When thinking of De Leon football you might be prone to overlook one of the more successful athletic dynasties ever known in these parts.  The Junior High football teams which were coached by James Perkins from 1956 to 1963 were such powerhouses as to be virtually unbeatable.  This eight year period included four undefeated teams and two more season with only a single defeat.  The Perkins coached teams compiled an impressive combined record of 51-6-1 (89.5%).  This record is even more incredible considering many of these wins were against teams from towns such as Stephenville and Granbury which had two to three times the student enrollment of De Leon.

    The writer of this article fell heir to a series of Cubcat Cameras (the old Junior High newspaper) which partially documented the success of these teams between 1960 and 1963.  During just this four year period, the Cubcats compiled a record of 27 wins against only 3 losses (two of the losses being six points or less) and outscored their opponents 744 to 148. During one three game period in 1961, the Cubcats, who were then quarterbacked by Mike Smith and had runners such as Trent Thomas, Bill Lamb, and Mike Stewart, outscored their opposition 150 to 16.  This feat was truly amazing considering the quarters were only six minutes long and there were virtually no passing plays to stop the clock.

    According to the September 27, 1962 Cubcat Camera, the Cubcats’ 6-12 loss to the Granbury Jr. High team (led by James Hodges the nephew of De Leon’s Terry Hodges’ who played on the 1960 Cubcat team) ended a 27 game winning streak that spanned five seasons and included three straight undefeated teams.  To put that loss into perspective one should remember that this same Granbury team as seniors, went to the state finals in what is now Division 3-A.   [ed note: The longest Bearcat winning streak is 15 games all within the 1975 season.]

     The common element in all of these teams was the coach, James Monroe Perkins.  Mr. Perkins’ love of football went back to his youth.  As a young man living in Brownwood he came out for football but due to his size was never allowed to play, even though he never missed practice.  He ultimately became the manager and trainer for the Brownwood Lions and later for the Howard Payne College Yellowjackets.  Upon beginning his coaching career, he vowed to never let size be a deterrent to allowing some young kid a chance to play.  Perkins’ keen eye for players with “grit” as well as skill was no doubt, the key to his and the teams’ successes.  He was truly more interested in “the size of the fight in the dog rather than the size of the dog in the fight.”

    Perkins coached all the Junior High football teams which normally included three grades (sixth through eighth).  He would stress the fundamentals of blocking and tackling with the sixth grade players while methodically teaching them the plays and formations which could later be used.  Saturday practices were often used for the younger players in order to allow closer supervision by Perkins.  By the time the player reached the seventh grade they were well versed in the offensive and defensive schemes to be employed and capable of “subbing” for the eighth grade starters should an injury or the score dictate.  The eighth grade provided a majority of the starting players and leadership on the teams.

   Mr. Perkins believed in being better prepared  than the opposition.  He often used after lunch “skull drills” to get his eighth grade players mentally ready for games.  Weekend trips to see college games or the Dallas Cowboys gave his players a first hand view of some really high level football.  The writer of this story accompanied Mr. Perkins to watch one of his former players, Mike Thomas play in one of his first games for the Baylor Bears.  Perkins also used his eighth grade players to help him scout the High School team’s next opponents.  By serving as the scout, Perkins seldom got to see the players he had groomed play their high school ball.

    The Perkins system stressed speed, quickness, and flawless execution.  He used the split T formation which was made famous by Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma during the late forties and early fifties.  Virtually all of this offense consisted of running plays.  The backbone of the offense was a series of quick hitting plays that included fullback slants, halfback dives, and quarterback belly option plays.  These plays usually involved a hand-off at the line of scrimmage which virtually eliminated the possibility of the loss of yardage.  Although the offense was relatively simple and the opposing defenses many times knew what was coming, the results were consistently and overwhelmingly successful.

    The defense used by these teams consisted of five down linemen, four linebackers, and two safeties.  The linemen and linebackers used a series of alternating stunts which disrupted the opposing offense and often resulted in a loss.  Perkins would relay his defensive signals to one of the more astute defensive players.  The use of hand signals was essential since substitutions were limited under the rules in effect during those years.

   Perkins’ belief in quick, precise execution was evidenced by his use of small and fast interior linemen.  Many times the guards and centers were among the smallest (and certainly the toughest) players on the field.  Since a single platoon system was required, most of the players started on both the offense and defense.  The quickness of the small interior offensive linemen proved an even greater advantage on defense by allowing these players to “shoot the gap” or run around their larger and less agile adversaries.  This type of small lineman included players such as James Bruton, Tommy Butler, Toy Holt, Steve McGinnis, Jamie Mason, Larry Nabors and Jimmie Warren.

     An example of the emphasis of speed over size occurred in 1963 when the Comanche Jr. High team fielded a line which included two players weighing over 200 pounds.  These players would have been large by High School standards in those days.  Comanche had other big players that year, as they averaged forty to fifty pounds per man more than their diminutive counterparts on the De Leon line.  De Leon’s line included Travis Barnes, Sherman Calder, Burl Lowery, Eddie Moore, Ronnie Robinson, Tony Tucker and Jimmie Warren.  The Comanche coach called Perkins in advance to bait him and to let him know that his massive line had not allowed a single first down in their scrimmages with Stephenville and Brownwood the previous two weeks.  Perkins, being somewhat put off by the bravado, indicated to him that his Cubcat team had not been forced to punt a ball during the last three seasons and that they would be ready for his team.  One senses that the Comanche coach was considerably more humble about his big players the following week after De Leon whipped them 38-0 on the Comanche team’s home field.

     Among Perkins’ favorite plays was the onside kick which was used successfully no less than a couple of times a game.  Since regular kickoffs seldom traveled past the opponents twenty-five yard line and were typically returned to about the forty yard line, Perkins wisely reasoned that there was little to lose with the onside kick.  Coach Perkins would use his fastest men at end on the side where ball was to be kicked.  They would hit the opposing players and allow a recovery by their teammates.  Perkins recalled scoring 32 points in one game before the other team got its hands on the ball due in large part to the onside kicks.

   Coach Perkins first coached De Leon’s Junior High team in the fall of 1956.  The team went undefeated with a 7-0 record.  The team was characterized by the hardworking, easily motivated attitude of its players.  Perkins remembered that the kids didn’t want to quit practicing even when the workouts were over.  They were led by quarterback Grady West, and included other players such as C.A. Brinson, Ernest Brown, James Bruton, Tommy Butler, David Coan, Harold Davis, Gene Hamilton, Steve McGinnis, Stanley Kirk, Bobby Phillips, J.W. Sadberry, Jerry Singleton, and Bobby Wall.

    The 1957 team was one of Perkins’ most talented with many of the players later receiving college athletic scholarships.  Its record was 6-1 with eighth grade players including Richard Armstrong, Troy Belyeu, Bennie Brownlee, Lenward Caraway, Wiley Chandler, Gerald Fronk, Buddy Lamb, De Witt Robinett, Tony Sharp, Wayne Terry, Mike Thomas, and Gerald VanZandt.

       In 1958 Perkins fielded one of his smallest teams which feature a seventy-five pound quarterback named Mickey Robinett.  A favorite play of this team was the double reverse.  Robinett was so impressed with the success of this play that he described it in a letter written to the T.C.U. coaches.  The coaching tip from the young Junior High quarterback was subsequently the focus of a sports column in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  The 1958 team record was 4-2-1.  Other players included Kenny Hancock, Bill McGinnis, Travis Moore, Larry Nabors, Jimmie Parker, Jackie Pounds, Wade Smith, Roger Spruill, and Charles Straub.

    The 1959 team began the 27 game winning streak with a 7-1 season record.  The eighth grade players included Daniel Burleson, Sidney Christopher, Halsey Coleman, Coney Elliot, Maurice Fields, David Glover, Toy Holt, Ronnie Hood, Chipper Lee, Gerald Locke, Wesley Mathis and Danny Phillps.  Toy Holt was a quick and very tough lineman who, despite being severely hearing impaired, played for this team.  Fellow teammate, David Glover developed a means of signaling plays to Holt who, according to Perkins, would be in the other team’s backfield as quick as any player he ever coached.  Sidney Christopher played on the team and was one of the smaller backs to ever play for Perkins.  His elusive “jitterbug” style made him very effective.

    The 1960 team was also undefeated with eight wins.  According to Perkins, the team included three of the most natural athletes he ever coached.  Those players were Gary Burleson, Terry Hodges and Johnny Terrill.  Other players included Jerry Barton, Anthony Brinson, Deral Brown, Curtis Chesser, Sam Frazier, Danny Hardin, Roger Pounds, Wesley Robinson, Sam Scott, and Johnny Stuard.  Danny Hardin’s small, explosive hitting style prompted Perkins to give him the nickname ”Dannymite”.

     The 1961 team was on of Perkins’ most dominate posting an 8-0 record and allowing only one opposing team to score.  (The scores came against the sixth graders in the final quarter of a game in which De Leon led by 50-0 at the half).  They outscored their opponents 283 to 16.  Singling out a player on this team as being as standout was almost impossible die to the overall quality of the players, but Perkins recalled that Bill Lamb would hit a hole so quick that he would be ten yards down field before the defense even knew he had the ball.  Backs on this team included Johnny Bob Carruth, Bill Lamb, James Morgan, Mike Smith, Mike Stewart, and Trent Thomas.  Their line included Tony Hallmark, Charles Kirk, Jamie Mason, Ronnie Parker, Donny Sharp, Bo Shifflett, Bob Straub, Robert Strickland, Wesley Tucker, and Tommy VanZandt.

      The 1962 team, according to Perkins was one of  his unluckiest teams, losing two games by less than a touchdown.  One of those losses occurred when one of his top running backs, Kent Boswell was out sick and his starting quarterback Kevin Weaver had broken his leg.  Never-the-less, the 1962 team outscored their opposition 118 to 34 and posted a 5-2 record.  This team featured the passing duo of quarterback Kevin Weaver and receiver, Bodie Weaver.  Other players on this team included Garlan Bingham, Bobby Davis, Jim Farley, Kenneth Golden, Mike Hare, Larry Nowlin, Bruce Sanders, Lloyd Sanders, and David Strasner.

       The 1963 teams which the writer of this story played on was the last that Perkins coached.  This team ended its season with a 6-1 record having outscored its opponents 156-60.  It featured a two pronged running attack consisting of fullback Kent Boswell and halfback Mike Butler.  The team was quarterbacked by David Grisham whose small size and “never give up” attitude were typical of a Perkins coached team.  Other players included linemen Travis Barnes, Sherman Calder, Randy Farrow, Burl Lowery, Troy Meirs, Eddie Morore, Ronnie Robinson, Tony Tucker and Jimmie Warren. 

        In addition to coaching football at the junior high level during these years Perkins also coached the Junior High track team, both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and ended his career having lost only one boy’s basketball game at home.  During these years his athletic teams with few exception, won the District Championship in all sports.  Proving his versatility, Perkins, while coaching, also served as Principal of Junior High, taught eighth grade math, some high school math and sponsored many district winning number sense teams. Perkins was truly an inspiring and concerned teacher.  Having been a multiple recipient, the writer of this story remembers Perkins as willing to met out discipline in a fair, if no somewhat painful manner.

    After the 1963-1964 school year.  Mr. Perkins moved to high school to become principal.  One year later he became Superintendent of De Leon schools where he served many years until his retirement.  During this period, he headed the Boy Scout organization in De Leon.

      The writer compiled this story from a number of sources including personal interviews with Mr. Perkins, articles from the Cubcat Camera, discussion with other players, high school annuals and the writer’s recollection of events which occurred some thirty plus years ago.  A diligent attempt was made to include the players from each team with any omission being unintentional  and with much regret.  Any inaccuracies in this story are hopefully minimal and should not cast doubt in anyone’s mind as to the unique nature of his coaching accomplishment.  Mr. Perkins truly made a positive impact on the lives of not only the young men and women whom he coached, but all the students he taught in De Leon Junior High and High Schools.    [De Leon Junior High has since been named Perkins Middle School.]

     

Junior High Football

The 1962 Undefeated Cubcats

1963 Cubcat District Track Champions

Back Row: (L-R) Donnie Sharp, Mike Smith, Bo Shifflett, Trent Thomas, Kevin Weaver, Bill Lamb, Tommy VanZandt, James Perkins.

Kneeling:  Rickie Hanifan, Mike Hare, Garlan Bingham, Tony Hallmark, Mike Stewart.

Seated: Johnny Bob Carruth, Bodie Weaver, David Strasner, Jim Farley, Billy Wilson.