Inductees

The story goes that, in 1967, a man by the name of Burl Fowler arrived to the southwest Missouri town of Monett ready to coach the high school football team. Some might have assumed he wanted a military unit.

Not that the local barbershop was complaining. After all, only a buzz or burr cut was allowed in order to don the purple and gold. And that’s how the Monett Cubs soldiered on.

“We looked at dedication and discipline and, in doing so, Coach Fowler made several rules,” said then-assistant Benny Lawson. “One of those, which got people upset, was we required haircuts. And those haircuts were very short. That was a starting point.”

A starting point, that is, to becoming a highly respected program in the state’s southwest corner and beyond. What transpired over the next five decades is best described as consistent winning, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Monett High School Football Program with the Class of 2018.

The Cubs have celebrated three state championships (1971, 1977 & 2016) and, counting the 1971 season and since then, Monett has earned 12 conference and 13 district championships.

Additionally, the program has been marked by hard-nosed players, many who later represented the program well on college gridirons.

Best of all, the Cubs have embodied the blue-collar work ethic of the town, whose population of 10,000 puts in an honest 40 hours a week at local manufacturing, distributing and chicken plants – to name a few – and on weekends cruises through its quaint streetlight-and-storefront downtown.

The program launched around 1910 and had success here and there. Yet the arrival of Fowler and Lawson from Seneca in 1967 led to a new perception of Monett Football.

“It wasn’t just the kids that got haircuts; it was the coaching staff, too,” then-assistant J.L. Phillips recently told the Monett Times. “Burl also made the boys wear a coat and tie to every game.”

Put it this way, the program has had 46 winning seasons since 1927. Some 27 of those winning years played out after Fowler’s arrival. From 1969 to 1980, they were 94-30-1.

In Fowler’s third season, Monett enjoyed a seven-win season – the first time in 19 years the program had won that many games.

In 1971, 51 players — seniors, juniors and sophomores – were on the roster, allowing for a platoon system that kept players fresh. Those Cubs finished 12-0 to capture the Class 2 state championship, and quarterback Roger Jarvis, end Rod Kelley and Stan Fellwock earned All-State.

Sadly, Fowler passed away in the 1974 season after a battle with cancer.

Lawson, promoted to head coach in 1975, led the Cubs to the Class 2 state title and 11-2 record in 1977. Tackle Jim Beckett and running back Kyle Bounous were the only All-State selections on a team that hit its stride midseason.

“Coach Lawson and Coach (Chuck) Ramsey got everything out of us,” said Mike Meier, a nose guard on who remembers the turning point, when the Cubs’ were 3-2. “We had a ‘Coming to Jesus’ moment. Coach Ramsey said, ‘If I open your mind, only tiny footballs should be pouring out of it.’”

Tradition has carried on – right into 2016, when coach Derrek Uhl guided Monett to the Class 3 state championship, a 27-18 victory against Maryville. Quarterback Ian Meyer, running back Michael Branch, tight end Alex Turner, lineman Kurran Bartkoski, linebacker Aaron Howard and Coy Butterworth and Cameron Cody were First Team All-State selections.

They were playing against quite a backdrop steeped in high expectations. The 1985, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2014 teams also won district championships. Conference titles came in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2008.

The 1995 to 1997 seasons were marked by a combined 24-9 record. The 2004 through 2008 teams, coached by Alan Spencer, won 39 of 54 games, highlighted by an 11-1 finish in 2008 that ended in sectionals.

“When you take a look at the city of Monett and the support it has provided for the team through the years, you can’t help but get excited about what possibilities the season may hold for you,” said Dennis Heim, a 1974 Monett graduate and football standout.

“Whenever you finally wore (the purple and gold) yourself, it was very meaningful,” Heim added. “You knew what it meant to the community and you knew you were playing for something that was much greater than yourself.”