Daphne Mobley Johnston

 As Daphne Mobley, she was a stellar athlete in two sports at Donoho – volleyball and basketball. In volleyball, Mobley and her teammates continued Donoho’s long history of success. In basketball, they carried the Falcons from two winless seasons to the Calhoun County tournament championship, the championship of the Northeast Regional tournament and Donoho’s first appearance as one of the final four teams in the AHSAA Class 1A state tournament.

Mobley was a four-year starter at setter in volleyball. In 1992, her sophomore season, Donoho was runner-up to Bayside Academy at the AHSAA 1A state volleyball tournament. The same two teams met in the 1A championship game in her junior season with Bayside winning again. As a senior in 1994, Mobley helped the Falcons to a 1A championship-match victory over Bayside. She was named to the 1A state tournament all-tournament team in each of her final three seasons.    

The turnaround in basketball began with lots of offseason work, including skills camps. In the 1991-92 school year, with Mobley as its point guard, Donoho’s basketball season ended one game short of the state tournament when powerhouse Carrollton edged the Falcons 54-52. Carrollton had beaten Donoho by 15 points the previous season.

The Falcons won a Calhoun County tournament game for just the second time in tournament history in 1993, Mobley’s sophomore season, before Anniston eliminated Donoho. Anniston sent Donoho home with a 54-51 first-game win in the 1994 county tournament despite Mobley’s 19-point effort.    

Donoho defeated No. 3 Alexandria 59-55 in the championship game of the 1995 Calhoun County tournament as four Falcons scored in double figures. Mobley led with 16 points. She had a game-high 22 points in Donoho’s 56-46 semifinal win in overtime over No. 1 White Plains. The senior led her team with 17 points in its 48-42 quarterfinal round win over No. 4 Oxford. She had scored 23 points in a 59-36 first-round win over Jacksonville. Mobley received the awards for overall most valuable player and best offensive player.    

Section tournament wins over Appalachian and Spring Garden advanced Donoho to the 1995 Northeast Regional 1A tournament where the Falcons defeated Collinsville and Ragland. Mobley was named tournament MVP. Donoho’s 10-game winning streak ended with a loss to Maplesville in the semifinal round of the 1A state tournament.  

 After graduating from Donoho, Mobley found a volleyball home at LaGrange College. She immediately became the Panthers’ setter and started all four years at LaGrange. When she graduated in 1999, she held her program’s single-season assists record with 1,362 assists and the career assists record with 5,012 assists.

She was inducted into the LaGrange College Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.