J

I

NOTE: This is the sixth in a series recognizing Joey Pender (JHHS), Steve Treadway (JHHS), Lowell Mize (JHHS), Cynthia Loyd (JHHS), and Shelby Green (QHS), who were selected to be inducted into the Jackson Parish Sports Hall of Fame (JPSHOF) as the Class of 2026, along with Bill DeCou (Rundell Jr. High), who will receive the prestigious Meritorious Service Award. The JPSHOF banquet is scheduled for 5:00 pm on October 3rd in the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro. This week: Coach Bill DeCou

In 1977, Jonesboro-Hodge High School (JHHS) won 13 games in a row and played in the Class 2A state championship game. While that is impressive in its own right, JHHS’s 1-9 season the year before makes the achievement almost unbelievable. That kind of “rags to riches” success doesn’t come around often, as verified by the fact that the turnaround is still a Louisiana High School Athletic Association record for the biggest reversal from one season to the next.

How was such an improbable feat accomplished? Some point to the fact that the season was made possible because legendary Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member Don Shows became head coach at Jonesboro-Hodge. Others say it was due to the large number of tremendous athletes on the team, several of whom went on to productive college careers.

Ask virtually anyone on that team what drove their success, and they’ll say you have to go back to 1973, when they were in the 8th grade at Rundell Junior High School, and William “Bill” DeCou became their head coach.

“It all goes back to Coach DeCou and the belief he instilled in us. The way he was always encouraging made you believe in yourself and your teammates,” said Terry Cowans. “We were his first team at Rundell, and we went undefeated that year. I remember him telling us that we were a special group and that we would play for a state championship before we were through, and we did.”

Another player on that team, All-State running back Ricky Johnson, was also effusive about the impact that Coach DeCou had on him and the team.

“Coach DeCou proved to us quickly that he was a great man of character, and he gained our respect almost immediately. He taught us so many values like how important it was to be disciplined on and off the field, be dedicated, be a good teammate, and put the team first. Those were things that not only helped us become better players but also something that we carried with us as we became adults,” reflected Johnson. “Even more, it wasn’t just the things he said, but the way he lived his life, and the way he carried himself that set such a great example. He was the most positive person I have ever known.”

It wasn’t just the 1977 football season or the players on that team that Coach DeCou had an impact on, far from it. Those he coached on the Rundell Junior High football and basketball teams played at Jonesboro-Hodge High School from 1977 to 1984. During those years, the Tiger football team compiled a 66-25 record, won a district championship, played in two state championship games, and reached the quarterfinals once. The Tiger basketball program was even more successful, winning district championships, making the playoffs every year, making two quarterfinal appearances, and adding a state championship in 1981.

William “Bill” DeCou was a devoted husband to his wife, Betty, for 52 years until her passing in 2023. He is a beloved father of two sons, five grandchildren, and countless “adopted” children he has taught, tutored, coached, and/or disciplined throughout his life. If you ask him, he will tell you he is a man of many blessings, but his greatest blessing is his relationship he has with his Savior, Jesus Christ. The Jackson Parish Sports Hall of Fame is honored to bestow the special Meritorious Service Award on a truly special man.