Major Applewhite, Donnie Jones, Patrick Coogan, Corey Gaines to enter Catholic High’s Athletic Hall of Fame

Catholic High School Announces 2017-2018 Grizzly Greats Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

BATON ROUGE, La. – Catholic High School is proud to announce the Grizzly Greats Athletic Hall of Fame inductees for the 2017-2018 year. Patrick Coogan ’93, Cory Gaines ’94, Major Applewhite ’97 and Donnie Jones ’99 will be formally inducted at the Grizzly Great Athletic Hall of Fame Induction on Saturday, March 10 at L’Auberge Baton Rouge. Doors open at 6 p.m.

The Catholic High School Grizzly Greats Hall of Fame honors any person who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the athletic program, selfless sacrifice of time and effort, leadership and whose actions portray characteristics which further the mission of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and whose life and accomplishments can be inspiration to the athletes of Catholic High School.

Cory Gains graduated from Catholic High School in 1994 as a Man of the Year and one of the most prolific three-sport athletes in CHS history. As a three-year letterman in football, Gains was a member of the 1992 district championship team and earned All-District as a defensive back. As a two-way player for the Bears in 1993, Gaines was named All-District, All-Metro and All-State and was awarded the Most Valuable Player at the 1994 Sports Convocation. Gains also earned three Varsity Letters in basketball and helped the Bears to an undefeated regular season and a district championship in 1992. In 1994, Gaines earned All-District honors and was awarded Best Defenseman at the 1994 Sports Convocation. Gaines also earned three Varsity Letters in track and field bring his career total to nine. In track and field, he was a member of the 1992 and 1993 district and regional championship teams and the 1993 state championship team. Individually, he set the school triple jump record in 1993 and won state titles in the 4×200 and 4×100 with team members Ron Lewis ’93, and fellow Grizzly Greats Kevin Franklin ’93 and Warrick Dunn ’93. At the end of his senior year, Gaines was named The Advocate’s Star of Stars and accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee. As a Volunteer, Gaines earned All-SEC Academic Honors in 1994 and lettered his sophomore through senior seasons, amassing 162 tackles, a sack, an interception and a defensive touchdown. His Tennessee team finished second in the nation in 1995 and won the SEC Championship in 1997. His senior year, Gaines won the Silent Leadership Award – a distinction given to a player for his leadership on and off the field. The Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the 1998 NFL Draft and played one season in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens. Gaines, his wife, Dana, and stepson, Ray Oubre, live just outside of Houston, Texas.

Nicknamed “Thunderfoot” by his teammates, Donald “Donnie” Jones Jr., CHS class of 1999, is considered one of the greatest punters in school history. Named All-District, All-Metro and All-State in 1998, Jones averaged 43.4 yards per punt and had a record long punt of 74 yards. That year, Jones was also named All-District tight end and Academic All-State. Following his senior season, Jones accepted an athletic scholarship to kick for Louisiana State University. As a four-year starter and lettermen for the Tigers, Jones toppled nearly every punting record in LSU history. He was named SEC first team All-Freshmen in 2000 and SEC second team in 2002. He is famously remembered for punting the ball on the last play of the 2003 National Championship, denying Ohio State an opportunity for one last play. Using that play as inspiration, Jones authored “Nine Seconds to Glory,” a book chronicling his athletic careers at both CHS and LSU. He finished his collegiate career with records for most punts (233), most punting yards (9,798 yards) and longest punt from scrimmage (86 yards). He is second all-time in career punting average (42.1 yards per pass). As a senior, Jones was a Ray Guy semifinalist. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2004 NFL Draft and has an NFL career that has spanned the greater part of two decades. Jones was named an All-Pro punter in both 2008 and 2009. As a current member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones is the franchise leader in gross average (45.4), net average (40.4) and punts downed inside the 20-yard line (117). Jones, his wife, Aubrie, and their two children, Weston and Addison, split their time between Philadelphia and Baton Rouge.

In a professional career that has taken him from Syracuse to Tuscaloosa to Houston, Major Applewhite’s love of football took root on the field at Hearthstone Drive. Applewhite, a member of the CHS class of 1997, was a three-year letterman for the Bears, leading his team to a 34-5 record over a three-year span including a record of 20-0 during his final two regular seasons. In his senior season, Catholic entered the playoffs ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 17 nationally. He would leave Catholic High with records for passing yards (3,329 yards) and passing touchdowns (50). For his accomplishments on the field, Applewhite accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas where, as a freshman, he led the Longhorns to the first Cotton Bowl victory since 1982 and was selected as the 1998 Big 12 Freshman of the Year. He would follow that freshman performance by being named All-Big 12 first team and the Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 1999. His collegiate career ended in the Holiday Bowl in 2001 where he was awarded with the offensive MVP after throwing for 473 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Washington Huskies. Applewhite would leave the University of Texas with 8,363 total passing yards and 60 touchdowns. By 2005, Applewhite was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Syracuse and from there elevated to offensive coordinator for Rice University (2006), the University of Alabama (2007), University of Texas (2011-2013) and the University of Houston (2015-2016). In 2017, the University of Houston named Applewhite as head football coach. Applewhite and his wife, Julie, reside in Houston, Texas, with their two children, Lila and Nash.

Patrick Coogan, CHS class of 1993, lead the baseball Bears to a state runner-up and a district title in 1992 and 1993 respectively. As a junior, Coogan helped the Bears to a 9-1 District record before eventually falling in the state championship 3-2. He was named to the All-District team in 1992. As a senior, Coogan was the starting third baseman when not on the mound and earned All-District, All-Metro, All-State and USA Today All-American distinctions as a pitcher.  His senior year, Coogan accepted an athletic scholarship to Louisiana State University. At LSU, he was an integral part of two National Championships. In his final two years, Coogan went 20-3 and had 239 strikeouts.  He was the winning pitcher in the 1996 National Championship game when the Tigers came back from a 7-3 deficit to beat the Miami Hurricanes 9-8. He was named SEC-All Academic that season. The following year at the College World Series, Coogan earned a win against Alabama and a save against Stanford on the way to an LSU repeat as National Champions. For his efforts, Coogan was named to both the All-SEC and All-American teams in 1997. That spring, he was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and spent six seasons in professional baseball. Coogan is currently the owner of Champion Wealth Strategies. Coogan and his wife, Brooke, have three children: Michael, Matthew and Bram.

About Catholic High School

The mission of Catholic High School is to teach Gospel values in an environment of academic excellence according to Catholic tradition and the spirit of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Established in 1894 by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic High School tradition involves an apostolate espousing a holistic approach to education rooted in religious values, structured through friendly discipline, nurtured by personal attention and committed to academic excellence.