By VPJ Staff
The radio station, KVVP-FM, that employed me, started broadcasting Leesville High School football games in the late ‘70’s. The long, strange trip certainly was down an interesting road! That road allowed me to watch droves of Wampus Cat games through the years, and I watched a trend of outstanding running backs develop. It seemed year after year there was a studmuffin toting the leather for Leesville.
I remember the smooth silkiness of Terry Holt and Travante Stallworth; the blazing speed of Oscar Joiner and Michael Ford’ the fabulous heart and work ethic of brothers Eddie and Vincent Fuller; Cory McCoy, D’Ante Gallishaw, Heggie Reynolds … the list goes on to the present day phenom Xavier Ford.
The buck stops, though, with Cecil Collins, and while Ford has passed his 93-career TD mark, he still has work to do to catch Cecil’s 7834 career yards. A close look shows it can be done. Considering his present pace, he needs to average about 330 yards per game the last three games. He’s done that four times this year in seven games. Ford is a really unique workhorse of a running back that does not mind the many carries he gets. He is physical and elusive. He is tireless as a student and a genuinely good dude! A real find for the right collegiate program! That would be Ford’s goal, and he’ll get a chance to get a chunk of it in front of Collins tonight as “The Diesel” gets inducted into the Wampus Cats Athletic Hall of Fame. Those ceremonies are before the Homecoming Game at 6:45 p.m. Collins will be inducted along with Faye Jean West (posthumously), a 1954 basketball star for Leesville.
Wampus Cat Stadium will be full tonight of proud fans. There might be as many in the stands as when Collins was running up and down the field, leading Leesville to their one-and-only state title game.
If you think your road in life has been a strange trip, consider Cecil Collins. The very first Mr. Football in the state, 1996. Courted by many, signed by LSU, but it wasn’t easy by any stretch. His ACT scores were suspect and kept him from playing as a true freshman.
During that time, he returned to Leesville on a Friday during an LSU bye week. Local attorney, Mike Anderson, was announcing for KJAE-FM. I was at the other end of the booth on KVVP-FM. Mike asked if I wanted to interview Cecil when he was done. My partner in the booth had other plans that night, and I talked Cecil into a “running interview.” I did play-by-play and he threw in color comments for the first half. He was engaging, comfortable on the mic, and quiet and shy. His peers might tell you differently. During his second year as a Tiger, he had almost 600 yards rushing in four games before breaking a leg against Vanderbilt. Trouble of his own making followed that would drastically change his life. He transferred to McNeese. Trouble followed and he was forced to leave the Cowboys.
Collins was drafted in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL draft by Miami. Trouble caught up to him again. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trespass/burglary and was behind bars from 2001-2013 before being released.
Cecil Collins is certainly the most imposing, elusive running back I witnessed at Leesville High. He could take a big hit, limp off the field, and be back in one play to break one for 60 yards. When he squared those shoulders and ran downhill, you were in trouble as a tackler! He was dinged-up his senior year going into a quarterfinal playoff game at DeRidder. Dragon fans had the signs and the lungs to let him hear it. He took the kickoff back a way, then scored four TD’s on 247 yards rushing. Leesville won it 29-0.
Cecil left an impression on anyone who saw him churn out yardage. He was relentless and strong. In prison, he met a woman who had come to visit another inmate. They are married with three children and live a faith-based life in Houston, where Collins works for an electrical contractor.
It may have been a long, bumpy road The Diesel traveled, but it’s similar to many in the game of life. We all wish we had golf mulligans in life — a chance to re-do and do better. Collins has done that, and his transition is palpable. Just look for that big smile tonight on the sidelines! Sometimes, home is not such a bad place.