Jeff Savage, Class of 1990 Plano East graduate, has been inducted into the Plano East Hall of Honor. Photo courtesy Roy Woods
By David Wolman
Jeff Savage was always destined to be a Plano East Panther.
He grew up down the street from the school, and the band hall can be seen from his parents’ current house.
Also, his sister was part of Plano East’s first graduating class in 1982.
But what Savage always valued most about playing for the Panthers was the “Do your job, and I’ll do mine” mentality. There was never jealousy. Savage described the team camaraderie as a “brotherhood,” and there was always a “Not me, but us” mentality.
That’s why Savage, a 1990 Plano East graduate, made sure he paid tribute to each of his teammates prior to his induction into Plano East’s Hall of Honor last Friday evening at Tom Kimbrough Stadium.
Savage called each of his teammates in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.
Although he took a knee in the end zone to give thanks to God, waved to the crowd and was presented with a plaque, the former Plano East standout running back acknowledged the teammates who helped him earn recognition as an Associated Press Preseason All-American, Honorable Mention Parade All-American, a member of the National Top 100 Team and the Associated Press Super Prep Team, as well as a No. 7 ranking on the Dallas Times Herald’s Blue Chippers list.
Savage said Plano East’s offensive line of PJ Brooks, Alan Saviano, Joey Allen, Randall Harjo, Jason Wood and John LuBow was the reason he had as much individual success as he did.
“I had a great line,” Savage said. “They weren’t the biggest players, but they never gave up.”
Savage praised Allen, the Panthers’ starting center, for his blocking.
“He was little in stature but big in heart,” Savage said. “He was a 5-foot-8, 180-pound center, but he never missed a block. Even when we went up against larger schools, he didn’t give up. It was his grit and will to win.”
SMU had the “Pony Express,” the legendary 1980s backfield tandem of running backs Craig James and Eric Dickerson. Plano East had its own version of the “Pony Express,” with Savage, Mike Kennedy and Shane Haynes in the backfield and Chad Dousharm at quarterback.
“Those guys made it so much easier for me,” Savage said. “They took all the punishment. They ran for the short yards, let me run for the long yards.
“Chad was one of the most underrated quarterbacks in our area. I’ll never forget those guys. I’ll never forget those times. I never had as much fun playing football than I did at Plano East.”
Winning was something Savage did plenty of growing up. From the second grade until his senior year, he lost a total of five games. During his junior season in 1988, Plano East lost two games, against Newman Smith during the regular season and eventual state champion Dallas Carter in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
His claim to fame is that he helped lead Plano East to two wins over rival Plano, by scores of 26-0 and 31-8.
Savage grew up watching Tony Dorsett and O.J. Simpson, but it was Dickerson who really sparked his interest in playing running back.
“I patterned myself after Eric because he was taller like me,” Savage said.
Savage got to watch Dorsett play and practice live with regularity. Before the Savage family moved to Plano, they lived across the street from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility. His father, Jeff II, held his son on top of a fence to allow him to watch the Cowboys practice.
“I owe everything to my daddy,” Savage said. “I have the greatest mom, but my dad is my best friend. He was running me in the hot sun and pushing me to do better.
“I saw how hard we worked and how tired he was, but he didn’t make excuses. He made sure that I went to the Cowboys football games, to a Texas A&M camp and University of Houston camp.”
After graduating from Plano East, Savage played college football at the University of Arkansas and then professionally with the Milwaukee Mustangs’ arena football team.
Savage currently works as a maintenance department manager at an oil refinery in southern Arkansas, and he traces his leadership skills to his days of playing football for Plano East.
“It taught me about safety, teamwork and being a brother’s keeper,” he said. “I have 140 guys that look up to me. Those are things that I picked up at Plano East.”
0 Comments