Detrick Propes, Class of 1988 graduate of Plano East High School, was inducted in the school’s football hall of honor on Oct. 4. Photo by Andy Redmond / C&S Media
By David Wolman
If Detrick Propes were to play football these days, he fears that he might get penalized a lot more than when he played in the late 1980s.
Propes loved to hit.
Growing up, he played football in a park against other little kids without pads.
By his junior season in high school, he was a hard-hitting middle linebacker for Plano East, and he wasn’t afraid to dish out the hits. During a game against Berkner, Propes ran unimpeded toward the Rams’ kickoff returner. The ball rolled in front of the Berkner player and into his chest. But moments after gaining control of the ball, Propes delivered a hard hit.
That hit drew a strong reaction from the crowd.
“It was the best hit ever,” Propes said. “Everyone in the crowd was yelling, ‘Woo.’”
Hard hits like the ones that Propes delivered were a big reason why Plano East had a feared defense and achieved sustained success over the two years that he played on varsity for the Panthers — 1986 and 1987. The Panthers finished 14-7 over that span, including a record of 8-3 during Propes’ senior season.
Propes’ legendary high school career was celebrated at Tom Kimbrough Stadium on Oct. 3. Propes, a Class of 1988 graduate, was inducted into the Plano East Football Hall of Honor at the end of the first quarter of Plano East’s game against McKinney Boyd.
“It’s a very nice honor,” he said.
Propes is the second member of the 1987 team to be inducted into Plano East football’s Hall of Honor this year. Kenny McEntyre, a Class of 1989 graduate and defensive back for the Panthers before going on to play in the NFL and later starring in the Arena Football League, was inducted Aug. 29.
The original plan was for Propes to play high school football for Plano West, but he changed his mind and wanted to play for Plano East after watching his older brother play for the Panthers.
Propes played running back and free safety in middle school, but his coach told him that he wasn’t good enough to play middle linebacker. That was all the motivation he needed to work even harder at plying his craft so that he could play linebacker.
Once in high school, Propes finally had someone who believed he was capable of playing middle linebacker: coach Roy Stone. Propes was moved to middle linebacker in the ninth grade for the Williams High School football team. He was promoted to the Plano East varsity team by the end of his junior season, and he never relinquished his spot.
“He was a great coach,” Propes said of Stone. “He tried me at that position, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
Plano East had a stout defense with Propes, McEntyre, middle linebacker Elton Drake, Billy Staples, free safety Russ Bailey and defensive end Weldon Anderson.
“We had the best defense in the nation,” Propes said. “If we would have beaten Carter in the playoffs, the Friday Night Lights movie would have been about us.”
Propes relished the rivalry that Plano East had with Carter, especially with one particular player for Carter — linebacker Jessie Armstead.
Armstead was selected by the New York Giants with the 207th overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and went on to play professionally for 12 seasons before retiring in 2004.
“Jessie was a really nice guy,” Propes said. “Me and him were always competitive. When I saw him, we would have a competition to see who the best middle linebacker was ever.”
A big reason why Propes succeeded at middle linebacker was his dedication to the weight room.
“I got the record for the Super Fighting Panther award,” he said. “You got points for speed and lifting weights. I was the strongest. I was benching 375 pounds. I was strong. I was born like that.”
Propes continued to wear black and gold in college when he played for Tyler Junior College.
“I loved that black and gold,” he said.