NISH to retire Raymond's, Joseph's jerseys

New Iberia Senior High will honor two of its football greats Friday night between its boys' and girls' basketball game, retiring the jerseys of Corey Raymond and Kerry Joseph.

Joseph recently helped the Saskatchewan Roughriders claim the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup championship, and was honored as the league's Most Valuable Player for the entire season.

At NISH and then at McNeese State University, Joseph was a record-setting quarterback. Joseph helped the Cowboys reach the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals as a senior in 1995, throwing for a school-record 2,485 yards and 27 touchdowns.

He then signed a free agent contract as a running back with the Cincinnati Bengals, then quarterbacked the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football in 1997 and was a safety for the Rhein Fire of the World League in 1998. He signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a safety the next season but moved to the CFL to play his preferred position, quarterback.

Raymond was a standout defensive back for the Yellow Jackets and then at LSU from 1988-91. The Tigers won the Southeastern Conference championship his freshman season.

Drafted by the New York Giants in 1992, Raymond spent six seasons as a defensive back with the Giants and Detroit Lions, finishing with 11 career interceptions, including a high of six in 1995 with the Lions.

NISH plays host to Pineville on Friday.