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Sports

2012-11-09 08:16:18

History of football in southeast Kansas. Part 2

There’s a reason former Crawford County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau director Craig Hull referred to this county in the corner of the state as The Football Capital of Kansas.

Simply, it’s because it has produced winning football teams. In the second installment of a series looking back on the history of football in southeast Kansas, I will give an overview of the great team accomplishments at the college and high school levels over the years. The Pittsburg State Gorillas are one of the premier football programs in all of NCAA Division II. Pitt State is the defending national champion, winning its second D-II title in 2011 and fourth national title overall. The Gorillas’ other D-II title came in 1991, while they captured NAIA championships in 1957 and 1961. Pitt State has won 11 MIAA titles and has produced two Harlon Hill winners – Ronnie West and Ronald Moore -- and 120 NCAA All-Americans. Over the past 20 years or so, numerous Gorillas have made it to the NFL, including West, Moore, punter Brian Moorman, long snapper Kendall Gammon and defensive back Darryl Wren. Three current Gorillas – linebacker Nate Dreiling, wide receiver John Brown and defensive end Gus Toca – were named preseason All-Americans by D2football.com. The Gorilla program also has quite the coaching tree. Current Texas State coach Dennis Franchione, who also has coached at Alabama, Texas A&M and TCU, helped build the program into a powerhouse in the late 1980s. Chuck Broyles took over in 1990 and went on to have one of the best records in Division II history, going 198-47-2 and leading the Gorillas to one national title (1991) and three other title game appearances (1992, 1995 and 2004). Current TCU coach Gary Patterson and current Minnesota coach Jerry Kill have been assistants at Pitt State. Pittsburg High School also has a storied tradition. The Purple Dragons football team has advanced to the Kansas High School Activities Association playoffs 28 times, winning state titles in 1983, 1988 and 1990. The Dragons also won a state title in 1954, before the playoff system started. Pittsburg has produced several great players over the years, including the Meier brothers. Kerry Meier, a star receiver at KU, is on the Atlanta Falcons roster, while Shad Meier played several seasons in the NFL as a tight end for the Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints. Adam Meier played as a defensive back for Pittsburg State and the late Dylan Meier was a quarterback at Kansas State. Other top PHS products include former Colorado State quarterback Kevin Verdugo, as well as Brian Hutchins, Brian Pinamonti and Matt Pinamonti, who all had solid careers at Pitt State. The St. Mary’s-Colgan Panthers hold the state’s top winning percentage at nearly 81 percent with 556 victories in the program’s history. While Colgan’s program has been good for decades, it took the success to another level in the early 2000s. During that stretch, the Panthers own the state’s second longest winning streak with 66 consecutive victories. Colgan won four consecutive Class 2-1A state titles from 2000 to 2003 before falling to Smith Center in the 2004 state title game. Colgan’s Chuck Smith is one of only six coaches in Kansas history to earn 300 wins. In addition to the titles in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, Smith also coached Colgan to a state title in 1984. Before Smith, the Panthers were coached by Frank Crespino, who directed Colgan to state championships in 1974 and 1975 and is in the KSHSAA Hall of Fame. Frontenac, with 631 wins in its program history, is second to only Lawrence for all-time victories in the state. The Raiders have advanced to several state title games and won the 2-1A state championship in 1994. Girard had several strong teams under the late Craig Crespino and now is building some more tradition under former Frontenac coach Leon Miller. Southeast and Northeast are both experiencing their best seasons in recent history under coaches Clint Rider and Phil Hobbs, respectively.