50th Anniversary Football

Memories of One of the “Originals”

A er 50 years some of the memories get a little confabulated as to which season it was in which these things occurred, but all the things mentioned below are ABSOLUTELY TRUE! (...honest…not kidding…probably…)

I remember 2 a day practices in the fall heat. We would hit, run, exercise, sweat and occasionally get a water break (if things were going well). I don’t remember anyone dying from heat exhaustion so I guess we were being properly conditioned. :-) I also remember later practices on the lot ( eld?) west of the old (old) High School on 8th street…when the snow had come down and there was probably 2-3 inches of slush on the ground. Boy it was fun to tackle the running backs in the slush! Of course a couple of days later when the mud and slush had frozen solid it was a little more painful and less fun.

I remember the coaches building the team. e idea of encouraging each other and realizing that there weren’t really any “stars” out there but a group of guys who were working together. Some could run, some could pass, some could block, some could tackle, some could kick the ball, but it took the whole team to accomplish a win. ese ideas were not really new to Hermann players but now they were getting applied in a much di erent environment than that of a basketball court.

I remember the rst “exhibition” or “practice” game we had in 1969 against St. Francis Borgia and how we did not win the game. I know some of the Hermann guys played in “practive jerseys” that had electrical tape on the back for our numbers. We lost badly but we got to play football and we were learning! In the next two years we would all grow a lot in how to execute plays, how to function as a team, and we wanted to PLAY FOOTBALL. When the rst game of the 1971 season came up we were de nitely ready to be tested. Evidently there were some folks who thought that we were NOT READY to play a team like the Washington BlueJays. I’m not sure if the negative expectations that we heard annoyed us and spurred us on or we were just pumped to get going but we played a game that shocked the BlueJays. e results of that encounter are pretty well known…the Jays won with a single touchdown and we should have been awarded a touchdown of our own but it was rolled back by a bad call by the referees.

I remember coaches…Collins, Jobe, Vernon who took on the task of molding these Hermann country boys into a functioning football team. I know they were frustrated at times with lack of performance or attitude of players but for the most part these guys all contributed a HUGE AMOUNT to the development of the character and abilities of the guys who showed up to play. ey deserve a huge THANK YOU for the work that they did in building up the team and the program.

Being part of the birth of football in Hermann is something I will always remember. It was one of those “once in a lifetime” things that I get to share with a few other teammates/friends when we get together, even 50 years later.

Chris Rethemeyer, Class of ‘72, Rightside Defensive End

Winning by the seat of the pants (Union game Sept 24 1971)

In the first home varsity football game ever played in Hermann, we were ahead of highly ranked Union 14-7 in the fourth quarter. Union’s most dangerous running back Mark Schmidt had scored their only touchdown. Union had the ball deep in their territory, but when the ball was passed to Schmidt at the right sideline, he was off, and looked like he might go all the way. >From my position at right inside linebacker, it was clear to me I was the only Hermann player who could stop him. After he had run 53 yards down the sideline, I ran full tilt across the field and lunged for him as he went by. My fingertips just caught the seat of Schmidt’s pants and I held on for dear life and dragged him down. It was kind of an embarrassing way to tackle him but I knew it was the only way. We As our luck would have it, they threw to Schmidt again on the next play (practically a repeat) but this time I was on top of him after a couple of yards, he fumbled the ball, and I recovered it. Our first home victory was safe!

A close call ...and an easy decision (Warrenton game)

We were tied at 6-6 with Warrenton at the end of the 4th quarter although we felt we had the stronger team. Just when it seemed we couldn’t do anything right, Warrenton fumbled a pitch between two running backs and Dave Dothage fell on it in their end zone for a touchdown. 12-6! After we kicked off, Warrenton keep driving, and with seconds left, made a long pass play where I was able to pull their receiver down at the 1 yd line. As they attempted a run into the end zone, we held them out, but someone hit my helmet and neck in a way that knocked me down with a jolt of nerve pain going down both arms. At seeing me unable to get up on my own immediately, the official called an injury timeout ( with 2 seconds left!) I had to leave the game for the next play, and Warrenton went around end to score a touchdown! Such misery! But luck again was on our side. A red flag was thrown on an illegal motion on the play! I ran back on the field as the official explained my decision: White captain, if you accept the penalty, the touchdown is nullified and you win the game. If you decline the penalty, the touchdown is good and you might lose the game. Which do you choose.? I paused and smiled...”Let me see now.”

Because the Warrenton coach started arguing with the officials, our head coach Jack Jobe yelled at us to run off the field and get on the bus, which felt like an odd way to celebrate our victory (and I’m sure the fans were confused because the scoreboard showed 12-12, not reflecting the penalty reversal). We did celebrate our close 12-6 victory all the way home!

Mark Southman

1971

Football memories from 50 years ago

My football memories started in 1968 when I was a freshman at St. George and heard there was going to be a new football program at Hermann High School. Since I already had friends there, I made the decision to transfer my sophomore year which started in the fall of 1969 I enjoyed running sports and looked forward to getting the chance to try a new team sport that allowed plenty of contact. Fall 1969- Don Collins was our rst coach and we practiced in white practice jerseys and pants, pads and helmets. We had the minimum amount of equipment since we were a new program. Coach Collins job was to try to make a football team out of 19 freshmen and sophomore kids that had no experience in football other than what we picked up on our own. is rst season was focused on teaching us from scratch the fundamentals of the game, teamwork, discipline, and lots of physical conditioning. We practiced on the ball eld behind the old high school that is currently abandoned on 8th and Washington St. At the start of the season, there was a little grass on the eld. at didn’t last long and by the end of the season It was like running on concrete…..until it rained and turned to mud which was at least a little so er when getting tackled. We also had to be careful where we ran as there was concrete curb and gutter along 8th street. It only took one time running the ball and getting tackled up against that curb and my sore hip reminded me not to go that direction again. Another sore spot was the shoes we had to wear. I remember they felt like wooden shoes with rubber cleats…stu as a board with no cushion. every day running on that concrete dirt made my feet ache. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the high tech shoes we have today so we got along with what we had. at rst season we practiced a lot and only got the opportunity to test our skills on one game against St. Francis Borgia. ey beat us pretty bad….36-0 so I guess we had a lot to learn. I wasn’t allowed to play in that game since I had just transferred or they may have beaten us by even more.

Fall 1970- Don Collins was replaced by Jack Jobe as head coach. Coach Jobe had played some college ball as a quarterback (I think) so he knew the game. He picked up where Collins le o and we continued to hone our skills under the new Jobe way of doing things. I was a junior then along with the rest of my team mates who started with me in 1969 who stayed with the program and the new incoming freshmen who also joined the team. We also picked up some old classmates coming from St. George since it was now closed. at year we played as a junior varsity team and not at the varsity level. I remember playing in at least one game where I think we did win but I won’t swear to that. What I do remember is that we started to become a real football team that year. Coach Jobe was a great coach in my opinion. He was big into teaching proper techniques, tactics, loved to run the ball (which I liked since I was a wing back) and was big into physical conditioning. is was about the time that the new high school was being built and was around this time that we were able to practice on a little better eld. As in the past, we spent most of our time practicing and just played a few games but we began to develop as a team that was learning how to play the game. We de nitely were getting stronger. During pre-season in early August we would have 2, two hour practices per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. is went on I think a few weeks until school started. A few days without pads and then full contact. at was the painful time until the body caught up, healed all of the abuse and got stronger where the strain and pounding we took didn’t hurt anymore and “almost” became fun. Coach Jobe was big into making us run wind sprints-running 30 yard, to as long as he said, yard dashes. He used this to make us stronger, and also to make us smarter, if we didn’t perform correctly or put out enough e ort into what we were doing. He was a good motivator and those of us who wanted to be there and improve respected him for that. We were de nitely a physically t team. However, in those days, the importance of hydration was not a topic of conversation as it is today. e attitude of that time was if we didn’t work hard enough at practice as a team, we weren’t allowed to get a drink. It was almost as if there was a water shortage anyway because even when we did good, we only got 2-3 water breaks no matter how hot it was. In addition to that, since we were sweating so much, the theory of the day was that we needed to replace the salt that we were sweating out. So, before every practice we had to take at least 2 salt tables big enough to choke a horse. By the time practice was over, we were so thirsty that it was a foot race to the indoor refrigerated water cool to suck down as much water as you could get before the guy behind you shoved you out of the way to get his turn at the trough. ankfully, there was a very nice farmer in the Rhineland bottoms that had a real nice watermelon patch that helped us get rehydrated a er a few practices.

Fall 1971- is was the year that we nally became a varsity team and with 2 years of practice we were ready to play some football games and see what we could do. Coach Jobe got Randy Vernon as an assistant coach who helped keep us in line. e season started like the previous year with practice and condi tioning. We had come a long way as a team, becoming like a band of brother itching to get into battle. Everyone had earned a position where they t the best. I was an o ensive wingback and defensive half back also playing on all of the special teams so I never had to set out which I liked. All of that running made the job much easier. Our rst ever Hermann Varsity football game was against Washington the previous year conference champions. I don’t think they were too worried about us and got a surprise. ey beat us 8-0 but that’s not the full story. John Du ner ran back a punt return for a touchdown which the referees called it back saying he ran out of bounds. Game lm later showed that he didn’t touch the line by at least 2-3 inches. Second game of season was a win over Sullivan 19-0. Our third and rst ever home game was with another conference powerhouse, Union. Our home eld was brand new and was not perfectly level with some low spots. About mid-day on the day of the game, it rained and put some water puddles on the eld. Someone came up with the idea to call Stanley Binkhold er to bring his MFA fuel truck and spray fuel oil on the water holes to burn o the water. at didn’t work out the best. I remember during the rst part of the game getting tackled in one of the low spots with fuel oil smelling water, with someone laying on my head and hoping it was shallow enough to suck air and not water. We ended up winning the rst ever Bearcat home game 14-7. Next was Bowling Green with a 0-28 loss. I sat out the second half of the game with a slight concussion. A picture showed I got tackled, ipped upside down in the air and slammed to the ground, hitting the back of my head on the ground. Setting on the bench my vision was like I was looking through a straw. Dark everywhere with a small hole in the middle. Everything got back to normal that night but had one recurrence of the tunnel vision setting in class a few months later. A er Bowling Green loss we lost to Owensville 0-2, beat Warenton 12-6, lost to St. James 6-9, lost to Paci c 6-20 and ended the season beating St. Clair 21-20 ending the rst Varsity football season with 4 wins and 5 losses. We ended the season and our high school careers knowing that we had been the rst team to wear a Bearcat Football uniform. We all had hoped for a winning season but that was le up to the teams that followed us.

is is my memory of what took place 50 years ago. e memories were all made possible by the coaches who guided and encouraged us, and my team mates who became like brothers in battle. ese times will never be forgotten (unless I get Alzheimer’s from that Bowling Green game.) e best thing about these memories is, I get to re-live them every time I get to watch my grandsons, Daeden, Easton, Tayven and Myles, out there on the playing eld, working on their own memories.

Danny Baumstark #25. Graduating Class of 1972

1972 cont.

Some ootball Memories y im enning Member of 1st Varsity HHS Football Team

I have so many memories of that first varsity season. Here are just a few .

Our first game against Washington, who was heavily favored to beat us. We lost that game with a final score of - . In that game, we had a punt return touchdown by John Duffner called back, with the officials claiming that he had stepped out of bounds. e game film clearly demonstrated that he never did step out!

OCOur first home game was against a heavily favored Union team. We beat them in an upset, 14-7. It was a magical game and stands as the first HHS home varsity win on record. I vividly remember walking off the field and passing by Union’s all-state defensive lineman. He was crying hard, repeatedly saying, I don’t believe this (expletive) I don’t believe this (expletive).”

OI also remember the facilities we had to work with. e football equipment we wore paled by comparison to what exists for players today. For example, the inside of a helmet had a single pad at the top and two horseshoe shaped pads at the ears, all connected by straps. at was it!

ractices took place on a field which was nothing but dirt there was not a blade of grass to be found on it. During practices, that dirt baked hard and was not a friendly surface to encounter with one’s body. On the other hand, our games were wonderful as we actually played on a field of nicely-maintained grass!

Ill never forget the camaraderie that we forged as members of that first varsity season nor the fact that we finished that season with a record of four wins and five losses.

1993

Raylene Hollrah, Agent

a ground-source

pump installed at my home.

I pay half as much to heat and cool my home, and heat some of

to help ‘save the

for free.

Now it’s returning the

had a ground-source heat pump installed at my home. Now I pay half as much to heat and cool my home, and heat some of my water for free.

had a ground-source heat pump installed at my home. Now I pay half as much to heat and cool my home, and heat some of my water for free.

try to help ‘save the earth.’ Now it’s returning the favor.

try to help ‘save the earth.’ Now it’s returning the favor.

new lines and

to

power, even in the worst storm conditions,

linemen

to find out how you can start saving energy and

too!

to

www.TakeControlAndSave.coop to find out how you can start saving energy and money too!

www.TakeControlAndSave.coop to find out how you can start saving energy and money too!

1970’s

Head Coaches –

Jack Jobe (1970-1974)

Joe Battles (1975-1978)

Dave Fleer (1979-1982)

Highlights – 1st winning season (1978 record: 5-4)

1971 (1st varsity win was against Sullivan 19-0, 1st touchdown in program history was a 32 yard touchdown pass from Tim Penning to Steve Lenger)

1980’s

Head Coaches –Joe Battles (1983-1984)

Bob Bailey (1985-1991)

All-State Players – Kurt Speckhals (1988)

Highlights – Winning Season (1985 record: 6-4)

Craig Fredrick set the career tackle record of 439 in 1989

1990’s

Head Coaches –

Doug Smith (1992-1993)

Mike Hunter (1994-1999)

All-State Players – Mike Grosse (1990), Justin Wyatt (1993), JR Witthaus (1995 & 1996), Shane McGuire (1996), Bradley Cox (1996), Ryan Wehner (1998)

Highlights – Chris Heldt set the career sack record of 18, and single sack record of 12. In the 1990 season Kirby Struttmann set the single season tackle record of 176 in 1990. Shane McGuire set the single season interceptions record with 8 in 1996.

Fewest points allowed in a season (1996, 7.1 points per game)

Conference Champions (1996)

District Champions (1995, 1996, 1998)

2000’s

Head Coaches –Matt Smith (2000)

Chip Stutzman (2001-2008)

Brendan Gubera (2009-2011)

All State Players – Any Emmons (2002 & 2003), Brady Schwartz (2002 & 2003), Peter Vance (2002), Craig Koenig (2002), Colby Smith (2005 & 2006), Shane Graue (2005), Brady Houska (2006), Wil Lampkin (2006), Taylor Cameron (2006 & 2007), Logan Witthaus (2006), Seth VanBooven (2007), Jacob Murphy (2007), Danny Mundwiller (2007), Justin Wurtz (2009), Greg Wright (2009)

Highlights – 2006 season was the record for most points in a season (43.8 points per game).

Also during the 2006 season Taylor Cameron set the single season receiving record of 946 yards in 2006.

During the 2009 season, Justin Wurtz set the single season solo tackle record of 120.

Conference Champions (2002 & 2003)

District Champions (2006 & 2007)

State Semi nalist (2006)

2010’s

Head Coaches –

Andy Emmons (2012-present)

All – State Players: Zach Speckhals (2013 & 2014), Colton Hale (2014 & 2015), Joey Hanger (2015 & 2016), Garrett Leimkuehler (2016), Trent Gleeson (2019)

Highlights – Most points in a single game (66; 9/27/2013 vs Owensville), Lucas Budnik set the career passing yards record at 4579 from 2009-2011, he also set the single season passing record of 2577 (2010), and single season passing TD’s at 20.

10/16/2015- set MSHSAA record with 90 rushing attempts in one game. As a team we rushed for 707 yards which is the second most rushing yards in a game in state history. e Bearcats also racked up 31 rst downs in the game which is third most in state history. Garrett Leimkuehler set the Hermann single game rushing record on this date with 304 yards on 31 carries.

2015 season- During the 2015 season Hermann rushed for an average of 432 yards per game which is second most and rushed for a total of 4732 yards for the season which places that team at 10th all time.

9/16/2016 Garrett Leimkuehler set the single game touchdown record of six.

In the 2016 football season: Garret Leimkuehler set the season rushing record of 2370 in 2016 and also set the record for career rushing yards at 5678 from 2013-2016. Garrett also set the record for career points at 559, career touchdowns at 81, single season points 230 (2016), and single season TD’s at 31 (2016).

During the 2019 season Trent Gleeson set the single season record for tackles for a loss of 26 and also Trent Gleeson tied the record for single season sacks with 12 In 2019. 9/27/2019 double overtime homecoming win against Owensville to bring the Gasconade County Bowl trophy back to Hermann.

2020’s

All State Players – Seth Hackmann (2021)

Highlights – 9-3-2021 Coach Emmons wins his 52 game as head coach surpassing his former coach (Chip Stutzman) as the winningest coach in program history.

2022

Todd Anderson and many more put together a program to celebrate 50 years of Hermann Football. Leah Lerbs compiled information and narrated the celebration. e celebration was attended by many past and present bearcats and their family’s. is commemorative booklet is presented by the sponsors found within these pages, and the Hermann Advertiser Courier sta . A Special thanks to Mark Southman for his time, e ort and LOVE of Hermann Football.

Hermann celebrates 50 years of football!

Numerous generations of Hermann Bearcat football legends showed up the night of Friday, Sept. 2, for a special ceremony in their honor. And that happened to be an observance of 50 years of great high school football action in the community.

Current and former coaches, assistant coaches, players, and others all took to the eld of Bearcat Memorial Stadium prior to Hermann’s varsity contest with South Callaway. ere were introductions galore, and plenty of recitation of all the highlights; exciting moments, plays, and games that have occurred since that rst season of 1969-’70 and on up to the present moments.

It was noted that the competition was likely unpleasantly surprised to discover that Hermann produced a decently robust squad for the rst edition more than a half century ago. at initial group of rowdy gridiron Bearcats came away with a 4-5 record that featured some narrow losses.

Besides a ne representation of that trailblazing group of Bearcats, other coaches and team members from each decade: the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and the rst years of the 20s, all received raucous applause from the Bearcat faithful as they were introduced and walked onto the eld.

Among those highlights: the rst winning record of 5-4 set for the 1978 season. Many individual player and coach records were noted, all lasting well through the 1980s and 1990s, up to the present. It was pointed out that Hermann featured an extraordinarily mighty and strong defense in the 90s. e rst conference championship was achieved in the 1996 season, and there were district championships in 1995, 1996, and 1998.

Past Head Coach Chip Stutzman was honored for the titles his teams reached in the early 2000s, including the state semi nals in 2006, which turned out to be a record season. at team boasted of scoring 43.8 points on average per game.

e list of All-State players grew for Hermann in the early 2000s. Andy Emmons has been the team’s head coach since 2012, and the program’s high-water mark in points scored was attained in 2013 -- a whopping 66 against Owensville.

Lucas Budnik set the career passing yards record from 2009-’11 with 4,579. He also had the single-season passing record of 2,577 yards in 2010, among his other feats. Garrett Leimkuehler has the Bearcats’ single-game rushing record with 304 yards on 31 carries.

Hermann’s football traditions have lasted into the present day. Coach Emmons is the Bearcats’ winningest coach to date with 52 victories as of this time in 2021.

All facets of the game were congratulated, including the work of Norman Budnik as a member of the chain gang for 41 seasons. e celebratory program was prepared by Hermann High School Athletic Director Todd Anderson.

Danny Baumstark was among those representing the early years of the Hermann program, and spoke of his favorite memories for the Advertiser-Courier.

“It’s about the best thing in my life so far,” he quipped a er the ceremony. Now, he can take pride in the football exploits of two grandsons who are creating their own football tradition.

Assistant Coach Randy Vernon, also representing the early 1970s, spoke on his impressions of the 50-year celebration. His honor extended to participating in the coin toss that preceded Friday night’s game.

“It was fantastic to be on the eld with all the former players,” Vernon said. “It brings back a lot of memories.”

One of those proud moments, he continued, was when Hermann upset Union in 1971. To Vernon, that was a milestone for the Bearcat program. He’s also enjoyed seeing players start with no experience and grow into their best abilities on the eld, and said the original team can be quite pleased with what they did to start the tradition in Hermann.

“It was also a pleasure to coach with Jack Jobe,” said Vernon. Jobe was unable to attend and participate in the ceremony, but was recalled as an integral part of the Hermann football program’s beginnings.

Ray Scherer