Kansas Pregame, Volume 13
By Mark Schremmer For Kansas Pregame Longtime Fort Scott coach Bob Campbell plans to relish every moment of this fall. Not only will it be the senior season for his son, Matt, it also will be his final year on the Tigers’ sidelines. Bob Campbell enters his 23rd and final season as Fort Scott’s head coach with an impressive résumé that includes two state championships (1996, 2000), three runner-up finishes (1999, 2001, 2002), and a combined record of 179-60. It will end his second stint with Fort Scott. He directed the Tigers to a record of 124-34 from 1992-2005 before leaving to take a position at SEK Financial in Fort Scott. Bob then returned in 2010 as a Rule 10 coach, leading the Tigers to a record of 55-26 and seven playoff appearances over the past eight seasons. “It’s been difficult to do both jobs,” Bob said. “The business has grown, and it keeps us really busy. It got me to start thinking that maybe I should step away from coaching. With Matt being a senior, it seems like a good time to do that after this year. I told the school that this fall would be my last year. I felt like it was the right time.” Matt, who is projected to start at quarterback for the Tigers, said he expects to share many of the same emotions with his dad this season. “It will be fun,” he said. “For both of us, we will go through our last first practice. Then our last pregame practice. Then our last home game …” A 1985 graduate of Uniontown High School, Bob competed in football, basketball, and track and field. He also played American Legion baseball in the summer. He was the starting quarterback for the football team and won a Class 3A state championship in the javelin as a senior. Bob went on to participate in football and track and field at Pittsburg State University. He was a backup quarterback for two seasons, earning a letter in 1986. He also excelled in the javelin, earning NAIA All-America status in 1987 and 1988, as well as all-conference honors all four seasons. His mark of 222-10 set in 1989 remains the fifth best javelin throw in Pittsburg State history. And although Bob played football for only two seasons, he absorbed a lot of knowledge from a couple of outstanding coaches at Pittsburg State. Dennis Franchione, who went on to coach at Alabama and Texas A&M, was the head coach. Jerry Kill, who went on to coach at Southern Illinois and the University of Minnesota, served as the offensive coordinator. It’s no coincidence that several Pittsburg State players from that era – Campbell, Scott Bailey (Lamar, Mo.), John Roderique (Webb City, Mo.), Jesse Wall (Carl Junction, Mo.), Blaise Bauer (Galena, Girard), and Kurt Thompson (Webb City, Springfield-Kickapoo) – went on to have successful careers as high school football coaches in Kansas and Missouri. “Coach Franchione and Coach Kill were both tremendous influences on me,” Bob said. “I was really fortunate to be around them and to learn so much. I can’t say that I knew where their careers would lead, but you could tell that you were around people who knew the game and knew how to coach it. You had a feeling that they were destined for bigger things, and it continued on page 88
Bob & Matt CAMPBELL
Page 87
(Photos by Derek Livingston, dereklivingston.zenfolio.com)
THE BOB CAMPBELL FILE
TIGERS
Hobbies: Fantasy Football Favorite subject: Math Favorite food: “Anything my wife fixes is excellent!” Favorite musician: “I like lots of different music When I don’t know the lyrics, I come up with my own.” Favorite pregame song: “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses Most memorable high school football moment as a player: “Advancing to the state semi-finals as a sophomore in 1982 before losing to Clifton-Clyde.”
THE MATT CAMPBELL FILE
RT MATT CAMPBELL, QB, FO
SCOTT, SR.
Hobbies: Fishing and Golfing Favorite subject: History Favorite food: Steak Favorite musician: Jason Aldean Favorite pregame song: “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses Most memorable high school football moment: “Winning the District Championship last year on the final play.”