Life full of challenges

The trigger is pulled and a gun sounds. Corey Dauphine has heard this bang before, ringing out in a government-housing complex. On a warm Saturday evening in May, it begins the Boys' 5A 200-meter dash at the UIL State Track Meet in Austin. The Port Arthur Memorial junior quickly drops to fourth following a lackluster start. But Dauphine has come to learn that a poor beginning does not dictate a poor end. He comes off the race's only turn and into the homestretch. "When I run I just think about life," Dauphine said. "Whenever I get on the straightaway I just think I have to make something of myself." The 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame of the 2014 Boys Track and Field Super Gold MVP, presented by Howell Furniture, a mountain of muscle and gifted ability, makes its move. Dauphine comes from behind to win the race in 20.76 seconds, a personal best. The crowd roars as Dauphine crosses the finish line. Some are parents of other athletes. Dauphine wishes he could have that kind of normalcy –something as simple as having his folks come watch him in his proudest moment. His father is in prison. His mother is hampered by chronic seizures, which keep her from traveling and a job. Following the medal ceremony and fanfare, the Memorial track team heads to Whataburger for a celebratory meal.Between a burger and fries, Dauphine gets a call from his mother, Joyce Kirk. She wants to congratulate him, but has some news.

Their apartment's electric stove had caught fire without Kirk or Dauphine's younger brother in the room. Dauphine said the kitchen, furniture, some clothes and a bed were burnt, but no one was hurt.

Over the phone, Kirk tells her son everything is going to be alright and that is enough to set his mind at ease.

Dauphine had survived another day in a personal maze of circumstances beyond his control.

Circumstances like those Christmases growing up, when the family of three shared a small house with some relatives and money was short. Bills went unpaid. A young Dauphine would trudge out in the cold with a hot-pot and go next door to fill it up with hot water so he could take a bath that night. The kindness of others became a necessity.

It was a ride, because the family never owned a car and Kirk's seizures prevented her from driving.

It was Dauphine's aunt finishing her shift at the school cafeteria and bringing home leftovers."Food stamps go by quickly when you have two boys who eat a lot," Dauphine said.

It was Memorial junior Terry Olliver, who Dauphine has been friends with since second grade, opening his family's home in the aftermath of the apartment fire so Dauphine had a place to stay. "It's very easy to fall into the wrong direction without a role model," Olliver said. "It's been difficult for him, but he's kept his head in the right place and that's why he's where he is now." Dauphine spent the majority of his life living in Carver Terrace Apartments, public housing currently marked for demolition. When the government told his family it was time to move, they relocated to Shire Apartments earlier this year. "Carver Terrace was a bad place," Dauphine said. "There were drug dealers, gang-related activity and I've seen a lot. I've seen people get killed, people get shot, people running from police, people dealing drugs, people fighting, just a lot of things. It made me open up my eyes and realize I had to get out of here. This isn't the place for me." Dauphine used to watch "Teen Cribs" on MTV, a show that ran for two seasons when he was 13 and 14. The show's website describes it as a program that showcases houses "customized and tricked-out specifically by parents to keep their kids happy at home -entertained, but also safe, sound, and accounted for." The alternate reality staring back at him through the screen became a personal wish list including garages full of cars, a mansion, awesome video games -and a father. Dauphine has an unbreakable bond with his mother, forged from years of hardship. She doesn't say "Corey," instead, it's "my baby." "Every day that I have my momma is a blessing," Dauphine said. "I know what she's going through and I'm just glad that she's still here." From an early age, Dauphine saw himself as the man of the house. He made Kirk's welfare his responsibility. He knew the steps when a seizure came. He knew to turn his mother on her side. "When she was sick I had to stay home and miss some school days," Dauphine said. Kirk loves to watch highlights of her son with him because it's close to the real thing. She has been able to go to only one of her son's football games, this year's homecoming contest against North Shore. They share in the joy of Dauphine's athletic feats, but he is nagged by something.

"I wish I could go home after football games and talk to my dad," Dauphine said. "It's not the same with my mom because she doesn't really understand the game. I want somebody to talk to about girl problems and all the stuff a father is supposed to be there for."

Dauphine's father, who shares the same name, has been incarcerated for as long as the 18-year-old can remember. Dauphine said the last time he saw his dad was about 12 years ago. Dauphine is asked when his father is scheduled for parole. "I don't really know," he said. "I don't really care. I'm not mad at him. I'm not the type to hold grudges. People make bad choices in life."

The answer is Feb. 5, 2016. The elder Dauphine is serving a 25-year sentence for an aggravated robbery in 2000 (Corey would have been 4). He is currently held at a prison in Childress. A maximum sentence will last until 2028. "My father has taught me that whenever I do have kids, I need to be there for them," Dauphine said. "I know how it feels to not have a dad. He taught me that nothing good comes from doing bad things. I don't see myself ever doing something like that. To me, that behavior is stupid. Seeing that route, I don't want to take it."

Instead, he chose a route between the tackles. Dauphine was a pipsqueak backup running back in seventh grade. One day, his middle school team was up by enough points to let the benchwarmers get some playing time in the fourth quarter. Dauphine said that day he got his first handoff in a game and it went for a 70-yard touchdown. His body grew in eighth grade. As a freshman at Memorial, Dauphine was persuaded to join the track team and ran the anchor leg of the Memorial 4x400-meter relay team at State. He continued to progress as a speedster in track and bruiser in football. "He's blessed to have that combination of size and speed," Memorial head football coach Kenny Harrison said. "It's amazing. I grew up an Earl Campbell fanatic, but I don't know if Earl possessed the same speed that Corey does. They both definitely have the power." Dauphine saw an athletic scholarship as his way of being the first person in his family to go to college, but always expected to attend a junior college. He was prepared for some small program to scoop him up in the 11th hour. "I thought during my senior year I would have to find a college to take me," Dauphine said. In early February, Texas Tech running backs coach Mike Jinks came by Memorial to recruit sophomore Kameron Martin. Dauphine was rushing into the Memorial field house to change into his workout clothes, when he bumped into Jinks. The Texas Tech coach was immediately impressed with Dauphine's build and the two got to talking. He told Dauphine to call him later. Dauphine did and with phone in-hand, sitting in the bedroom he shares with his brother, was offered a football scholarship. He verbally committed to the Red Raiders and scholarship offers from 10 other Division I programs followed. On Monday, Texas A&M became offer No. 12. "It's a blessing that I have this ability," Dauphine said. "He has given me these tools so I can go to college and help my family. I can give my younger cousins somebody to look up to. I can show them that you can make it out." Dauphine has dreams of competing in the Olympics or NFL. He wants to get a degree in education so he can become a coach after his playing career ends. He is chasing that future while outrunning the past. "Sometimes I get frustrated," Dauphine said. "Sometimes I wonder why I don't have the perfect life. Why do these things happen to me? I just know that everything happens for a reason. I know that if I keep doing what I'm doing, I'm going to make it."