1984 Football Mustangs Capped Off Impressive Three Year Run

Tim Coleman and the North Nodaway Mustangs capped off an impressive three year run forty years ago. Coleman had completely rewritten the passing record book at North Nodaway the previous two years. In 1982, the Mustangs made the playoffs for the first time ever. In 1983, the Mustangs won conference in football and basketball. And in 1984, the winning continued.

They started off in 1984 by beating West Nodaway 55-14. Jeff Blackford opened the game with an 80 yard kickoff return. Coleman threw for 213 yards of passing and ran for 106 more on 11 carries and added one touchdown, a 26 yard run. Blackford scored on two four yard runs. One of them was set up by a blocked punt by Coleman.

North Nodaway jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the second quarter. Steven Hughes hit Robbie Meyers twice for strikes of 51 and 63 yards, but North Nodaway maintained a 41-14 lead at the half.

Coleman threw strikes of 60, 66, and 35 yards to Curtis Morrison.

Rodney Vance scored on a six yard run set up by a pick from Joey Spalding. Vance had 10 carries for 67 yards and Blackford had 10 carries for 62 yards. Spalding caught three passes for 34 yards.

Charles Blake had 11 tackles and Curtis Morrison had 10 for the Mustangs.

In the second week, Rodney Vance had a big night with 124 yards on the ground and three touchdowns in the Mustangs 34-12 win over Fairfax. North Nodaway scored the first 28 points of the game. The game was tight at first, but Tim Coleman scored from nine yards out with 13 seconds left in the first half. The Mustangs were stymied by penalties, picking up 100 yards of penalties in the first half alone.

The game remained at 14-0 until the fourth quarter when Jeff Blackford scored from seven yards out and Vance scored twice. Chris Rosenbohm threw strikes of 10 yards to Ryan Rogers and 23 yards to Joe Gigliotti for the Bulldogs. Both Fairfax scores came in the last four minutes.

Jeff Blackford had 77 yards and Tim Coleman had 73. Coleman also had his second blocked punt in as many games. But Coleman had an off night throwing, only completing three of 13.

Helping folks cheer on the Mustangs was the band, which performed for the game against Craig. Members were Lonny Graves, Christy Sorenson, Pam Ashford, Sim White, John Turner, Tom Brand, Brian Florea, James Spalding, Kyle O’Riley, Robert Reynolds, Phillip Reynolds, Tom Hansen, James Huffman, Lynn Clements, Bret Wallace, Billy Pistole, Nicki Baldwin, Rebecca Curtis, Tiffany Uhlmann, Lori Thompson, Becky Lohman, Tina Heming, Laura Carmichael, and Lori Williams.

The band must have brought good luck for the Mustangs, who were much sharper against Craig, picking up a 50-6 win in their next game. Like the resurgent Shamrock girls basketball team or the NEN girls basketball team that is off to a good start, North Nodaway always had different people step up in 1984. This time, it was Jeff Blackford who stepped up, getting 121 yards and three touchdowns. Rodney Vance added 89 yards and three touchdowns, while Tim Coleman threw for 194 yards, ran for 88, and scored a 10 yard touchdown run.

Blackford had runs of 4, 17, and 6 yards. Vance had 2, 14, and 5 yards.

Charlie Blake had a big night defensively for the Mustangs, blocking a punt, getting two sacks, picked off a pass, and recovered a fumble for the Mustangs. It was North Nodaway’s third blocked punt in as many games.

Craig got its lone tally in the fourth when Troy DeLong recovered a fumble in the end zone.

The Mustangs scored their second straight 50 point game when they beat South Holt 50-12 in week 4. This time, it was Rodney Vance’s turn to shine as he had 10 carries for 112 yards. He had runs of 16, 49, and 8 yards. Tim Coleman was only 3 of 9 passing, but one of his passes was a 77 yard strike to Tony O’Riley. Jeff Blackford had a 1 yard touchdown run and kicked three extra points. Craig McIntyre had a 28-yard pick six. Rex Jackson and Virgil Carroll had South Holt’s two tallies.

The Hopkins Journal of September 26th did a feature on the Iron Horses of North Nodaway, also known as the linemen. They were Charlie Blake, Todd Gorman, Todd Stites, Craig McIntyre, and Kirby Morrison. They were so nicknamed by Earle Bennett, who was assistant to coach Marty Albertson and who was the line coach that year.

Jim Lohman wrote, in part, “If the quarterback drives a Cadillac, and the runningbacks drive Fords, then you’ll probably see Charlie Blake driving down the streets of Hopkins on a motor-scooter. This illustration goes to show that there is very little glory in being an offensive lineman. There is little action, except to beat your brains out on every play blocking for the runningbacks, or giving the quarterback enough time to get a pass off to a wide receiver. There are very few chances at even getting into the statistics book unless you’re lucky enough to pick up a fumble your own quarterback made and advance it for yardage. Being an offensive lineman is a plain vanilla life, it’s constant hitting, and when you’re not hitting, you’re being hit, and your only hope of accomplishment is being able to walk away.”

Lohman also noted that the Iron Horses enjoyed zipping down the streets of Hopkins on their motor scooters just as much as opening up holes for Vance, Blackford, and Coleman.

North Nodaway had a knack of nicknaming their linemen during the 1980’s; they nicknamed three of their linemen of 1988 and 1989 the “Fat Boys;” they were called on to come in for short yardage situations.

But North Nodaway met their match when Rock Port, the eventual state champions, invaded Hopkins and came away with the 33-0 win. Their two headed monster of Todd Irvine and Tim Minter, were the best backs in the area according to Worth County coach Rob Bowers, as quoted in the St. Joseph News-Press after the Tigers were dismantled by Rock Port. Irvine had 137 yards and four touchdowns and Tim Minter had 170 yards and one score.

Tim Coleman was a bright spot for North Nodaway, running for 87 yards and throwing for another 129.

But there was still football to be played and their Homecoming game against DeKalb was next. King candidates were Jeff Blackford, Kirby Morrison, Tim Coleman. Queen candidates were Lori Williams, Carla Scroggie, and Stacy Hurtado. Freshman attendants were Tracy Sorensen and Scott Swaney. Sophomore attendants were Karma Bovard and Tony O’Riley. Junior attendants were Rhonda Swaney and Curtis Morrison.

DeKalb was coming into the game on a high note following a double overtime win over West Nodaway the week before, but North Nodaway got back on the winning track 48-14 as Jeff Blackford had 108 yards in 11 carries and Rodney Vance had 11 carries for 78 yards. Blackford had three touchdowns and Vance two more. Kirby Morrison and Lori Williams were named Homecoming King and Queen.

DeKalb played North Nodaway tough for the first quarter, sacking Coleman twice. But North Nodaway was still able to get on the board and lead 6-0. DeKalb was able to move the ball through the air, throwing for over 100 yards. But Jeff Blackford ran for a three yard score, Rodney Vance ran for a 17 yard score, and Coleman got untracked, hitting Tony O’Riley for an 11 yard score to make it 27-0 at the half. Coleman would get untracked after the early going, throwing for 150.

Rodney Vance added a 13 yard score and Jeff Blackford added a 4 yard score in the third. Dave Chesnut recovered a pair of fumbles. Rick Baldwin added a score in the fourth.

North Nodaway had not beaten Tarkio in 19 years, but everything looked to change at Tarkio when the two 5-1 teams met. Jeff Blackford was carrying the team, scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter as North Nodaway raced to a 13-0 lead. Kevin Clark scored in the second for Tarkio to cut it to 13-6 at the half. But Tim Coleman was carrying the Mustangs defensively, picking off four passes that night. Coleman threw a strike to Joey Spalding in the second half.

But North Nodaway failed to convert a fourth and two inside the Indian 10 with time winding down in the fourth quarter and Tarkio took over on their own 10 with 59 seconds left. It only took Chris Hall, the Tarkio quarterback, two plays to cover the 90 yards needed to score and give the Indians the 21-19 win. Hall had victimized enemy teams all year, throwing for over 500 yards in one game. This is rare in 11 man games; now, in 8 man games, Gade Iddings and other Pattonsburg quarterbacks make throwing for 500 yards look like just another day at the office. It was one of many heartbreakers the Mustangs dropped to the Indians over the years during their 11 man days.

The Mustangs had a choice at this point with two tough teams coming up. Nodaway-Holt had lit up the conference the last three years and was still solid, and Mound City had shown a lot of improvement, up to 5-3 at that point. But Tim Coleman had a banner night, completing 17 passes for 316 yards. He threw touchdown strikes to Joey Spalding of 31 and 11 yards in a 39-24 win.

Nodaway-Holt scored first, but then Coleman went to the air with success. He added strikes to Jeff Blackford and Tony O’Riley for a total of four touchdown passes. Kirby Morrison had 9 tackles.

The Journal that week had a feature article about Erle Bennett, the assistant coach at North Nodaway. Wrote Jim Lohman, “Most of us know the stocky, red haired, blue-eyed assistant coach of the North Nodaway Mustangs. Of course we’re talking about Earle Bennett, assistant football coach and student teacher. Bennett is a native of Gallatin, where he played football for four years, but says that he didn’t play football at Northwest because of a knee injury. Bennett, after his graduation this year, wants to go on and coach high school football. He says that is all he wants. Really? Having spent many years hanging around high school football coaches as a journalist, it did not take long to notice something special about Bennett. In fact, it was at a recent junior varsity game where he was acting as head coach. The boys had life, he would not allow a person to take their interest from the game. Bennett’s plan of winning games is unique, which can also be translated exciting. High School football will not hold Bennett long if he can keep a fresh approach to the game.”

Although Lohman’s prediction for Bennett becoming either a college or NFL coach didn’t materialize, one prediction did come to pass. People still remember him favorably both at North Nodaway and Worth County, where he went afterwards. Although he didn’t win a lot of games at Worth County, he got the weight room built, which is still being used today, and which is instrumental in Worth County’s ability to reload every year. Bennett went on to become a successful coach at Centralia for many years.

North Nodaway closed out their season on a winning note, beating a tough Mound City squad 16-0. Tim Coleman hit Jeff Blackford for a 14 yard scoring pass and hit Joey Spalding for a two point conversion to make it 8-0 in the first quarter. Coleman dove into the end zone for a score in the fourth and hit Todd Gorman for a two point conversion to make it 16-0. It was set up when Todd Gorman picked off a pass at the Mustang 30 to kill a Panther drive that could have tied it. He was 15 of 29 for 207 yards for the night. For the rest of the night, both teams threatened to score at times, but neither one could push it over the line.

The Mustangs did not make the playoffs, but they were able to win seven games that year. It was the final game for Tim Coleman, Joey Spalding, Jeff Blackford, Tim Roush, Alan Roush, Rodney Vance, Todd Gorman, Charlie Blake, David Chesnut, and Kirby Morrison.

For the season, Rodney Vance had 105 carries for 698 yards. Jeff Blackford had 105 carries for 598 yards. Tim Coleman had 82 carries for 592 yards. Coleman 87 passes in 183 attempts for 1463 yards.

Curtis Morrison had 20 catches for 428 yards. Joey Spalding had 22 catches for 389 yards. Alan Roush had 7 catches for 51 yards. Tony O’Riley had 15 catches for 230 yards. Jeff Blackford had 13 catches for 220 yards. Rodney Vance had 9 catches for 84 yards. Tim Coleman was all-275 first team quarterback and linebacker. Rodney Vance and Jeff Blackford made the first team as backs. Blackford was also a first team defensive back and placekicker. Kirby Morrison was named as a first team interior lineman, and Craig McIntyre was named as a first team defensive lineman. Charlie Blake was an honorable mention linebacker and Joey Spalding received honorable mention as an end.

Team members were Charlie Blake, Rodney Vance, Kirby Morrison, David Chesnut, Jeff Blackford, Tim Coleman, Todd Gorman, Tim Roush, Joey Spalding, Mike Blackney, Rick Baldwin, Mike Spalding, Jon Pistole, Tony Volner, Dan Titus, Alan Roush, Brad Judd, Todd Roush, Rick Frampton, Jason Thompson, Brian Komers, Tom Blair, Mike Hutchinson, Craig McIntyre, Scott Swaney, Curtis Morrison, Todd Stites, Scott Clements, Scott King, David Roderick, Scott James, and Troy Dew.

Cheerleaders were Shelley McIntyre, Karma Bovard, Christy Sorensen, Diane Colville, and Tracy Sorensen.

Some of the Best Eight Man Games of All Time

This week, the Missouri Eight Man Coaches Association asked which Missouri eight man game was the best anybody had ever seen. Here are some of the posts from readers, along with some of our picks, in no particular order:

2020 North Shelby 94, Pattonsburg 88 – Pattonsburg put together a frantic rally in the fourth quarter to make this one close. This game showed that the teams outside the Highway 275 and the Grand River Conference had arrived. 

2015 Stanberry 46, North Andrew 42 – Stanberry made a goal line stand with seven seconds left to clinch the state title. They played many good games against each other during that stretch.

2011 Mound City 50, St. Joseph Christian 48 – The Panthers had the Lions’ number in previous years, but Christian almost pulled off this state semifinal game. Down six with less than a minute left, Mound City ran back a kick to tie and converted the extra points to win it and go back to state.

1988 Miami 22, North Andrew 14 – The Eagles were the Cinderella team that year, on a roll after dropping their first seven games. They invaded North Andrew for the right to go to state and the Cardinals were threatening to tie, aided by three offsides penalties. But the Eagles held and went on to go to the first ever Eight Man State Title Game.

2003 Mound City 20, West Nodaway 18 – Mound City marched down the field by completing several passes in a row from Zach Scarbrough to Zach Sharp and scored on a quarterback sweep by Scarbrough as time expired to get the win.

2018 North Andrew 56, South/Nodaway-Holt 54 – In this district playoff game, the Spartans came from a long ways down and were driving for what would have been the winning score. But North Andrew intercepted them in the end zone to preserve the win.

2018 Mound City 36, Worth County 32 – Worth County led much of the way after digging themselves into a 14-0 hole early, but Mound City completed a long pass in the last minute to set up their winning score.

2020 North Andrew 50, Albany 46 – North Andrew would go on to play in the State Championship game, but this game was a big confidence booster for Albany, who felt they could finally play with the big boys. Unfortunately, COVID shut down their season.

1990 Worth County 18, Mound City 12 – Nobody expected Worth County to win more than one or two games that year, but the Tigers made a goal line stand at the 1 yard line against a good Panther squad to get their first ever eight man win. This was the first of many such games between the two schools.

1995 Worth County over South Holt – South Holt was the powerhouse team of the early 1990’s, and games in that decade between the two schools were just as intense. Worth County made a late goal line stand against the Knights to preserve the win, and would go on to win their first ever state title.

2001 Worth County 48, Miami 40 – The Eagles had a star runningback and plenty of other weapons to challenge Worth County with. But the Tigers got ahead and then kept scoring to hold off Miami. With one minute left, Tiger Quarterback Chris Healy dove ahead for a first down to preserve Worth County’s third state title in four years.

1989 North Nodaway 24, West Nodaway 18 – The Rockets built up an 18-0 lead in the first half, but then North Nodaway chipped away, finally taking the lead in the fourth quarter as they bent, but didn’t break on defense. Finally, they used a late interception to preserve the win. They would go on to win state that year.

2007 Worth County 30, Mound City 22 – Worth County fell behind in this district semifinal game, but Logan Dignan, a reserve who ran out onto the field when Coach Borey needed an end, made a key one on one tackle on dual threat Taylor Sharp on an extra point try to keep Worth County’s deficit at one possession. Worth County took the lead in the third quarter, only for Mound City to tie it at 22. But in the closing seconds, a Drew Yarmer punt return set up a Kyler Hiatt run to put the Tigers ahead.

2019 Southwest Livingston 74, Pattonsburg 68 – This game featured one of the best all-time passers in Steven Willhite against one of the best all-time rushers in Mack Anderson. The game followed the South Shelby script; Pattonsburg got behind by a long ways, but then came to within six points before Southwest picked off Willhite in the end zone in the closing seconds to preserve the win.

2019 North/West Nodaway 58, LeBlond 52 – The Muskets moved up and down the field against LeBlond, as Karson Oberhauser broke the North Nodaway school single game rushing record, getting over 300 yards rushing. But LeBlond had a chance to win it at the end, driving down to the Musket 5 in the closing seconds before Tyler Bix got a pick in the end zone to preserve the win. This ended a 20 game losing streak for the Muskets.

2011 Sacred Heart 31, Mound City 26 – Sacred Heart, a Nebraska powerhouse, became the first team in six years besides Worth County to beat Mound City as they held them off in the final seconds.

1996 Stanberry 20, West Nodaway 12 – West Nodaway was supposed to be a juggernaut that year, but this was a big breakthrough win for Dan Collins’ squad. This was the year they established themselves as an eight man power.

2006 North Nodaway 26, West Nodaway 20 – West Nodaway had just beaten Worth County two weeks before, and just had to win in order to get into the playoffs. But North Nodaway, who was battered and bruised following a 38-24 loss to Worth County the week before, rose to the occasion and denied the Rockets. Worth County would beat Stanberry to get into the playoffs, where they would go on to become state runner-up.

Tiger Team of 2017 Rated Among Best Eight Man Teams

The Missouri Eight Man Coaches Association asked about some of the best eight man football teams ever. Worth County’s team of 2017 was listed by several people on Facebook as one of the best teams they have seen. That team went unbeaten and beat Sacred Heart in the State Championship game. They were ranked as one of the top six, eight, or nine man teams nationally on Max Preps.

Among other teams listed, along with some of our picks:

–North Andrew 2020;

–Mound City 2005, 2008, and 2016-19. One poster stated about the 16-19 teams, “You could keep up for a quarter or two, and it was over after that.” He mentioned the Poppa boys, T.J. Hopkins, the Marrs boys, Dylan George, and Walker Ross.

–Worth County 1995 and Nodaway-Holt 1995; the Trojans had been down for the last few years after their state title runs of 1990 and 1991; however, after losing their first game to Worth County, they didn’t lose another game for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Worth County, behind P.J. Sanders, rewrote the passing records along with receivers such as Nate Combs, Daniel Gladstone, and Ben Fletcher. The two teams met in the playoffs in the snow, and Worth County prevailed and went on to beat North Andrew for the state championship.

–Miami 1988; that team started off 0-7 and had five kids kicked off for grades and were down to 17 players. But the playoffs brought a shocking turn of events. First, they beat DeKalb and Missouri School of the Deaf to win districts. Then, they successfully invaded North Andrew before falling to South Holt in the finals. 

–1990 and 1991 Nodaway-Holt, 1994 Fairfax, and the South Holt teams of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

–Southwest Livingston 2020; that team completely rebuilt after losing the top rusher in the state in Mack Anderson from the year before and won state.

–Worth County 1998; Bobby McCutcheon posted that was the best eight man defense he ever saw or played on, and the offense was strong as well. That squad shut out five different opponents that year. That team started a dynastic run in which they won the 2000 and 2001 titles and won 28 straight games.

Not Posted On, but Deserving of Mention:

Not mentioned in the Facebook comments, but deserving of a shoutout were the 2007 and 2011 Tigers. Kyler Hiatt and the 2007 squad faced Taylor Sharp and Mound City in the cold and won 30-22 on a last-second score by Hiatt. In 2011, Worth County went to the Dome in St. Louis and beat Mound City again.

Pattonsburg 2019; Steven Willhite and the Panthers rewrote the passing recordbook along with receivers Cameron Jones, Brett Emig, and Dakota Eaton. He was ranked both statewide and nationally.

North/West Nodaway 2014; that squad dropped its first two games, but then proceeded to tear up the league behind quarterback Kobe Reynolds and receivers Trevor Meyer, Jakob Cordell, and Dakota Smyser. 

North Nodaway 1989; that team had a devastating line and backfield. Observers kept thinking that squad could be beat, until they actually played them and learned the hard way. In the District Championship game that year, they fell behind 18-0 against archrival West Nodaway, only to turn around and win 24-18 after stopping a last minute drive. 

Stanberry and North Andrew 2012-16; In 2012, Stanberry finally broke through and won a state title after Worth County had barred the way for so many years. That started off a series of rivalry games between Stanberry and North Andrew, in which North Andrew won in 2013, 2014, and 2016 while Stanberry won in 2012 and 2015. The closest game between the two was the 2015 game, in Stanberry made a goal line stand at the 1 to preserve the win.

West Nodaway Drops North Nodaway Cooperative

On Wednesday, December 9th, the West Nodaway School Board voted by a 6-1 vote to drop the football cooperative agreement with North Nodaway that had been in place since 2014. West Nodaway will enter an all sports cooperative agreement with Nodaway-Holt, which is leaving its cooperative with South Holt. That will leave both North Nodaway and South Holt on the drawing board as far as a football program is concerned. On Thursday, the Nodaway-Holt school board approved a five year cooperative agreement with West Nodaway that covers all sports.

The upper limit for an eight man football cooperative for Missouri is 150 students. The combined enrollment for West Nodaway, Nodaway-Holt, and North Nodaway is 155, which would put them over the limit, unless they wanted to go 11 man. 

North Nodaway Superintendent Chris Turpin said that he would be looking at all of North Nodaway’s options. Worth County and Northeast Nodaway border North Nodaway to the south and east, but both schools are happy with their current cooperative. Maryville borders North Nodaway to the south, which means that North Nodaway is free to pursue an agreement with Platte Valley, consisting of Jefferson and South Nodaway. A cooperative of those three schools would be close to 130 students, which is below the threshold of 150 students. Similarly, North Harrison is bordered to the south by South Harrison, an 11 man power, meaning they were free to make their cooperative agreement with Pattonsburg.

The other option for North Nodaway would be to strike out on their own. That would involve figuring out how many students would be needed to field a competitive program. Back in the 1970’s, North Nodaway dropped their football program for a few years due to lack of numbers and restarted it when interest revived later that decade.

Previously, North Nodaway had conducted a survey regarding interest in an all-sports cooperative. Responses were receptive to the idea, but less receptive if West Nodaway were involved. Most students were willing to be part of such a cooperative. 

MSHSAA member schools can have cooperative agreements with different schools for different sports. For instance, Worth County can continue their football cooperative with Northeast Nodaway and enter into a basketball cooperative with North Nodaway. The complication is that a basketball cooperative agreement with North Nodaway would force Worth County to compete in Class 2 in basketball, since the combined enrollment for the two schools is 129, and the cutoff for Class 1 is 78. Such a cooperative with Northeast Nodaway would also require a move up to Class 2 in basketball, since the combined enrollment would be 105. 

However, schools can compete in Class 2 in basketball and still offer eight man football. That is because the cutoff for Class 1 (78) is much lower than the cutoff for eight man football (150). The new West Nodaway and Nodaway-Holt sports cooperative would compete in Class 2 in basketball, since their combined enrollment is 105 students; however, since their combined enrollment is less than 150, they can still compete in eight man football.

Jim Scanlon, Erle Bennett to be Inducted Into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Jim Scanlon and Erle Bennett will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, November 3rd.

Scanlon began his basketball coaching career at Union Star and went on to coach at North Harrison from 1977 to 1979. From there, he went on to coach at Hamilton, Benton, and Rock Bridge in Columbia, where he has served since 1983. In 2019, Scanlon, after coming close several times, finally got his state title with Rock Bridge. He has a record of 796-241 throughout his years of coaching basketball. He was a 1969 graduate of Breckinridge High School, where he was an all-state basketball player. Scanlon retired from teaching Physical Education at Rock Bridge, but will continue to coach them in basketball.

Erle Bennett started off on the Nodaway-Holt coaching staff, and then moved to North Nodaway, where he served as Marty Albertson’s assistant for the 1983-84 275 Conference Champions. He stayed for the 1984 campaign and then coached at Worth County from 1985 to 1988.

Subsequently, Bennett went to Centralia, where he served as an assistant for a few years, and then became the head coach, building that school into a powerhouse and winning some state titles. At one point John Rinehart, a Worth County grad who played under Bennett, was one of his assistants.

During his time at North Nodaway, Jim Lohman of the Hopkins Journal did a feature on Bennett. He said in that paper that while he was open to coaching at a small college, all he ever wanted to be was a high school football coach.

When Erle Bennett Fired Up the Mustangs

Before he coached at Worth County, Erle Bennett was an assistant coach under Marty Albertson at North Nodaway. In 1983, North Nodaway won its first-ever conference title, and the Rock Port game played a big part.

Mike Coleman, who played on the team, recounted that Rock Port would not let Bennett, who frequently spotted for Albertson, into the press box. So he had to climb up on top of the bus in torrential rains. At one point, he slipped and fell off the bus, picked himself up, and went right back to work as though nothing happened.

By halftime, North Nodaway was down 14-0 to Rock Port, and as the kids filed onto the bus, Bennett turned to his boss and said, “I’ll handle this.” He then let loose with a tirade that would have made Dan Collins blush in shame. North Nodaway totally outplayed Rock Port in the second half and won the game 22-14.

North Nodaway 1983 Football Team Laid Groundwork for 1989 Champs, Won 275 Title

The North Nodaway 1983 football team is becoming forgotten. For instance, it was not brought up at last year’s Homecoming celebration, which paid tribute to past successful teams. However, that team laid the groundwork for 1989’s State Championship team.

Team members were Darin Colville, Duane Brown, Mike Blackney, Rich Baldwin, Mike Coleman, Mike Spalding, Alan Roush, Scott James, Todd Gorman, Tony O’Riley, Charles Blake, Rodney Vance, Kent Porterfield, Craig McIntyre, Clinton Weddle, Larry Bix, Joey Spalding, Kevin Owens, Jeff Blackford, Todd Stites, Bruce Judd, Kirby Morrison, Greg Thompson, Tim Coleman, Jonathan Keyes, Bryan O’Riley, and Steve Knorr. Cheerleaders that year were Amy Pennington, Christy Sorensen, Lila Lynch, Melody Burgess, Sherry Lowrance, and Sonya Alexander. They were coached by Marty Albertson.

Before there was Kobe Reynolds, there was Tim Coleman; the tandem of Coleman and Bruce Judd could break down most defenses and open everything else up. The Mustangs had some other capable receivers that year, as well as two steady backs in Bryan O’Riley and Jeff Blackford.

On the very first play of the season, at home against Mound City, starting from their own 20 yard line, Tim Coleman hooked up with Bruce Judd for 80 yards to put North Nodaway up 7-0 over Mound City after Darin Colville’s extra point kick. The Panthers would come to dominate eight man football in the late 1990’s and the 2000’s along with Worth County; however, they were a tailender that year. North Nodaway would go on to rack up 427 total yards against the Panthers that game. Tim Coleman was 5 for 14, but threw for 178 yards. Bryan O’Riley ran 12 times for 124 yards, while Jeff Blackford ran 5 times for 74 yards.

The Mustangs would go on to take control of the game in the first half. Jeff Blackford scored off a 16 yard run with 6:37 left to put his team up 13-0. Bryan O’Riley added a 3 yard scoring run in the second quarter and Tim Coleman would air one out to Darin Colville to make it 27-0 at the half. Bryan O’Riley got his second score in the second half with a 64 yard run, and Coleman hooked up with Kent Porterfield to make it 39-0.

The next game was against another tailender in West Nodaway, but the game was anything but a pushover. Games with West Nodaway were knock-down drag-out affairs in which the record book didn’t always matter. But North Nodaway came away with the 16-0 victory.

The Craig game started off as an eight man shootout. Once again, North Nodaway scored off its first play from scrimmage, getting a 33 yard pass from Tim Coleman to Darin Colville to put them on the board at 7-0. But then Craig, who was celebrating its homecoming, came right back behind Lyle Smith’s two yard run and a two point conversion to make it 8-7. Bryan O’Riley promptly ran back the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to put North Nodaway back in front 14-8. Craig struck right back, going up 15-14. Then, Tim Coleman aired one out to Darin Colville for 46 yards to put his team up 21-15.

After that, North Nodaway began to take control against the Hornets. Bryan O’Riley scored off a 3 yard run and Tim Coleman aired one out to Bruce Judd to make it 35-15 at the half. The Mustangs broke it open in the second half as Bryan O’Riley scored off a 26 yard run and a 31 yard run and Darin Colville added a 41 yard scoop and score to make it 54-15 before Craig tallied late for the 54-22 final score. Tim Coleman completed 10 out of his 17 pass attempts for 199 yards. Bryan O’Riley had 13 carries for 97 yards, while Jeff Blackford had 10 carries for 63 yards. North Nodaway had 389 total yards against the Hornets.

The Mustangs had a much easier time with winless Fairfax, putting them away 56-0 for their third straight shutout. That put them at 4-0 and set up their Homecoming clash with South Holt.

Bryan O’Riley was crowned Homecoming King that year, while Lorrie Brown was crowned Queen. They were crowned by Mike Blackford and JoAnn Frueh, the 1982 royalty. Other candidates were Cathy Pope, Lila Lynch, Kent Porterfield, and Bruce Judd. Freshman attendants were Cherlynn Miller and Todd Stites. Sophomore attendants were Angie DeMott and Mike Spalding. Junior attendants were Carla Scroggie and Kirby Morrison. Crownbearers were Chad Drummond and Miranda O’Riley.

The Knights were much sterner foes than any of the other four teams North Nodaway had faced. While South Holt was not in the league of Nodaway-Holt, Tarkio, or Rock Port, who were the main powers in the 275 that year along with North Nodaway, they were the “best of the rest,” finishing their season with a 5-4 mark. But North Nodaway prevailed in their contest as Coleman completed 13 of his 26 passes for 144 yards. Bryan O’Riley had 15 carries for 86 yards as North Nodaway pitched their fourth shutout in five tries, winning 23-0.

That set up a showdown with undefeated Rock Port in Rock Port, always a difficult venue to play in. The first half was all Rock Port; the Blue Jays, under coach Stu Cline, would go on to win state the next year. Mike Thomas and Mark McMahon had one tally each as they went up 14-0 against North Nodaway and completely took away their passing attack. Nothing changed in the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter, North Nodaway came alive and showed that they were for real in the conference. First, Tim Coleman ran for a touchdown and the Mustangs successfully faked the extra point try as Coleman threw a strike to Jonathan Keyes to cut North Nodaway’s deficit to 14-8. Then, a pass from Coleman to Bruce Judd and Darin Colville’s extra point kick put North Nodaway in front 15-14. Then, a run from Bryan O’Riley made it 22-14. Jeff Blackford rushed for 75 yards against Rock Port, while Tim Coleman completed 9 of his 21 passes for 92 yards.

North Nodaway got a breather the next week, a 59-0 victory over DeKalb. But then, they had a showdown with Tarkio, the second part of the end of the season gauntlet they would have to run. Tim Coleman aired one out to Bruce Judd for a 74 yard pass to put North Nodaway up 7-0, a lead that they made stand up until halftime. But then Scott Graybill’s 16 yard run and a two point conversion put Tarkio in front 8-7 in the third. But Bryan O’Riley’s 76 yard run put North Nodaway back up 14-8 going into the fourth. In the fourth, Rod McEnaney’s one yard run tied it up at 14, setting up a wild finish.

With 30 seconds left, David Brussard’s tally put the Indians up 20-14. Despite little time left, North Nodaway was able to drive down to the Tarkio 10 with time running out. Tim Coleman threw it to Bruce Judd for what would have been the game-tying score, but the referees said he caught it out of bounds, and North Nodaway dropped a heartbreaker to Tarkio. Tim Coleman passed for 159 yards for the game, while Bryan O’Riley rushed for 93 yards.

That meant that North Nodaway would have to beat Nodaway-Holt in Graham in order to get a tie for the 275 title. The Trojans were a powerhouse team back in the early 1980’s, and playing against them was difficult because of the constant ringing of the cowbells that the Nodaway-Holt fans would do. One of the biggest North Nodaway crowds ever to attend a Mustang football game, over 500 people, made the trip to watch their team. They even brought a mascot, “Squeaky,” along, a mule owned by football player Rodney Vance and trucked to Graham by Arnold Garst.

North Nodaway moved the ball up and down the field in the first quarter, but couldn’t do anything with it. Finally, a fake field goal attempt backfired on them and it set up Joe Day’s 38 yard run to put Nodaway-Holt up 7-0. Shawn Skoglund’s pass to Scott Boyer made it 13-0 at the half. But like the Rock Port game, North Nodaway showed that they were a strong second half team. A desperation pass on fourth down from Tim Coleman somehow found Clint Weddle for a score and a two point conversion made it 13-8. Then, a one yard scoring run from Tim Coleman turned out to be the winning margin and the Mustangs were Highway 275 Conference Co-Champs with Nodaway-Holt with the 14-13 win. Coleman was 16 for 28 for 141 yards, while Bryan O’Riley rushed for 44 yards.
Named to the All-275 Squad were Bryan O’Riley (runningback, defensive back), Tim Coleman (quarterback, defensive line), Bruce Judd (end, linebacker), Steve Knorr (linebacker), Greg Thompson (offensive and defensive line), and Kent Porterfield (end, defensive back).

The win put North Nodaway in the state playoffs; however, that meant they would have to go back to Graham and play Nodaway-Holt. It was bitterly cold, with strong winds and rain. The buses had to park somewhere else to avoid getting stuck in the mud, while Nodaway-Holt had to deploy pumps just to clear water off the field so they could play ball.

The first half was scoreless, but North Nodaway had their chances. First, North Nodaway recovered a muffed punt on the Trojan 34, but couldn’t capitalize. Then, Kent Porterfield stole a pitch to set up a 25 yard field goal attempt that went just underneath the crossbar. Then, Jonathan Keyes’ blocked punt put the Mustangs on the Trojan 27, but Coleman was picked off on the 3 yard line. Porterfield picked off a pass on the Mustang 16 to kill a Trojan threat.

Finally, the Trojans took over in the second half as Joe Day’s 29 yard run put them up 7-0. A bad snap made it a two possession game at 9-0, and Nodaway-Holt added an insurance score to make the final score 15-0. But Coach Marty Albertson’s words at the end of the season turned out to be prophetic when he expressed hope that 1983 would lay the groundwork for future successes on the gridiron. The 1989 Mustangs would go on to win the Eight Man football championship.