Texas A&M senior quarterback Stephen McGee will be the keynote speaker at the banquet, and this year’s event will be co-hosted by former area and NFL stars Kenneth Davis and Ricky Sanders, along with McQueen.
Legendary University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal and former Longhorns quarterback Major Applewhite also are expected to be in attendance tonight, when the banquet begins with a meal and ends with a live auction.
Money raised during the live auction - in addition to a silent auction - will benefit the FCA’s Heart of Texas South Chapter.
“It’s a great event and soon as Coach McQueen called me, I said I would be here,” said Davis, a 1981 Temple graduate and former running back for McQueen. “It gives me an opportunity in my life to give back to this community that gave so much to me and to so many others. I’m just glad and blessed that I can do that.”
Between the eating and the auction will be McGee, who is on course to become the Aggies’ career leader in total yards. Last season, the Burnet product passed for 2,311 yards and rushed 899 to bring his career total to 6,689 - just 2,192 short of Reggie McNeal’s A&M record.
As for the co-hosts, Davis played college ball at Texas Christian before his days in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, with whom he played in four Super Bowls.
One of those was Super Bowl XXVI against Sanders and the Washington Redskins.
Sanders is a 1980 Belton graduate, former Texas State running back and ex-Redskins receiver. But despite their proximity during their high school careers, Davis and Sanders didn’t square off on opposing teams until they turned pro.
“Temple and Belton didn’t play each other in football back then, but our paths crossed a couple of times in the pros,” said Davis, the head coach at Dallas Bishop Dunne. “But even when we played against each other a couple of times, I never really got a chance to sit down and visit with him.”
Sanders was on the winning end of two Super Bowls, including a 37-24 win in his matchup with Davis’ Bills.
Sanders also played a key role in Washington’s 42-10 thrashing of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, catching nine passes for 193 yards - a number that still ranks second on the Super Bowl’s single-game receiving list - and two touchdowns.
He followed up that performance with a memorable catch on the White House lawn during the NFL champions’ annual visit with the president. While making a speech at the podium, Ronald Reagan suddenly blurted out, “Where’s Ricky Sanders?” Immediately, Sanders sprinted across the lawn in front of the stage and hauled in a pass from Reagan.
McQueen, a longtime FCA member, spent 28 seasons as the head football coach at Temple High School (1972-99) and led the Wildcats to state championships in 1979 and ’92.
Royal, for whom UT’s stadium is named, coached the Longhorns from 1957-76 and guided them to national titles in 1963, ’69 and ’70.
Applewhite is in his first year as the Longhorns’ running backs coach after spending last season as offensive coordinator at Alabama and 2006 in the same role at Rice.
He still holds several UT career passing records, including completions (611), attempts (1,065), yards (8,353) and touchdowns (60).
Among this year’s auction items will be several autographed footballs from various universities- including Texas and Louisiana State - a guitar signed by the country music duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, and a fiddle autographed by country and southern rock musician Charlie Daniels.
Monday’s golf tournament will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Wildflower Country Club. For more information on the banquet or tournament, call Seth Chambliss at 760-6098.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
