100 Greatest: No. 1 Player - Koy Detmer

The thief weaved through the throng of mall traffic, shouldering unsuspecting shoppers aside, when suddenly a Good Samaritan pounced from behind, tackling the shoplifter, throwing him to the ground and holding him there until police arrived.

As the story goes, that concerned citizen was Koy Detmer, then a star quarterback at Mission High. And while Detmer remembers the tale well and chuckles when he hears it, he says it simply wasn't him.

"Something happened in the mall and somebody stole something or something like that, and somebody tackled him and they reported it was me, but it wasn't me," he said.

"I don't know who it was."

Be that as it may, it's no surprise initial reports had Detmer playing hero. At the time, Rio Grande Valley football fans believed he could do anything - and mostly they were right. Detmer went on to play in college and the NFL, and he was named the top player in RGV history after receiving seven of 12 first-place votes.

"I hadn't really thought about it too much, and with a lot of those kind of achievements and honors and things like that, it's a lot of opinion and guys playing in different eras and in different situations, different times ... so it's just an honor to be mentioned in that regard," Detmer said.

Detmer in Mission was a match made in gridiron heaven.

The Eagles already were an aerial dynasty, thanks to coaches David Lee and Rusty Dowling and quarterback Lupe Rodriguez. And Detmer - the son of offensive-minded coach Sonny Detmer and brother of Heisman Trophy-winning QB Ty Detmer - was born to call signals.

Then listed at 6-foot, 150 pounds, Detmer and his dad arrived in Mission in 1989. His impact wasn't felt immediately as a freak back injury limited his production as a sophomore, but his junior and senior seasons were nothing short of remarkable.

Despite splitting time with QB Willie Rodriguez through the first half of the season, Detmer led the 1990 Eagles to their second district title in 22 years while throwing for 3,685 yards and 43 touchdowns, numbers which still rank third and second, respectively, in RGV history. He also took Mission on a historic march to the Class 5A Division II state semifinals - the furthest the school has advanced in the playoffs to date.

As a senior, Detmer helped Mission win its second straight district championship with the school's first 10-0 regular-season mark since 1941, threw for 36 TDs and 3,943 yards - the Valley's second-best mark all-time - and was named the Class 5A offensive player of the year.

Detmer still holds seven RGV records: career passing yardage (8,221), single-game passing yards (522 vs. Corpus Christi Miller during a 1991 playoff game), career passes attempted (855), single-game passes attempted (73 vs. Houston Aldine during a 1990 playoff game), career passes completed (551), single-season passes completed (271) and single-game passes completed (44).

He ranks second only to Rodriguez in four other categories and holds six of the top 17 RGV marks for passing yards in a game. The 73 attempts against Aldine in the Astrodome still is a state record, and Detmer's name remains among the best in the nation's history in seven categories.

"He was a great, quiet leader," Sonny Detmer said. "And the other thing about him was, that guy was such a perfectionist. I never saw a guy practice as well as he did that played that well in games."

Jason McDaniel covered high school football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach the sports department at (956) 683-4402 or via e-mail at sports@themonitor.com.

WHY THEY VOTED

Here's a summary of Koy Detmer's career, which played a major part in the player's ranking at No. 1:

Koy Detmer finished his high school career with a Rio Grande Valley-best 8,221 passing yards and went on to play college football at Colorado and professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He still holds one state record with 73 passes attempted in a historic playoff game against Houston Aldine and was named the Class 5A offensive player of the year in 1991. He holds seven RGV records and ranks second in four others.

THE SERIES

With the 100th season of high school football in the Rio Grande Valley upon us, The Monitor will take a look at the top 25 coaches, top 25 teams and top 50 players of all time.

THE PLAYERS

1: KOY DETMER
Mission High

2: Tom Landry
Mission High

3: Bradley Stephens
McAllen Memorial

4: Bobby Lackey
Weslaco High

5: Johnnie Jackson
Harlingen High

6: Norm Evans
Donna

7: Lupe Rodriguez
Mission High

8: Nati Valdez
Mission High

9: jim Helms
San Benito

10: Jim Hudson
La Feria

11: Maurice Hunter
Harlingen High

12: George Strohmeyer
McAllen High

13: Roberto Garza
Rio Hondo

14: Mishak Rivas
Weslaco High

15: Tony Ellis
Brownsville Hanna

16: Bobby Ply
Mission High

17: Fred Edwards
Donna

18: Willie Crafts
Brownsville High

19: Jamaar Taylor
Mission High

20: Frank Hernandez
Mission High

21: Carlos Esquivel
Edinburg High

22: Jim Norris
Mercedes

23: Abel Gonzalez
Rio Grande City

24: John Mims
Mission High

25: Leo Araguz
Harlingen High

26: Juan Castillo
Port Isabel

27: Tommy Cox
La Feria

28: Jimmy Lawrence
Harlingen High

29: Luz Pedraza
Donna

30: Billy Garza
Brownsville Porter

31: Poppy Rodriguez
PSJA High

32: Jeremy Springer
Los Fresnos

33: Shon Flores
Port Isabel

34: Phil Hetrick
PSJA High

35: Joe Marichalar
Edcouch-Elsa

36: Alfredo Garza
Port Isabel

37: Charles LeGrange
Rio Grande City

38: Alfredo Lugo
Donna

(tie): Steve Alaniz
Edinburg High

40: Matt Gorges
Harlingen High

41: Justin Springer
Los Fresnos

(tie): Eliseo Pompa
Mission High

43: Donald Guillot
Port Isabel

44: Travis Sanders
Port Isabel

45: Gerald Lambert
McAllen High

(tie): Gonzalo Garcia
Brownsville High

(tie): John Lerma
Rio Grande City

48: Manny Gomez
Harlingen High

49: Donny Martin
Port Isabel

50: Robert Cortez
San Benito