the lack of concern by most of the players and very few of the owners. Why you may ask? It’s shocking to me because out of the 32 teams there are 21 teams with losing records. In the hotly contested NFC East division there isn’t a team with a winning record. Three teams are tied for the lead at 6-7. That boils down to a winning percentage of just.462. In the NFC South where the Saints reside three of the teams are no better than 6-7 with New Orleans just a game behind at 5-8.
That’s just the standings in two of the eight divisions and nobody seems upset with any of it. You’d think the owners would be raising Hell with coaches and the like but really they for the most part are happy at the results. Not the results from the playing field but the one that trumps all others; their bottom lines. That’s the only thing that matters to these new style of businessmen because as long as teams are “in the hunt” for a playoff spot everything is peachy-keen. No need to wonder “Why” because being “in the hunt” translates to full stadiums.
These teams go about daily life, boasting they are the best; no one can come close as they claim to be the best professional football players. Simply put this is supposed to be a league beyond compare. It’s shocking this league generates more than 8 BILLION dollars a year. A large part of those BILLIONS is from TV contracts and memorabilia. That’s a huge sour subject with this writer since the vast majority of NFL memorabilia is made in China just as with the rest of the American marketplace. I say the least, the very least the owners should do is employ American workers to make all the jerseys and the like that fans seem to not get enough of.
The players are for the most part multi-millionaires and just go through the motions of playing the games until they’re in the final year of their current contract. That’s simply because the better the numbers the more an agent can squeeze out of the teams. You’d think with the money being thrown around they’d try to earn a paycheck but the thing killing the won-lost records for most teams is a little thing known as “Guaranteed Money”. For instance Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys signed a $120 million dollar contract a couple years back and more than $60 million is guaranteed. He doesn’t have to play another down and he gets paid.
I don’t understand how in good faith any businessman would not only offer this kind of contract but be happy to sign it. And you shouldn’t even try to measure the ego factor many of these owners have. You’ll have an ownerthat wants this highest paid player in the league on his payroll. Why would that matter? Simple answer is fans will buy up every seat possible to see this so called “Greatest/Highest Paid” player. And it goes without saying they’ll buy up the all too familiar and expensive memorabilia.
As I’ve written so many times this writer has been priced out of watching a game live since the cheapest tickets alone will set you back some $300 to $500 each. And if you want to sit closer to the action then be ready to fork over $1,000.00 or more for EACH seat.
So fans of the MFL (Mediocre Football League) don’t get upset that your millionaires aren’t worth the money; just be happy they’re “in the hunt” for a playoff berth. As long as the money keeps flowing, the stadiums remain full and the T-shirts keep selling out the owners have no reason to change the product on the field. But my problem with this formula is the little fact everybody ispaying more for less and people are happy. So who am I to complain?????
Till next week…
Press Release
School officials and title sponsor Sport-N-Center are pleased to announce the Denham Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will be enshrined on September 6 at Forrest Grove Plantation in Denham Springs. Tickets for the popular banquet are on sale at the school office on August 6.
Headlining the event as keynote speaker will be LSU head basketball coach Will Wade, an entertaining and colorful spokesman entering his second season at the helm of the Tigers. Given the smaller size of this year’s class, planners seized this occasion to introduce a high profile speaker into the format for the first time.
Two All State athletes and one selectee in the joint category of Athlete/Supporter, plus one member from the Class of 2017, will be inducted this year. All four enjoyed their time as celebrated Yellow Jackets in the 1960s.
Maurice Cockerham Durbin and Jimmy Tullos were outstanding All State athletes during their glory days at DSHS. Durbin was a tenacious competitor and defensive star in an era when girls’ basketball teams played on a divided court, with three offensive forwards at one end and three defensive guards at the other. She complemented her high scoring teammate Celeste Gully, a fellow All Stater, making the Lady Jackets regular playoff contenders.
Tullos was a versatile three-sport athlete who occupies a prominent place in local football lore with 16 career interceptions from his defensive safety position. His senior campaign was shortened by injury, limiting him to 17 games in two seasons, but he still produced a remarkable average of nearly one interception per game.
Selected in the dual role of Athlete/Supporter, Jim Spring was a hard-hitting center and linebacker in football who was a two-time All District and All Parish pick for the Yellow Jackets. He was also an All Regional selection at a time when this all star category existed between All District and All State. Spring was the first in school history to earn a four-year football scholarship to an SEC university.
Sharing the spotlight with this year’s class will be Tom Kelly, a carry-over member from the Class of 2017 who was unable to be inducted last year. Kelly was a four-sport letterman and All District quarterback who led the first great DSHS football team of the modern era. He was also the first Jacket to play football at LSU during a walk-on season with the Baby Bengals freshman team in 1960.
Below are the highlights of the athletic, scholastic, and civic achievements of these honored sports figures:
Maurice Cockerham Durbin (Athlete)
Class of 2016
A four-year letterman in softball and basketball at DSHS, Maurice Cockerham was a Class A All State basketball star in 1960. She was the defensive counterpart to offensive phenom Celeste Gully, also an All State choice.
With Cockerham’s hustling, shut-down style of defense and Gully’s prolific scoring, the Lady Jackets were perennial District Champions. Cockerham was selected to a number of all star teams including the prestigious Livingston Parish Tournament which showcased several of the state’s best teams.
As a spirited first baseman, she helped the Lady Jacket softball team to a state runner-up finish in 1960. A well-rounded campus leader, Cockerham was named DSHS Best Defensive Player in basketball and was a two-time Class Favorite and Most Beautiful choice by her classmates. After her high school sports career, she later played in an independent women’s basketball league for the local team sponsored by Varnado Plumbing.
Following her graduation from LSU, she taught elementary school for two years, earning Bachelor of science, Masters of education, and Specialist in education degrees. She then founded Maurice Durbin & Associates and launched a successful 25-year career as a political lobbyist at the parish, state, and federal levels.
During this time, Durbin was the first Livingston Parish resident appointed to serve a six-year term on the Louisiana Board of Regents, the supervisory body that oversees Louisiana state colleges and trade schools. She was also elected to serve on the Democratic state central committee and then on the Democratic state executive committee for eight years. She was a past board member of the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce as well.
Durbin has been a devoted community leader for nearly three decades, having founded Pet Aid, Inc., a non-profit that spays and neuters dogs and cats within Livingston Parish. In 2000, she began a vital and ongoing role in city beautification through the founding of Denham Springs Green. Perhaps her most passionate contribution has been as a volunteer leader at the Denham Springs Animal Shelter, a relationship that has spanned 30 years. In 2003, it became the first no-kill municipal animal shelter in the state. Durbin was also instrumental in securing the property for the construction of an animal shelter in the town of Livingston.
Married to former three-term Denham Springs mayor, Jimmy Durbin, she served as the city’s First Lady for 12 years, helping transform the quiet town into a vibrant small city. Throughout these years Durbin worked to improve the city’s landscape and image, while championing programs at the local animal shelter.
She is the mother of a son and daughter.
Jimmy Tullos (Athlete)
Class of 2016
Jimmy Tullos was a talented athlete who was a stalwart of the gridiron, earning Class AA All State honors as a defensive safety his senior year (1968) and honorable mention All State as a junior. He was twice named to the All District and All Parish teams as a safety (1967, 1968).
Tullos was a rare, instinctive defensive back who was a magnet for the pigskin, having stolen nine interceptions as a junior and seven as a senior, a stunning performance believed to be the school record. During his senior campaign, abbreviated by injury, he intercepted seven passes in seven games, including three in one game. Not only was he a tenacious ball hawk, Tullos was a hard-nose tackler that punished Yellow Jacket opponents for two seasons.
He played for Hall of Fame football coach Louis Carlisle, advancing to the Class AA state semi-finals as a junior and defeating Covington in the Jaycee Bowl as a senior. He earned the DSHS Best Defensive Back award twice.
Tullos was also a three-year letterman for Hall of Fame basketball coach Alton Leggette, reaching the Class AA state semi-finals his junior year.
Upon graduation from high school, he served seven years in the U. S. Army as a medical corpsman, including a tour of duty in Berlin, West Germany, where he and nine other soldiers set a world record for Marathon Basketball. Playing five-on-five, full court, with no substitutes, the teams competed for 48 non-stop hours, breaking the old record by six hours.
As a civilian, Tullos worked 17 years for Peavey Electronics in Mississippi, performing computerized tests on circuit boards, before returning to Louisiana where he served as a Deputy Sheriff in Caldwell Parish. Beginning as a road deputy, he would eventually retire as a lieutenant at the Caldwell Parish Correctional Center, having received a host of awards for superior performance.
In 2014, Jimmy Tullos, the former Yellow Jacket football star, married Patricia Morrison, his homecoming queen and DSHS Most Beautiful honoree. They now live in Denham Springs.
He is the father of a son and daughter.
Jim Spring (Athlete/Supporter)
Class of 2016
The last of three brothers who were rugged athletes at DSHS, Jim Spring was a two-time All District and All Parish football center and linebacker (1961, 1962), and a 1962 All Regional pick. He was the first player in school history and in Livingston Parish to receive a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at an SEC university.
A student of the game who called defensive signals for the Jackets, Spring was named DSHS Best Lineman, Team Captain, and Most Valuable Player, and also received recognition for Most Minutes Played in 1961 and 1962—all but one minute in two seasons. He was a two-year track letterman in the discus as well. Spring was an Eagle Scout, Vice President of his senior class, and represented the school at the State Literary Rally.
At the college level, he was a three-year letterman at Tulane University and, as a sophomore, was the smallest starting center in the SEC at 190 pounds. In 1966 against LSU at old Tulane Stadium, he played before the largest crowd (82,567) to witness a night college football game in NCAA history at the time.
Spring spent 30 years as an active duty Army officer (1969-1999), retiring as a full colonel with 10 years of overseas assignments in southeast Asia, the middle east, and Europe. Among his duties at the colonel level were Post Commander of Oakland Army Base, CA; senior U. S. officer in the UN peacekeeping force in Iraq; and senior Military Advisor to the Ambassador at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, during the period when the Islamic nation became a nuclear power.
At the lieutenant colonel level as a battalion commander, his battalion was selected Unit of the Year for its type in a geographic region west of the Mississippi River to the Indian Ocean. As the commander of Oakland Army Base, his command was awarded $40,000 in the Army’s Most Improved Installation competition.
A devoted Yellow Jacket fan and supporter, in 2011 Spring proposed the creation of a DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame and arranged the initial meeting between DSHS and the Denham Springs Athletic Association. Butch Wax and he were tasked to plan and organize the many guidelines and protocols that have culminated in what today has become a community treasure, now in its eighth year.
He also prepared the proposal and negotiated with Sport-N-Center to become the title sponsor which underwrites many of the expenses associated with the Hall of Fame. To build community support and promote the Hall of Fame and DSHS athletics, Spring has written over 75 press releases for area newspapers.
In 2008 Spring formed the first Board of the area Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), serving as President for three years. He organized the annual FCA Variety Show for five years, raising $25,000 for the spiritual welfare of students, athletes, and coaches at DSHS and throughout Livingston Parish.
In 2012 he proposed that “Yellow Jacket Sports” be showcased during a four-month public exhibit at Old City Hall sponsored by Denham Springs Main Street. He borrowed historic DSHS trophies, plaques, photographs, and sports memorabilia; publicized the event in the press; and organized an opening ceremony for the community.
In 2015 he proposed to the City of Denham Springs that the Yellow Jacket logo be prominently displayed on the water tower closest to the interstate. He prepared the formal documents, presented the proposal at a public meeting with the Mayor and City Council, and coordinated with Forte & Tablada Engineering until project completion.
During the Great Flood of 2016, the Hall of Fame display case in Hornsby Gym was destroyed, and funding for its replacement was a low priority for the school district. While the plaques were saved, it was unlikely they could be displayed there again in the near future. Spring proposed the Hall of Fame be relocated to Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill. He prepared and coordinated the Memorandum of Agreement between DSHS and Big Mike’s and organized the recent grand opening.
Spring is a graduate of Tulane (English) with a master’s degree from Ball State University (psychology). He is married to the former Kathy Brummett and is the father of a son and daughter.
Tom Kelly (Athlete)
Class of 2017
As a three-year starter at quarterback (1957-1959), Tom Kelly ran for 865 yards and scored 73 points while passing for 1,350 yards and 16 touchdowns in a backfield that boasted two-time All State running back Randy Rushing. Kelly was such a fierce tackler that head coach Charles Borde elected to also play him at linebacker on defense, a rare decision to expose the team’s quarterback to injury at such a rugged position.
A spirited athlete and natural leader, he was selected the team Most Valuable Player not because of his size or his statistics, but because he led by example and had a gift for inspiring his teammates. Kelly was also a star second baseman on Yellow Jacket softball teams that won State Championships in 1958, 1959, and 1960.
He embodied the student-athlete ideal as President of his sophomore and junior classes and Vice President of his senior class. Voted Most Energetic Student three times, he also served as FFA president and Key Club president. Kelly would eventually earn an athletic scholarship to play football at USL (ULL) after a walk-on season with the LSU freshman team. He is believed to be the first DSHS athlete to play football at LSU and to have played four years of collegiate football.
The leadership ability Kelly developed on the playing fields of his Denham Springs youth would later distinguish him as a leader on the football field at USL and the battlefields of Viet Nam. Having played quarterback in his formative years, and during his freshman season at LSU, he was at heart still a hitter who was called upon by legendary USL coach Russ Faulkinbery to play linebacker once again.
Though small in stature for the position, he nonetheless became a three-year letterman, a two-year starter, and defensive captain as a senior. In 1963 he would receive the USL Most Valuable Back award and recognition as an honorable mention NAIA Little All-America linebacker.
Kelly continued to be a campus leader off the football field, cited as a member of the 1964 Who’s Who in American Colleges & Universities, serving as a member of the USL student council and Blue Key Honor Society, and receiving an award as the USL student contributing the most to the College of Commerce.
Upon graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the USMC as an armor officer, serving as a tank platoon leader in Viet Nam at age 24, an assignment for which he received the Bronze Star medal with “V” device signifying valor, a rare award for a second lieutenant to receive. He would later return to Viet Nam at the rank of captain as a tank company commander at age 27.
Between those tours he had the unenviable assignment as the Marine Recruitment Officer in the San Francisco Bay area during two volatile years of unrest on college campuses.
After 26 years of active duty service, Kelly retired as a full colonel before spending another 18 years with General Dynamics working as a contractor on military programs. His overseas tours were in Viet Nam, Okinawa, and Panama. He is a graduate of USL (business) and is married to Meredith Kelly.
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