June 12, 2021
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TODAY’S COLUMNS:
Scott analyzes LSU Baseball
Dennis takes on the LHSAA
Please scroll down below.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Swing and a miss! I took a huge swing and missed last week when I said for LSU to win the Oregon Regional it would have to be from the winner’s bracket. I whiffed… happily.
What I was reminded of is that it takes a combination of expected and unexpected heroes to win a regional from the winner’s or loser’s bracket. Dylan Crews and Gavin Dugas will go down in LSU history with the likes of Todd Walker, Eddy Furniss, Brandon Larson who had excellent regular seasons and elevated their game in the regionals. On the mound, Landon Marceaux coming back on short rest puts him in line with Ben McDonald, Kurt Ainsworth, Patrick Coogan and so many other Tiger greats.
The unexpected heroes are the ones that tend to stick in our heads longer, though. With the ESPN special on Skip, those who did not know, now know the name of Pat Garrity. There are others like Jim Greely, Tom Bernhardt, and Adrian Antonini. Guys that did not have big regular seasons but had timely hits in the postseason. Zach Arnold, Drew Bianco, and Gio will be remembered just as clearly.
Of course to come through the loser’s bracket of a regional, the pitchers have to perform in ways they have not during the year. In the Mainieiri era, it usually happens in Hoover where guys like Dane Bradshaw have career performances. Veterans like Labas, Vietmeier were great. The most exciting part is the freshmen like Coleman, Hellmers, and Edwards who are showing they may be able to take the torch from Marceaux and Fontenot next year.
Taking stock of the moment, LSU is one of six SEC teams that made it to a Super Regional. Ole Miss was the only team LSU was able to win a series against. Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas took two out of three from LSU. Then there is Tennessee. The Vols swept LSU but only outscored LSU 15-11 on the weekend. Two of the wins were walk offs and each game was decided by two runs or less. Their closer, Sean Hunley had 2 wins and a save. This series was so early in the year that it was when Jaden Hill was still pitching and Fontenot had yet to find his groove.
Looking at this weekend, LSU is going to have a huge challenge. The Tennessee fans have latched on to this team that plays with a lot of swagger. If you want to see what I mean, check out the walk off grand slam show when The Vols came back to beat Wright State in the opener of that regional.
I don’t think the environment will bother LSU, except in one area and that is infield defense. The Tigers were shaky late in games at Oregon and it seemed to stem from the significance of the moment. Since LSU only played one game in Hoover, tournament play at this level is new to these young Tigers. Hopefully, the experience in Eugene will be all they need to handle the moment in Knoxville.
While moving Dylan Crews paid dividends this weekend for Crews’ effectiveness, LSU is still losing out on generating runs with Milazzo hitting ninth. If Mainieri would put Thompson 9th, Thompson would get better pitches to hit because he would be in front of Crews. This is no disrespect to Milazzo who caught 45 innings in 4 days and made Oregon pay over and over again for being too aggressive on wild pitches. I doubt Mainieri will make this change at this point, but Coach listened to his son about moving Crews to leadoff, so maybe there is a chance he listens to me.
The toughest decision LSU will have is starting pitching. Put me in the camp of going in the order of Labas, Marceaux, and Hilliard for many reasons. The extra rest for Marceaux and Hilliard after coming back on short rest is the obvious reason. Let’s look at some less obvious reasons.
Tennessee’s Saturday and Sunday starters have been more effective than their ace, Chad Dallas, who dominated LSU in the regular season. But, Heflin and Tidwell do not go particularly deep into games. Sewell and Hunley have factored in almost all of Tennessee’s postseason games and likely will pitch in every Super Regional game. Meanwhile, Maineiri now has Coleman, Edwards, and Fontenot who can go 3 or more innings as needed. In a best two out of three, the team with better top line pitching is at the advantage over a team with depth. I think the teams are close to even in this area.
As we have seen, if LSU is going to get shut down by the other team’s ace, then LSU is going to lose whether Marceaux is on the mound or not. In the postseason, it happened against Georgia and Gonzaga. If LSU is able to get some runs off of Chad Dallas and win game one, then I would love to have Marceaux on the mound in game two to close it out. If LSU gets dominated by Dallas again, then I would be even happier to have Marceaux on the mound to extend the season.
Meanwhile, Hilliard has been great in the game three role, so I love having him there as well. In any case, LSU has quality arms to bring in relief to win late in game three of a Super Regional. The most important factor is that whoever LSU chooses to pitch, they are rested and healthy.
At the plate, nobody can expect Dugas or Crews to stay this hot. Doughty and Morgan will likely need to find their groove. No matter how well the top of the lineup hits, in the postseason, usually the bottom of the lineup that produces unexpectedly gets the win. If Bianco, Thompson, and someone in the DH spot can have quality at bats, this LSU baseball team can be one that is remembered for a long time.
HEY REF
Last week LHSAA’s own fast Eddie Bonine made a statement that was printed in the Advocate where he gave one reason it’s hard to attract and keep high school officials is because of the way parents act toward officials. Well, there is some truth to that but it’s so minute (my-NOOT) it doesn’t deserve to be mentioned. He’s opened a can of worms here at “Hey Ref” because this writer has since day one constantly said the system is broken when we start talking what’s wrong and how do we fix the problem of not being able to have a constant list of qualified candidates to start a long career in working high school sports.
Not only does Eddie open said can of worms but he’s actually brought his own worms to this debate. It’s very easy for Hey Ref to point out the number one reason he can’t get/keep qualified officials and that reason is he lacks any hint of understanding the problem. That number one reason really isn’t that hard for him to find since it stares back at him every morning while he shaves.
Many of my fellow officials are of the opinion that he runs the LHSAA’s official program with an iron fist. He’s taken control from the association’s membership and this has caused a huge divide among those good officials that would come back and work if he’d just get out of their business. But he isn’t the only reason Louisiana state-wide is in dire need of qualified officials. No, I’ve got to hand a lot of the animosity to the principals and their actions just a few years back when the so called Official’s Association threatened a strike if they didn’t get a raise.
There’s no truth in the name “Official’s Association” since it was setup with handpicked “YES” men that’ve put themselves into so called power positions that have nothing to do with promoting the quality of officials in the state. Here’s what I’m talking about; The LHSOA says they’re here to support the officials, yatta-yatta-yatta. Well, I had a sticky play situation in a playoff game that our crew couldn’t figure out how to administer a ruling. So, the crew “winged” it. I wasn’t happy how the white hat went about making his ruling. So, I wrote to this puppet association asking for a ruling. That was almost ten years ago. It’s actually hard to believe but to this day JUNE 9, 2021 I haven’t received a ruling or even an acknowledgement from the LHSOA that they read the play situation.
So, I went back to find where I first wrote of how the principals set forth and mandated officials have to attend a STATE SPONSORED CAMP in order to get a pay raise. Many officials who only call games because they want the money felt as if they’d scored a huge victory in getting a raise just to go to a camp???? But it’s turned into a money grab by those that were put in office to run the LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIAL’s ASSOCIATION. Coaches, ask your officials when have they been allowed to vote on officers at the LHSOA. I’ve never been given a mail-in ballot, or told of a day, time or location where I’d be allowed to vote for any such candidates. So, fast Eddie there are many problems and reasons why you and the LHSAA can’t get qualified officials. Least of which happens to deal with parent’s actions. If you’d step back and allow the officials to run their business then you’d see an overflow of good candidates wanting to WORK HIGH SCHOOL games. But I know you won’t, you enjoy perks from some assignment secretaries and one such benefit is rumored to be free legal work.
So, let’s get to one of my fave “Best of Hey Refs”. It should open some eyes but you find anyone wanting to say or do anything about the causes of why there aren’t officials coming back year after year. And Eddie you’re right in the middle of the “REASAONS WHY”!!
Not sure if I should label this week’s fun-facts as either “Shooting thyself in the foot” or “Cutting off ‘da nose to spite ‘da face”? Sometime we think we’ve got a solution to a problem when in all actuality we’ve really just created an enormous “cluster”!!!! High school principals state wide a few short years back attempted to improve the officials that worked their games by requiring them to attend a training camp once every two years.
Many officials didn’t think twice about the strings that were silently attached to that clause in the new contract that had to be signed between said schools and each local association. The reason they very quickly looked the other way was simple. You might think common sense ruled the official’s decision but it was in all actuality copper cents as in currency.
Sad for me to think this way but many of my official brothers, with the sorry economic situation our country has been in for what seems some thirty years; many need the few dollars working high school games to feed their families and\or pay the rent. This is a very cold, hard fact of our modern society.
The camp attendance clause was thought by many of the voting principals to be THE answer! But there are too many questions for a simple answer to a very complex set of problems when we start talking on how to insure the game officials are up to the highest standard in rules knowledge.
I’ll share some very quick numbers to maybe help the principals understand that the attendance requirement is a loss cause at best. The main expense incurred by officials is of course the camp registration fee. The attendance requirement at its simplest forces each official to spend from $500.00 to maybe $7 or $800.00 bucks.
Not a cost many of us can afford but the principals think it’s a great return on their investment and the money they’ll spend in increased fees on game night. And that’s where the vast majority of principal’s opinions lay. But it’s not that simple in the real world. The monster they’ve created actually binds the hands of all assignment secretaries in the state.
I’ll use my case to try and help the principals realize the system needs fixing because it is costing their schools in more ways than just the bottom line. I sat out about 10 years due to some severe health issues. I came back in Aug. 2012 with 20 years varsity experience, worked many playoff games, and even worked the state championship in the Dome between Curtis and Eunice in 1997.
I attended a mandatory camp in Aug. 2013 and also worked the ’13 regular season. You’d think I met the camp attendance rule since I’d only worked one year before I attended a camp. But you’re wrong as rain as I and many other officials found out when the regular season started. A little unknown stipulation says you must attend a camp before the end of the FISCAL year which ends of course on June 30th.
So those like me that attended a camp after July 1 were out of luck and couldn’t keep their certification. We were bumped DOWN a classification which caused me to lose $25.00 a game in pay which totaled over $250.00 also we aren’t allowed to work more than one playoff game instead of two, three or possibly four. Add a loss in playoff revenue of at least another $100.00.
When you add the cost of new shoes, pants, shorts, etc. we put up another $200 - $300.00 on top of the camp fees, dues ($75.00) and we’re talking a net loss in income somewhere between $400 to close to maybe $500 or more after figuring your game checks. So when good officials start dropping out because of the not intended screwing we took you can understand why many drop out altogether.
So, principals when you scratch your head and wonder why you can’t attract or keep good officials try and remember this, it’s all about the bottom line nowadays. No more love of the game, it’s all about the bottom line. Sad that it’s come down to this but as personal incomes continue to nosedive in this one world economy you can’t blame those guys that walk away and don’t give a second thought about a career in officiating.
The system is broke but we should be able to fix this problem before games are called by guys that just volunteer to do it instead of making it a job that involves rewards for doing a good job.
Till next week…
Press Release
by
Jim Spring
The year 2020 marked the tenth anniversary of the Denham Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame (HOF) since its inception in 2011, though celebration of this feat was postponed until now due to the Corona virus pandemic. Then school Principal Kelly Jones and Athletic Director Dru Nettles tasked J. W. “Pee Wee” Day, Butch Wax, Robert Graves, and Jim Spring—all DSHS alumni and former Yellow Jacket athletes—to form a Steering Committee to establish criteria, procedures, and a timeline that would bring into existence the Hall of Fame.
The Steering Committee believed that such an elite athletic fraternity could become a community treasure. The city has only one high school, thus enabling the public to rally around its flagship scholastic institution. Community support for the organization has been outstanding, benefited by generous exposure in The Livingston Parish News through the years.
The Committee embraced the notion of hosting a formal HOF induction banquet each year instead of pursuing a more minimalist approach that would involve little fanfare, such as the informal introduction of members during a sporting event. Held annually at Forrest Grove Plantation each September, the popular banquet has become one of the most anticipated events on the city’s social calendar. The affair is made possible through the gracious support of title sponsor Hood Dental Care and, before that, Sport-N-Center.
In 2011, one hundred and fourteen years after the school’s founding, leaders created this prestigious Hall of Fame—now a decade old—to celebrate its rich sports tradition and to honor its many sports heroes.
The four-member Steering Committee, which provided structure and gave birth to the institution, was then absorbed by an 11-member Selection Committee that meets each spring to review nominations and vote on that year’s class by secret ballot. School officials have striven to protect the integrity of the selection process, understanding that holding the community’s trust is essential to the credibility and long-term success of the Hall of Fame. To that end, DSHS relies solely upon the public to submit all nominations.
Though DSHS has become the second largest high school in the state since its founding in 1897, for the most part it was considered a small country school. Thus, all the more remarkable that it has produced such a surprising number of heralded sports figures. Among its alumni are five prep All-Americans, seven collegiate All-Americans, four professional athletes, an Olympian, an NFL team president, and a Golden Spikes Award winner (college baseball’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy).
Notable athletic achievements are state championships in baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls softball, and girls bowling. The 1972 Yellow Jacket football team came close to a state title, earning runner-up laurels in a fierce match versus Hahnville that ended in a 26-26 tie, losing the game–-and the title—on first downs in an era before overtime play was part of the game.
One additional achievement, evidence of its solid reputation built over the past decade, is the HOF’s assistance to six other high schools seeking guidance in establishing such an institution on their campuses.
Member Demographics
Currently the Hall of Fame has enshrined 73 sports greats, an average of eight per class, with pending inductions of another six whose installations were delayed until September of 2021 due to the pandemic. Another such postponement occurred when The Great Flood of 2016 caused a deferment that year as well. In an effort to jumpstart the long overdue recognition of Yellow Jacket greats, the first two classes (2011, 2012) were expanded to no more than 15 each. Subsequent classes are limited to no more than eight each, although depending upon the size and quality of the nominee pool, the number varies from year to year.
Of the total membership, 20 are deceased including 11 whose inductions were posthumous. Though all the inductees lived in Denham Springs during their high school years, their life journeys have taken some to other states—Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Arizona, and Washington—and one to a foreign country. Katrina Hibbert, an exchange student from Australia who led the Lady Jackets basketball team to a storybook 37-0 season and a Class 5A state title in 1996, has since returned to live Down Under.
Fifty-four of the 58 members inducted thus far in the “Athlete” category earned All State honors or were State Champions in individual sports such as tennis or track and field. Some received this distinction more than once and some in more than one sport. Ten coaches and only five supporters have been so honored, rounding out the 73 members. The Yellow Jackets’ only three-sport, first team All State honoree—and thus considered the most well-rounded athlete in school history—is Cecil Harris who was lauded in basketball, baseball, and track and field during the 1960s.
While Cecil Harris may have been our most well rounded athlete, Ben McDonald is arguably the most celebrated and well known as a two-sport, two-time prep All State selection, a two-time collegiate All-American at LSU, winner of the prestigious NCAA Golden Spikes Award, a #1 draft pick in Major League Baseball, a gold medal Olympian, and an ESPN sports analyst.
On the other hand, Tasmin Mitchell is arguably the most heralded and decorated, having been a rare four-time prep All State choice (three-time MVP), a two-time prep All-American on three different teams (Parade, McDonald’s, EA Sports), the Grasshoops National Prep Freshman Player of the Year, a Louisiana Mr. Basketball selectee, Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, a collegiate Freshman All-American at LSU, and a current LSU men’s assistant basketball coach.
Not to be overshadowed in state and national honors is 2006 DSHS graduate Regena Jackson, easily the most decorated female athlete in school history. A two-time prep All State basketball star for the Lady Jackets, she became a two-time NAIA All-American at Belhaven College where she was one of three NAIA National Player of the Year finalists her senior year. Averaging 24 points per game, Jackson led the nation as the NAIA National Scoring Leader as a senior. Her jersey is prominently displayed in the Ring of Honor at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In addition to their athletic achievements, many Hall of Fame members were campus leaders as well. All State basketball stars Donald Ray Hood and Eddie Joe Jones, the latter who went on to become an NFL President with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, displayed exceptional leadership ability by serving as DSHS Class Presidents all four years of high school. Selected as Mr. DSHS during their senior years were Hall of Famers Pee Wee Day, Butch Wax, Jim Kemp, Sam Digirolamo, and Jeff Harris. Honored as Miss DSHS was All State basketball and track star, Nancy Davis McConnell.
The many family ties represented among HOF members may suggest that good genes play a role in creating great athletes. Fathers and sons Cecil and Jeff Harris, along with Van Foster Jr. and Van Foster III echo that sentiment, as do fathers and daughters George Meadors and Sarah Meadors Mestepey, plus Tony and Lisa Dugas. All State basketball players Sammy Dixon Hannaman and Nikki Dixon Leader are sisters, while Joey Chustz and Jamie Chustz-Felder are brother and sister. Brothers Cecil and Raymond Harris, A. E. and Lathan Sutton, and Rogers and Randy Pope are further examples. Prep football All-American Kelvin Robinson and his basketball star cousin, Drexel Robinson, also share family bonds.
Of all those inducted into the Hall of Fame, only two athletes have been honored to perform in the prestigious LHSAA All Star Game in two different sports. All State football and baseball great, Glenn Glass, participated in those two sports. All State basketball and softball star, Lisa Dugas, displayed her talent on the court and on the diamond. At the collegiate level, the only Yellow Jackets to earn All SEC laurels are Katrina Hibbert, Russ Johnson, Ben McDonald, Tasmin Mitchell, and Shannon Roubique. Hibbert was a three-time, first team All SEC basketball player at LSU. Roubique was a three-time, first team All SEC football player at Auburn.
Dual HOF Members
Before the DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame was established, the school was represented in the LHSAA Sports Hall of Fame by three legendary coaches and one legendary athlete. Louis “Loodie” Carlisle was the first successful Jacket football coach of the modern era, enjoying a 66-31-9 record. Having won a Class 2A state championship in 1964 while coaching at Assumption High of Napoleonville, he led DSHS to a Class 3A state runner-up finish to Hahnville in 1972. His teams won three district titles and made 11 playoff appearances. Carlisle was named District Coach of the Year four times.
Former DSHS student-athlete-coach-athletic director-principal Butch Wax was the winningest football coach in school annals with a 152-84-2 career record, earning five district titles and making 19 post season appearances with four quarterfinal finishes. He coached regular season undefeated teams in 1978 and 1983, plus one 12-win season, two 11-win seasons, and five 9-win seasons. Wax was selected District Coach of the Year five times.
Basketball mentor, Alton Leggette, was a fiery coach and masterful tactician who brought excellence to the DSHS boys basketball program after winning the Class C State Championship at Holden in 1963, building a remarkable 251-44 record in six seasons with the Rockets. His Jacket teams enjoyed a 247-111 record, winning one district title and making three playoff appearances. Widely respected within the coaching community, he was named Mr. Louisiana Basketball in 1990 and received the SLU Legends in Coaching Award in 1999. During his career, Leggette was selected District Coach of the Year four times, Parish Coach of the Year six times, and Class C State Coach of the Year in 1963.
The Jackets’ final member and only athlete in the LHSAA Sports Hall of Fame is Ben McDonald—superstar athlete at the high school, collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels. In addition to receiving college baseball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy as a senior at LSU, he was also named National College Player of the Year by Sporting News, Baseball America, and ESPN in his junior year. He was a major league pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles for seven seasons and the Milwaukee Brewers for two before retiring after three shoulder surgeries. McDonald is also a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame located on the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock, Texas.
Two-time National Prep All-American tennis sensation, Jana Garrison Orillion, and National Prep All-American football star, Kelvin Robinson, have been nominated to the LHSAA Sports Hall of Fame but not yet selected. Robinson was the first high school All-American at DSHS in any sport.
Community Support
Throughout the HOF’s ten years as the seat of athletic excellence in the community, local businesses and individual Jacket fans have been charitable with their support. During the first year when the annual banquet, though well attended, lost about $300 because of associated expenses, Pee Wee Day recommended that local sponsors be solicited to underwrite the cost of plaques. It is the custom to present inductees with a handsome keepsake plaque made of walnut with an 8X10 space to insert a photograph of the individual. A separate metal and acrylic plaque bearing an etched likeness of the inductee is displayed in the Hall of Fame. The two plaques, which cost a total of $400 annually are made by A-1 Awards, Inc. in Indianapolis. Thus, they represent an expense of $3,200 for, say, an eight member Hall of Fame class. The goodwill of local sponsors now absorbs this significant expense.
In 2014 Stacy Phipps of Sport-N-Center was approached about becoming the first HOF title sponsor that would largely underwrite the expense of the catered banquet. Following a generous five-year run as title sponsor, Sport-N-Center handed the mantle to Dr. Ed Hood of Hood Dental Care which is beginning its third year in that distinguished role. The benevolent spirit of these two community leaders and former DSHS student-athletes cannot be overstated.
The Great Flood of 2016 caused the postponement of the annual banquet that year as well as the relocation of the Hall of Fame itself. When floodwaters wrecked the former display area in Hornsby gym, Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill became the new home in 2019. The former site at DSHS offered limited public access since it was located on a closed campus. The new site offered by Mike O’Neal provides unlimited access seven days a week during restaurant hours. Local carpenter and handyman John Olivier created the handsome display, while local painter Lionel Kabel provided the attractive signage.
Yellow Jacket Firsts
A number of Hall of Fame members were groundbreaking pioneers in DSHS athletics and the first to achieve some sports-related milestone. Rex Wilkinson is believed to be the first All State athlete on the first state championship team in school history (1923). He is also believed to be the first to play men’s basketball at LSU. Longtime DSHS principal of 35 years, Grady Hornsby, changed the school’s mascot from Tomcats to Yellow Jackets and adopted purple and gold as the school colors in 1930. He also coached the first 11-man football team from 1930-1933.
Bert Barnett, a two-sport All State honoree in basketball and track (1946), was the first to receive a full athletic scholarship in these sports at LSU. Universally considered the Yellow Jackets’ first great football player, Randy Rushing was a two-time All State running back (1957, 1958), boasting a 13-yards per carry average with 1,873 yards as a junior and 1,862 yards as a senior. He was also the first DSHS thinclad to break the 10-second barrier in the 100-yard dash with a 9.9 second record that still stands.
Tom Kelly is believed to be the first to play football at LSU, as a walk-on freshman quarterback in 1960, and also the first to play four years of college football (LSU, USL). Les O’Neal, an All State pitcher, was the first to sign a four-year athletic scholarship to play baseball at the college level (USL) in 1961, eventually earning All Gulf States Conference selection (twice) and Conference Player of the Year. In 1963 Jim Spring became the first to receive a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at an SEC university (Tulane). Slammin’ Sam Digirolamo was a 1968 All State linebacker and the first to sign a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at LSU.
During the era of school integration, Drexel Robinson was the first black athlete at DSHS to earn a four-year athletic scholarship in any sport at the collegiate level. In 1973 he signed to play basketball at Louisiana College where he was honored as team captain three times and MVP twice. He would later be inducted into the Louisiana College Sports Hall of Fame. Rene Moseley Severio, a two-sport All State choice in basketball and track, was the first female athlete to receive an athletic scholarship in any sport to a four-year college (Northeast Louisiana) in 1980. She was also the first to win an individual State Championship in track in any event, as a record-setting long distance runner with a time of 5:14 in the mile.
Jana Garrison Orillion shocked the tennis world as the first girl in Louisiana to win four consecutive high school State Championships (1983-1986). She became a tennis superstar as the first two-time National Prep All-American (1985, 1986) in school history, boasting a career record of 65-1. Considered the first great female softball player at DSHS, Shannon Covington Fuentes was a two-time All State pitcher with a 78-3 career record and a 50-game winning streak. She led the Lady Jackets to state titles in 1986 and 1987.
A two-sport All State star in football (1985) and baseball (1986), Glenn Glass was the first running back to break the single season rushing mark of 2,000 yards (2,036) and the first to rush for over 4,000 career yards (4,016), along with 39 career touchdowns. Laurin Byars Garrison is the only DSHS coach in any sport to be directly involved in winning four state championships (1986, 1987, 1998, 2000), while also securing four state runner-up finishes. As an assistant coach and co-head coach, her softball teams amassed a superb 479-123 career record.
Nikki Dixon Leader is the only Yellow Jacket in school history with the distinction of being an All State athlete (basketball/1964) and a two-time State Championship coach (softball/1986,1987). She was also named District Coach of the Year in girls basketball eight consecutive seasons. One-year Australian exchange student and All State basketball player, Katrina Hibbert, led the Lady Jackets to a state title in 1996 and, after a sterling career at LSU, became the first (and only) DSHS female athlete drafted into the WNBA (Seattle Storm) to play professional basketball. In 1999 Joey Chustz became the first (and only) Jacket in school history to be drafted into the NFL (Jacksonville Jaguars) and play professional football, having been an All State pick at DSHS and All-America honoree at Louisiana Tech.
HOF Banquet
The annual banquet at Forrest Grove is a dignified yet fun event that is well supported by the community. Crowds typically exceed 200 attendees with a record turnout of 276 in 2017. Shortly before the new members are introduced, deceased members are acknowledged individually with the clanging of a bell as their name is announced and their photo displayed. The most anticipated happening of the banquet is the videotaped interview of each inductee, displayed on three large screens. The interviews provide a delightful mix of humor, nostalgia, little-known sports tales, and great storytelling.
Orchestrating all the moving parts of the banquet agenda is the Emcee who must be organized, likeable, verbally facile, and sometimes humorous. During the past decade, Hall of Fame emcees have included these local personalities—Pee Wee Day, Randy Smith, Doug Hughes, and Kelly Jones—all DSHS alumni who have each made the event memorable. Only once has the banquet been headlined by a guest speaker, in 2018, when popular LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade filled the room with laughter, inside basketball nuggets, and colorful recruiting stories.
Perhaps a bit old fashioned—yet jubilant in this setting on this nostalgic evening—the banquet concludes as the crowd is invited to give a rousing, pride-filled rendition of the school’s alma mater.
The DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame has earned a reputation for integrity, for being well organized, for its classy banquet. Thanks to the support of the Denham Springs community, the dedication of volunteers, and a pool of quality nominees, your Hall of Fame is well positioned for continued excellence in future decades.
Prep All-Americans Collegiate All-Americans Professional Athletes
Kelvin Robinson Ben McDonald Ben McDonald
Jana Garrison Orillion Russ Johnson Russ Johnson
Ryan Byrd Joey Chustz Katrina Hibbert
Tasmin Mitchell Tasmin Mitchell Joey Chustz
Cade Doughty Regena Jackson
Travis Swaggerty
Abby O’Donohgue
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DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS ARE A JON FINE PRODUCTION ON FAMILY RADIO, 91.9 FM, BATON ROUGE and JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS THE OWNER OF AN EBAY STORE. ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, SELLS SPORTS PUBLICATIONS. YOU CAN LINK TO IT BY VISITING JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-SULPHUR/LAKE CHARLES.