IRVING, April 21, 2011 - For the third consecutive year, the National Football Foundation Gridiron Club of Dallas attracted a sellout crowd to the east end of Cowboys Stadium to honor TCU head coach Gary Patterson, nine college scholar-athletes, 52 high school scholar-athletes and seven major award winners.
Patterson took home the Distinguished Texan Award, the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas’ highest honor. Previous Distinguished Texan Award winners include NFF Board Member and Dallas Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones, and NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Fame coach Grant Teaff. Patterson earned the honor after leading TCU to an undefeated season and Rose Bowl victory in January.
Among the 52 high school scholar-athletes, three were honored with scholarships. The Charles S. Sharp, Jr. Scholarship was awarded to Bret Roper of Granbury, who plans to attend Hardin-Simmons in the fall. The TicketCity Bowl Scholarship was claimed by Damian Brown of Dallas A. Maceo Smith, who will attend Henderson State (Ark.). Chapter president Gerald Brence presented Wesley Carr of North Mesquite with the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Scholarship. Carr will study pre-med at Texas A&M.
College scholar-athletes honored were Evan Beaton (East Texas Baptist), Derek Epperson (Baylor), Zack Eskridge (Midwestern State), Adam Farkes (Texas A&M – Commerce), Pete Fleps (SMU), Bart Johnson (TCU), Austin Light (Austin College), Micah Mosley (North Texas) and Jacob Rowe (Tarleton State). Fleps addressed the crowd on behalf of the scholar-athletes.
The coaching staffs of Mesquite Poteet and Lucas Lovejoy brought home yearly honors. Poteet head coach Randy Jackson won Large High School Head Coach of the Year, and Pete Gee was named Large High School Assistant Coach of the Year. Lovejoy head coach Jim Bob Puckett was awarded Small High School Head Coach of the Year, and Billy Thompson was selected as Small High School Assistant Coach of the Year. Tommy Hudspeth, former head coach at Weatherford, McKinney, Longview, Sherman and Mesquite, won the chapter’s Legends Award, Charles Stephenson was honored as the Steve Storie Official of the Year and Denton ISD’s Ken Purcell took home Athletics Director of the Year honors.
Scott Murray served as the night’s master of ceremonies, and KDAF-TV was on hand to cover the event. In attendance were NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell, College Football Hall of Famer Chad Hennings (Air Force), College Football Hall of Famer Gary Reasons (Northwestern State), SMU head coach June Jones, North Texas head coach Dan McCarney, Texas A&M – Commerce head coach Guy Morriss, Big 12 Conference associate commissioner for football and student-services Ed Stewart, TicketCity Bowl president and CEO Tom Starr, Conference USA associate commissioner Alfred White, Conference USA assistant commissioner for public affairs Courtney Morrison Archer. Also present at the banquet were SMU athletics director Steve Orsini, Texas A&M – Commerce athletics director Carlton Cooper, Midwestern State head coach Bill Maskill, Austin College head coach Loren Dawson, Tarleton State head coach Cary Fowler and East Texas Baptist head coach Mark Sartain.
