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Top Stories: Smith Center's run at a fourth straight title a 2007 highlight
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
SMITH CENTER -- Smith Center knew 2007 could be an incredible year.
The Redmen juggernaut had won the previous three state titles and returned a talented senior class that had several years of experience, and had never lost a game at the varsity level.
Before the season began, several of the coaches discussed the potential possibilities with some of the players, including Redmen captain and three-year starting quarterback Joe Windscheffel.
"The coaches mentioned let's try to do things a little better this year," Windscheffel said. "This group of seniors wanted to go out with a bang. We worked hard and worked together all summer and come two a-days, we were primed and ready to go."
"We knew we could leave a mark here," he added.
Smith Center definitely left an imprint - an imprint on the entire country.
The Redmen rolled to their fourth straight state title with a 40-14 win against Pittsburg-St. Mary's/Colgan in the 2-1A state championship game. The victory moved the Redmen to 13-0 for the year and extended their winning streak to 54 games.
The victory punctuated a season that saw Smith Center outscore its opponents 844-20, post 11 straight shutouts to start the season and draw the national media to western Kansas.
After Smith Center scored a national record 72 first quarter points against Plainville in the first round of the playoffs, ESPN.com wrote a story and ran a televised feature that ran on Halloween detailing the quarter.
It also explained how head coach Roger Barta didn't want to run up the score and purposefully had his players run out of bounds before scoring touchdowns.
"It kind of got around school that morning because a bunch of kids had seen it on SportsCenter," senior offensive lineman/linebacker Brayton Gillen said. "I was kind of excited. As you grow up, every little kid who has ever played sports wants to be on SportsCenter."
About 10 days later, The New York Times ran a front page story complete with a photo and online video that featured the importance of hard work and accountability in winning football games and building students.
"You never know what a reporter is going to write," Barta, one of the five finalists for national coach of the year, said a few weeks ago. "I thought (Joe Drape) was a super guy, wrote a super article. It kind of took off from there."
The impressive season helped the Redmen have three players -- Windscheffel, Gillen and senior running back Braden Wilson -- on the HDN All-Area Super 11 team.
The entire offensive line, ends Jared Macoby and Drew Joy, tackles Matt Seemann and Justin Nixon, guards Grady Godsey and Gillen and center Kirk Palmer, were the Hays Daily Offensive Players of the Year after leading the patented wishbone attack.
The offensive line helped Smith Center overcome the loss of running backs Tate Arnold and Kerby Rice to injuries. Five players, led by Wilson with 1,807 yards and 22 touchdowns, gained at least 500 rushing yards.
Overall, the Redmen rushed for 428.8 yards per game, averaged 11.5 yards a carry, and scored at least 40 points in every game. Pittsburg-Colgan head coach Chuck Smith called the 1999 Claflin line and the 2007 Smith Center unit the best he has seen in more than three decades of high school football.
"Those were the two that stood out the most no doubt," Smith said.
The season started with summer workouts that ran from the first week in June until practice started in mid-August. After the players finished work, they headed to the high school for lifting and conditioning sessions at the Redmen's large workout facility.
Smith Center also held their players accountable. Each of the four captains drafted teams for the summer. A large poster was placed on the wall of the weight room and players earned points for attending sessions, lost points for missing practice, fighting, drinking, or setting a poor example for the community and school.
"It usually helps the younger players to come and get lifting done so there is a reward," Seemann said. "It helps all of us to be there as a team, too, accomplishing something together. It is a lot more fun to lift with a whole bunch of teammates rather than just by yourself."
The summer conditioning formed the backbone for Smith Center's special season.
The team went 9-0 in the regular season and outscored its opponents 557-0. They tallied at least 60 points in every game and only twice came close to giving up points.
In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated Plainville 83-0 and scored the national record 72 points in the opening quarter. Barta, as he did in many games, pulled his starters very early and let his backups and underclassmen finish the game.
Even with the media attention and the weekly blowouts, the coaches kept the team focused on the prize.
"They were very important," Seemann said. "They made certain that each one of us worked our hardest during drills and that none of us took a break. We had to get better in practice going against each other. They made sure that our techniques were as good as we could do it."
Smith Center beat St. John 64-0 and Oakley 56-0 to move into the state semis. St. Francis scored six points against Smith Center - the first time a team scored on the Redmen all season. Smith Center still rolled, 44-6.
In the championship, Pittsburg-Colgan took an early 7-0 lead.
"I don't think there was any worry," Godsey said. "It just made us play harder."
Smith Center quickly came back and won 40-14, capping the sensational season and leaving a mark that western Kansas -- or the nation -- will not forget.
