What kind of impact would $1 million dollars have in Smith County? Gifts to the Smith County Community Foundation can earn a 25% or 50% match from the Kansas Health Foundation’s GROW II matching grant challenge. If successful, by 2015 there will be over $1 million in endowed funds to benefit the Smith County area forever!
A “Hearty” Welcome! You CAN come back home and we can help • • • • • • • • •
Interest free & low interest loans Jump Start Rent program Great schools Small town living Affordable housing Quality health care Improved airport Heart of America High-speed Internet –with speeds up to 75 Mbps • Neighborhood Revitalization –Property Tax rebate • Rural Opportunity Zone(ROZ) –No state income tax for 5 years –Student loan repayment up to $15,000
Smith Center Economic Development Smith Center Chamber of Commerce 785.282.3895 or 785.282.6571 sced@smithcenter.net scchamber@smithcenter.net www.smithcenterks.com check us out on facebook
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Brothers through the Bone A history of Redmen football from 1978-2012 ~ The Barta Years ~ This publication is dedicated to the memory of B.J. Ballhorst, Terry Brown, Brent Hutchinson, Mark Joy, Matt Overmiller, and Simeon Weltmer. These young men will always be remembered for their commitment to their families, their community, and their teammates. ABOUT THE TITLE: Smith Center football under Coach Roger Barta became synonymous with the Wishbone offense, so much so that this unique style of option football, first made popular by University of Texas coach Darrell Royal in the 1960s and 70s, even earned the nickname “The Barta Bone.” Barta recognized the stable of talented backs he had in 1985 with returning 2,000 yard rusher Tyler Kingsbury and future Division I college football players Jeff Simoneau and Brooks Barta so he made the transition from the Slot I offense he utilized for the first seven seasons at Smith Center to the Wishbone. His emphasis on a family atmosphere where players “learned to like each other, and then to love each other” made Redmen football a brotherhood, where even today former players consider many of their former teammates, family. As a result, these players who played a violent game on the gridiron better than most became, “Brothers Through the Bone!”
Acknowledgements Dozens of people made this project a reality, but the following list includes the key contributors: Bree and Sloan McReynolds-Baetz, My Wife and Daughter, who allow such projects to become a reality. Kayla Kvacik, Design and Layout, the design quality of this product is a credit to her talent. Tyler Gier, Sponsorship Sales, a Sylvan Unified graduate, he understands good football, and enjoyed meeting the people of Smith Center.
Becky Rathbun, Ad Design, she came through in the clutch and allowed us to stay on deadline. Abby Liggett, Business Manager, she handles so many responsibilities for the publishing company it would take more space than is available on this page to list them.
Linda Riedy and Conor Nicholl, Writers, no two people have written more about the Smith Center football program. David Tharp and Adam Rentschler, Research, countless hours were spent gathering and fact checking information. Brock Hutchinson and his In-House Training Class, Photo Scanning and Information Gathering, my teammate and his class helped us have the best quality images and information possible.
Darren and Heather Sasse, Registered the Smith Center Redmen Football Facebook Group and smithcenterredmenfootball.com, the Sasse family allowed us to reach out to fans and friends through modern media. Barry Brooks, Cory Frieling, Dave Mace, Adam Rentschler, Bret Strine, John Terrill, and Dave Tharp, The “Reunion Committee,” these men took time from their busy schedules to make sure a reunion event would honor the legacy of two great coaches and an entire community.
Jack Krier, Sherry Lineman, Pam Vinsonhaler-Gibble, and the Smith County Pioneer, Research and Access to the Archives, without the Pioneer this product would be incomplete. Greg Koelsch, Ron Meitler, and USD 237, Access to Materials, Teachers, and Staff, the district always opened it’s doors to us and cooperated with every request.
Jyll Phillips and Carol Lacer, Lincoln Sentinel and Chapman News-Times News Editors, who keep the papers running smoothly so we can produce the various sports products.
Joe Drape, Author of “Our Boys,” who was an inspiration to us at Sixteen 60 Publishing, Co. and whose book “Our Boys” provided some of the background information about Coach Barta and the Smith Center football program for this publication.
There were nearly 600 players that suited up for at least one season for Coach Barta, more than 200 earned all-league honors, 28 earned an invitation to the Shrine Bowl, 11 teams played in a title game, 24 times the Redmen made the postseason, and more than 30 players went on to become assistant coaches, and, through all of this, it is a certainty someone has been omitted or had their name spelled incorrectly in this publication. In nearly 15 years in publishing I doubt I have ever sent a perfect product to print. Any time you are dealing with hundreds of people and thousands of words, something is bound to be wrong, but, thanks to modern technology, those errors can be easily rectified. If you see something you feel is incorrect please e-mail me at smithcenterfootballreunion@ gmail.com. and we will update the information online or via Facebook. John Baetz
Brothers Through the Bone is a product of Sixteen 60 Publishing Co. This free distribution publication is available through sponsors. A list of sponsors locations can be found on the Smith Center Redmen Football Facebook group, or at smithcenteredmenfootball.com. Single copies may be mailed direct to individuals for $19.95 to cover shipping and handling and can be secured by sending a check or money order payable to Sixteen 60 Publishing Co., to Kansas Pregame, PO Box 186, Lincoln, KS 67455. Please include shipping address. To purchase by credit card call John Baetz at 785-524-6019.
Brothers Through The Bone 1
The Introduction
■ By John Baetz Publisher
I spent most of my pre-teen years growing up on my father’s farm north of Lebanon and attending elementary school in Smith Center. In 1987 I moved to Hays to live with my mother who was going to nursing school at Fort Hays State University. My parents divorced when I was just six years old and I spent much of my youth traveling back and forth between my two parents, but when my mom moved to Hays, just after my completion of sixth grade, I felt compelled to join her. That year of seventh grade at Kennedy Middle School in Hays does not come with many fond memories. I had moved to the “big city” at the most awkward stage of my maturation and was charged with making new friends and learning how to be a teenager at a time where my self-confidence was at an all-time low. And to top things off only eighth graders were allowed to play for the school affiliated football team. There was a tackle football league sponsored by the recreation commission, but not playing football “for” the school, didn’t make it seem quite … real. I played rec. league football that seventh grade year and was undeniably mediocre and the challenge of making friends in a new school and dealing with the variety of influences that goes with living in a larger community made me long for home. As the year wore on my focus turned to returning to Smith Center, not just to get back to the place I had grown up, but also to play football with my friends, and more importantly, for Coach Barta. It’s hard to say what path I would have taken had I not returned to Smith Center in my eighth grade year, but it’s safe to say I wouldn’t have been as driven to be successful without the guidance of Coach Barta. Eighth grade back in Smith Center was a bit of a struggle as I tried to determine what John Baetz in 1992 my role was within my class, but early in my freshman year a simple comment from Coach Barta provided me the peace of mind and confidence that has been the foundation for any success I have had in the last 25 years. With two easy sentences, Barta reassured me I had what it took to be part of the Smith Center tradition. “You know buddy, I don’t think you guys will be too bad,” Barta said during a break in preparation for a rare freshman game. “I don’t know why you didn’t win more games last year.” I think most people can look at one or two defining moments in their lives and say, “That impacted me so much that I’m going to change the way I’m living my life because of it.” That day in 1989 was the day I was able to consolidate most of the lessons of the previous 14 years into my own personal philosophy on how to achieve success. I became a dedicated member of the team, a weight room junkie, and a leader to my teammates. While Barta’s lessons were not new - my father, my mother, my John with wife Bree and teachers, and even my brother had been desperately trying to reach me with them baby daughter Sloan in 2013 for years - there was something about his delivery that reached me in a way that has forever impacted my life. I take my work ethic from my father and brother, my compassionate side from my mother, but the ability to be consistent, to have a personal expectation to perform at a high level, these are lessons that come from Roger Barta, and his long-time assistant Dennis Hutchinson, and for that, I cannot thank Coach Barta, Big Hutch, and the community of Smith Center enough. I have a few regrets in life, namely that I wasn’t a better son and student as a teenager, but I can say with complete confidence that in very large part because of the expectations and example of the Smith Center football program under Barta and Hutchinson I am a good husband, father, coach, employer and person, and am trying to get a little better everyday. Thank you, coaches, for all you’ve done for the hundreds of student-athletes you counseled for so many years, and thank you for helping me have a personal expectation of excellence in my life. My gift to you is this look back at the success of the Smith Center football program under your leadership. John Baetz, Class of 1993 President, Sixteen 60 Publishing Co. Publishers of The Lincoln Sentinel, Chapman News-Times, Kansas Pregame, Kansas Mat Preview and Kansas Hardwood 2 Brothers Through The Bone
USD #237 The Unified School District #237 exists to insure quality and equitable learning experiences, and that students master or exceed defined educational outcomes which include emphasis on self-discipline, social responsibility, and appreciation for life-long learning.
Redcaps The mission of the Redcaps booster club is to support the athletic programs at Smith Center High School. Among the many programs the Redcaps support are: Athletic Banquet • Homecoming Activities • Supporting Redmen and Lady Red Athletes Throughout the Year For more information about Redcaps visit the Smith Center Redcaps page on Facebook.
Tailgate Committee The Redmen Tailgate Committee is a group of dedicated volunteers who provide an exciting pregame meal experience for every home Smith Center Redmen football game and at least one home volleyball match. The meals are free thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and the donation of time and talent by our volunteers. The Tailgate Committee also provides four $500 scholarships to graduating Smith Center seniors each year, assists the Redcaps booster club with specific projects, and was honored to serve a free meal to the hundreds of Smith Center Redmen football fans who attended the “Our Boys” book signing event in 2009. If you are interested in donating to the Tailgate Committee or volunteering your time to a pregame meal contact Joey Stansbury 282-0424, David Tharp 620-7007 or Adam Rentschler 282-1488.
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CHAPTER
1
The Coaches Roger Barta found Smith Center in 1978, when, after nearly a decade as an assistant coach, he interviewed for the vacant football head coaching position at the urging of a fraternity brother. Barta, a Plainville native, had graduated from Fort Hays State and spent time as a college graduate assistant and high school assistant coach at Wakeeney, then a perennial football power, and he craved his own program. Upon taking the job he would find a valuable assistant in Dennis Hutchinson, who had already been with the school district for five years after starting his teaching and coaching career in Scandia where he was an assistant coach for four seasons. Together these two men would develop arguably the most consistently successful football program in the state of Kansas and along the way they would positively impact hundreds of young people’s lives, not just on the football field, but also in their math and music classrooms respectively. At the end of the 2012 football season, first Barta, and then Hutchinson, announced their retirement. This is the story of how they deeply affected the lives of so many young people, of their success on the gridiron, of the players who excelled for them, and of the young men who would go on to lead football programs of their own. 4 Brothers Through The Bone The Coaches
Roger Barta d Coach from 1978-2012 Hea ter Cen Smith
Dennis Hutchinson Smith Center Assistant Coach from 197
3-2012
The Coaches Over the course of more than three decades Roger Barta developed one of the most successful programs in Kansas prep football history‚ a tenure that included eight state championships and 11 trips to the title game. Winning seasons became the norm at Smith Center High School as Barta and his capable assistant coaches led team after team to league titles and through the state playoffs. But Barta will be remembered as more than just a football coach‚ he will be remembered as a family man, a motivator, a community icon and perhaps most importantly, a positive influence on hundreds of young people who found their way through his classroom and locker room. In 35 years as the head coach of the Smith Center Redmen, Barta’s football teams won 323 games, set the record for the longest winning streak in Kansas history (79-games), and brought the small town of Smith Center national media exposure. Barta’s long-time assistant coach, Dennis Hutchinson said that Barta’s genuine care for young people and love of the game of football could be summed up in a simple philosophy that he preached consistently to each of his teams: “First we’re going to learn to like each other, then we’re going to learn to love each other, and then we’ll be a team.”
■ By Linda Riedy
Former reporter for the Smith Co. Pioneer
“He had a way of making the kids think they were better than they were,” Hutchinson said. “So if the kids think they are good, they’ll be good. He did the same thing with us coaches, too.” Helping a group of teenage boys maintain a positive attitude each season is admired by other coaches, including Chuck Smith of St. Mary’s Colgan in Pittsburg, who said, “Everybody tries that same philosophy to make each kid feel he is special to the team, but it only happens in a few special places.” Smith knows all about developing a special prep football program as he has led the Colgan Panthers to over 300 wins in his 30 years of coaching including a 66 game winning streak - at the time the state’s longest - that was ended by Barta’s Redmen in the 2004 2-1A state championship game. Recent assistant coach Tim Wilson, a 1990 Smith Center graduate, also pointed out Barta’s skill at building pride, and perhaps more importantly, individual player confidence. “As a player you wanted to do well, it was pride, and he would be the first to tell you ‘Good job!’” Wilson was an assistant coach under Barta for 12 years and also was an assistant for three years at Mid-Continent League rival Norton prior to returning to Smith Center. “It was never about him,” Wilson said. “He always said The Coaches Brothers Through The Bone 5
the honors are nice but it didn’t come without achievement “I don’t remember him raising his voice but just a handful of individuals. But, the team was always his main focus. of times,” Merritt said. “But if he did raise his voice you He would always tell the kids that they earn what they get. knew that ‘Whoa, we’d better get it together!’” The kids knew that no matter ‘who I am, I’m going to get Tim Lambert, a 1987 Smith Center graduate who has a chance.’” been a high school head coach for the last 20 years, also Another Smith Center graduate, Clint Merritt, who went admired Barta’s motivational skills. on to play for Fort Hays State in the late 90s, and has since “He didn’t yell at us but he didn’t have to,” Lambert said. “I been head coach at Hugoton for can remember being quarterback, seven years, said Barta had a way struggling on offense in a of motivating kids to perform practice. Coach Barta looked in beyond their potential. my direction and said something “Sure, we had lots of good guys stern. As we got back in our huddle but there were lots of average kids, we knew we’d better get going and too,” Merritt said. “And to put it figure this out or there would be together was one of his greatest ramifications later. He was evenskills.” keeled on game nights too, and Merritt had the unique that was huge in being able to win experience of playing for Barta big games.” and then coaching against him During his high school playing as the head coach at Osborne for years at Smith Center, Lambert three seasons before taking the recalls how tough it was to play Hugoton job. teams in the Mid-Continent “He was very much a father League. In 1985 three teams from figure, someone that the M.C.L. won state championships in gave you teachable “Coach Barta taught us how to lead. different divisions, life moments,” Merritt said. “Maybe you He showed that leadership through Victoria, Plainville and didn’t understand this actions was always more important Norton. Lambert was quarterback during as a 16-year-old, but than through words. He was the quiet Smith Center’s 1986 looking back it was championship more about being humble leader. I have attempted to use state season. successful in life. these skills everyday in my military “One thing that For example, one of Coach Barta did better the things that made service and life.” than anyone I’ve been Smith Center football so special was that the expectations of the coaching staff, around is being able to get us ready to play each week, to players and parents were so high, just going in you knew convince us that that was the only game that matters and you’d be successful. Barta always talked in positive ways all that the other team could beat us if we didn’t prepare our the time. All of this was in place long before I came into the best. He was masterful at that. One of his greatest attributes was making everyone feel they were important.” program and I became a part of it.” As a player, Merritt remembers Barta for his calm and Barta impacted Lambert’s own coaching style having coached for 15 years at Saint Francis and for the last four reassuring ways, especially in dealing with the players.
THE
BARTA FILE Season-by-Season Results 1978-2012 6 Brothers Through The Bone The Coaches
1978 - 3-6 1979 - 11-2 3A State Runner-up 1980 - 5-4 1981 - 2-7 1982 - 12-1 3A State Champions 1983 - 6-3 1984 - 7-3 Bi-District Runner-up
1985 - 7-2 1986 - 13-0 3A State Champions 1987 - 8-1 1988 - 9-3 Sub-State Runner-up 1989 - 11-1 Sub-State Runner-up 1990 - 6-3 1991 - 7-2
seasons at Concordia. “He did a lot of little things that made us better. You can’t underestimate the opposing teams and what we were going to do, we did very, very well. That’s influenced me as a head coach. He enjoyed what he did and cared about kids.” Andy Stewart, a running back on the 1997 state runnerup team who went on to play for the United States Air Force Academy, remembers learning to lead while part of the Smith Center program. “Coach Barta taught us how to lead,” Stewart recalled. “He showed that leadership through actions was always more important than through words. He was the quiet humble leader. I have attempted to use these skills everyday in my military service and life.” It’s fair to say that Stewart understands leadership, having achieved the rank of Major in the United States Air Force. “In the Air Force we live by the core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do,” Stewart emphasized. “I learned these values long before I joined the military and they are linked to numerous speeches all of us heard and learned from Coach.” Coach Barta also cared a great deal about the assistant coaches and respected their opinions, ideas and suggestions. Dennis Hutchinson, who was an assistant for five seasons before Barta arrived at Smith Center, and remained with the team through Barta’s entire tenure, described Barta as a coach’s coach. “He was a good teacher on the football field. He made you accountable for your decisions,” Hutchinson said. 1992 - 7-2 1993 - 9-2 Regional Runner-up 1994 - 9-2 Regional Runner-up 1995 - 7-2 1996 - 11-1 Sub-State Runner-up 1997 - 12-1 3A State Runner-up 1998 - 11-1 Sub-State Runner-up
Hutchinson said that when he or the other coaches had ideas for changes they would run these past Barta and his response would often be a thoughtful, “Go ahead.” He really gave coaches a lot of latitude, Hutchinson noted. When Barta saw where improvements could be made, his suggestions were subtle yet powerful. Hutchinson recalled, “Roger might say something like, ‘Hutch, your defense was a little high.’ That’s all he had to say but you knew you’d better work hard all week to make sure that the defense wouldn’t be too high. When we were good at our jobs then the kids would be good at their jobs.” While Barta was the face of the program for 35 years players and members of the community understand the importance of Hutchinson staying on as the top assistant for all those “He [Coach Hutchinson] seasons as well. For knew the game inside many players and out. He was stern c o a c h Hutchinson when you needed it and had equal high fiving you when influence on you did what he wanted.” them as a player, and a person. Andy Gwennap, a member of the 1997 state runnerup team who went on to play on the offensive line for the University of Nebraska and now is a teacher and coach at Hugoton, recalled how Hutchinson’s straight forward style helped drive him to succeed. “I was a freshman during wrestling season and we were at Superior, Neb., for a double dual,” Gwennap said. “I had been beaten pretty good by two seniors that night. Hutch sits down next to me and says, ‘Do you know how you’re going to get better? Your’e going to get in the weight room! You’ve got to get stronger, and you’ve got to get tougher, and that’s all there is to it.’ Then he got up and walked away. He was always straight forward.” Gwennap’s teammate, David Tharp, who also played together with Gwennap on the 1998 Shrine Bowl squad, remembered how Hutchinson was unafraid of being active during practice.
1999 - 13-0 3A State Champions 2000 - 11-1 Sub-State Runner-up 2001 - 11-1 Sub-State Runner-up 2002 - 4-5 2003 - 10-2 Sectional Runner-up 2004 - 14-0 2-1A State Champions 2005 - 14-0 2-1A State Champions
2006 - 13-0 2-1A State Champions 2007 - 13-0 2-1A State Champions 2008 - 13-0 2-1A State Champions 2009 - 12-1 2-1A State Runner-up 2010 - 8-3 Sectional Runner-up 2011 - 8-2 Regional Runner-up 2012 - 6-4 Bi-District Runner-up The Coaches Brothers Through The Bone 7
“Hutch was a coach who was not afraid to get in on the action in practice,” Tharp noted. “If he wanted you to see how it was done he would show you, even if that involved him busting open his forehead and bleeding the rest of practice.” Hutchinson was also known for his sense of humor and would often start off his defensive line sessions with a good joke, but Tharp emphasized his understanding of the game and his commitment to doing things the right way were equal to Barta’s. “He knew the game inside and out,” Tharp said. “He was stern when you needed it and high fiving you when you did what he wanted.” For those who have followed the Redmen football team through the Barta years one thing that really stands out is how much the team improved each week. Hutchinson said this was something that opposing coaches took quite serious, especially around the league. “A lot of guys wanted to schedule us as early as possible in the year because they knew that a Barta-coached team got better every week,” Hutchinson said. One reason for that impressive improvement was Barta’s attitude that seniors are the most experienced players on the team, so fielding as many seniors as possible was a key to the team’s success. Hutchinson said, “We felt the seniors knew the offense just as good as we coaches did, so we were able to work on the little things to perfect them.” That attention to detail showed in Barta’s simple, yet effective, wishbone offense. The commitment to the same offense for nearly 30 years - Barta ran the Slot I for his first seven seasons in Smith Center - brought so much success that it became known as “The Barta Bone.” “We just did what our guys could do,” he said. “They called our offense antiquated but there are so many ways to attack out of it.” Coach Smith from St. Mary’s Colgan may best sum up a Barta team: “I thought his play calling was too simple, just line up and come at ya.” Simple though it may seem on the surface, a wellprepared Redmen team garnered great respect from other coaches. As Tim Wilson noted from his time coaching at Norton, “Facing Smith Center as an opposing team I never felt like it was me versus them because once the game starts you focus on other things. But you had great respect for them, it was always competitive games and you knew what was coming.” But while being highly competitive, Barta was also a gentleman and very good-natured. Coach Smith said, “I really didn’t get to know Roger until we played in those state games. When we talked on the phone and exchanged tapes he was always a gentleman. One summer Roger and 8 Brothers Through The Bone The Coaches
his son Brooks came to the Pitt. State camp and I really enjoyed visiting with them. Both are real gentlemen. But when their team is on the field, it’s all business. They’ll really get after you.” When Barta announced his retirement from coaching, Hutchinson also stepped down from his long tenure as an assistant coach. And as he reflects on their long relationship, Hutchinson said, “I learned a lot from Roger that helped me in my teaching. He is a good man, a good teacher, and a good football coach.”
The Assistants While Roger Barta and Dennis Hutchinson were the longest tenured coaches and the undeniable leaders of the Smith Center football program for the past 35 seasons, a number of other assistants have served selflessly in helping to develop the Redmen football tradition. Any of those coaches, who served at least one season under Coach Barta are listed here: Barry Baxter Garry Baxter Doug Boucher Kurt Bowman Bill Brotton Rick DeMatto Brock Hutchinson Dennis Hutchinson Brian Kraus Dave Mace Jim Muck Terry Nech Robert O’Connor Mike Rogers Bruce Rupp Darren Sasse Scott Stoltenberg Tim Wilson Over Coach Barta’s 35 seasons countless individuals who were connected to the program assisted by observing games from the booth, scouting opposing teams, or speaking to the team during practice or in the offseason. The junior high program, which was ultimately developed as a near mirror image of the high school program also featured a number of coaches who were a key component of helping the high school program reach its full potential. While the list is too long to reprint here, the high school coaches, the players, and the parents and fans understand the contribution and appreciate these individuals personal sacrifice to further the Smith Center football program’s commitment to excellence.
{ Thank You and Congratulations }
Roger Barta for 35 years of coaching, 323 victories, 11 state title games, 8 state championships, a lifetime of memories, and a legacy of utilizing football as a way to grow young men.
A True Champion. The Bank of the Redmen, The Bank of Champions!
OF SMITH CENTER, KS 133 S. Main • 785.282.6641 www.1stnationalbanksmithcenter.com
Shawn Phelps, Josh Cole, Julie Wagenblast, Burke Phelps, Shalynn Harter, Lori Bortz, Debra Maruska, Kim Phelps, Julie Kuhlmann, John Overmiller, Gwenda Devlin, Sheila Gaines and John Ballhorst.
CHAPTER
2
The Finalists In 35 seasons under Coach Roger Barta the Smith Center football program won an incredible 82 percent of its games, tallied 323 wins, won or shared 22 league championships and made the postseason a whopping 24 times. Only 11 times in 35 years did the Redmen not earn a trip to the playoffs and only three times did they post a losing record, and in the year following each of the three losing seasons the Redmen posted at least 10 wins, twice making the finals, and once losing in the sectional* round of the playoffs. When Barta’s Redmen made the playoffs they were not an easy out. In 24 trips to the postseason only twice did they lose in the first round, 17 times they made it at least to the Sub-State (semifinal) round, and 11 times they achieved the pinnacle of high school football achievement making a trip to the title game. In those 11 title games the Redmen were victorious eight times including a streak of five straight from 2004-2008. During this run the Redmen set the state’s all-time winning streak with 79 victories in a row from 2004-2009 - a streak that, according to MaxPreps. com, is the seventh longest winning streak in prep football history. Each of the three championship losses were hard fought heartbreakers including a 2113 loss to Sacred Heart in 1979 (just Barta’s second season as head coach), a controversial one-point 35-34 loss to Silver Lake in 1997, and a streak ending 20-12 overtime loss to Centralia in 2009. The chapter that follows is a brief look at those 11 teams who played in the finals and an overview of their final game. *The district system was changed starting with the 2002 season allowing two teams from each district to advance to the playoffs and adding a sectional round to the 2-1A through 4A classes. 10 Brothers Through The Bone The Finalists
1979 State Runner-Up vs. the Sacred Heart Knights
After posting only three wins in his first season as head coach, Roger Barta made an immediate impact with the Redmen taking them all the way to the 3A championship game in 1979. Along the way the Redmen dispatched previously unbeaten and unscored upon Rossville thanks to a Dane Scherling field goal in a 3-0 victory that remains one of the most memorable semifinal contests in Kansas playoff history. Smith Center lost to Sacred Heart in the 1979 title game 21-13, but down 21-0 at the half the Redmen outscored the Knights 13-0 in the second half to pull within one touchdown of the private school from Salina. While the Redmen football program under Barta would become synonymous with the Wishbone offense and running the ball on nearly every play, Smith Center teams prior to 1985 ran the Slot I and featured a more balance offense. Though the Redmen still used the inside/outside belly concepts that would eventually propel the program to break most of the state’s all-time rushing records, in 1979 it was not a shock to see Barta utilize a forward pass. Against the Knights the Redmen rushed for only 110 yards with Clark Lambert and Gary Woods leading the way on the ground with 59 and 38 yards respectively, but quarterback Tim Overmiller connected on 10 of 15 passes for 122 yards and Doug Boucher completed 3 of 7 attempts for 21 yards to give the Redmen 143 yards through the air in the loss. Tracy Kingsbury caught seven of those passes for 98 yards while Kerry Overmiller, the leading receiver on the team, made three grabs for 28 yards. On defense the Redmen surrendered 360 total yards of offense to the Knights, but were led defensively by J.R. St. Clair with 13 total tackles while Kingsbury added nine total tackles and an interception. Lambert caused a fumble and Roy Woods recovered a fumble in the heartbreaking loss. While the loss would sting, it was a sign of things to come for the Smith Center program under Barta.
1982 State Champions vs. the Wellsville Eagles
Smith Center won its first ever state title with a 6-0 victory in the Class 3A championship against Wellsville in poor weather conditions. The game was played at Wellsville’s home field, one of the last championship games not to be played at a neutral site. Smith Center finished the year 12-1 with their only loss to then 4A power Norton. Mike Rogers, now a longtime assistant Redmen football coach and head track coach, led the team with 144 rushing yards, and the title game’s only touchdown, en route to his first of consecutive 2,000-yard rushing seasons. Several times Rogers had open field in front of him with only one Eagle tackler in his way, but couldn’t score because of the slippery conditions. While the weather conditions had a huge impact on the game, the Redmen defense had the most significant impact on the opposition as Wellsville never cleared midfield in the first half and never was across the Smith Center 41-yard line in the second half. On the game’s only scoring drive, the Redmen would take over on the Wellsville 43-yard line mid-way through the second quarter and drive the distance in nine plays drawing the Eagles off-sides three times on the drive. At the five-yard line fullback Darin Poyser would hit the line twice to reach the two, and Rogers would fight across the goal-line on the ninth play of the drive to make it 6-0 with 3:40 remaining in the first half. An interception on the conversion attempt and a scoreless second half would give the Redmen the shutout and one touchdown victory. Rogers had a big game for the Redmen on defense with two fumble recoveries and an interception. Eric Stewart and Brent Cotton also had big defensive games. Only one year earlier the Redmen had posted a 2-7 record, one of only three losing seasons in Barta’s tenure. Afterward, coach Barta was most pleased his team showed great self-discipline and “maturity throughout the year.” Rogers eventually played at University of Kansas, while Cotton started for a few seasons at Kansas State. Norton was the lone team to beat the Redmen and eventually lost in the Class 4A sub-state championship game to Wellington. In the playoffs, Smith Center defeated Ellinwood 36-14, beat Leoti 34-7 and defeated Clearwater 35-7 in the sub-state championship game. The Finalists Brothers Through The Bone 11
1986 State Champions vs. the Sabetha Bluejays
In 1985, the Mid-Continent League won three state championships and Smith Center didn’t make the postseason. Norton won the Class 4A title, while Plainville won Class 3A and Victoria won Class 2-1A. The next season, the MCL almost accomplished the feat again. Norton won Class 4A again, while Smith Center won Class 3A and Stockton lost 17-8 to St. Paul in the Class 2-1A championship. The 1986 team, which outscored opponents by an average margin of 34-9, is arguably the best Redmen team ever. The 13-0 squad featured Jeff Simoneau, who set a new Redmen rushing record, and Brooks Barta, both juniors and eventual Shrine Bowlers. Barta and Simoneau collected all-league, all-area and all-state honors and Randy Hull anchored the line at center. Tim Lambert was the starting quarterback and Smith Center ran a 6-1 defense with Simoneau and Terry Orr at outside linebackers and Barta as the middle backer. The Redmen ran the ball 73 times in the championship game win over Sabetha, at the time a state record for rushing attempts in a single game. In the postseason, Smith Center defeated WaKeeney-Trego 24-6, beat Cimarron 33-15, defeated Hillsboro 36-0 and Sabetha 20-6 in the title game. Simoneau would go on to play at Arizona State and later K-State while Barta would become one of the greatest linebackers in K-State history, still ranked second in all-time tackles just ahead of fellow Redmen great Mark Simoneau. Barta would be joined on the K-State team by his opponent, Sabetha quarterback Matt Garber, who would later go on to become head coach at his hometown where he would take the reigns as Bluejay head coach from his father. Barta and Tim Lambert would go on to successful coaching careers of their own with Barta’s Holton team eventually breaking the single game rushing attempt record record the Redmen set in 1986 with 77 carries in a single game in 1999.
1997 State Runner-Up vs. the Silver Lake Eagles
The 1997 Redmen football team is one of the best in school history, and certainly the best to never win a state title. Smith Center went 12-1 and lost 35-34 to Silver Lake in a controversial finish in the Class 3A state championship game. While an Andy Stewart two-point conversion run that was ruled no good remains a point of contention for Redmen players, coaches and fans, no one will deny that this was one of the best title games in Kansas State High School Activities Association history. Stewart, who eventually played at Air Force, led the team with 153 yards on 30 carries. Quarterback Dave King, now the Russell coach, had 10 carries for 105 yards. Justin Montgomery, an eventual All-Big 12 defensive lineman at Kansas State, collected 27 carries for 97 yards. The game featured just one turnover, a lost fumble by Silver Lake. The 1997 team would go on to receive a number of individual honors but perhaps the most notable was for offensive tackles Andy Gwennap and Dave Tharp to be chosen for the Shrine Bowl. While uncommon for multiple players to be taken from one team - and now against the all star game’s policy - hardly ever were two offensive linemen taken off one team. Gwennap would go on to play for the University of Nebraska while Tharp would earn a scholarship to Emporia State. Silver Lake’s senior quarterback Shannon Kruger would set the career record for touchdown passes with 92 from 1994-1997 and would go on to star on the Washburn University basketball team. Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton, who along with Roger Barta posted over 300 career wins as a head coach, and all at the same school, would go on to become the state’s all-time winningest coach. 12 Brothers Through The Bone The Finalists
1999 State Champions vs. the St. Marys Bears
Entering the 1999 season, Smith Center hadn’t won a state title since 1986, but had several close calls in the late ‘90s, including the 1997 team falling one point short of Silver Lake in the Class 3A state championship game. In 1998, Smith Center lost in the sub-state semifinals to Conway Springs. In 1999, though, Smith Center rolled through the playoffs with a 51-6 victory against Lyons, a 63-32 win versus Lakin, and a 42-14 victory versus Wichita Collegiate in the sub-state championship in a game that was expected to be much closer than the final score. The Collegiate squad featured eventual KU standout linebacker Banks Floodman and eventual K-State All Big 12 kicker Joe Rheem at quarterback, but the Spartans were no match for the Redmen. Smith Center took a 30-0 lead early in the second quarter against Collegiate and eventually rushed for 429 yards. The ‘99 team was one of the most dominant in Smith Center history outscoring opponents 656-99 and scoring more than 30 points in every game but the season opener. Fullback Tim Weltmer and running back Tracy Pruden provided a thunder and lightning backfield that ran behind a talented offensive line that included Shrine Bowl tackle Garrett Spies, a 6-1, 270 pounder. The St. Marys Bears reached the finals with a 26-7 win against Erie and limited Erie to one first down in the first half. However, in the state game, Smith Center generated plenty of offense en route to a 31-9 victory. Smith Center would later defeat St. Marys 56-26 in the Class 2-1A title game in 2006.
2004 State Champions
vs. the St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers In one of the most highly anticipated contests in Class 2-1A history, Smith Center defeated Pittsburg’s St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers 36-14. The win gave the Redmen a state championship in its first season of Class 2-1A play. The victory ended Colgan’s 66-game winning streak, then a Kansas record. Senior offensive lineman Adam Rorabaugh collected Top 11 all classes honors by The Topeka Capital-Journal, the first selection for the Redmen since Mark Simoneau a decade earlier. Smith Center rushed for 6,165 yards, then the third best tally in state history, en route to a 14-0 season. After the season, Barta earned state coach of the year honors from the Capital-Journal. Barta told the paper that he believed Smith Center had enjoyed better athletes, but didn’t know if Smith Center ever had a better team. In the playoffs, the Redmen defeated Oberlin 61-0, beat Solomon 78-0, rolled over St. Francis 5114 and collected a 30-8 victory against Claflin before the state win. Smith Center averaged 49 points per contest and collected 447 rushing yards in the state game. Austin and Jared Kingsbury each rushed for 200 yards in the title game victory. The victory was especially sweet for seniors Austin Kingsbury and David Boucher whose fathers Tracy and Doug played on coach Barta’s 1979 runner-up team. The win would be the first of five straight championships and six consecutive trips to the 2-1A title game. The 14-0 record would start a streak of 79 straight wins, a state record and the seventh longest streak in prep football history. The Finalists Brothers Through The Bone 13
2005 State Champions
vs. the St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers Kerby Rice and Taylor Jones helped Smith Center collect its second straight state title with a 36-16 win in a rematch with Colgan. Rice, then a sophomore, missed most of his senior year with a knee injury. However, this time he collected 120 rushing yards and scored on runs of six, six, three and 14 yards. Jones, who rushed for more than 2,400 yards and earned Shrine Bowl honors, rushed for 136 yards and caught a 14-yard pass from then-sophomore quarterback Joe Windscheffel, who later played linebacker at Pittsburg State University on a national championship team. In the playoffs, the Redmen defeated Oberlin 73-0, beat Sacred Heart 58-14, defeated St. Francis 20-14 - a team coached by former Smith Center quarterback Tim Lambert and then knocked off Oakley 32-20. Against Colgan, Smith Center took the opening drive 83 yards in 19 plays and scored. The Redmen never trailed. Smith Center rushed for 423 yards and had a big edge in time possession at 31 minutes, 20 seconds, nearly twice that of the Panthers. The win would mark back-to-back state championships for the first time in school history and the consecutive win streak would run to 28 straight. Holton also won the Class 4A title with a 28-27 double overtime victory against Ulysses, the only time Roger and Brooks Barta have won state titles in the same season.
2006 State Champions vs. the St. Marys Bears
Smith Center enjoyed a 13-0 season where it outscored opponents 675-96, including a 56-26 victory against St. Marys in the state championship game. The Redmen defeated WaKeeney-Trego 30-6 in the first round of the playoffs, beat Minneapolis 83-8 in the second round, defeated La Crosse 46-0 in the quarterfinals and beat St. Francis in one of the more famous Smith Center contests, 6-2, in the sub-state championship game. It marked the first of two straight seasons Smith Center defeated St. Francis in the sub-state championship game dashing the hopes of former Redmen Tim Lambert who built a 2-1A football power in his 15 seasons at St. Francis, but came up just short against the Redmen. Those who saw the epic Smith Center/St. Francis contests in 2006 and the next year in 2007 would argue Lambert’s St. Francis Indians were the second best team in the state and the championship game truly occurred in those razor close semifinal contests. In the state title, Smith Center delivered 419 rushing yards and seven scores. Four players, Tate Arnold, Joe Windscheffel, Kerby Rice and Braden Wilson, cleared 850 rushing yards on the season. The team returned 13 starters for the following year, setting the stage for one of the more remarkable falls in Kansas football history. The three-peat championship victory would run the Redmen win streak to 41 straight games.
14 Brothers Through The Bone The Finalists
2007 State Champions
vs. the St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers The national record 72-point first quarter in the first round of the playoffs against Smith Center. Outscoring opponents 844-20 and setting multiple state records. Eleven straight shutouts to start the year. National attention from multiple media outlets, including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. The 2007 season is probably the most dominant, and certainly the most famous in Smith Center history. The 13-0 fall ended with a 40-14 state title win against St. Mary’s-Colgan, the third title game win over the Panthers in four seasons. The Panthers scored first, the only time Smith Center trailed all year. Then, the Redmen responded with a 71-yard drive and the two-point conversion gave Smith Center an 8-7 lead. Senior quarterback Joe Windscheffel rushed for 178 yards and two scores and Braden Wilson cleared 200 yards and three TDs. Smith Center finished with 61 carries for 538 yards, all of its total offense. Colgan finished with 223 yards. Smith Center graduated 12 seniors who never lost a game -- and had some younger players step up. The Redmen lost talented seniors Tate Arnold and Kerby Rice in early season to injuries, but had a big season from sophomore running back Colt Rogers, who moved into a starting role. Wilson finished just shy of 1,900 yards and averaged 20 yards a carry, while Windscheffel and Rogers combined for 1,500-plus yards. Brayton Gillen led the team with 117 tackles. Wilson would go on to start at fullback for the K-State Wildcats while Windscheffel enjoyed a solid career as a linebacker for national champion Pittsburg State. The Redmen’s fourth consecutive title continued the winning streak at 54 straight games.
2008 State Champions vs. the Olpe Eagles
A year that opened with uncertainty ended with a fifth straight state championship, and will forever be remembered in New York Times reporter Joe Drape’s book “Our Boys.” Drape relocated his family to Smith Center for the year and chronicled the season into his best-selling book. Smith Center started the year with just four starters back on both sides of the ball. The Redmen opened the season 4-0, including a 22-20 Week 3 win against Norton. However, Smith Center gained confidence with a big Week 5 victory against a previously undefeated Ellis squad and continually improved throughout the year. The Redmen ended the season 13-0 with a 48-19 state championship game victory against Olpe for its 67th straight victory. The win broke the record of 66 victories set by St. Mary’s Colgan from 2000-04. As well, it tied the record with five straight state titles. Senior running back Joe Osburn scored on runs of 75 and 71 yards early and had a 53-yard scoring pass, a rare play for Smith Center. Senior Marshall McCall moved to running back when Osburn suffered an ankly injury and collected 138 yards on six carries with three scores. Osburn finished with 10 carries for 200 yards. Olpe quarterback Matt Redeker finished 24 of 44 passing for 303 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Finalists Brothers Through The Bone 15
2009 State Runner-Up vs. the Centralia Panthers
Unlike 2004-08, Smith Center played multiple close games, but still managed to keep its streak alive and push its state-record winning streak to 79 games. Smith Center’s run, though, ended with a 20-12 overtime loss to Centralia at Fort Hays State University’s Lewis Field Stadium. It marked the first loss since a 21-6 playoff loss to Hesston in 2003. Centralia won its first state football title in school history, but would pick up another title two years later and a runner-up showing in 2012. Centralia outgained Smith Center 230-145 in a game marked by multiple turnovers. The Redmen, without running backs Dereck and Aaron McNary because of season-ending injuries, rushed 40 times for 111 yards. It entered the game 4 of 17 passing, but went 3 of 4 for 34 yards. Senior running back Colt Rogers, a Shrine Bowl selection, was held to 32 yards on 20 carries. Centralia led 12-9, but kicker Timur Schubart tied the game with a 30-yard field goal with 49 seconds left. In overtime, Centralia had the ball first and knew it had to score because of Schubart’s leg that kicked a Kansas-best eight field goals. Tyler Glatczak rushed in for nine yards and then completed a two-yard conversion pass to Michael Glatczak for a 20-12 lead. On the first play of the Redmen possession, the Redmen fumbled the ball away to finish 12-1. Still, in typical Redmen fashion, the fan base gave the team a standing ovation.
Mid-Continent League Championships 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1989
1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997
1998 1999 2000 2001 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006
16 Brothers Through The Bone The Finalists
1 2 3 4 5 6
De La Salle (Concord, CA) Independence (Charlotte, NC) Shattuck (OK) Morrison (OK) South Panola (Batesville, MS) Sacred Heart (Falls City, NE)
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 16 16 16 19 20
Stephen-Argyle Central (Stephen, MN) Maryville (TN) Hudson (MI) Jefferson City (MO) Celina (TX) St. Mary’s-Colgan (Pittsburg, KS) Carver (Picayune, MS) Pittsfield (IL) Barton (Lexa, AR) Paulsboro (NJ) Blue Ridge (Lakeside, AZ) Conway Springs (KS) Central Catholic (Modesto, CA)
7 Smith Center (KS)
Playoff Appearances 1979 1982 1984 1986 1988 1989
All-Time High School Football Winning Streaks
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
151 109 92 90 89 87
79
76 74 72 71 68 66 64 64 63 63 63 62 61
K Q M A R a dio 9 2 .5 FM is p roud to ha ve been the ra dio hom e of the S m ith Center Redm en for over 2 5 yea rs .
CONGRATULATIONS coaches Barta and Hutchinson on your three plus decades of success and enjoy your retirement!
Coach Hutchinson
Coach Barta
KQMA 92.5 FM KKAN 1490 AM 205 F Street Phillipsburg, KS
785-543-2151
Tad Felts
And congratulations to Tad Felts for more than 40 years of calling youth sporting events and covering everything from birthdays to local lunches. Tad, you will always be the radio voice of the Smith Center Redmen!
CHAPTER
3
The Greats In winning more than 300 games and eight state titles over 35 seasons a team is bound to have individual players recognized with postseason awards and the Redmen had their fair share with 28 different players invited to play in the prestigious Kansas Shrine Bowl game and more than 200 players recognized by opposing coaches as deserving of All Mid-Continent League honors. Still countless others earned recognition from the many media outlets in Kansas. But nearly 600 players suited up for at least one season for Coach Roger Barta’s Redmen and each of them contributed to the program in their own way. Certainly a player was measured by on the field performance, but Barta emphasized understanding one’s role within the team, whether it be accepting the role as the primary ball carrier or the leader of the scout team each week in practice. While players like Mark Simoneau, Mike Rogers and Braden Wilson were the undeniable driving force behind their team’s success, any coach will tell you the wins came just as much because of scout team leaders like Donnie Wichers, Matt Overmiller, and Joe Cronn. Each member of the staff was quoted by a number of media outlets during the historic stretch from 2004-09 insisting the reason for the Redmen’s dominance on Friday night was the fact they played “the best team in the state of Kansas in practice.” While the stories of scout team warriors are traded frequently among the players who were part of the Redmen football tradition, it was impossible for the media and opposing coaches to offer similar recognition. This publication seeks to recognize all those who sacrificed in the name of Redmen football by providing a detailed look at the 28 Shrine Bowl players and 220 All Mid-Continent League players that were honored over Barta’s 35 year career. While many of these players names will be remembered as “The Greats” of Redmen football, their recognition was a product of their teammates efforts as well as their own. 18 Brothers Through The Bone The Greats
Tracy Hunnacutt 1980 Shrine Bowl
1979 was a much different time for Smith Center. The program had a second-year coach in Roger Barta and had what the Salina Journal labeled a “Cinderella season” en route to a Class 3A runner-up finish to Sacred Heart. Tracy Hunnacutt was Smith Center’s first Shrine Bowl selection. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound lineman collected all-league and all-area honors. He recorded 120 tackles, including 65 solo, with two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt. Barta told the Salina Journal that Hunnacutt was the best lineman he had ever coached and that the Redmen ran to Hunnacutt’s side the majority of the time.
Jeff Nelssen
1983 Shrine Bowl Jeff Nelssen helped Smith Center win the first state championship in school history with a 6-0 victory against Wellsville. Nelssen tallied five defensive points in the state title game (a combination of solo and assisted tackles and turnovers forced) and helped an offense that produced 15 carries for 58 yards from Darin Poyser and 29 carries for 144 yards from Mike Rogers. Nelssen went on to play for Dodge City Community College and Pittsburg State.
Mike Rogers
1984 Shrine Bowl Mike Rogers rushed for over 4,000 total yards in his junior and senior season seasons and helped the Redmen to their first state championship victory as a junior in 1982. He earned all-state recognition in the Topeka Capital-Journal, the Wichita Eagle, and the Salina Journal, and accepted a scholarship to the University of Kansas where he played running back and kick returner for the Jayhawks. He returned home to Smith Center to teach and coach and has been a key part of Smith Center High School athletics for over three decades. His oldest son Colt went on to be a Shrine Bowler himself in 2010.
Mike Shockley
1985 Shrine Bowl Mike Shockley was an offensive and defensive lineman for the Redmen that lost to Plainville, 4013, in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs in 1984. Brooks Barta, then a freshman, remembers Shockley’s size on the Redmen line. “At that time, he was a big, long, tough country boy,” Barta said. “That might have been 205 pounds or 210 at that time. That was a big guy. You always had to be looking out at the corner of your eye, because he would take you to the ground if he had a chance.”
The Greats Brothers Through The Bone 19
Brooks Barta
1988 Shrine Bowl Brooks Barta, Roger’s son, enjoyed an outstanding career at Smith Center and Kansas State and is now one of the state’s most successful high school coaches at Class 4A Holton. He and Jeff Simoneau formed a formidable backfield that won the 1986 state championship with a 13-0 record and an average margin of victory of 34-9. He collected Big 8 Newcomer of the Year as a freshman at K-State and was first team all conference as a linebacker in 1991. When Barta arrived at Holton, the school had just one playoff appearance, in 1978. Holton went 3-6 in Barta’s first season and hasn’t posted a losing season since. The Wildcats have won three state titles in 2003, ‘05 and ‘12 and finished as runner-up three more times running virtually the same offense that his dad ran for decades at Smith Center.
Jeff Simoneau
1988 Shrine Bowl Smith Center is tied for 14th on the all-time list in Kansas history with 10 Wichita Eagle Top-11 players, the most among state schools Class 4A and below. Jeff Simoneau is the only Redmen to earn Top 11 honors in two years when he collected the awards in 1986 and ‘87. Simoneau and Brooks Barta helped the Redmen post a 29-3 record in their final three seasons, including a 1986 state championship. The Redmen won 21 straight games before Simoneau’s and Barta’s careers ended with a Week 9 loss to Plainville. Simoneau’s 10.6 time in 100 meter dash is still among the fastest in state history. Simoneau played fullback at Arizona State and rushed for 297 yards in two years and then finished his career as a nose guard at Kansas State.
Dave Haresnape 1989 Shrine Bowl
Haresnape was a standout lineman for the Redmen who played football at Kansas State before injuries ended his career. He spent several years in agriculture before he started coaching at Weatherford (Tex.) and is currently in his third year at Plainview (Tex.). He is the head coach for boys’ powerlifting and an assistant coach for football. Haresnape and his wife, Kim, have four boys.
Brian Lammey
1990 Shrine Bowl Historically, coach Roger Barta usually put his best athlete at fullback and linebacker. After Brooks Barta graduated, Lammey took over those positions and eventually earned all-state honors. After Lammey graduated, coach Barta told the Salina Journal that Lammey “enjoyed every minute” of playing high school football. Barta said he probably had never had a player enjoy playing as much as Lammey. In his junior and senior year combined, Lammey rushed for more than 2,000 yards and made 149 solo tackles. As a senior, he collected 978 rushing yards and 87 solo tackles with three interceptions to earn all-MCL honors both ways.
20 Brothers Through The Bone The Greats
Mark Simoneau 1995 Shrine Bowl
Mark Simoneau is perhaps the most famous Redmen alum, and currently, the only Smith Center player to play in the NFL. He collected all-state honors from the Topeka Capital-Journal and Wichita Eagle as a standout running back and linebacker, and he excelled in track and field as a champion thrower and sprinter. Simoneau rushed for 2,252 yards as a senior and led the team with 91 tackles. He ran 10.8 seconds in the 100 meters, threw the shot put 60 feet, 1/2 inch and 182 feet in the discus. In the weight room, Simoneau squatted 585 pounds, bench pressed 330 pounds and hang cleaned 335 pounds as a high school senior. He was a team captain for three years at Kansas State, collected all-conference honors three times, was a Butkus award finalist and finished as the school’s No. 3 tackler as a Wildcat linebacker. Simoneau played 10 years in the NFL for four different teams. He is now the owner and head trainer for Simoneau Sports Performance in Kansas City.
Jerry Barta
1996 Shrine Bowl Barta was one of the fastest players to ever play for Coach Barta. In 1995, he collected all-league, all-area and all-state honors as a running back and kick returner. Barta was part of an outstanding Hays Daily New Super 11 class that included some of the top Northwest Kansas athletes of the last 20 years: Victoria’s Monty Biesel, Winona-Triplains’ Derek Wright, and Atwood’s Deone Horinek. In 1995, Barta helped Smith Center take third place in Class 3A track with 42 points. Barta and Redmen teammate Mark Simoneau finished 1-2 in the 100, while Barta took fourth in the 200.
Clint Merritt
1997 Shrine Bowl Merritt was a standout on both sides of the ball for the Redmen before going on to play fullback for Fort Hays State University. During his senior year at Smith Center Merritt rushed for 1,204 yards averaging five yards per carry and scoring 20 touchdowns. On defense he tallied 62 solo tackles with 48 assists. After college and a stint as an assistant at La Crosse, Merritt took the head coaching job at Osborne and is now entering his eighth season as the coach at Hugoton. Merritt’s Hugoton team posted a 10-1 record in 2009 tying for the best finish in school history and the program won a playoff game for the first time since 1984.
Andy Gwennap 1998 Shrine Bowl
Before the 1997 state championship game, coach Roger Barta called Andy Gwennap and David Tharp the best tackles he had ever had. The 6-foot-3, 262-pound Gwennap earned all-state honors and, like Tharp, started for three years. Gwennap was also a standout wrestler and state placer for the Redmen. Gwennap played offensive tackle at Nebraska and is currently an assistant coach at Hugoton under former Redmen Shrine Bowler Clint Merritt. Gwennap also served as an assistant coach at Russell for former Redmen teammate David King.
The Greats Brothers Through The Bone 21
Dave Tharp
1998 Shrine Bowl The 6-foot-4, 252-pound Tharp helped Smith Center reach the Class 3A state championship game where the Redmen lost in heartbreaking fashion to Silver Lake. Tharp earned All Class Top 11 recognition from the Wichita Eagle. Andy Stewart rushed for than 1,500 yards, Justin Montgomery and Josh Ramirez collected more than 800 and quarterback Dave King went for more than 750 yards behind the blocking of a huge offensive line that featured Tharp, fellow Shrine Bowler Andy Gwennap, center Daren Overmiller and guards Brett Hutchinson and Josias Lambert.
Justin Montgomery 1999 Shrine Bowl
Montgomery was a three-year starter for Smith Center at fullback and linebacker and also kicked. In 1997, he helped the Redmen finish second in Class 3A with a 13-1 record and finish as sub-state runner-up in 1998 with a 12-1 record. Montgomery was a Top 11 pick in Kansas and a Shrine Bowl captain. He collected all-area selections by the Salina Journal and Hays Daily News and was named one of the Top 20 Kansas/Nebraska players by the Hastings Tribune and Top 25 Kansas-Missouri players by the Kansas City Star. Montgomery attended Kansas State. As a senior, he collected second team All-Big 12 honors as a defensive tackle. Montgomery played for the NFL Europe’s Rhein Fire, attended St. Louis Rams training camp in 2004 and then played for the Wichita Wild of the indoor professional league, where he earned all-star honors in 2008.
Kyle Schenk
1999 Shrine Bowl The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Schenk was a guard and strong safety and is widely considered one of the hardest hitters in Smith Center history. Statistically, Schenk helped the 1998 Redmen team rank as one of the most dominant in state history. Smith Center’s average margin of victory was 50.8 points per game, then a state record, according to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. The Redmen eventually lost 9-7 in the sub-state championship game at home to Conway Springs, a team that won its first state title the following week with a 42-17 victory versus Fredonia. Schenk played at Trinity International and finished as the Trojans’ all-time leading tackler and was a threetime all-league second team selection from 2000 to 2002. He has coached at four different stops and is now in his third season as NAIA Malone (Ohio) University’s defensive coordinator.
Garrett Spiess
2000 Shrine Bowl The 6-1, 270-pound Spiess was an all-state tackle for the 1999 team that won the Class 3A state championship. He and center Kaid Hommon were the leaders for a line that blocked for a standout backfield that included Tim Weltmer and Tracey Purden.
22 Brothers Through The Bone The Greats
Tim Weltmer
2001 Shrine Bowl The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Weltmer rushed for more than 1,100 yards in his junior and senior year. As a junior, he helped Smith Center outscore opponents 656-99 and tally more than 30 points in all but the first game. He collected second team all-state honors as a senior as he and Johnny Nelson combined for more than 2,500 yards as seniors. Weltmer then signed with the University of Nebraska and spent a year on the team as a fullback. Weltmer married the former Dayna Finch, a Smith Center basketball standout who played at Creighton University. Finch is the current women’s assistant basketball coach at Nebraska.
Jake Schenk
2002 Shrine Bowl Schenk, a running back/linebacker, collected 1,515 rushing yards as a senior. He earned second team all-class honors before he enjoyed a tremendous career at Tabor College. He started at Tabor all four years and was a four-time all-KCAC selection. Schenk led Tabor in tackles all four years and helped Tabor to an 11-1 record and second round of the national playoffs. He still holds school records for total tackles, solo tackles and tackles for loss and collected First Team All-American honors as a senior and NAIA’s Champion of Character award his junior and senior year. Schenk coached at Tabor and Greenville College and is now Tabor’s Director of Campus Ministry and went on a three-month mission trip to Egypt.
Lucas Scott
2004 Shrine Bowl Scott, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end/tight end, was a pass rusher with size and speed. He collected first team all Class 3A defense honors in 2003 and helped Smith Center play to a 10-2 finish that ended with a sectional playoff loss to Hesston.
Austin Kingsbury 2005 Shrine Bowl
Austin Kingsbury rushed for 2,002 yards with 23 touchdowns in his senior year and also posted 153 tackles from his linebacker spot while leading the Redmen to their first state championship since 1999 and earning all-state recognition from the Salina Journal and the Hays Daily News. Kingsbury was part of one of the most prolific backfields in Smith Center history along with his cousin Jared Kingsbury and fullback Kale Shank who each rushed for at least 1,000 yards in 2004. Kingsbury went on to play linebacker at Fort Hays State and later Sterling College and currently serves as assistant coach at Larned High School.
The Greats Brothers Through The Bone 23
Michael Hubbard 2006 Shrine Bowl
Hubbard was a 6-foot-2, 205-pound guard/linebacker for a Redmen squad that defeated St. Marys 56-26 to win its third straight state championship. Hubbard was a third team all-state selection by The Topeka Capital-Journal and collected first team all-league honors on both sides of the ball. He opened holes for Taylor Jones, who set a Redmen record with 2,430 yards and was a leader on a defense that allowed only 96 total points.
Taylor Jones
2006 Shrine Bowl Jones set the Redmen rushing record with 2,430 yards as a senior. He ranked second in Kansas to Jake Sharp’s 3,304 yards. Sharp was a standout at Salina Central and later at the University of Kansas. Jones was first team all-class by the Topeka Capital-Journal, the only Class 2-1A player named to the first team list. The 6-foot, 205-pound Jones earned first team honors as a running back and defensive back. In a 36-16 state championship victory against St. Marys-Colgan, Jones rushed for 136 yards and caught a 14-yard pass for a score. He played a year of football at defensive back at Kansas State University.
Kirk Palmer
2008 Shrine Bowl Kirk Palmer started at center on perhaps the most famous offensive line in Kansas high school football history. Legendary St. Marys-Colgan coach Chuck Smith said the 2007 Smith Center line and the 1999 Claflin line were the two best offensive lines he had ever seen. Palmer came to Smith Center from Kensington as a freshman and was an anchor at center throughout his career. As a senior, Palmer helped Smith Center finish 13-0 and set multiple records including points scored (844), points scored per game (64.9), widest margin of victory (63.4), touchdowns (111), and rushing touchdowns (93). Defensively, Palmer helped Smith Center post a state record 11 straight shutouts and allow just 20 points. The team rushed for 5,574 yards on 486 carries with 428.8 rushing yards per game and 11.45 yards per carry. Palmer, also a state runner-up in wrestling, first went to Butler County Community College for football and then wrestled at Fort Hays State University.
Braden Wilson 2008 Shrine Bowl
Braden Wilson was perhaps the state’s best running back as a senior, and could be the second NFL player in coach Barta’s tenure behind Mark Simoneau. Wilson helped the 2007 Smith Center team finish 13-0, set multiple state records and earn national attention from The New York Times and ESPN.com. Wilson collected 112 carries for 1,807 yards and 29 scores with 65 tackles as a senior. Named the Hays Daily News Super 11 team in football and basketball and a state champion in discus, Wilson went on to an outstanding career as a fullback at Kansas State University. Wilson helped Kansas State reach the Cotton Bowl in 2011 and collect the Big 12 title in 2012. Wilson played in 51 career games and was the lead blocker for Wildcat standouts such as Daniel Thomas and Collin Klein. An all-Big 12 honorable mention selection as a senior, Wilson is expected to receive an opportunity to play in the NFL. 24 Brothers Through The Bone The Greats
Justin Nixon
2009 Shrine Bowl Multiple adjectives described Justin Nixon’s hulking 6-foot, 350-pound frame. Coach Barta called Nixon a “humungous man” before his senior year. Nixon started as a sophomore and as a junior on the famous 2007 offensive line, and then was the only returning lineman as a senior. Nixon helped Smith Center finish 13-0, win the Class 2-1A state championship and break the state record for consecutive wins with the 67th straight victory in the state game - the Redmen would eventually win 79 consecutive games. Nixon anchored the left side of the line that produced two 1,000-yard rushers in Colt Rogers and Joe Osburn, and a third, Marshall McCall, who collected 138 yards in the state game when Osburn suffered an injury.
Colt Rogers
2010 Shrine Bowl Rogers, the son of former Smith Center standout and current Redmen assistant football coach and head track coach Mike Rogers, is arguably the most successful high school athlete in Kansas history. Rogers won four Class 3-2-1A state wrestling championships, never lost to a Kansas wrestler and set the classification record for all-time winning percentage with a career 148-3 record. Rogers was also a standout pole vaulter and hurdler and helped Smith Center collect a 400-meter relay crown. He was just as impressive on the gridiron. Smith Center lost just one game - the Class 2-1A state championship to Centralia in Rogers’ senior year - in his four years. Rogers rushed for 1,822 rushing yards with 22 rushing scores and 2,276 total yards as a senior. For his career, Rogers collected 451 carries, 4,597 rushing yards and more than 55 rushing touchdowns. He also collected more than 300 tackles and picked off 16 passes. Rogers spent a year on the Pittsburg State University football team before he transferred to NAIA Bethany College to wrestle. He finished as regional runner-up and qualified for the national tournament in each of his first two years.
Josh Nixon
2011 Shrine Bowl Smith Center has enjoyed a tradition of excellent offensive linemen, but have usually been smaller players. On the 2007 squad that set multiple state records, only two players weighed more than 220 pounds: junior Justin Nixon and freshman Josh Nixon. Both earned Shrine Bowl honors. Justin Nixon is widely believed to be the biggest player in coach Barta’s tenure, and Josh Nixon wasn’t far behind. The 250-pounder collected unanimous first team all-league honors as a senior and helped Smith Center finish 8-3 and average 327 rushing yards a game. Nixon anchored the left side of the line, the side Smith Center usually runs toward.
Truitt Kuhlmann 2012 Shrine Bowl
As a sophomore, Kuhlmann started on defense and returned a kickoff for a score in the sub-state championship game against Meade. Then, because of injuries, he started in the Class 2-1A state championship game loss to Centralia at halfback, too. As a junior, Kuhlmann emerged as the team’s best offensive threat in the second half of the season and finished with 969 rushing yards. As a senior, Kuhlmann enjoyed one of the finest seasons by a Smith Center halfback for an 8-2 squad. The 6-foot, 190-pound Kuhlmann carried the ball 179 times for 2,009 rushing yards and 34 scores. He surpassed 200 yards five times. Defensively, he collected 68 tackles and intercepted a team-high six passes as the starting safety. Kuhlmann collected multiple all-state honors, including Class 3A first team running back and safety by KPreps.com and Hays Daily News Super 11 honors. Kuhlmann, who ran 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash and broke 11 seconds in 100-meter dash, played a season of football at Fort Hays State University. The Greats Brothers Through The Bone 25
All Mid-Continent League Selections 1978-2012
These 220 players were recognized by the coaches of the Mid-Continent League to be among the best players in the league during the season they were chosen. Players are listed alphabetically along with the years and positions for which they were honored.
2000 • TE/DB
Shad Allen
2005-07 • RB/DB
2011-12 • RB/LB/DE
Kyler Atwood
Matt Atwood
Curtis Baetz
John Baetz
B.J. Balhorst
J.R. Bargman
Connor Barnes
Josh Barnes
Brooks Barta
Jade Barta
Jason Barta 1993 • DB
1994-95 • RB/KR/DB
Jerry Barta
Ryan Baxter
Tom Boxum
Grady Brooks
Matt Brown
Payton Buckmaster
1992 • OL
1985-87 • RB/LB
David Boucher 2003-04 • C/LB
Tate Arnold
1999 • TE/P
1997 • KR
1989-91 • OL/K/DL
26 Brothers Through The Bone All-League Players
2002 • RB/DB
2011 • OL/DL
2009 • RB/DE
2003-04 • OL/LB
1999 • OL
1982 • OL
2001 • DB
1998 • OL/DL
2012 • DB
Blake Burgess
Joey Bush
Jim Caspers
Marty Clark
Scott Clark
Cameron Conant
Shawn Conaway
Troy Consbruck
Dillon Corbett
Brent Cotton
Nathan Cox
Marc Davidson
Matt Davidson
Blake Davis
Kade Depperschmidt
Keith DeWolf
Shane Douglass
Trevor Etie
Nick Evangelidis
Matt Fuller
Brayton Gillen
1998 • DB
1999 • RB
2010-11 • TE/LB
2003 • OL
Erik Franklin
1990-92 • RB/LB
1994 • DB
2001 • C
1992 • DL
1987-88 • DE
1987-88 • OL/DL
1999 • DB
Zach Eaton
1999 • OL
2010 • RB/LB
Louis Frazier
Cory Frieling
2009-11 • C/K/LB/DE
1989 • RB
1983 • OL
2008-09 • TE/DE
2001 • OL
2001-02 • OL/DL
2001-02 • RB/DE
1988 • DL
1982 • DB
1996 • RB/KR/DB
1999 • QB/DB
2006-07 • OL/LB
All-League Players Brothers Through The Bone 27
Grady Godsey
2006-07 • OL/DL
Dave Haresnape
Gary Grothaus 1983-84 • OL
Mike Haresnape
Andy Gwennap 1996-97 • OL/DL
Jared Hayes
1987 • DL
1990-91 • RB/P/DL/DE
2007 • KR/DB
Alex Hobelmann
Mike Hofer
Brandon Hommon
2011 • DB
1992-93 • DE
Jesse Gwennap
Seth Hansen
Zach Herdt
Chad Higgins
1993 • OL/DL
2009-10 • OL/DL
1993 • KR
1989 • E/DB
1996-98 • P/QB/DB
2003-04 • QB/KR/DB
Jordon Hommon
Kaid Hommon 1999 • C/DE
Photo Unavailable Mike Hooper
David Hubbard
Gabe Hubbard
Michael Hubbard
Shaun Hubbard
Jason Hudsonpillar
Jeff Hughes
Randy Hull
Tracy Hunnacutt
Tyler Hunnacutt
1995 • DB
1991-92 • C
1988 • RB
1982 • C
28 Brothers Through The Bone All-League Players
2002 • C
1986-87 • C
2004-05 • OL/LB
1979 • OL/DL
2000 • DE
1989 • OL/DL
Brent Hutchinson
Brett Hutchinson 1997-98 • OL/DE
1991-92 • QB/KR/DB
Brock Hutchinson
Blake Ifland
Chad Jacobs
Jeremy Jacobs
Jess Jacobs
Nathan Jacobs
Nick Johnson
Andy Jones
1990 • OL/DL
1997 • DB
Scott Jones 1984 • DB
David King
1997 • QB/DB
2000 • DB
Taylor Jones
1998 • E
2003 • OL
2012 • OL
1993 • G/LB
1993 • DL
2004-05 • RB/KR/K/P/DB
2005-07 • TE/DE
Drew Joy
David Kattenberg
Tyler Kennedy
Austin Kingsbury
Jared Kingsbury
Tracy Kingsbury
Tyler Kingsbury
2002-04 • RB/WR/LB
2003-04 • RB/DE
1999 • DL
1979 • DB
2002 • OL
1985 • RB
All-League players continued on next page Josh Kirchhoff 1994 • OL/DL
Tom Kriley 2004 • DL
J.D. Kugler
1981-82 • LB
John Kugler 1988 • LB
All-League Players Brothers Through The Bone 29
Kyle Kuhlmann 2000 • TE
Grant Lambert
Truitt Kuhlmann
Andy Lambert
Cade Lambert
Chuck Lambert
2010-11 • RB/KR/DB
1985 • E
1995 • TE
1989-90 • DB
2012 • LB
1991-92 • OL/DL
John Lambert
Josh Lambert
Josias Lambert
Tim Lambert
Zach Lambert
Brian Lammey
Kris Lehmann
Scott Lehmann
T.J. Lehmann
1999 • RB
Cole Lorenzon
1989 • RB/LB
2007-08 • TE/LB
1996-97 • OL
1999 • OL
1986 • DB
1993 • TE/P
2012 • TE/DE
1999-00 • OL/DL
2004-05 • OL/DE
Taylor Lyon
Kalen Mace
Chris Manchester
Chris Mansholt
Everett Mansholt
Cade Maxell
Caleb Maxwell
Shane Maxwell
1995-96 • DE
Matt Lyon
1994 • OL
1997 • DE
30 Brothers Through The Bone All-League Players
1998 • LB
2008 • TE
1994 • DL
1999 • LB
1987 • OL
Troy Maydew
Marshall McCall
Brad McCoy
Josh McDowell
Aaron McNary
Clint Merritt
Jared Mocaby
Kody Molzahn
Justin Montgomery
Scott Montgomery
1984 • DE
1995-96 • RB/LB
Johnny Nelson
2008 • DB
2007 • WR/P
2012 • RB/DB
1996-98 • RB/K/LB
2009-10 • RB/DB
1983-84 • RB/DL
1982 • TE/DE
2010 • RB/DB
2004-05 • OL/DL
Jake Nichols
Kenny Nichols
Josh Nixon
Justin Nixon
Josh Norton
Wyatt Oliver
Casey Orr
Joe Osburn
Joel Osburn
Brent Overmiller
Daren Overmiller
Drew Overmiller
2008 • RB/P/KR/DB
2006-08 • OL
2008 • LB
Kale Newell
2010-11 • OL/DL
1999-00 • RB/KR/DB
2009-10 • OL/DL
Jeff Nelssen
1986 • OL
1995 • C/DL
2000-01 • OL/LB
2012 • LB
1996-97 • C
1978 • LB
2001 • QB
1993-94 • C
All-League Players Brothers Through The Bone 31
Jay Overmiller 1980 • RB/LB
Willie Overmiller
Justin Overmiller
Kerry Overmiller
Marcus Overmiller
Tim Overmiller
Kyle Petrik
Clay Pickel
Tracy Pruden
Josh Ramriez
1996 • QB
1978-79 • E/DE
2000 • DL
2010 • OL/DE
2005-07 • C/LB
Kirk Palmer
Aaron Peterson
Darin Poyser
Kevin Poyser
Robert Pruden
Brad Reinking
Travis Rempe
Trevor Rempe 2008 • RB/DL
2000-02 • P/K/LB
Mike Rogers
Adam Rorabaugh
Jon Rorabaugh
1982 • RB/LB/DL
1981 • C
Colt Rogers
2007-09 • RB/KR/DB
1981 • LB
2008 • QB
1982-83 • RB/DB
32 Brothers Through The Bone All-League Players
2000 • OL
1994 • RB
2003-04 • OL
2006 • DB
1998-99 • RB/KR/DB
Chase Rice
1984 • P
1980 • QB
2011 • DL
1996-97 • RB
Kerby Rice
2005-07 • RB/K/LB
Matt Rorabaugh
2000-01 • TE/KR/DE
Shannon Rothchild 1985 • C
Jake Schenk
Weston Rothchild 2012 • WR
Kyle Schenk
Jesse Roush
Scott Roush
Michael Ruhge
Troy Schenk
Dane Scherling
Stuart Schmidt
2009 • OL
1997-98 • OL/DB
Lyle Schoen
Timur Schubart 2009 • K
1996-97 • TE/DE
2002-03 • TE/P/K/DE
Kale Shank
Bill Shively
Chad Shockley
Jordan Shockley 2012 • OL/DL
1983-84 • OL/DL
Mark Simoneau
Garrett Spiess
J.R. St. Clair
Chad Stanley
2004 • RB
Jeff Simoneau
1985-87 • RB/DE
1985 • OL
1993-94 • RB/LB/DE
Kyle Scott
1990 • C/DL
1999 • OL
1979 • OL
2012 • DL
2000-01 • RB/LB
1985-86 • OL/DL
1995-96 • OL/DL
1999 • DE
Lucas Scott
1979 • LB
2000-01 • RB/DL
Matt Seemann
2005-07 • OL/DL
Mike Shockley
1989 • DE
All-League Players Brothers Through The Bone 33
Shane Stanley 1987 • DB
David Tharp
Andy Stewart
Dave Stewart
Eric Stewart 1983 • DL
2010-11 • C/K/DL
Mark Tucker
1996-97 • RB/LB
1981 • QB/DB
Kale Terrill
1995-97 • OL/DL
1992 • RB/KR/DB
Todd Threlkel
Lynn Tompkins
John Tucker
Van Tucker
Logan Tuxhorn
Ryan Tuxhorn
Spencer VanderGeisen 2009 • WR
2001 • WR/KR/DB
Joe Wiehl
Kelly Wiig
Braden Wilson
2009 • OL
Tim Weltmer
1999-00 • RB/K/LB
Tim Wilson
1989 • OL/DL
1980 • OL
2008-09 • OL/LB
1994 • DE
Caleb Wick
2002-03 • QB/DB
Jake Windscheffel 1999-00 • QB/DB
2003 • RB/DB
Joe Windscheffel 2004-07 • QB/DB
34 Brothers Through The Bone All-League Players
1998 • TE/DE
2009 • DL
Taylor Zabel 2012 • OL/DB
Gage Zierlein 1999 • TE/LB
2002 • DE
Steven Weltmer
2006-07 • RB/DE
Steele Zierlein 2000 • C
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CHAPTER
4
The Legacy The legacy of coaches Roger Barta and Dennis Hutchinson is not measured in the 323 wins, the 79 game win streak, the 11 trips to the title game, or the eight state championship game victories. The legacy of those coaches, their assistants, the educators of Smith Center schools, and of the community of Smith Center, is in the people who passed through the halls of Smith Center High School and the Hubbard Stadium locker room complex and walked the stage on graduation day. People like Mark Simoneau, who went on to play for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs after a stellar career at Kansas State University. People like brothers Bobby and Nick Evangelidis, who both quarterbacked successful Smith Center teams and then went on to become medical doctors like their older brother Laki before them. And people like Chad Higgins, who has enjoyed a successful career in education culminating with his hiring as the Superintendent of Schools at Moundridge in 2009. Literally hundreds of stories just like these include former Smith Center football players and classroom students of Barta and Hutch going on to become husbands, fathers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, farmers, members of our nation’s military and more. In the process these two long-time coaches have solidified their legacy as not just highly successful football coaches and teachers, but leaders of men who helped propel highly successful high school football players into successful lives beyond the gridiron. But there is one profession that the Smith Center football program seems particularly adept at developing qualified candidates for, not surprisingly it is the position of football coach. More than 30 former Redmen football players who played for coach Barta have went on to coach either youth, junior high, high school, or college football, including some of the most successful in the state of Kansas like Brooks Barta, Brock Hutchinson, Andy Lambert, Tim Lambert, and Mike Rogers, among others. This chapter profiles some of the most prominent coaches that developed their passion for the game in the Redmen football program. 36 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
What has legendary Smith Center football Coach Roger Barta meant to your life and coaching career?
The Legacy Sterling College head football coach Andy Lambert paused when he heard the question: What has legendary Smith Center football Coach Roger Barta meant to your life and coaching career? “That’s a loaded question,” Lambert said after a few seconds collecting his thoughts. Russell head coach Dave King, a former Redmen quarterback, had a similar response. “That’s a tough one there,” King said. Kyle Schenk, widely regarded as one of the hardest hitters in Smith Center history, played under Barta and then for Lambert when he was at Trinity (Ill.) University. He is now an assistant at Malone (Ohio) College. Schenk, like many Redmen throughout the decades, had a long list of ways that the values instilled in him by the Smith Center program have helped him in his life. “Do you want the long version or the short version?,” Schenk said. The ways that Barta, and longtime assistant Dennis Hutchinson, have molded hundreds of young men during the past 35 years could fill more than several encyclopedias. Several dozen former Redmen, like Lambert, King and Schenk, have gone onto coaching careers. Smith Center’s coaching tree stretches across multiple high school and colleges through the Midwest. Barta’s son, Brooks, is the longtime successful coach and winner of three state titles at Class 4A Holton. Thunder Ridge head coach Jerry Voorhees and Longhorn defensive coordinator Brent Overmiller finished as state champions in 2011 and state runner-up in 2012 and both came from Smith Center. Tim Lambert has turned around St. Francis and
■ By Conor Nicholl Hays Daily News
Concordia. His brothers, Andy and Chuck have been at Sterling for nine years as head coach and defensive coordinator, respectively. The new Redmen head coach Darren Sasse and assistant coaches Brock Hutchinson and Mike Rogers are Smith Center graduates, too. David Haresnape, a former Kansas State University player, is an assistant football coach and head powerlifting coach at Plainview (Tex.) High School. Many of the coaches had countless stories and reasons for how Barta and Dennis Hutchinson (also known as ‘Big Hutch’) affected them, including lifelong values, a focus on fundamentals, keeping things fun and loose and running a consistent, simple style that focuses much more on the player than wins and losses. The result produced a 323-68 record and eight state championships, and a coaching tree lineage that has stretched for decades. “We get better in practice each and every day,” Hutchinson said before Smith Center won its 300th game under Barta. “It’s not a gimmick. We get better everyday and we expect to get better each day. Kids expect to get better everyday and if we have those expectations for them, I think they get better as the year progresses.” Here is a closer look at a few of the former players that make up the Redmen football coaching tree: Brock Hutchinson, Mike Rogers, Tim Wilson and Doug Boucher Brock Hutchinson and Mike Rogers have been around the Smith Center program virtually their entire lives. Brock is the Redmen’s longtime defensive coordinator, head wrestling coach and son of ‘Big Hutch.’ Rogers, the veteran The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 37
running backs coach and current head track coach, rushed want to work for him.” for more than 2,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons Growing up, Hutchinson spent time around practice before he played at the University of Kansas. Hutchinson when Rogers was the star. Decades later, he still remembers was a defensive back for Fort Hays State University and carrying Rogers’ helmet and shoulder pads to the locker still dots the Tiger record book for interceptions and pass room if Rogers was too tired. breakups. “All I can remember is coach Mike Rogers running over For many years, Redmen people,” Hutchinson said. graduate Tim Wilson served “He was my idol growing as an assistant coach for up.” football and track. However, Hutchinson went to before the 2012 season, Fort Hays undecided on a Wilson stepped aside from major. Around two years in, all coaching duties to help Hutchinson decided to he out on the family farm and wanted to come back and tend to his young family. coach. Hutchinson learned Boucher, a quarterback the 4-3 defense, a staple of and defensive back on Smith recent Redmen teams, from Center’s first state finalist in Coach Bob O’Connor, a 1979, has helped out in a former Redmen defensive variety of roles throughout coordinator. the years, including running “Lot of different things the weight program and that he taught me to do with assisting the football the defense,” Hutchinson program. In 2012-13, said. “When to bring Boucher coached the boys’ outside pressure, when to basketball team when the bring inside pressure, when squad needed a coach. He to slant, when not to slant, guided Smith Center to when to just do some of the a 9-11 record in his first stunts that you have.” year of coaching basketball One major aspect of Barta in his life. The quartet, in and Smith Center is the trust Brock Hutchinson separate interviews during given to assistant coaches. the last few years, Hutchinson has full discussed how rein on the defense “I have got a lot of respect for my father Barta and Big and Barta doesn’t Hutch have molded [Big Hutch]. He is my role model growing get involved. It’s their lives. a trust and sense up. He raised a very good family and has For Brock of family that taught me a lot of life lessons.” Hutchinson, he has permeates through seen Smith Center the program. transform through the years because of Barta and his “He definitely involves his coaches,” Hutchinson said. dad. For years, he saw his father and Barta prepare many “He is not the type of guy that even if he doesn’t agree with hours for games, especially on the weekend, and prepare a it, he will never tell you. He might every once in awhile say scouting report that is dozens of pages long, and later as an behind closed doors, ‘This is probably how we should be assistant he became part of that preparation himself. doing this.’ I never seen him chew any coach out especially “Our whole staff comes together and it’s basically because in front of a kid or even behind closed doors. That is of one guy (Barta),” Brock said. “He has given so much back something that he just doesn’t do.” to us as a community. He has given so much back to us as “His idea of chewing you out is I remember one time assistant coaches that we want to work our tails off for the he told dad, ‘I think your 2s are playing just a little high,’” guy. It’s not ever mandatory that we be here. I know it’s his Hutchinson recalled. “’Yes sir, type of deal. We will get top priority, but he never makes it our top priority. But we them down there.’ That’s his style. You try to bend over 38 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
backwards for what he says.” “Barta bone” in the mid-80s, but the concepts have Brock, known as ‘Little Hutch,’ is one of the few coaches remained the same. that gets to coach with his father. The two had to work “Coach says teach what you know and believe in what you through some things early on in Brock’s career, but have do,” Rogers said. “You just see some of these schools that great respect for each other. change in their philosophy or put in a new playbook from “I have got a lot of respect for my father,” Hutchinson week to week. I think that is one of the things that we do said. “He was my role model growing up. He raised a very that makes kids just more and more confident as the season good family and has taught me a lot of life lessons.” goes, because it is essentially the same thing that they are “A long doing.” running joke is The coaching “Coach says teach what you know that if me and staff maintains my dad didn’t a close and believe in what you do.” friendship argue in a game that we weren’t going to win it,” he added. “Probably and has maintained that consistency through the years. every game for awhile, he would say something and I would Wilson, involved in more than 100 wins as a player and a coach, was part of the close-knit group. say something and we would be jawing at each other.” “There is loyalty,” Wilson, a 1990 graduate, said. “You “Of course, we were both pretty stubborn,” Hutchinson continued. “It probably didn’t look very good at times. But know that when things are good, you have got these guys the kids behind us, at least they knew it was a father-son and you know that when things are bad, you have got the guys. I think it is more of a family than anything. type deal. “There are a lot of things that go into success. We hardly “It wasn’t over any players or anything,” he added. “It’s been a great experience for me, I wouldn’t want it any other ever talk about winning. It’s more just trying to get better way. I have learned a lot from him just watching him coach. and doing what we can everyday to try and improve that.” For basketball this winter, Boucher brought the same He is probably one of the better 5 and 2 technique coaches in the nation. I honestly think that he could go somewhere aspects that has made the Redmen football program and coach someone’s D-line at any level whether it would successful: a focus on the entire person, running a simple, workable scheme and believing in the players. The team, be pros on down to high school.” Rogers started his coaching career in Fredonia before despite graduating first team all-league point guard Alex he came back to Smith Center two decades ago. Rogers, Hobelmann, started the season 6-4 and finished fourth at like Little Hutch, married his high school sweetheart. the league tournament. “Knowing our kids, and knowing our kids for years with He has three boys, Colt, Clint and Cale, and has had the opportunity to coach all three of them. Colt’s senior year working with them, I knew what they were capable of,” Boucher said. came in 2009 and he earned Shrine Bowl honors. Smith Center has changed some schemes in 35 years, Brooks Barta including moving from I-formation to the three-back Brooks Barta is coach Barta’s only son, the most successful coach in the Barta coaching tree and one that has seen virtually his dad’s entire career at Smith Center. Brooks has turned Class 4A Holton into one of the state’s elite powerhouses with a 173-30 record and three state championships in 16 years. Brooks runs the wishbone offense similar to his father and has incorporated many of the same principles as his father, including the ability to communicate with virtually everybody. Brooks called his father’s communication skills his greatest strength. “He just has a way of communicating with all kinds of kids and all kinds of people,” Brooks said. “I don’t know if I have ever met anybody who didn’t ask how my dad was, and everybody he meets, they seem to like him, and I think it works the same with kids. I think it works the same with Brooks Barta people he works with. The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 39
“I think he understands people and understands their that he probably wouldn’t be. Roger turned it down. needs and is, in many ways, a giving person,” Brooks Then, Bechard asked Roger if he thought Brooks was added. “He doesn’t ask much of anybody or feel the need ready to be a head coach. Rich called Brooks and asked to drive the conversation. He is just good at finding out him to come up to Holton for a visit. who people are, and I guess in many ways, I think kids Brooks went to Manhattan that next weekend and talked and people sometimes spill their guts to him. He is a pretty with Shorty Kleinau, then the Wildcat equipment manager. good counselor.” Kleinau called Russ Riederer, then the strength coach for The Barta family moved to Smith Center when Brooks the Chicago Bears. Reiderer is from Holton and two of his was in third grade. Brooks remembers always being up sons eventually played for Brooks. at practice growing up. Brooks recalls his dad watching Brooks came up to Holton, looked around the town with Super 8 film on the wall in the his wife and interviewed. family’s basement. As well, “Never sure if everything is “People talk a lot about being Brooks remembers Roger perfect,” Brooks said. “Just kind a dinosaur and running sitting at nights, drawing the of fell into place and things got the same system, but he was depth chart for the following better for us here and the kids season, and coaches often worked harder.” always learning techniques coming over to the house and Barta took over a program and fundamentals and the talking football. that had made the playoffs just way to do things.” Brooks helped Smith Center one time, in 1978. He went 3-6 win a state championship and in his first season and 6-3 in his had an all-conference career as a Kansas State linebacker. second year. The Wildcats went 6-0 before they finished In high school, Brooks knew he wanted to follow in his 0-3 in district play in what Barta called one of the toughest father’s footsteps as a math teacher and football coach. districts “they’ve ever put together in 4A at that time.” Even as a youngster, Barta was always pretty comfortable Barta said the four district teams were a combined 23-1 in the coaches’ office. before districts started. Brooks learned to continue to grow and pay attention “It was a learning process for me, and I think it was a – a tenant he picked up from his father. For many years, learning process for our kids, and I think it was a learning Brooks went back to Smith Center and learned from the process for our community, to upgrade the commitment veteran coaching staff. Like other coaches, Brooks attends level and the effort level and slowly but surely, I think we college clinics and watches college practices and talks to changed the culture in our program,” Barta said. “It helps other high school coaches. Brooks called coaching in the when you have success. We had some kids that hadn’t been Shrine Bowl a “great learning experience.” out that came back out.” Plus, like his dad, Brooks has looked for the “little things” “We went 3-6 that first year, and I think got a lot better that he could change, such as fundamentals or techniques from the beginning of the season to the end of the season,” or learning how to defend or score he added. “Much like Smith Center, against a certain kind of offense or through the weight room and through “Certainly, I defense. hard work, the next season, we got a always looked “People talk a lot about being a little stronger and a little better and dinosaur and running the same we started to understand our system to him for system, but he was always learning in there.” advice.” techniques and fundamentals and the Then, Holton made the state way to do things,” Brooks said. “Me championship game his third and playing at K-State I think was a learning experience for fourth falls losing to Topeka Hayden and Concordia, him. Every time he was around, listening and watching the respectively. In the early years, Barta would talk to his coaches, and I think he has always enjoyed that learning dad normally once a week during the season. Many of process.” the Smith Center coaches have gone to Holton to help at After college, Barta assisted at Abilene for three years summer camp and vice versa. where he also served as head girls’ basketball coach. “Certainly, I always looked to him for advice,” Barta said. Rich Bechard, who was at Stockton and Norton, was then Barta said the team had a “little bit” of a surprise in the the Holton athletic director. Bechard called Roger Barta run to the first championship game appearance. After the and asked if he was interested in the Holton job, knowing team won the first playoff game, a 34-8 win against Lansing, 40 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
Former Trinity International and current Sterling College head coach Andy Lambert with a group of former Smith Center Redmen who played for him at Trinity. Pictured from left to right: Kyle Schenk, Blake Burgess, Josias Lambert, Andy Lambert, Eric Overmiller, and Troy Schenk. All these players later went on to coach. (Photo courtesy Galen Lambert)
Barta recalled “probably 85 percent” of the parents asking, “What happens next?” The Wildcats have now won three state championships, 2003, ‘05 and a ‘12. Barta is believed to be the fastest 11man coach in Kansas history to win 100 games. “We have kind of survived our years that we weren’t super talented and our talented groups have been really, really successful,” Barta said. “The thing you learn when you grow up in a good program, sometimes you just kind of assume how things are. You assume good kids are going to want to play football. “You assume the parents expect them to be at summer camp, expect them to be in the weight room and things like that,” he added. “There was a lot of things that we had to change in that culture here (at Holton). I think, much like at K-State with Bill Snyder, we never really look at it in terms of wins and losses as much as getting better and making progress.” Andy and Chuck Lambert Andy Lambert, the former head coach at Trinity (Ill.) International, has been the head coach at Sterling College for the last decade. His brother, Chuck, also from Smith Center, came two years after Andy and has served as Sterling’s defensive coordinator. The Lambert brothers have turned Sterling into what many have called “Smith Center South” and made the Warriors consistently one of
the stronger KCAC programs. Lambert has recruited many Smith Center football players over the years and most have been key pieces of his teams. More than anything, Andy Lambert has learned that a coach needed to focus on basic principles of blocking and tackling. In Lambert’s eyes, the fundamentals are crucial no matter if it’s Pop Warner, Salina YMCA or coaching in the Super Bowl. “They were able to do that better than almost every team that they played,” Lambert said of Smith Center. With Big Hutch, Lambert remembered the same thing that many other former Redmen coaches recalled. “His sense of humor,” Lambert said. Tim Lambert Lambert, the Smith Center starting quarterback on the 1986 squad that is one of the best Redmen teams ever, has won 155 games in two decades as a head coach, the first 16 at St. Francis and the last four at Concordia. He has been a head coach since he took over St. Francis at 24, and has constantly applied Barta’s lessons throughout his career. He also runs the wishbone concepts taken directly from the famed Barta bone offense. “I haven’t changed a whole lot in my football philosophy since I was 24,” Lambert said. “Hopefully I am a little wiser. Hopefully I can adjust better than when I was 24. As far as The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 41
what we want to do, especially offensively, I have clearly a lot of coaches try to do,” he added. “I knew this system, taken Coach Barta’s philosophy as my own.” and I knew if I was going to get fired somewhere, I was The number one aspect Lambert remembers is that going to get fired doing it the way that I knew and what I “everyday meant something.” believed in.” “Everyday in practice was urgent, was that we had to get Lambert also received a schedule break in his first season better, that we had to go to work, that practice mattered,” with St. Francis. The Indians were the smallest Northwest Lambert said. “That preparation was huge. Just the idea Kansas League school at the time. Colby, Goodland and that everyday meant something. There was a consistency Scott City, all bigger schools, were on St. Francis’ schedule with coach Barta and what he drilled into us that I really every year. When Lambert came to St. Francis, the appreciate. At the time, sometimes it might have even felt administration decided they weren’t going to play those a little boring, but looking back, it was one of the greatest three big schools every year. lessons that I got from him, was St. Francis found a little you didn’t have a day to waste. “Probably the biggest thing that more favorable schedule and If you wasted a day you never Coach Barta has instilled in had some talent coming in. got it back.” Lambert built the program to probably all of us that have ever When Lambert grew up in where, at the end of his tenure, Smith Center, he remembered been involved or been around St. Francis was competing and the Redmen having some him, I would say lucky enough to beating Colby and Goodland. success before Barta, but not have him coach us, is that things Lambert brought the Indians to much. However, in the ‘80s, never come easy.” several sub-state championship Smith Center thought state games and late in his career at championship every year. St. Francis found himself on the “If we didn’t win one, we were disappointed,” Lambert losing end of some very good games against his old team. said. “The consistency that I brought with Coach Barta’s After high school, Lambert played football at Garden system and just the mentality of the people and the hard City Community College for two years and then ended up work of that community, it just really fit well,” Lambert at Bethany College. Then, he was in Salina for a year before said. he assisted at St. Francis and then took over the program. At Concordia, Lambert turned around a Panther program Lambert, helped by winning a state championship at that had won a state title in 1999, but had struggled before Smith Center, knew the Barta system worked. Lambert he took over. Lambert lost his first seven games, but is 24-7 recalled the St. Francis program was winless the year he since. Lambert has still never won a state championship, was the assistant. Lambert thought the program had but like Barta, has learned to manage coaching and raising maybe three or four winning seasons since the late ‘70s. young men and winning games. In the early 80s, St. Francis lost “We talk a lot about life and more than 30 straight contests. “The consistency that I brought I am firm believer that as far “That’s really the key to with Coach Barta’s system and as sports goes high school anything you do as a coach just the mentality of the people athletics especially, that high to being successful,” Lambert school football has the ability to and the hard work of that said. “Do you believe in, and teach a greater life lesson than community, it just really fit well.” are you willing to stick with it any other sport,” Lambert said. through the good times and the bad times? I think so many times in the modern era of Dave Haresnape football, we as coaches are tempted to change things to put Dave Haresnape is in third year at Plainview (Tex.) High new things in and make wholesale changes in what we are School as a special education teacher. He is an assistant doing. football coach in charge of the running backs and is the “I was convinced by being part of the Smith Center head boys’ powerlifting coach. Haresnape, who played at program that this maybe wasn’t a good thing that this Kansas State University, has taken life lessons from Coach consistency and persistence and staying the course was just Barta and Big Hutch throughout his coaching career and as important to success if maybe not more important than family life. trying to change things midstride and do different things. “Probably the biggest thing that Coach Barta has instilled “I wasn’t smart enough football-wise to try to do what in probably all of us that have ever been involved or been 42 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
around him, I would say lucky enough to have him coach the teaching of the classroom right into the teaching of us, is that things never come easy,” Haresnape said. “It takes the d-line position and what Coach Hutch taught us there, a very concerted effort to achieve the goals that you want everything he did was geared to perfection and teaching, to achieve and that it’s not going to come today and it’s but at the same time, keeping it fun, ‘keeping it real,’ I guess not going to come tomorrow, but that it comes somewhere the kids would say now.” down the road. From trying to improve just a little bit everyday. Everyday is an opportunity to improve and get Caleb Wick better. That’s how you reach your goals.” Jackson Heights finished the 2011 season with a 42-41 Haresnape graduated from Smith Center and took a victory against Mission Valley on the game’s final play different path to becoming a coach. During college, his goal to end a 19-game losing streak. However, head coach Ed was to become a teacher and a coach. Instead, he worked Ramsey resigned as head coach and 27-year-old assistant for several years in agriculture. However, Haresnape always Caleb Wick, a Smith Center graduate, took over in his first had in the back of his mind that he wanted to coach. head coaching job. Haresnape is the father of four sons, including Brooks, Wick applied the Redmen principles, including the Barta now a college freshman. Brooks started playing football bone offense, and led Jackson Heights to a 6-4 record and in third grade. Haresnape started coaching him, and that playoff berth. It marked the school’s first winning season spurred the thought of wanting to coach and teach. since 2006. Haresnape went back to school and earned his alternative “I tried to implement everything that they taught me, with certification through Weatherford (Tex.) College and junior high, the six years that I was part of the program,” started teaching. He spent six years in Weatherford before Wick said. “It goes back even further than that. I remember he came to Plainview. Throughout the years, Haresnape in grade school going up and they had camp during the will sometimes think, “What would Roger have done?” summer, just sitting there and listening to the coaches when faced with a and playing catch situation. and watching all “I learned from Coach Barta and “Believe me, it the drills that they becomes pretty did during camp, Big Hutch real quick that you vivid in your mind and then going up can’t take football too seriously.” what he would do, after school and I think at times,” watching the drills Haresnape said. “You try to emulate that, along with the that they did during the course of a season and then getting other coaches you have been involved with over the past.” in the junior high and high school, you find out that good Haresnape also has learned plenty from Big Hutch, who programs, usually junior high and high school, they do the has an even longer tenure than Barta at Smith Center as same thing.” an assistant coach and well-known and respected music Wick is trying to implement the same thing at Jackson teacher. Heights. The junior high coach runs a similar offense to “Probably one of the biggest things I think back about the high school to form continuity. Wick called Coach Coach Hutch was everything we did was fun,” Haresnape Barta “a father figure” to many kids and has looked to be said. “Not only being in the classroom with him, but he in a similar role as a coach. Wick learned more than just taught me how to have fun to make it work and make it football from the Smith Center program. He learned how serious. That dreaded whatever it was that you hated most to be a man and how to be successful outside of football. in practice, he always found a way to make it fun and make “I learned from Coach Barta and Big Hutch real quick you want to do it and make you want to do it harder.” that you can’t take football too seriously,” Wick said. “There Hutchinson always wanted to be known as a teacher first, is a time and place to be serious, but there is also a time one of the reasons why he never pursued a head coaching and place to joke around a little bit and have a little fun at job. Like many former students, Haresnape has plenty of practice. That’s what I’ve tried to implement, too, and not memories of Hutchinson as a teacher, too. Haresnape has just being a drill sergeant.” also looked to apply those lessons to his classroom. At Jackson Heights, Wick has two assistants, one from “We always had a lot of fun in his class, but at the same Santa Fe Trail and the other from Silver Lake, also one of time, he expected perfection, and the perfection obviously Kansas’ all-time best programs. Like Wick, his assistants shown when we go to music contests, there was nobody are young and backed the Smith Center principles for better,” Hutchinson said. “When we carried that in from Jackson Heights. One aspect that Wick learned from Smith The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 43
Caleb Wick
Center and did daily during the season was always having a practice schedule. “There was never any surprises, so practice went smoother,” Wick said. Wick has noticed teams throughout the state are more focused on wide-open offenses, throwing the ball and giving the kids a lot to focus on. However, Wick, like Smith Center, wanted to keep things simple. Wick knows boys’ minds are filled with school, girlfriends, perhaps family problems. Wick put in Smith Center’s exact same offense and the kids bought in. “They would run through a brick wall for you,” Wick said. “I know I would do anything for Coach Barta and I 44 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
feel like this year, the kids would do anything for me. That translated to six wins.” The kids and town were excited. Wick always remembered that Barta saying that the most important person in a kids’ life is their mom. “Of course, you have to put moms first,” Wick said. “The moms made the dinner for us, they got the kids there in time for practice. They probably woke them up in the morning in time for practice.” After every game, Wick had a “Redmen Circle” where the kids and fathers circled up to reflect. A hundred to 200 people would be part of the circle. “As a coach, that’s probably more nerve-wracking to talk to everybody after the game than getting your kids ready
“Another thing I learned from Coach Barta is that he gets the maximum talent out of kids that maybe aren’t the most athletic kids and we did that here and we had three kids be all-state.” through” those goals. “Another thing I learned from Coach Barta is that he gets the maximum talent out of kids that maybe aren’t the most athletic kids and we did that here and we had three kids be all-state. “I think the sky is the limit for these kids and I learned everything that I am implementing here from Coach Barta. He is a great guy.” Clint Merritt In 2012, Clint Merritt finished up his 10th season as a head coach, including the last seven at Hugoton. He is 43-52 as a head coach, including 31-36 with the Eagles, a school with many different demographics and cultures. Merritt, who led Hugoton to a 10-1 record in 2009, has preached family in his coaching career, a concept he learned and developed from Smith Center. Merritt, like Barta, has long looked to care about the player both on and off the field. “Talking about taking care of each other, talking about respect for each other, learning to like each other and then eventually learn to love each other,” Merritt said. “(Barta) was talking about building relationships for a very long time. That’s such an important part of coaching today is building relationships with kids. Many of them come from split homes and have different backgrounds and to build different relationships with those kids and be a father figure if they don’t have that.” Merritt remembered the many life lessons that Smith Center taught him. As a teenager, he wondered how the lessons applied to him on Friday nights. However, as a husband, a father and coach, the lessons he learned from the Redmen program have stayed with him. “You understand what he was talking about as far as hard work and commitment and work ethic and go so far beyond just the game on Friday nights,” Merritt said.
prior to the game,” Wick said. “I also learned from Coach Barta and Big Hutch that there is a time and place to yell. Never belittle a kid. Never throw a kid under a bus. Never grab a kid inappropriately, swing them by the facemask, anything like that, what some of the coaches have been doing that you see on ESPN all the time. We got after the kids, but we never belittled the kids. We always gave him compliments.” Wick talked with Brooks Barta about setting small goals and then moving onto big goals. Before last fall, the team The Schenk family talked and made individual goals and team goals, just like All four Schenk brothers, Cliff, Troy, Kyle and Jake, at Smith Center. Many of the goals were improve to two to have been influenced by Coach Barta and Andy Lambert, three wins after the one-win season in 2011. Wick called a Redmen alum, former head coach at Trinity (Ill.) the goals “great,” but told the kids “they were going to push International and current head coach at Sterling College. The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 45
Clint Merritt
“(Barta) was talking about building relationships for a very long time. That’s such an important part of coaching today is building relationships with kids.” Kyle and Cliff Schenk currently work at NAIA Malone University in Ohio. Kyle Schenk was a Shrine Bowl player and is widely considered one of the hardest hitters in Redmen history. From Coach Barta, he learned most to “love the game, to love the practices, just to love football in general.” “To do things right on the field, to be tough,” Kyle said. “I learned lessons all the time. I am still digging up lessons I learned all the time and presenting them to players. One of them is don’t be a victim. Be in control of the play and the hard work and dedication that he always displayed was something I will never forget. He is definitely a big part of why I am in coaching now.” Kyle Schenk, a 1999 Redmen graduate, played for Andy Lambert at Trinity International. Schenk said he probably wouldn’t be involved in coaching if it weren’t for Barta and Lambert. Schenk said Barta “was a great example” of being tough, but not “trying to embarrass and belittle people.” “He just kind of took it to a different level,” Schenk said of Lambert. “I am a Christian, and I wanted to coach that way and he really helped me do that in football. He helped me see that you can’t be two different people. You can’t be one person in church and then another person on the football field. He taught me how to use coaching as a ministry 46 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
and that is something that I have really taken from him.” Cliff Schenk took a different route to becoming a college coach. Schenk played junior high football. Freshman year, though, he decided to do cross country instead of football. “It was a difficult decision for me to make, and I look back at it and kind of second-guess myself at times, but I don’t regret it,” Schenk said. “If I look back at it now, I don’t know what the exact decision was, why I made that decision. I think it was a decision I made because some of my friends were doing it, too, and I had made that decision, and then being a man of my word, I decided to, ‘That’s the decision I made, this is what I am going
to stick to,’ so I did.” Schenk went to Kansas State for a couple of years before he transferred to Tabor College in Hillsboro for track as a thrower and education major. At Tabor, the football coach talked with Schenk and told him he should definitely be playing football. Schenk thought about it and decided to give it a try. He made the team and played two years. “I really, really enjoyed it and always wondered after that what could have been possible, obviously,” Schenk said. After Tabor, Schenk went back to Smith Center and initially had a job teaching gifted education. He assisted with the Redmen junior high program and then some with high school. Then, Schenk decided to give coaching a try. He knew the new head coach at Tabor, Mike Gardner, who had been a coordinator when Schenk played. After two KCAC titles, Gardner earned the job at Malone and Schenk followed him out to Ohio and has been an assistant coach and director of football operations at Malone for the last eight years. Among other duties, he has to be responsible for the budget, travel, and equipment lines. “I wouldn’t second-guess my decision at any point now,” Schenk said. “I really enjoy it out here and being a part of it.”
The Legacy
The legacy of coaches Roger Barta and Dennis Hutchinson is not measured in the 323 wins, the 79 game win streak, the 11 trips to the title game, or the eight state championship game victories. The legacy of those coaches, their assistants, the educators of Smith Center schools, and of the community of Smith Center, is in the people who passed through the halls of Smith Center High School and the Hubbard Stadium locker room complex and walked the stage on graduation day.
Smith County Memorial Hospital Keeping our community healthy for over 50 years! 614 S Main St • Smith Center, KS 66967 (785) 282-6845 www.smithcohosp.org The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 47
times. King is in seventh year with Russell. King is 22-42 with the Broncos, including one playoff appearance in 2006 , Russell’s second playoff appearance since the ‘70s. King, though, has run a similar offense to Smith Center and still recalls lessons from Coach Barta. King remembers losing a district game his freshman year. At that time, the playoff format took just one team from each district to the postseason. The only way to make the playoffs was if the Redmen won their last game and then needed a little help from the other game to win “I just remember him saying that, ‘You could only take on points. care of things that you could take care of, and not “I just remember him worry about things out of your control.’” saying that, ‘You could only take care of things that you Schenk still uses lessons from Coach Barta and Big could take care of, and not worry about things out of your Hutch, but it comes from the math and music classroom. control,’” King said. “Then, the whole thing was about that Schenk had Big Hutch for a short time, but had Coach you have to still have hope, and that you’ve got to still keep Barta three out of the four years. “I felt like he did a great hoping and believing, and it ended up turning out that we job teaching me and instructing me and I originally came took care of business that next game and the other team out of high school, going into (college) an engineering that needed to win won for us, and we ended up going on.” major,” Schenk said. “I thought I was prepared math-wise for the engineering degree, which I was. I thought he did Jerry Voorhees a great job.” Jerry Voorhees has built a successful program in the Troy also was at Malone before he headed back to Trinity. same county as Smith Center. In Kensington, Voorhees Jake collected All-American honors at Tabor and coached has built one of the best Eight-Man, Division II programs, at the college level before he recently took over as head of including a 13-0 record and state championship in 2011 campus ministry at Tabor. and an 11-2 mark and state runner-up in 2012. Voorhees “I feel like I have really learned a lot just from interacting is 62-15 with the Longhorns. Voorhees, part of the 1986 with them through the years,” Schenk said of his brothers. Redmen state championship team, has long used a power “We get along. There might be a few disagreements here running game in the I formation, something he learned his and there, but ultimately, we know it’s for the goal of time with Coach Barta. getting along and making it work. We eventually see eye to At Thunder Ridge, Voorhees has tinkered with other eye when it all comes down to it.” formations, especially in 2012 after he lost a large senior class from his 2011 team. However, after a Week 1 blowout Dave King loss to Mankato-Rock Hills, Voorhees returned to the power King played quarterback at Smith Center and collegiately running game, and Thunder Ridge reeled off 11 straight at Kansas Wesleyan before he finished up school at Fort victories. Brent Overmiller, also a Smith Center graduate, Hays State University. He assisted at Gypsum-Southeast of is Voorhees’ veteran defensive coordinator and has built Saline for two years and then at Russell for one year before one of the eight-man ranks stronger units, including a No. he took over the Broncos, a program that has long had hard 1 ranking in 2011, according to preppowerindex.com. Dave King
48 Brothers Through The Bone The Legacy
Andy Gwennap
Jerry Voorhees
Brent Overmiller
“Growing up and playing for Coach Barta over there (in Smith Center), obviously it’s power football,” Voorhees said. “It’s what I believe in. It’s what coach Overmiller believes in.” Sasse ran virtually the same system as Barta did with the “Growing up and playing for Coach Barta over there (in Smith Center), obviously it’s power football,” Voorhees high school leaving the junior high athletes prepared to said. “It’s what I believe in. It’s what coach Overmiller execute the high school schemes to near perfection. “I would say he is a lot like Barta,” Smith Center athletic believes in.” director Greg Hobelmann said. “He is very knowledgeable about the game. He is very organized.” Darren Sasse Sasse, now the new head Redmen coach, ran the junior high program for many years and is a big reason for the run of success the Redmen experienced in the 2000s.
Smith Center Redmen who played for Coach Barta and went on to coach football at the junior high, high school, or college level, in alphabetical order: John Baetz Brooks Barta Jerron Baxter David Boucher Doug Boucher Blake Burgess Edmund Cronn Joe Cronn Dave Fetters Andy Gwennap
David Haresnape Chad Higgins Brock Hutchinson David King Austin Kingsbury Andy Lambert Cade Lambert Chuck Lambert John Lambert Josias Lambert
Tim Lambert Dave Mace Clint Merritt Terry Orr Brent Overmiller Eric Overmiller Mike Rogers Darren Sasse Jake Schenk Kyle Schenk
Troy Schenk Matt Smith Nathan Smith Chad Stanley Shawn Stansbury Jerry Vorhees Caleb Wick Tim Wilson
The Legacy Brothers Through The Bone 49
35 SEASONS 323 WINS 79 GAME WIN STREAK 11 TITLE GAMES 8 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
1 NEWSPAPER that was
there every step of the way...
Thank you R og your much dere and Dennis and enjoy served retirem ent!
The Smith County Pioneer
Call today to subscribe to the official newspaper for Smith County! (785) 282-3371
Simmons-Rentschler Mortuary
116 W 1st St Smith Center, KS 785-282-6691
“Our family serving your family!”
www.simmons-rentschler.com Thank you Coach Barta and Coach Hutch for nearly four decades of excellence!
The Players This list consists of nearly 600 players who played at least one season for Roger Barta. Roger Abbott Aaron Allen Austin Allen Galen Allen Kendall Allen Lance Allen Marcus Allen Matt Allen Robbie Allen Shad Allen Zach Allen Brian Anderson Jason Archer Tate Arnold Troy Attwood Kyler Atwood Matt Atwood Yancy Ayres Bob Badger Chris Baetz Curtis Baetz Dustin Baetz John Baetz Robert Baker B.J. Ballhorst Blake Ballhorst Rick Ballhorst J.R. Bargman Conner Barnes Josh Barnes Cass Barrett Brooks Barta Jade Barta Jason Barta Jerry Barta Luke Bartley Mike Baumann Brock Baxter Jerron Baxter Ryan Baxter Alex Beckmann
Matt Beckmann Adam Befort Dan Befort Dustin Befort Scott Befort Tom Behrends Alvin Benjamin Steven Benjamin Dirk Benn Daniel Bennett Kelly Bertholf Tony Blickenstaff Shane Boden Zach Bogart Dwight Boland Trenton Bortz David Boucher Doug Boucher Jay Boucher Robert Boxum Thomas Boxum Leroy Breese Barry Brooks Grady Brooks Troy Brooks Jared Brown Matt Brown Scott Brown Shawn Brown Terry Brown Troy Brown Steven Buckley Mason Buckmaster Payton Buckmaster Clifton Buckner Blake Burgess Luke Burgess Joey Bush Chris Callihan Brian Campbell Mike Campbell
Skyler Campbell Tanner Campbell Cody Carder Zac Carder Bob Carlson James Carter Jim Caspers Marty Clark Scott Clark Jacob Clements Josh H. Cole Josh R. Cole Cameron Conant Brian Conaway Chase Conaway Cole Conaway Shawn Conaway Travis Conaway Mike Conrad Tanner Conrad Troy Consbruck Dillon Corbett Nathan Cox Edmund Cronn Joe Cronn Alan Curtis Marc Davidson Matt Davidson Blake Davis Cole Davis David Dean Eddie Deherrera Casey Delaney Cuyler Delimont Kade Depperschmidt Dane Devlin Keith DeWolf Shane Douglas Mickey Drake Dave Dreiling Brant Drury
Dewayne Drury John Dunavan Pat Dunavan Collin Duntz Ethan Eastes Zach Eaton Brad Elson Trevor Etie Bobby Evangelidis Nick Evangelidis Joseph Evans Greg Everett Terry Everhart Richard Fannin Wes Fannin Curtis Favinger Derek Favinger David Fetters Nathan Fiester Jake Fischer Zach Fischer Michael Fitzpatrick Erik Franklin John Franklin Brad Frazier Louis Frazier Brody Frieling Cory Frieling Wayne Frieling Matt Fuller Gage Garceau Greg Garlow Aaron Gibble Daniel Gibson John Gibson Brayton Gillen Darin Godsey Grady Godsey Eric Grey Jeff Grey Gary Grothaus
The Players Brothers Through The Bone 51
Smith Center Redmen ~ 1978-2012 Trevor Grothaus Andy Gwennap Jesse Gwennap Mike Haas Blake Hackerott Dustin Hall Jeff Hamilton Seth Hansen David Haresnape Mike Haresnape Theron Haresnape Alan Harper Todd Haven Jared Hayes Michael Hayes Andrew Hendrich Zach Herdt Stanley Herredsberg Steve Herredsberg Chad Higgins Alex Hobelmann David Hofer Mike Hofer Cole Holland Matt Holmes Dustin Holt Lyle Holthus Brandon Hommon Jordon Hommon Kaid Hommon Michael Hooper Abe Horning
Brooks Barta
Todd Horning Chris Hrabe Kyle Hrabe David Hubbard Gabe Hubbard Landon Hubbard Michael Hubbard Shane Hubbard Shaun Hubbard Tracy Hudson Jason Hudsonpillar Anden Hughes Jeff Hughes Mark Hughes Mitch Hughes Preston Hughes James Hull Randy Hull Tracy Hunnacutt Tyler Hunnacutt Anthony Hurtado Brent Hutchinson Brett Hutchinson Brock Hutchinson Adam Ifland Blake Ifland Kerry Jackson Kurtis Jackson Robbie Jackson Chad Jacobs Jeremy Jacobs Jess Jacobs
Brett Hutchinson
52 Brothers Through The Bone The Players
Michael Jacobs Nathan Jacobs Steven Jacobs Tony Jarrett Kerry Jennings James Johnson Jeremy Johnson Nick Johnson Andy Jones Casey Jones Jordan Jones Scott Jones Taylor Jones Travis Jones Zach Jones Drew Joy Mark Joy Matt Joy Andrew Kattenberg David Kattenberg Darren Kelley David Kelley Tyler Kennedy Gus Kincaid David King Austin Kingsbury Jared Kingsbury Rhett Kingsbury Tracy Kingsbury Troy Kingsbury Tyler Kingsbury Josh Kirchhoff
Brock Hutchinson
Nate Kirchhoff Spencer Kirchhoff Alex Kirnie Justin Kline Scott Kloster Casey Koch Steven Kriley Tom Kriley J.D. Kugler Jayson Kugler John Kugler Steve Kugler A.J. Kuhlmann Garrett Kuhlmann Justin Kuhlmann Kyle Kuhlmann Truitt Kuhlmann Kyle LaGasse Ty LaGasse Andy Lambert Cade Lambert Chuck Lambert Clark Lambert Grant Lambert Jason Lambert John Lambert Josh Lambert Josias Lambert Kenny Lambert Tim Lambert Wesley Lambert Zach Lambert
Andy Gwennap
Smith Center Redmen ~ 1978-2012 Brian Lammey Jacob Lawrence Dallas Lehmann Dirk Lehmann Kris Lehmann Scott Lehmann T.J. Lehmann Nicholas Lehmkuhl Randy LeVan Zach Linn Cole Lorenzen Matt Lyon Taylor Lyon Brandon Mace David Mace Kalen Mace Brett Macklin Frank Macklin Chris Manchester Chris Mansholt Everett Mansholt Henric Martell Lucas Martin Cade Maxwell Caleb Maxwell Chad Maxwell Shane Maxwell Bret Maydew Troy Maydew Randy McAmis Marshall McCall Brad McCoy
Justin Montgomery
Charles McCrary Chase McDonald Cale McDowell Cole McDowell Josh McDowell Shannon McDowell Jeremy McGuire Jay McKenzie Ronnie McMurdo Aaron McNary Dereck McNary Vic McNerney Lucas Meitler Clint Merritt Blake Meyer David Meyer Shawn Mitchell Jared Mocaby Kody Molzahn Trey Molzahn Adam Montgomery Justin Montgomery Scott Montgomery Tony Montgomery Jeff Muck Jesse Mudd Sean Murphy Brian Myers Jon Myers Lonnie Myers Erik Nelson Johnny Nelson
Mike Rogers
Jeff Nelssen Kale Newell Josh Nicholas Denton Nichols Dirk Nichols Jake Nichols Kenny Nichols Shane Nichols Chris Nisbet Brit Nixon Chad Nixon Josh Nixon Justin Nixon Matt Nixon Josh Norton Lane O’Connor Mike O’Leary Kelly O’Rourke Kerry O’Rourke Wyatt Oliver Casey Orr Terry Orr Joe Osburn Joel Osburn Jon Osburn Brent Overmiller Daren Overmiller Drew Overmiller Eric Overmiller Gavin Overmiller Gayle Overmiller Jay Overmiller
Mark Simoneau
Justin Overmiller Kelly Overmiller Kerry Overmiller Marcus Overmiller Matt Overmiller Tim Overmiller Trevor Overmiller William Overmiller Kirk Palmer Nick Palmer Josh Patterson Shane Pawlowski Kenny Pennington Aaron Peterson Brian Peterson Brock Peterson Cody Peterson Seth Peterson Kyle Petrik Shawn Phelps Todd Phillips Roger Philpot Clay Pickel Craig Pickel Richard Pickel Jesse Piotrowski Jarrod Place Brett Pletcher Darin Poyser Kevin Poyser Robert Pruden Tracy Pruden Josh Ramriez Joseph Ranstead Brad Reinking Travis Rempe
Chad Stanley
The Players Brothers Through The Bone 53
Smith Center Redmen ~ 1978-2012 Trevor Rempe Adam Rentschler Chase Rice Kerby Rice Taylor Rippe Daniel Roberts David Roberts Torre Roenne Cale Rogers Clint Rogers Colt Rogers Mike Rogers Adam Rorabaugh Jon Rorabaugh Matt Rorabaugh Jason Roth Shannon Rothchild Weston Rothchild Jesse Roush Kaden Roush Scott Roush Cory Roy Michael Ruhge Zack Rust Mike Ryan Darren Sasse Jake Schenk Kyle Schenk Troy Schenk Dane Scherling Kelly Scheuerman Mark Schlatter
Braden Wilson
Marvin Schlatter Jay Schmidt Monroe Schmidt Stuart Schmidt Monty Schnautz Tony Schnautz Lyle Schoen Timur Schubart Kyle Scott Lucas Scott Matthew Seemann Phil Seemann Aaron Sellars Brandon Shaffer Kale Shank Shandy Shellito Toby Shellito Bill Shively Chad Shockley Jordan Shockley Mike Shockley Shawn Shockley Jeff Simoneau Mark Simoneau Adam Smith Blake Smith Brian Smith Matt Smith Nathan Smith Brad Snow Alex Snyder Jon Speegle
Joe Windscheffel
54 Brothers Through The Bone The Players
Garett Spiess Blake St. Clair J.D. St. Clair J.R. St. Clair John St. Clair Tracy St. Clair Blake St. Clair Bryce Standley Danny Standley Lance Stange Chad Stanley Shane Stanley Joey Stansbury Shawn Stansbury Tim Stansbury Andy Stewart David Stewart Eric Stewart Geoff Stewart Jason Stewart Kyle Stewart Ryan Stewart Todd Stewart Dylan Stocker Robert Strine Dustin Sullivan Shawn Sweat John Terrill Kale Terrill Trenton Terrill David Tharp Ryan Thornton Todd Threlkel Glenn Timmons Lynn Tompkins David Troy Johnny Troy Lynn True Cody Tucker David Tucker Greg Tucker John Tucker Mark Tucker Travis Tucker Van Tucker Logan Tuxhorn
Ryan Tuxhorn Chris Valentine Spencer VanderGiesen Billy Vinsonhaler Jerry Voorhees John Wagner Wyatt Wagner Chris Wanner Marty Wanner Myron Wanner Nick Wanner Dustin Warner Travis Warner Joe Webber Philip Weltmer Steven Weltmer Tim Weltmer Jeff White Donnie Wichers Royce Wichers Caleb Wick Joe Wiehl Steve Wiehl Brandon Wiig Kelly Wiig Andy Wilk Aaron Wilson Braden Wilson Nick Wilson Tim Wilson Jace Winder Jake Windscheffel Joe Windscheffel Austin Woods Curtis Woods Gary Woods Roy Woods Justin York Cole Younger Joel Younger John Zabel Kody Zabel Taylor Zabel Gage Zierlein Steele Zierlein Justin Zimmerman
Center Monuments & Limestone Engraving Natural Limestone | Granite Monuments | Granite Tiles
Computer Solutions is a proud member of the Smith Center community and proud supporter of REDMEN football!
www.centermonuments.com
117 North Main Street • Smith Center, KS 66967
785-282-5246
Congratulations, Coach! Thanks for the
Great Teams Excel,
We Are
REDMEN! not by the talent of individuals, but by individuals offering their talent for the creation of a
Power of One!
785.282.3535
The Peoples Bank
136 South Main Smith Center, KS 66967 Phone: 785-282-6682 Fax: 785-282-3533
705 North F, Smith Center
WWW.NEX-TECH.COM Brothers Through The Bone 55
Bringing Full Service Small Animal Medicine to Smith and Jewell Counties
HOWLAND
Mobile Veterinary Service, LLC Amy Howland, DVM 785-569-1042 howlandmobileservice.com
INSURANCE Kent Fuller
Proud supporter of Redmen athletics! Proud supporters of Redmen athletics!
Supplying Team Sporting Good and Office Supplies
Nancy L Shaffer Franchise Enrolled Agent
104 E KS Ave. Smith Center, KS 66967 Tel 785.282.6755 Fax 785.282.3296 nshaffer@hrblock.com
Find Your Zone! 102 South Second • Norton, KS 67654 (785) 877-2611 PROUD SUPPORTER OF REDMEN ATHLETICS!
Hansen
APPRAISAL SERVICE
BRIGITTE LYON
BRIGITTE LYON AGENCY, INC. 207 SOUTH MAIN P.O. BOX 37 SMITH CENTER, KANSAS 66967
212 W Court Smith Center, Kansas 66967 Proudly supporting the
Smith Center Redmen Central Plains Coop
318 S Madison St. • Smith Center, KS 66967
(785) 282-6813
Office: Toll Free: Fax: Home: E-Mail: Access Anytime:
785.282.3221
Specializing in Farm Equipment Appraisals
785-282-6815 888-788-1014 785-282-3747 785-282-3300 blyon@amfam.com 1-800-MYAMFAM (800-692-6326)
Gillen Carpentry (785) 282-6917
W ’Y N O T STORAGE Smith Center, Kansas
is proud to support Smith Center’s Redmen Alumni 122 West Highway 36 • 785-686-4245
PetersonBrothers Farms
Proud supporters of
REDMEN FOOTBALL
56 Brothers Through The Bone
785-282-0211 785-620-7099
Schmidt Partnership
Grain & Cattle Steve & Jay Smith Center, Kansas
PROUDLY PROMOTING YOUTH ACTIVITIES IN SMITH CENTER Thank you Coach Barta and Coach Hutchinson for your years of commitment to our youth!
SMITH CENTER RECREATION COMMISSION
We Are Redmen Thank you for the memories Coach Barta & Coach Hutchinson!
From all your friends at
SMITH COUNTY BANK Branch of First National Bank and Trust
206 West Hwy 36 - Smith Center 785.282.3100 www.agbank.com
Congratulations! COACH
BARTA AND COACH HUTCHINSON!
877-621-2600
You’ve Changed People’s Lives, including the lives of three New Yorkers. We’re still trying to get a little better each day. Enjoy Pam and your grandkids. Joe, Mary & Jack Drape
www.nex-techwireless.com
Nex-Tech Wireless is eligible to receive support from the Federal Universal Service Fund in designated areas. As a result, Nex-Tech Wireless must meet reasonable requests for service in these areas. Questions or complaints concerning service issues may be directed to the Kansas Corporation Commission Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection by calling 1-800-662-0027.
Brothers Through The Bone 57
A w esom e B lossom
Countr y Lodgings
Kandis A ttw ood owner
y-lodgings.com w w w.countr Come and be our guest in a fully furnished house situated in the heart of Smith County, Kansas. All of our property is clearly marked for our hunters. Contact Norma for pricing on hunts and availability of the lodge. 785-282-8132 or roger_norma_o@hotmail.com
FloralServices • Gourm et coffee Sm oothies • Sodas • Jew elry Purses • Gifts • Etc.
Thank you Roger and Dennis for your years of coaching!
T hank You for d ecad es of E xcellence!
113 N .M ain Street Sm ith Center,KS 785-282-6579 • 785-282-6883
T .J. and A m and a L ehm ann F arm s
From your Redmen Football family!
o ge r a nd la t io n s, R C o ngrat u a ll yo u r s uc c e s s! De n n is, o n r re t ire me n t. En jo y yo u
517 N Monroe St Smith Center, KS
785-282-3536
East Hwy. 36 • Smith Center
785-282-6929
betterwater@ruraltel.net Robert and Sara Pruden, Owners
Proud Smith Center alums!
Gene’s
HEARTLAND
FOODS
W. Hwy 36 • Smith Center, KS (785) 282-3331 www.heartlandfoodsstores.com
Proud supporter of Smith Center schools!
Prairie Winds
MOTEL
Owned and operated by Gaylen and Chris Wiig
17 rooms • Jiffy Burger right across the street • Bird cleaning room Ice • Microwave in lobby 740 E Hwy 36 • Smith Center, KS 66967 (785) 282-6608 cwiig@hotmail.com
Thank you coaches Barta and Hutchinson for being an important part of our sons lives!
Featuring daily lunch specials Downtown Smith Center
Sales, rental, installation, service and repair of water softeners, reverse osmosis water systems and water coolers and bottled water and softener salt sales.
58 Brothers Through The Bone
dent Indepen Living
Skip & M arie O verm iller
Greg & Tamra Frank Traci Oliver, CSR 108 West Kansas • P.O. Box 333 SMITH CENTER, KANSAS 66967 BUS. (785) 282-6658 CELL (785) 282-0271 FAX (785) 282-3843
CROP • AUTO • HOME • FARM • COMMERCIAL • LIFE • ANNUITIES
“Once a Redmen, Always a Redmen”
MACE BODY SHOP 405 ELM STREET SMITH CENTER, KS 66967
(785) 282-3801 1-800-310-3801
Stop in when in town for the first ever Redmen Football Reunion and grab your favorite drink and snack! 104 E Highway 36 • Smith Center, KS 66967
(785) 282-3346
STU CONAWAY, OWNER
n e m d e R e th g n i l e u f y l d Prou e than 30 years! for mor
403 North First P.O. Box 40 (785) 346-5451 FAX (785) 346-2927 Osborne, KS 67473
Proudly serving the following communities with all your agricultural needs!
Hwy 36 • Smith Center
785-282-3571
Dine-in or Carryout
Alton • Bellaire Bloomington • Burr Oak Corinth • Downs Lebanon • Luray Mankato • Osborne Portis • Waldo
www.midwaycoop.com Brothers Through The Bone 59
Coach – you taught us all how to keep our head on the swivel and Z in the knee, both on the FIELD and in LIFE! Thank You!
B&B FLOOR COVERING Barry Brooks Owner
Maxwell Welding & Repair
13091 O Rd • Smith Center, KS 66967 (785) 282-0433
Proud Redmen football family!
Joe Bush and Family Mechanical & Electrical Contracting
Midway Chiropractic, L.L.C.
“The Center of Health & Well Being”
DAVE’S HEATING, COOLING & ELECTRICAL Dave & Regi Conaway
Dr. Michele L. Goscha, D.C. Dr. Kevin A Laumann, D.C.
601 B Street Smith Center, KS 66967
717 East Second Street Smith Center, KS 66967 (785) 282-6818
TEL (785) 282-6711 FAX (785) 282-6633
Your indepedent floor covering installer! Proud supporters and alumni of Smith Center High School.
Congratulations to coaches Barta and Big Hutch and the student athletes who brought pride to SCHS! Jim and Jean Stoddard
Gwennap Hay Proud Redmen football family
davesheating@hotmail.com
311 West Court Street Smith Center, KS
Now featuring PermaCrete vertical and horizontal concrete solutions. • concrete • concrete resurfacing • excavation • lawn irrigation
Like Solid Rock Construction on Facebook or call us at
(785)248-9439.
Hair • Nails • Manicures• Pedicures• Massage•
785-282-6287 888-290-6287
113 E. Court • Smith Center, Kansas
Proud supporter of Smith Center athletics! Enjoy your retirement Roger and Dennis!
Huffman’s Floor Covering -Roger and Janice Allen 60 Brothers Through The Bone
115 S Main Street • Smith Center, KS 66967 (785) 282-6439 • (800) 201-6439
KINGSBURY SERVICE 116 U.S. 36 Hwy • Smith Center
(785) 282-6611
Recently Remodeled Rooms, Refrigerators, Microwaves, VERY Comfortable Beds, Great Low Rates, WiFi & HBO, Semi Parking, Bikers Welcome.
Auto/Truck Repair and Tire Sales and Service Rhett or Marty Kingsbury 817 North Main Smith Center, KS 66967
(785) 686-4199
Call to reserve your room for the Redmen Football Reunion weekend!
Smith Center Building Center, Inc. Lumber and Building Material
300 S. Main • P.O. Box 373 Smith Center, KS 66967 785-282-6060 Don Holmes
Fax: (785) 686-4042
Thank you coach for your commitment to the hundreds of Smith Center Redmen football players you mentored over the years.
Dennis Schmidt
Michael Hooper
Graphics Central Printing & Photography
Proud to support high school athletes and their coaches!
Downtown Smith Center (888) 560-4612 Congratulations Coach Barta and Coach Hutch on all you accomplished with the Redmen program!
117 W. Highway 36 Smith Center, KS 66967 (785) 282-6644
FOR RESERVATIONS ONLY: 1-800-727-7332 Prou d to su pport Sm ith C enter sch ools!
The Perfect Small Town Stopping Points For Your Trip! www.buckshotinn.com | Monte & Barbara Jones, Owners
HOME ON THE RANGE
CAMPGROUND & RV PARK Six miles west of Smith Center on Hwy 36
915 East H w y.36 Sm ith C en ter,KS
50Amp full hook-ups and free WIFI to make your stay an enjoyable one!
( 785) 282-3272
FOR RESERVATIONS CALL: 785-282-6644
SCHOEN FUMIGATION, INC. SMITH CENTER LIONS CLUB
PR OU DR ED ME NF OO TB AL LF AM ILY
Smith Center, KS 800-332-3953
USDOT 330800 License #3927
If you have a leak, we’ll take a peak!
KINGSBURY PLUMBING (785) 282-0190
Meeting the second and fourth Mondays of the month
Proud to support Smith Center schools!
Proud to be REDMEN! DALE AND CLAY 1.9125 in
Brothers Through The Bone 61
It has been Cecil Lambert's enjoyment to watch sons and grandsons play for the Redmen. Especially State Championship games in 1979, 1982, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. Good Luck to 2013 grandsons Cale Rogers, Grant Lambert, Clint Rogers!
Wagner Farms Your local Triumph and Channel certified seed supplier.
Proud to support Redmen athletics!
62 Brothers Through The Bone
Proud supporter of Smith Center athletics!
Smith Center, KS
Kelly Lyon Family
Quarries, LLC Physical Address 5011 “K” Road Smith Center, KS 66967 Mailing Address 414 E. Kansas Ave. Smith Center, KS 66967 Quarry Phone: 785-695-2244 or 785-282-0998
Promotional Advertising and Graphic Design Services • Pens • Trade Show Materials • Screen Printed T-Shirts • Caps • Jackets • Embroidery Skyline Marketing • Calendars P.O. Box 165 • Mugs Smith Center, KS • Signs sschmidt@skylinemw.com • Banners • Awards 785-282-0678 • Gifts • Etc.
Garen L. Kuhlmann CPA, CHTD.
Ingleboro Mansion B&B 120 E. Court PO Box 265 Smith Center, KS 785-282-6867 www.garenlkuhlmanncpachtd.com
This old Victorian Mansion provides a wonderful couple’s retreat, or a home away from home for business people, travelers, or hunters. Reserve your stay today!
www.ingleboromansion.com 319 N Main St • Smith Center, KS 785-282-3798
V&K Trash
Hutch & Sons
MOWING 608 W. Court 785-282-1064
rEMOVAL
Congratulations, Dad, on your amazing career. Enjoy your retirement. From two of your biggest fans. Love, Shelby and Carrie!
Jones M achinery,Inc. W e B uy,S ell & T rad e D aily
935 E . H w y 36 S m ith C enter,K S 785-282-3000 w w w .jonesm achineryinc.com
Thank You, Sponsors Because this publication is distributed free through the more than 80 sponsors it’s fair to say it would not be possible without each and every sponsor’s support, and, as a result, the first ever Smith Center Redmen Football Reunion would not be possible either. Thank you, sponsors, for making this publication, and the reunion, a reality.
26042 N. Road Gaylord, KS 67638 785-697-2935
Ag Care by Air Helping the farmer feed the world with aerial application!
Business: 785-282-6808 Cell: 785-282-0344
Thank you to the leadership of the Smith Center football program for all you’ve done for the youth of our community!
American Lutheran Church Smith Center, Kansas
Brothers Through The Bone 63
You’re invited to the first ever
Redmen Football Reunion
Saturday, June 8, 2013 Hubbard Stadium, Smith Center, Kansas All current and former players, coaches, parents, trainers, cheerleaders, band members, and any supporters of Smith Center Redmen football are encouraged to attend!
Event details (times subject to change): 5:30 p.m. - Free Tailgate Style Meal
(Limited to the first 1,000 in attendance - the meal will be served by the Tailgate Committee from the concession stand at the complex and the complex restrooms will be available for public use)
7 p.m. - Program Begins 7:20 - Group Photo
All former players, trainers, and coaches who played for, or coached with, coaches Barta and Hutchinson will gather for a group photo
7:40 - ? - Program Continues
Speakers including former Smith Center players
The Redmen football complex will be open and a slideshow will run continuously. The Redcaps will be selling apparel items as a fundraiser.
RSVP: If you plan to attend please send your head
count to smithcenterfootballreunion@gmail.com, or, join the Smith Center Redmen Football Facebook group and request to be added to the invitation list for the reunion. Please use one of the two methods to RSVP as it will allow organizers to anticipate meal needs.
Lodging: If overnight accommodations are needed please consider the following facilities: Buckshot Inn, (785) 282-6644 Prairie Winds Motel, (785) 282-6608 US Center Motel, (785) 282-6611 Country Lodgings, (785)-282-8132 Ingelboro Mansion B&B, (785) 282-3798
Rain Date: Noon, Sunday, June 9, 2013
Photo cutlines/credit Page 5 - Roger Barta picture courtesy of the Smith County Pioneer, Dennis Hutchinson picture courtesy of the Smith Center High School In-House Training class, scanned from a Smith Center High School yearbook. Page 6 - Roger Barta tutors junior Curtis Baetz, a transfer from Lebanon High School. (Photo courtesy Ryan Murphy, scanned from the 1982 Smith Center High School yearbook) Page 7 - Dennis Hutchinson monitors the action from the sideline during the 2006 state championship game. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 11 - Top: The 1979 Smith Center Redmen battle Sacred Heart. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer); Bottom: Mike Rogers finds an opening against Wellsville in the 1982 state championship game. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer) Page 12 - Top: The 1986 Smith Center Redmen celebrate their state championship victory over Sabetha. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer); Bottom: Josh Ramriez runs for the end zone against Silver Lake as Dave Tharp, Everett Mansholt and Kyle Scott provide blocking. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer) Page 13 - Top: The 1999 Smith Center Redmen celebrate their state championship victory. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer); Bottom: The 2004 Smith Center Redmen celebrate their state championship victory. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 14 - Top: Kerby Rice heads for the end zone in the title game. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer); Bottom: The Redmen offense
64 Brothers Through The Bone
lines up for another play against St. Marys. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 15 - Top: The 2007 Smith Center Redmen celebrate their state championship. (Photo courtesy Dave Tharp, scanned from the Smith County Pioneer); Bottom: The 2008 Smith Center Redmen celebrate their state championship. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 16 - The 2009 Smith Center Redmen celebrate their semifinal victory. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 19-32 - Photos courtesy of Brock Hutchinson’s InHouse Training class, scanned from the All-League photos hanging in the Smith Center weight room. Page 38 - Brock Hutchinson prior to the 2006 state championship game. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 39 - Brooks Barta has been perhaps the most successful former Redmen player who went on to coach, leading Holton to three state titles. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame) Page 41 - Andy Lambert with a group of former Smith Center players who played for him at Trinity International. (Photo courtesy Galen Lambert) Page 44 - Caleb Wick (second from left) circled up with staff and players after a 2012 Jackson Heights game. (Photo courtesy Don Wick) Page 46 - Clint Merritt, head coach at Hugoton High School. (Photo courtesy Hugoton High School journalism) Page 48 - Dave King and Andy Gwennap on the sideline at Russell High School. (Photo by Marion McReynolds, For Kansas Pregame)
Page 49 - Jerry Vorhees and Brent Overmiller coaching the Thunder Ridge Longhorns. (Photo by Julie Kuhlmann, juliekuhlmannphotography.com) Page 52 - Brooks Barta went on to become the second alltime leading tackler in Kansas State football history after his high school career at Smith Center. (Photo courtesy K-State Athletics); Brett Hutchinson played multiple positions for the Fort Hays State University Tigers, eventually starting at fullback. His brother Brock, a long-time Smith Center football and wrestling coach, earned All-RMAC honors as a defensive back for the Tigers. (Photos courtesy the Hutchinson family); Andy Gwennap went on to play offensive line for the University of Nebraska, including getting several reps in Big 12 competition. (Photo courtesy the Gwennap family) Page 53 - Justin Montgomery earned All Big 12 honors as a K-State defensive lineman. (Photo courtesy K-State Athletics); Mike Rogers played running back and kick returner at the University of Kansas. (Photo courtesy the Rogers family, scanned from the cover of the 1987 KU Homecoming program); Mark Simoneau went on to a hall of fame career as a K-State linebacker and spent 10 seasons in the NFL. (Photo courtesy K-State athletics); Chad Stanley lettered as a fullback for the University of Nebraska and later joined some of his Nebraska teammates as a collegiate coach. (Photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska) Page 54 - Braden Wilson earned All Big 12 recognition as a fullback for K-State. (Photo courtesy K-State Athletics); Joe Windscheffel played a key role in Pittsburg State’s National Championship season in 2011. (Photo courtesy Pitt. State Athletics)
s e h c a o C , U THANK YO Redmen and r e t n e C h t i m S from the 2012 ng i p o l e v e d r o f , t en m e l p m I k r a m ! s Land a s n a K n i m a gr o r p l l a b t o o f t s the be
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