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Printed From North Texas e-News == ntxe-news.com Sports The 2008 high school football season, announced Durwood Keeton, has already begun. Keeton, the featured speaker, was introduced by friend and former teammate Charles Butler. Keeton was in Bonham Saturday night to be the keynote speaker at the Bonham High School Football Banquet and he was the perfect choice on several levels. Standing at the podium was a product of the same environment, in many ways, as the Warriors that filled the Bailey Inglish Auditorium. "Thirty-nine years ago I was sitting there just like you," Keeton recalled, "wondering who would get the awards and looking at all the pretty girls; but I don't know if you realize just how special this town is." Every team is temporary. Sometimes, however, the bond goes on forever. Attending the banquet were several teammates and classmates of Keeton's from the 1960s. He paused to recognize those close friends, to point out that 3/4 of the 1969 sprint relay team was in the house and pondered how everyone had aged 39 years, yet Coach Gerner still looked like he did when this group went through junior high. Growing up in Bonham was an idyllic childhood, Keeton said, with the little league field only a five-minute bicycle ride away. It was such a sheltered environment that Keeton was in college before realizing the country was struggling with Civil Rights. But many of his former teammates at BHS went on to make their mark at the college level during those trying times, just as they had done at Warrior Stadium. Lonnie Bennett was the first African American to score a touchdown for the University of Texas. Marsh White, a prototypical fullback that went on to play for the New York Giants, was one of only two African American men on the campus at the University of Arkansas when the Razorbacks gave him a scholarship in 1970. Alvin Brown rewrote the Big 8 Conference interception records during a stellar career at Oklahoma State University. "What happened in Bonham in the 1960s was primarily the result of one man - Jack McElhannon," Keeton acknowledged. Although McElhannon was the head football coach in Bonham, he was well liked and respected by the young kids in town because he showed a genuine interest, an interest that would pay tremendous dividends. "When we got to high school," Keeton remarked, "he knew who the athletes were, who the competitors were." Keeton admitted there was a very good chance he would never have even played high school football if not for Coach McElhannon. Even now, Keeton says people seem rather incredulous when they find out he played in the NFL because he stands about 5' 8" and weighs maybe 170. But he was especially small when he tried out for the seventh grade football team. His shoulder pads were so big they were flopping up and pounding the sides of a much-too-big helmet. "I thought...this is crazy," Keeton told a very attentive audience. "The equipment outweighs me!" Deciding his short-lived football career was over, Keeton checked in his pads and became a team manager. That career turned out to be even shorter. Coach McElhannon happened to drive by the field and see a kid he already had plans for was walking the sidelines. So, the car stopped and a powerfully-built head coach ambled up beside the new manager. "What are you doing," McElhannon asked. "I'm a manager," the diminutive Keeton replied. "No you're not," Coach McElhannon said softly. The little manager would turn out to be the first Oklahoma Sooner drafted by the professional ranks in 1974. Keeton went on to play with the World Football League's Southern California Suns, the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Keeton said he never saw Coach McElhannon lose his temper or lose his composure. That example of inner strength left an indelible impression on the team that stepped out onto the field on Friday night. "There were lots of people watching him," Keeton said of his high school coach. "There are lots of people watching you," he pointed out to the Purple Warriors sitting in front of him. "The 2008 Warrior challenge starts tomorrow." Offensive MVP - Dylan Garza Defensive MVP Ethan Gentry Offensive Lineman of the Year - Casey Robertson Purple Heart Award - Trey Wheeler Defensive Lineman of the Year - Guillermo Martinez Offensive Back of the Year - Dylan Garza Defensive Back of the Year - Ethan Gentry Special Teams Player of the Year - Myran Roundtree Purple Warrior Award - James Cody McFarlin Sportsmanship Award - Jake Caylor Jack McElhannon Award - Ethan Porter © Copyright 2002-2005 by North Texas e-News, llc. |
