Coach Gean Hale is the all time winningest coach in Nacogdoches Dragon football history. He took over a program in 1953 which had only won 35 games since 1940 and had a winning percentage of .291. Coach Hale and his long time assistant coach, L.H. Mathews, began immediately to instill discipline and pride into young men who had only scored only 27 points in 1952 to the opponents total of 283. Attention to detail, devotion to the student athlete and an unwavering committment to excellence quickly translated to winning 4 times the number of games in 1952 to a winning 8-2 record in 1954. Hale had a winning record in 11 out of 13 seasons in Nacogdoches. Hale set a standard of leadership not only on the football field, but also in the community where he still remains actively involved to this day. The Dragon players who had the fortune of playing under this tremendous leader speak of him with heart felt devotion and pride. The influence of coach Hale reaches through thousands of citizens of Nacogdoches through his selfless example of high standards and excellence.

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Coach L.H. Mathews was associated with Nacogdoches Dragon football for almost 20 years as an assistant for Coach Gean Hale and later as the Dragon head coach. During his tenure as Dragon head coach, Coach Mathews never had a losing season. Following a legendary coach is often a daunting task for an individual, but Coach Mathews took to the task with exemplary work habits and committment to the student athlete.

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After the glory years of Coach Hale, Coach Mathews and Coach Gordon Brown, Nacogdoches again experienced years of mediocrity. From 1974-1980, the Dragons went a dismal 25-46. Enter Coach Steve McCarty in 1981 who improved a 3-7 record in 1980 to a respectable 5-5 in 1981. Th best was yet to come for McCarty and the Dragons when in 1982, the Dragons won thier first district championship since 1971. In the final game of the '82 season, the Dragons shut out the rival Lufkin Panthers 16-0 to claim the district championship. Nacogdoches crushed Temple High School 35-16 in the Bi-District contest. The Dragon dream season came to an end in the Area playoffs losing to Conroe McCollough 26-17. The high point of the'82 season was matched with an equallty disappointing event when Coach McCarty left Nacogdoches High School to become Athletic Director of Stephen F. Austin State University. S.F.A. and Nacogdoches were fortunate to keep Coach McCarty in our town.

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The 1992 season proved to be the greatest season in Dragon history and the Dragon's last playoff appearance. Coach Bob French came to Nacogdoches in 1986 taking over a program that had gone 0-20 the previous two seasons. The impact of coach French was felt immediately as the Dragons went from 0-10 in 1985 to 6-4 in 1986. Though the Dragons still struggled with consistency through 1987-1991, everything came together in 1992 as Nacogdoches put together a 8-1-1 season; losing only to Marshall. The Dragons put together a powerful run through the Bi-District and Area round of the playoffs. In the Regional round, Nacogdoches and Lake Highlands High School played a game for the ages in Texas Stadium. Both schools battled for the victory througout a hard fought contest. With less than a minute left in the game the score was tied 28-28. Lake Highlands had the ball and made it to the Dragon 42 yard line. The formidable Black Hat Defense of Nacogdoches held Lake Highlands on third downwith 2 seconds left on the clock. If Nacogdoches was able to hold off a desparate fourth down field goal attempt, Nacogdoches would win by virtue of first downs as bith teams were tied in offnesive penetrations. With 2 seconds left, the Lake Highlands kicker Phil Dawson scored with a record setting 52 yard field goal. In a game where both teams played with passion and power the Dragons gave the town of Nacogdoches a source of pride that would never be forgotten.

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1992 Bryan Win 17-7 Henderson Win 37-25 Clear Lake Win 28-27 Killeen Ellison Win 34-33 Texas High Win 31-20 John Tyler TIE 10-10 Longview Win 24-7 Marshall Loss 41-24 Tyler Lee Win 34-17 Lufkin Win 21-20 (Runnerups) Spring Win 45-28 (bidistrict) Killeen Win 19-0 (Area) Lake Highlands Loss 31-28 (Region Semi) Team Finished: (10-2-1) THE BLACK HATS

Nacogdoches wide reciever Kenny Smith set a state record for recieving yards in a game as the Dragons attempted to repeat the magic of the previous season. Smith's performance though no longer a state records still ranks fourth on the All-Time High School Records List* Smith totaled an astounding 310 yards against the Mavericks.*

*Dave Campbell's 2003 Texas Football; Host Communications INC.;pg. 166

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