This is the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Worth County football team. That team was coming off its improbable 1967 GRC Title run, so it was set to take everybody’s best shot. They overcame several injuries to get a 7-2 record, good enough for a tie for third in the conference. They lost several key players from the 1967 season, lost some more during the season to injuries, but were able to fill the holes well enough to play at a high level.
Cameron 33, Worth County 7
Worth County struggled right off the bat against Cameron in the first game of the season. The Dragons scored on their first two possession, on a 67 yard drive and a 66 yard pass play, and rolled to 340 total yards in the win. Worth County’s lone tally was a 35 yard reverse pass from Bob Prather to Ronnie Dannar. Prather played with a broken bone on his left fifth finger; he taped it up and still played effectively. Quarterback Scott Houk left the game with an ankle injury, Bill Gladstone Jr. dislocated a vertebrae in his neck, and Bill Locke injured his knee. Bear Groom rushed for 81 yards and Gladstone added 37 before he went down.
Worth County 27, Hamilton 24
Worth County took a big lead over Hamilton, then held off a frantic rally to win. Hamilton turned out to be the real deal, as they would knock off Cameron 26-20 the next week and go on to tie Worth County for third place.
It looked like another long night at first as Worth County pulled off a successful onsides kick to start the game, only to fumble it away. Then, Mike Compton bolted away for 63 yards to put Hamilton on the board 6-0 with 7:53 left in the first quarter.
But the big strength of Worth County’s game in 1968 was their ability to capitalize off enemy mistakes. In the second quarter, the tables turned as K.C. Thompson shot through a gap, stripped a handoff, and ran it back to the Hamilton 23. That set up Ronnie Dannar’s four yard run and extra point run to make it 7-6. Back in 1968, extra points still counted as one point whether they were kicked or ran in.
The game quickly snowballed from there as Randy Fletchall added a 20-yard pick six and Bill Gladstone ran in the extra points. Bill Gladstone got a pick six from 54 yards out and Bear Groom scored the extra point to make it 21-6 at the half. Then, Gladstone ran back the second half kickoff 75 yards for a score to make it 27-6. Hamilton then scored on a long pass play, but a frantic rally by the Hornets came up three points short. It was Worth County’s ability to convert their extra points that made the difference.
Worth County 12, King City 9
Once again, Worth County got off to a slow start but managed to turn their fortunes around. They fell behind once again when Worth County fumbled it in their own end zone and was trapped for a safety. But then they used some razzle dazzle when Bob Prather threw a reverse pass to Bill Gladstone Jr. to get Worth County untracked in the second quarter. Then, with 1:55 left in the period, Bear Groom recovered a fumble on the King City 22. Two plays later, from the 18, Bob Prather broke two tackles, juked three more defenders, and dragged three more into the end zone for a tally right before the half to make it 12-2.
But Worth County played several cliffhangers that year, and this was one of them. In the fourth quarter, Jason Clay, the King City quarterback, led his Wildkats on a 66 yard drive and scored from 10 yards out to make it 12-9. King City got the ball back and drove to the Worth County 32, only for Steve Goff to pick off a pass on the 20 to kill the drive. King City had a chance to stop Worth County, but got a roughing the kicker call and Worth County was able to run out the clock for the win.
Princeton 7, Worth County 6
This was the first of two heartbreakers that Worth County dropped to Princeton in 1968 and 1969. The game started off well for Worth County when Arron Fletchall shot up the middle and blocked a punt, giving Worth County good field position on their own 45. Two plays later, quarterback Scott Houk aired it out to Bob Prather for 50 yards to make it 6-0. But then a controversial call turned the game in Princeton’s favor. They broke a 44 yard run for a score in the second quarter on a play in which everybody but the referees saw a clipping call that sprung him free. Bear Groom was injured in the first half and was done for the year. He had 44 yards rushing before he went down. Bill Gladstone rushed for 89 yards. Worth County killed two drives in the second half with fumbles.
Worth County 19, Maysville 0
Worth County got right back on the winning track as Ronnie Dannar ran back the opening kickoff 80 yards for a score. Later, he was injured. In the second half, Scott Houk scored on a two yard sneak and Bill Gladstone had a 20 yard run. Worth County kept Maysville in their own territory for most of the game; their one promising drive was killed when Leland Cook picked off a pass at the Tiger 25. Bob Prather had 14 tackles and Steve Goff 9 for the Tigers.
Worth County 26, Stanberry 12
The Tigers rushed for 254 yards as they got the win over Stanberry. A long kickoff return to the Stanberry 40 set up their first score as Randy Fletchall got loose for 10 and Leland Cook picked up 30 more. In the second quarter, Worth County picked up a 70 yard drive for a score; Fletchall had a 19 yard run before Bill Gladstone took it to the house from 13 yards out. Fletchall added an eight yard run for Worth County’s third score of the half. In the third quarter, quarterback Scott Houk threw an 11 yard pass to Leland Cook to make it 26-0. Later, the play got sloppy as Stanberry was able to capitalize on an interception and a fumble to score. Randy Fletchall had 18 carries for 100 yards. K.C. Thompson had 9 tackles, Allan Roach 8, and Bill Locke 7.
Worth County 6, South Harrison 0
Worth County celebrated their homecoming this week and the game was every bit as exciting as the 1967 game, in which Worth County beat South Harrison in a key game that helped put Worth County over the top. Queen candidates were Rhonda Brown, Claudia Cadle, and Teresa Stephenson. Stephenson was named the Homecoming Queen, and returned to Worth County this year to help the Tigers celebrate. Attendants were Judy Jennings, Deborah Dawson, and Linda Pittsenbarger.
The Tigers held South Harrison to 76 yards for the game. The first half was scoreless; Worth County drove down to the South Harrison 2, but couldn’t get in. Finally, in the third quarter, Bill Locke blocked a punt and set up the lone score of the game, putting the ball on the South Harrison 23. Worth County was faced with third and 8 at the 21, but Scott Houk completed a 10 yard pass to Bill Locke to keep the drive alive. Finally, Bob Prather picked up six, Bill Gladstone four, and Leland Cook one to get the Tigers on the board.
But in the third cliffhanger of the year, South Harrison made some frantic efforts in the fourth to get back in the game. First, they drove to the Tiger 33, only for Bill Locke to get back to back sacks to kill the drive. Then, Bob Prather got a pick at the Tiger 30 to kill another. Bill Gladstone had 68 yards and Randy Fletchall 28.
Worth County 14, Albany 12
Once again, the Tigers got someone’s best shot as Albany completely outplayed Worth County in the first half despite only having won two games. Dan Green’s three yard run was the lone score in the half as Albany led 6-0 at the break.
But then Worth County got untracked in the third quarter as they took advantage of a short field and Ronnie Dannar scored from two yards out. Bob Prather kicked the extra point to make it 7-6. In the fourth quarter, Worth County started on their own 14. They were seemingly stopped at their own 36, but a roughing the kicker call gave Worth County new life at the Warrior 49. It was the second time this year that a key roughing the kicker call helped Worth County. Worth County drove into the end zone as Randy Fletchall scored from 3 yards out, and Bob Prather kicked the extra point to make it two possessions at 14-6, since the two point conversion would not go into effect until the following year.
But then with one minute left, Dan Green broke loose for 57 yards for Albany and the Warriors got the ball back on the onsides kick at the Tiger 46 with one minute left. But then Worth County got a sack, Bob Prather broke up a pass, and Randy Fletchall got a pick to kill the drive.
That weekend, the Worth County Band, under the direction of Kenneth Thompson, won the NWMSC (now Northwest Missouri State University) Homecoming Band Contest over 33 other bands for the 14th time they had done so. Nancy Hardy was the Drum Majorette that year, and Norman Dunfee was the drummer.
Worth County 52, Gallatin 6
Gallatin had played Princeton tough earlier in the year, turning the game into an eight man-style track meet before losing 52-35. But Worth County had little trouble with the conference tailenders.
In the first quarter, Steve Goff scored on a six yard run after Bob Prather got three carries for 24 yards on the drive and Goff picked up an 18 yard run. Bill Gladstone added a 21 yard touchdown run and Leland Cook added a 35 yard run for a score. A Bob Prather 47 yard run set up a one yard run from Jack Baker for the fourth touchdown of the quarter.
In the second, runs by Leland Cook for 30 yards and Bill Gladstone set up another score. A 33 yard run from Bob Prather set up a 33 yard pass from Prather to Gladstone to make it 40-0. Then, Prather added a 50 yard run to make it 46-0 at the half. In the third quarter, Scott Houk got a 19 yard run, a 31 yard pass to Bill Locke, and a 21 yard pass to Bill Gladstone to set up Worth County’s final score.
Bob Prather had 158 yards to lead the Tigers. Worth County had 417 rushing yards and 113 passing yards for a total of 530 total yards, a normal day’s work for a good eight man squad, but astronomical for an 11 man squad. The Tigers held Gallatin to 99 yards.
Bill Gladstone, Steve Goff, Bob Prather, and Alan Roach were named to the All Conference Squad. Goff, Prather, and Roach were named to the All-District Squad, and Prather was named All-State.
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