Where Redmen reign

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By GAYLE WEBER
and CONOR NICHOLL

gweber@dailynews.net,
cnicholl@dailynews.net

Colt Rogers sat on the edge of the training table a few minutes after Tuesday's practice fininshed.

It was 40 degrees outside, and players wore hooded sweatshirts and several layers of UnderArmour. Rogers, just 150 pounds, went without long sleeves. He didn't look cold on the practice field, nor in the heated locker room.

His face was sweaty as he sat on the training table and brought his leg up to cut tape off from around his ankles. A few players hopped into a tub a few feet away to relieve soreness. Water splashed onto the floor.

Between Rogers' training table and a second table, one of Smith Center's younger trainers stood and watched, ready to help.

Rogers turned and pointed at the young trainer, long a staple in the Redmen locker room.

"I was one of these guys," Rogers said with a smile. "I was here since I was probably 4. I grew up watching football practice, playing football. I have been here my whole life."

Rogers, the oldest of Mike Rogers' three boys, is one of many Smith Center players that is a second- or third-generation Redman and grew up around the program. Mike Rogers, now one of Smith Center's assistant football coaches and the head girls' track coach, was a former running back for head coach Roger Barta.

Colt has enjoyed his dad at practice, games and at home, a sense of family that's permeated the program and helped maintain the school's tradition.

"It's a great feeling," said Colt, the Redmen's vocal leader who has amassed 1,439 yards rushing this season. "We talk a lot at home after the game, not as a coach to son talking, but a dad to son talking. It's nice to have that, too, along with the coach-son relationship."

Mike Rogers is far from the only one with family ties. Roger Barta used to coach his son, Brooks, now the longtime head coach at Holton.

Dennis Hutchinson, the only coach who has been at the school longer than Barta, coaches alongside his son, Brock.

Brock Hutchinson has led Smith Center to back-to-back Class 3-2-1A wrestling titles, including two undefeated state championships from Rogers. Brock Hutchinson also has coached Colt to two state medals in the pole vault as an assistant track coach.

The tradition and family ties helps form Smith Center's success. Inside the school, the walls are covered with plaques and honors, including two walls with football awards.

In the window of the main office sits a frame with the Sports Illustrated story about Smith Center's success, complete with the photo of the Redmen's top athletes. The football program, though, is the school's benchmark.

Barta has built a program based on family, hard work in the summer, preparation and the same running system. Barta and his staff prepare an extensive scouting report on each opponent, including a 20-page report on the La Crosse Leopards, the team's opponent Friday in a 2-1A sectional. The team has had the same statistical crew and trainer, Leo Tuxhorn, for decades.

Kids would be out in the weight room nearly every day in the summer after working on family farms and other jobs. They have a certain hangout where they can watch TV and play ping-pong.

In the past, former quarterback Joe Windscheffel's shed by his house was the main place. Senior Marshall McCall constructed a new place after Windscheffel graduated in May 2007. Former tight end Jared Mocaby called the team "brothers."

"You know who you can trust," McCall said.

Barta's teams have won seven state titles, including the last four in a row at Class 2-1A. A state title would tie the Kansas all-classification record, while another perfect season would break the Kansas state record of 66 consecutive wins set by Pittsburg-St. Mary's/Colgan.

Barta is 286-58 in his 31-year career. This past winter, Barta, also the head boys' track coach, was honored at a basketball game, and the street that runs parallel to Hubbard Stadium was renamed Roger Barta Way.

"We are all striving to get what they have and be as good as they have been," La Crosse head coach Ryan Cornelsen said earlier this fall.

Smith Center, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 2-1A, has won 64 straight games, including 10 straight this season. They've run the same offense, the wishbone, throughout Barta's tenure. It's an offense that's ingrained when the kids start to play in middle school.

"We just had to be confident in ourselves," said Logan Tuxhorn, a first-year starter at center and middle linebacker. "We knew the offense pretty well. We have been doing it since we were seventh-graders."

The Redmen Circle

As members of the Smith Center football team gathered in the locker room following Saturday's victory against Salina-Sacred Heart, they crossed their arms and joined hands with the players and fathers beside them awaiting Barta's arrival.

"I'm sorry I'm late, but any chance I get to brag on you guys, I'm going to take it," Barta said.

The players, fathers and coaches form the Redmen Circle -- a symbol of unity -- in the locker room following each game.

"It's kind of a way you diffuse things. You let some parents in and see what you are actually trying to do with their kids and let them be part of the program," Barta said.

Greg Frank, who helps film the games for the local access television station, still goes into the locker room, despite not having sons on the team anymore.

"I think everyone feels an ownership, a part of the program, and Roger allows that," Frank said. "Even though you don't have kids playing, they're still Smith Center Redmen, and that's something that will never change."

The Redmen Circle is just one example of a community gathering that has a positive effect on Smith Center.

"It's not a community that's brought together by the football team," said Shane McCall, attorney at The People's Bank. "This community's already together, and the football team's just a reflection of that."

Game day

The tradition of winning in Smith Center barely can be witnessed in the town of just more than 1,900 on the days leading up to the game.

The enthusiasm for the team boils over the fences at Hubbard Stadium on game day, though.

Fans flock to the football field at least a half dozen times a year, mostly to watch their favorite team play, but also for the free tailgate.

"Mr. Tailgate," as Jim Kershner is known, organized the pre-game tailgating for about 10 years before retiring this fall. Many in the town were unsure if the tailgating would continue, but three Smith Center graduates have kept the tradition going with help from four local sponsors per game.

"We just wanted to try to keep it going," Joey Stansbury said. "People really enjoy it and look forward to it."

Stansbury, who has a younger brother on the team, along with Dave Tharp and Adam Rentschler, spend most of the day on game day preparing the food and setting up for the meal -- which feeds an average of 250 people per game.

A tradition that was started during last year's football season by Gayle and Kristi Jones, owners of Jones Machinery located just to the east of the football field, has raised more than a few eyebrows.

The Joneses attached Christmas lights to a forklift to form the shape of the number of consecutive wins by the team. They light up the sign toward the end of each game.

Saturday was no different, with "64" glowing from the east by the beginning of the fourth quarter of the game against Sacred Heart.

"My husband just came up with the idea," Kristi Jones said. "We started doing it, and it got to be a tradition, so we'll keep it going I guess."

Jones said they have had people come to their business and ask to see the sign, but she said they dismantle it after every game in order to use the forklift for work.

On Saturday, parents and cheerleaders put up signs commemorating the last 63 consecutive wins, complete with scores and opponents of each game.

"Those things just happen," said Linda Riedy, who covered Smith Center athletics for the Smith County Pioneer for almost 25 years. "Pretty soon, you're just wrapped up in it."

'I wanna be Colt Rogers'

Wrapped up in Redmen football is an understatement for Smith Center kindergartner Cody Huffman.

According to his grandfather, Dick Huffman, Cody wakes up every Friday morning reciting chants for the football team. His class has received signed players' cards, and he attends most every game.

"I wanna be Colt Rogers," Cody Huffman said through the biting cold Saturday night.

Children have been idolizing the Redmen players for as long as Roger Barta has been the head coach, according to Dave Mace, who played for Barta during his early years.

"I remember even back when I was in grade school ... you looked at the high school players and you're in awe," Mace said. "They want to be a part of the winning tradition."

Now, Mace has two sons on the team.

"It's been fun watching my kids go through the (same) program," Mace said. "(Barta)'s gotten soft, and I've told him that myself, but I think it's probably for the better."

Cecil Lambert has watched the Smith Center football team take many forms through the years.

"I've seen about every game for 54 years," Lambert, Rogers' grandfather, said.

He said the crowd always has been loyal, following the team through wins and losses. But he thinks the recent success has helped both the community and the schools.

"When you have a good ball team, your hallways are a lot better in the schools," Lambert said.

No trouble

With few sources of entertainment and recreation in Smith Center, going to the Redmen football game seemingly is the only thing to do on a Friday night.

SCHS Athletic Director Greg Hobelman said that predicament actually has helped the school and the students.

"If we didn't have the sports programs we did, and the kids were bored and tried to find stuff to do on the weekends and the kids didn't have purpose for being here, there could be a lot more problems than we have," Hobelman said.

"Kids don't want to get in trouble because they want to be a part of football."

However, athletic success isn't the only thing SCHS has going for it. Principal Greg Koelsch said there are 31 students participating in the fall play, "Virgil's Family Reunion," with many more helping backstage. Many of the students playing a part in the play are athletes as well.

"A lot of the same kids who are on the court or on the field are also involved in the play and FFA. They're pretty well-rounded," Koelsch said.

The art classes are full at SCHS, and the school has met the standard of excellence in many classes as well as building-wide in some subjects during the past few years.

Koelsch said the district is looking to promote itself and recruit more students, though enrollment at the high school has remained steady in recent years.

"First of all, we have to keep the kids we have," Koelsch said. "Second, pull the kids in that could go to Smith Center or could go somewhere else."

Layoffs and new stores

Smith Center's enrollment numbers largely hinge on the economic opportunities in the area.

Recently, the community has seen ups and downs with new retail stores opening, but two large employers have laid off more than 200 people in the last six months.

On the retail front, ALCO, a variety store, and Dollar General have opened in the last two years on the west edge of town on U.S. Highway 36.

"Both of those stores actually can draw other business to the community because they might come here to go to ALCO to get something and another store to get something else," said Kelly Roush, store manager of Lang Diesel Inc.

Peterson Industries and Brooke Corp., two of the area's largest employers, have made significant cutbacks in their workforces in the last six months.

Peterson Industries, a recreational vehicle manufacturer which employs about 70, went through its third round of layoffs about six months ago when fuel prices were high.

However, things are starting to turn around with the addition of a paint department in the company, the potential to expand its international presence to Europe and a few people hired back in recent weeks, according to Pam Barta, the coach's wife who also serves as the Smith Center Community Development director.

Brooke Corp., an insurance firm based in Phillipsburg, laid off about 180 people in the last six weeks. Some of those lived in Smith Center, but most have been able to find other jobs in the area.

"You can find a job if you need to," Pam Barta said.

Housing is another challenge in the community, but Pam Barta said the town is working to fix that by building Smith Estates, an apartment complex that could house 10 residents.

"For the most part, I think it will be elderly that are not really ready to go into a care facility," Barta said. "A lot of these people are in a big, three-bedroom house with a double car garage and a great big yard. That will open up housing for younger people."

Public transportation also is in the works for the town next year. Barta said she will be picking out the handicapped-accessible van later this month, with delivery of the van scheduled for early spring.

"We have a lot of people that don't drive," Pam Barta said. "We have some people that just can't afford a car."

The rides will cost $1 each way, but she said she anticipated putting together a discount ticket for frequent riders.

The van also will be available Saturday nights after the local bars close for people to have a safe ride home.

"That's a way of making it accessible to everybody," Pam Barta said.

A relatively new addition to the local economy has been the abundance of agritourism in the area, specifically hunting land and lodges.

Buckshot Inn opened two years ago just before the start of pheasant season. Owners Monte and Barbara Jones intended their purchase to be a motel, but transformed it into a hunting lodge to accommodate their guests.

"We built a hunting lodge in the back for the hunters," Barbara Jones said. "They do come back here after they're done hunting when they're cold and wet. They congregate back here, and it's a social thing."

She said she enjoys seeing the hunters come whether it be for a weekend or a few days during the week.

"They're a very relaxed, fun group when they get here," Barbara Jones said. "They're doing what they like to do."

A different year

The 2008 football season has been a different experience for fans this year. A number of the key members to last year's "elite team" graduated, leaving behind somewhat inexperienced juniors and seniors to lead the team this year.

"It's been a more interesting year as far as football season because we've had several competitive games, and it's going to continue to be that way," Mace said. "We're far from a shoo-in at the state title. But if we keep playing well, we've got a shot at it."

The close games this season are something Pam Barta had forgotten about. She used to get nervous during games, especially when her son was playing in the '80s and games were close. That feeling came back during the Norton game Sept. 19.

"I was not able to go to the Norton game, and I listened to it on the radio. So I had to walk around the table a few times because that was close," she said.

Smith Center narrowly won the game 22-20, the closest contest in the winning streak.

"Once in a while, I'll say I want to see a close game. But after one, I'll say, 'Let's go back the other way.' "

The Redmen's 64-game win streak has many fans expecting a win on Friday nights, but Greg Frank knows there will be an end to the streak eventually.

"I think people in some other communities think we're going to be shocked when we lose, but I don't think that's the case (here)," Frank said. "I think we're going to care for the kids and the coaching staff and the community."

Four straight state championships have created a mind-set among Smith Center fans that they will be competing for a state title every year.

"You block off November -- we're in the playoffs," Riedy said.

Community and church events revolve around the football schedule, and many families interrupt the Thanksgiving holiday for Redmen football.

"When we go to the state game, it's like a big family reunion with Smith Center people," Riedy said. "People will give up a Saturday on Thanksgiving weekend when they could be with family or out hunting to come to the state game."