Ansel Cole, Tony Staten, Kenneth Jenkins, & Anthony Beverly, Jay 1978-'80

John Jay's football glory days included three seasons with the fastest backfield the city has ever seen. From '78-'80, Ansel Cole, Tony Staten, Kenneth Jenkins, and Anthony Beverly led Jay to two district championships and were 6 seconds away from a 3rd. In these three seasons, the speedsters scored a record 44 touchdowns from beyond midfield. EXCITING!

Ansel Cole led the way with 14 TDs of over 50 yards, including both a 93 yard TD run against Clark and a 94 yard TD run against Holmes his senior year. Wow! In two separate games in '79, all THREE running backs, Cole, Staten, and Beverly, rushed for over 100 yards.

Only fumbles could stop these burners as they lost to Judson in the '78 playoffs after 10 turnovers and then lost to Wheatley in the '79 city championship after losing 7 fumbles. In 1980, Jay's 3rd consecutive district championship bid was thwarted by Jimmy Hawkins' field goal with 6 seconds left. I'll never forget that game as it was so packed with a standing room only crowd that I had to watch the entire game through the fence from outside Northside Stadium.

Russell Tatum, Jay class of '73

Russell Tatum, class of '73, was the Mustang starting fullback in the same backfield with superstars Thomas Lott and Billy Taylor (both of whom played in the NFL). Russell played football for Eastern New Mexico and became a longtime football coach at Jay. Many of us know him and love him from our Jay days. After being affiliated with Jay in the 70's, 80's, and 90's as a player and coach, Coach Tatum became the head football coach right here in San Antonio at Sam Houston High School.

Billy Taylor, Jay class of '74

Billy Taylor, class of '74, was the first in a long line of superstar Jay running backs. He excelled as a running back at Jay in the same backfield as Thomas Lott. He then played at Texas Tech, becoming one of the all-time leaders in career Red Raider touchdowns. Billy was drafted by the New York Giants in 1978, led the Giants' in rushing in '79 and '80, and played alongside legendary players Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor.

Steve Young, Jay class of '85

Steve Young, class of '85, was the cornerstone for the Jay football team's offensive line in the mid '80s. Steve opened holes for the fastest duo in the city, Scott Ankrom and Ray Burton. The great thing for Steve was that he knew if he could just help get these speedsters into the secondary, they would usually score. After getting All-District and All-City honors, Steve went on to play for Texas A&I. Coach Young is now the Athletic Coordinator at Scobee Junior High which feeds into Southwest High School.

Anthony Beverly, Jay class of '81

Anthony Beverly, class of '81, was a star running back for the Mustangs and later become one of the most ferocious defenders the Southwest Conference had ever seen. Anthony scored eight touchdowns of greater than 50 yards for Jay, including a 100 yard interception return. He helped lead a talented cast of Mustangs to consecutive district championships and to the city championship game against Wheatley in 1979 where only a fumbled 2-point conversion attempt by Jay prevented the victory in a tight 21-20 game.


Anthony went to SMU and helped the Mustangs to an undefeated season as they became known as the Pony Express with the vaunted rushing attack of Eric Dickerson and Craig James. Anthony broke the all-time SMU career sack record and held it for 20 years. He was named All-Southwest Conference linebacker twice.

David Perez, Jay class of '86

David "Scooter" Perez, Jay class of '86, was the premier baseball player on Jay's city championship baseball team. In addition to being the team's ace pitcher, David was also the stud starting shortstop.

David was far from a one-sport guy though. He was both a starting wide receiver on the football team and an all-city punter.

The Perez family made as deep of a contribution to John Jay athletics as any:

Bobby Perez, Jay class of '85, was an outstanding baseball player and starter on Jay's football team in the defensive secondary. Bobby was so confident, he was the only football player in the city who would return punts out of the endzone.

David "Scooter" Perez, Jay class of '86, was the best player on the baseball team and the best punter in the city.

Mike "Toto" Perez, Jay class of '89, was also a star baseball player and starter on the football team, just like his older brothers. Mike also boasted one of the lowest body fat %s in all San Antonio athletic programs.

After David graduated from Jay in '86, he went on to a successful college baseball career at St. Mary's. He was so good that he got drafted into the pros. I remember seeing a David Perez baseball card at the store when he was playing in the Texas Rangers minor league system. He is currently married with kids.

Thanks for all your contributions to the Mustang family.

Tony Smith, Jay class of '87

Tony Smith, class of '87, was a fun-loving, speedy superstar for the Jay football and track teams. Tony led the entire city in rushing his junior and senior year and was a unanimous All-City and All-District selection in football. Tony won the title of "fastest man in the district" as he won the 100 meter dash at the district track meet, helping Jay to win the district championship as a team.

Always flashy but never pompous, Tony was the first high school football player in the area to wear gloves on a regular basis. It was unheard of in the 80's as gloves back then had no sticky grip, but Coach Gupton reluctantly agreed with the understanding that Tony would never see them again if he EVER dropped a pass or fumbled.

After graduating from Jay, Tony accepted a football scholarship to Texas Southern University in Houston. He hasn't been seen in years, but rumor has it, his fashion statement has caught on.

Shannon Marquez, Jay class of '88

Dr. Shannon Marquez, class of '88, lettered three years in basketball. She went on to play NCAA basketball at Prairie View A&M and earned Engineering Degrees from Prairie View A&M and from Texas A&M before getting her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.

Now an Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences for the UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Dr. Marquez spends only part of her time in Texas. The rest, she returns repeatedly to Africa serving as the International Director of the African Institute for Health, Educational Equity, and Africorps.

Lee Gadison, Jay class of '87

Lee Gadison, class of '87, was easily the strongest guy on the Mustang football team and the fastest guy on the line. He was the youngest of a long line of Gadisons, including Stanley, class of '84, who once returned an onside kick back for a touchdown from the front row. Lee received various football honors and was the district champion discus thrower on the district champion track team.

Lee played football for Eastern New Mexico on a football scholarship before transferring to UTEP. Somebody at UTEP noticed Lee's strength and speed and decided to move him from the offensive line to running back. As a UTEP fullback, Lee had his crowning run in front of 100,000 people at the Univ. of Tennessee. After getting the handoff, Lee ran right over a Tennessee linebacker, flattening him and then running on for a UTEP 1st down! Lee graduated from UTEP with a Criminal Justice degree and currently lives and works in San Antonio. Lee is happily married to Mary Logan, Jay class of '87. They have multiple children, including a son playing football like his daddy.

Derrick and Mike Hatchett, Jay class of '76 & '78

The Hatchett brothers are legendary around John Jay and San Antonio for their football and track prowess.

Derrick Hatchett, class of '76, was a star defensive back who led Jay to the district championship and football playoffs. Derrick went to UT and became an All-SWC selection as a defensive back. Even though teams didn't throw as much OR play as many games in college back in the 70's, Derrick is in 4th place in career interceptions at UT! He picked off 15 passes from '77-80 and is tied for 6th place on Texas' all-time list of interceptions in a season with 6. Not even Joe Montana was good enough to throw by Derrick as the former Mustang picked him off in the Cotton Bowl. Derrick was a 1st round draft pick by the Colts and played cornerback for 4 years in Baltimore.

Mike Hatchett followed in Derrick's footsteps and made the Jay community very proud. Mike was not only a football and track star at Jay, he went on to be a stud UT Longhorn defensive back as well. Mike was so awesome for UT that he was drafted to the NFL by the Chicago Bears.

Mr. Hatchett, Derrick and Mike's father, was a well-known longtime member of the NISD school board.

Rick Mahler, Jay class of '71

Rick Mahler, class of '71, was part of the star-studded Jay baseball teams that sent multiple players to professional baseball careers. Rick's 12-year Major League career began in 1979 at the age of 25. Rick led the Atlanta Braves in ERA in 1981, 1984, 1985, & 1988 and in wins in 1985, 1986, and 1988. Called "the ultimate team player" by a Braves teammate, Rick led the National League in starts in 1985 and 1986 and tied an NL record with three opening-day shutouts. He won the World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990.

Rick returned to San Antonio regularly during his playing career, sponsoring benefit golf tournaments, donating time and money to Westwood Village Little League, and even throwing batting practice to Jay baseball players. One day in the prime of his career in 1986, Rick was throwing batting practice to Brian O'Higgins, class of '86. Brian was making nice contact so Rick threw a little harder and then a little harder. I guess Rick got tired of the players "oohing and ahhing" that Brian was hitting so well off a major-leaguer, so Rick through his vaunted curveball behind Brian's head. Naturally, Brian hit the deck and while crouched over in fear in the dirt of the batter's box, the ball curved all the way across the plate for a perfect strike. The team still hasn't stopped laughing and will always remember the thrill of playing with a major leaguer!

Sadly and unexpectedly, Rick died of a heart attack at the age of 51. He was preparing for his second season as a minor league pitching coach for the Class-A St. Lucie Mets. He is survived by his wife, Sheryl, and five children.

Jeff Simpson, Jay class of '87

Jeff Simpson, class of '87, was Mr. Everything for the Mustangs. He started at quarterback for three years, was a four-time varsity letterman in baseball, and even ran hurdles for the track team when he could sneak away from the baseball diamond. #10 graduated in the top 10 of the '87 class and was elected a senior class officer. Voted as Best Personality, Best All-around, and Most Athletic, Jeff was the most well-liked guy in the school.

Jeff went to West Point and graduated from the Military Academy. He played quarterback before moving to defensive back. Jeff enjoyed his trip to the Sun Bowl in El Paso. At West Point, Jeff even got the "honor" of being an intramural boxer!

After graduating, Jeff lived in California, Washington, Texas, Florida, New York, Germany, Washington state, North Carolina, and Atlanta. Jeff is happily married to Rhonda and the couple has two cherished children, Claudia and Wesley. Jeff retired as a Lt. Col. and now coaches as his retirement job.