High School

Ironman of the Gridiron-Donald A. Moore and the Splendora Wildcats

by
Tony Thomas
May 12

By: Tony Thomas

In the mid to late 1970’s, you were cruising around in your muscle car listening to 8-track tapes. You paid less than .75 cents for a gallon of gas to fill up that muscle car. And if you lived in the town of Splendora, TX, you cruised up to the high school stadium on Friday night to watch the “Lou Gehrig” of high school football in the state of Texas. A player who starred on offense AND defense.

That player was Donald A. Moore.

At 5-11, 175 pounds, Head Coach Billy “Red” Mitchell used Moore and his 4.3 speed (in the 40-yard dash) at running back and his penchant for hard hitting as a defensive back. For four years, Moore started both ways for the Wildcats. Moore was a 3-time All-State selection at defensive back.

1977 Season

The 1977 season put Moore in the Texas high school football record books. That year, Moore intercepted 21 passes, including seven in one game against New Waverly.

1978 Season

In 1978, hours before kickoff in a game vs Tarkington, Moore was involved in an off the field incident that resulted in Moore suffering a concussion. Moore showed up late in the first half to the Wildcats sideline, holding a copy of an x-ray of his skull.

Without Moore in the game, Splendora could do nothing right.

At halftime, Coach Mitchell told Moore to suit up, hoping to give the team a boost of confidence. After examining the x-ray several times on the sideline, Mitchell put Moore in the game.

Moore promptly returned a punt 77 yards for touchdown and intercepted a pass and ran it back 53 yards for the winning score.

The next season, he earned All-State honors at both running back and defensive back. That season, he rushed for 2472 yards.

A High School Career for the Ages

Donald Moore intercepted 59 passes (#2 all-time nationally), scored 668 points, gained 14,420 all-purpose yards, scored 89 touchdowns, and gained 6,850 rushing yards in his high school career while prowling and growling on both sides of the ball.

He was honored on MaxPrep’s list of the Top 50 Single-season High School Football Performances of All-Time for his 1977 season: 21 INTs, 1832 rushing yards, 22 TDs. He ranked at #49.

The Splendora Wildcats retired Moore’s #1 jersey. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. He is also a member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.