Portland State football: Former players pay tribute to Mouse Davis
http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2010/02/portland_state_football_former.html
When it was June Jones' turn to take the microphone and "roast" Mouse Davis on Friday night at the Multnomah Athletic Club, the former Portland State quarterback let his old coach have it.
Rather than insults, Jones piled on the praise, paying tribute to Davis as one of the state's most legendary football coaches and one of game's most innovative and influential thinkers.
"Mouse was one of a kind," said Jones, now the coach at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "I don't think there's any person that affected me more as a player and as a coach and the way I do things now than, of course, Mouse."
About 150 people turned out for what had been promoted as a "roast," but the evening turned into more of a dinner/reunion/semi-retirement party for the 77-year-old Davis, whose coaching career spanned six decades across the high school, college and pro ranks.
Among the featured speakers were five former PSU players -- Neil Lomax, Ken Buckles, Phil Cam, Clint Didier, and Jones -- who fired more verbal jabs at one another than they did at Davis.
Jones, who played at PSU under Davis in 1975 and 1976, said he was en route to Portland Saturday when he saw an interview with Mike Ditka, talking about his 1985 Chicago Bears that finished 15-1, losing only to the Miami Dolphins, 38-24, in Week 13.
"Ditka went on to describe that one loss to Miami and how the Dolphins split Nat Moore out against the '46' defense," Jones said. "They played three wide outs and a tight end, and he said, 'That moment changed football.'
"Well, I can assure you that moment wouldn't have happened if Mouse hadn't introduced his run and shoot in the USFL a year earlier on ESPN."
Jones added that Davis' influence extends all the way to Sunday's Super Bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints in Miami.
"I don't think any one person has impacted the game as much as Mouse has, and probably hasn't gotten credit for it," Jones said. "If you watch this Super Bowl and you watch exactly what Indianapolis runs, they're running basically what we did 30 years ago when everybody thought we were Communists."
Lomax, the Vikings' all-time leader in passing yards (13,220) and touchdown passes (106), said it was a wonder that Davis recruited him out of Lake Oswego High School in 1976, the same year Jones completed his eligibility at PSU.
"We threw nine times a game at Lake Oswego ... nine times," Lomax said. "Mouse seen me warm up and left. That's a true story. He saw me warm up and said, 'That kid's got something. They don't throw it in the game, but he's got something.'
"The guy's got an eye for talent. You had that one No. 11 (Jones), but then the REAL No. 11 showed up ... without the fu manchu thing going on."
Lomax, who recently served as a volunteer assistant at Roosevelt High School, also recognized new PSU coach Nigel Burton in the crowd.
"This is not a retirement party," Lomax said. "I'll tell you what, Nigel, I don't know, good luck to you. No disrespect, but maybe in three years, Mouse and I might be taking over."
On a serious note, Lomax announced plans to establish a Mouse Davis Scholarship Fund, with money going annually to help local high school athletes attending PSU.
Any discussion of Davis' six-year run in the Park Blocks from 1975-80 wouldn't be complete without somebody mentioning donuts, Gatorade, DMSO, and the infamous 105-0 victory over Delaware State on Nov. 8, 1980 at what was then called Civic Stadium (PGE Park).
Davis also had the last word.
"Do I regret scoring 105?" Davis said. "Yeah ... I think we should have had 112. But we didn't execute real well a couple of plays.
"Football is all about execution. It's not a real complicated game. If you win, it's because you out-execute people. It just happens to be that we have the best offense that's ever been on the field, and if we execute that, we will win. I really believe that.
"We've all had such great memories, and that's what football is all about. It truly is the best game that's ever been invented. I don't know many guys I had tonight say, 'It was the best time of my life.' The experiences you have are so good. Well, I had 56 years of those, boys. And that was after I quit playing."
